Tribal Level Research Articles

A multi-locus phylogeny for the Diamesinae (Chironomidae: Diptera) provides new insights into evolution of an amphitropical clade

Abstract Diamesinae is a subfamily of Chironomidae, whose species live in cold lotic or oligotrophic lentic habitats with global distribution excepting Antarctica. The cool stenothermic ecology of nearly all diamesines produces a typical amphitropical pattern of absence at tropical latitudes, except at high elevation. Recent attention has focused on the species discovery, while evolutionary relationships at the generic and tribal level have remained inadequately understood. Current classification implies analogous evolutionary diversification in each hemisphere (boreal and austral). To test this concept, we used six genetic markers (18S, 28S, CAD1, COI-5p, COI-3p and COII) and fossil calibrations to produce a well-supported and resolved time-calibrated phylogeny of the subfamily. Austral and boreal diamesines indeed are reciprocally monophyletic lineages, with estimated Jurassic divergence (130-196, 164 Ma). The boreal Protanypodini, previously understood to be a tribe within Diamesinae, is excluded and elevated here to subfamily rank as Protanypodinae stat. nov. Ancestral austral diamesines probably originated in South America and successively reached New Zealand, Australia and South Africa during the Cretaceous-Paleogene. The Holarctic tribes Diamesini and Boreoheptagyiini probably originated in the Eastern Palaearctic with further dispersal/vicariance into the Western Palaearctic, Nearctic, East, and very likely dispersed southwards to montane East Africa and Borneo.

The prevalence and risk factors of Helicobacter pylori infection and cagA virulence gene carriage in adults in the Navajo Nation.

American Indian and Alaska Native people in the United States experience high rates of stomach cancer. Helicobacter pylori infection is a significant risk factor for stomach cancer, and H. pylori strains that carry the cagA gene are linked to greater gastrointestinal disease severity. Yet, little is known about H. pylori and cagA infections in American Indian and Alaska Native people, particularly at the tribal level. We assessed the prevalence and risk factors of H. pylori infection and cagA gene carriage in tribal members from the Navajo Nation. We conducted a cross-sectional study with adults from the Navajo Nation. Stool samples collected from participants were analyzed with droplet digital PCR for H. pylori 16S ribosomal and cagA virulence genes. Self-administered health and food questionnaires were mailed to participants to collect information on sociodemographic, health, lifestyle, and environmental risk factors for H. pylori infection. Logistic regression assessed the association between risk factors and H. pylori infection and cagA gene carriage. Among 99 adults, the median age was 45 (age range: 18 to 79 years), and 73.7% were female. About 56.6% (95% CI: 46.2-66.5) of participants were infected with H. pylori. Of H. pylori-infected participants, 78.6% (95% CI: 65.6-88.4) were cagA-gene positive. No significant associations of relevant risk factors with H. pylori and cagA-gene positive infections were noted. In a community-based study population, a substantial proportion of adult tribal members had H. pylori and cagA-gene positive infections. Given these high proportions, culturally appropriate prevention strategies and interventions addressing H. pylori infections present an avenue for additional research and stomach cancer prevention in the Navajo Nation.

Suicidality by Sexual Identity and Correlates Among American Indian and Alaska Native High School Students

PurposeThis study aims to determine the prevalence of suicidality among American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) adolescents. Additionally, we measured suicidality, stratified by sex, and its association with sexual identity, sexual violence, and binge drinking. MethodsWe pooled data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2005 to 2019 to analyze the prevalence of sexual minorities, forced sex, and binge drinking, and their association with suicidality using basic descriptive statistics followed by adjusted odds ratios stratified by sex among AI/AN youth. Results19% of AI/AN participants reported having suicidal thoughts and 14% reported having a previous suicide attempt. More than 17% of AI/AN participants identified as sexual minority youth (SMY). Compared to AI/AN heterosexual youth, AI/AN bisexual youth had significantly higher odds of reporting suicidal thoughts (aOR = 16.01), planning (aOR = 12.4), and previous attempts (aOR = 7.73). This pattern was also significantly demonstrated for AI/AN gay/lesbian youth. 43% of all AI/AN participants reported being forced into sexual intercourse. The presence of binge drinking was associated with higher odds of suicidal thoughts for both females and males compared to those who did not binge drink. DiscussionAt the intersection of multiple marginalization, AI/AN SMY have a high mental health burden, demonstrating the need for culturally informed, community-led, and targeted mental health support focused on SMY AI/AN. Though this study fails to capture the heterogeneity within the AI/AN community, as nuances exist at the tribal level, these results demonstrate work needs to be done to support the health burden that AI/AN youth carry.

Is creeping abandonment of human cancer defences evolutionarily favoured?

Among observed animal species, humans exhibit a remarkably elevated lifetime cancer risk (over 38%), in stark contrast to less than 10% seen in other observed species (excluding those affected by environmental pollution). Peto's paradox suggests that these observations defy explanation through mathematical models treating cancer genesis as a stochastic process, with risks resulting from lifespan and body mass. For instance, whales, despite longer lifespans and roughly 30 times the size of humans, maintain consistent cancer risk throughout life, differing from the pronounced increase after female reproductive age observed in humans. It is well-documented in the literature that species-specific tumor suppression mechanisms allow for large lifespan and body mass. Examination of data from chimpanzees, a closely related species, suggests—without definitive evidence—a major difference between chimpanzee and human cancer risk. This leads to the conjecture that vulnerability of cancer defence mechanisms in humans might have emerged due to the unique evolutionary trajectory of the genus _Homo_. Given that this vulnerability emerges after reproductive years, a prevailing hypothesis attributes it to antagonistic pleiotropy. However, considering _Homo's_ historical existence in small tribes throughout much of evolution, we suggest that natural selection may have also operated at the tribal level. Consequently, our hypothesis, "Is creeping abandonment of human cancer defences evolutionarily favored?" arises from two alternative speculative scenarios. One proposition rests on the notion that diminishing tumor suppression activities could confer a calorie-saving advantage, particularly beneficial for tribes with limited food resources. The other proposition suggests that creeping abandonment of cancer defences might promote genetic diversity.

New bats in the tropical family Emballonuridae (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from the Oligocene and early Miocene of Florida

Three new genera and four new species in the tropical bat family Emballonuridae (Mammalia: Chiroptera) are described from the Oligocene and early Miocene of peninsular Florida. These are: a new genus Oligopteryx and two new species, O. floridanus and O. hamaxitos, from the late Oligocene (early Arikareean) Brooksville 2 Local Fauna in Hernando County, with referred specimens of each species from the early Oligocene (Whitneyan) I-75 Local Fauna in Alachua County; a new genus and species, Karstopteryx gunnelli, from the latest Oligocene (late Arikareean) Buda Local Fauna in Alachua County; and a new genus and species, Floridopteryx poyeri, from the early Miocene (early Hemingfordian) Thomas Farm Local Fauna in Gilchrist County. Characters that distinguish Oligopteryx from other emballonurid genera are: M1 with a much reduced parastylar region and a large talon with a triangular posterolingual extension; M1 and M2 with a prominent hypocone separated from the protocone by a deep, V-shaped notch in the postprotocrista, and deeply concave talon basin; small, single-rooted p3; m1 and m2 with the trigonid narrower and shorter than the talonid, the paraconid and metaconid located close together along the lingual margin, and the entocristid blade-like, V-shaped, and oriented labially. O. hamaxitos is distinguished from O. floridanus by its smaller size and well-developed paraloph and metaloph on M1 and M2. Karstopteryx gunnelli is separated from the two species of Oligopteryx by the prominent parastyle, anteriorly oriented preparacrista, and rounded talon. Floridopteryx poyeri is characterized by: M1 with a highly reduced parastylar region but with a well-developed parastyle, short preparacrista, small hypocone not separated from the protocone by a notch in the postprotocrista, and a squarish talon; m1/m2 with the talonid much broader than the trigonid, trigonid compressed, shorter than talonid, and with the paraconid and metaconid close together along the lingual margin, large hypoconulid, and anterior root flattened and compressed anteroposteriorly (m1 only). Oligopteryx and Karstopteryx are considered members of the subfamily Emballonurinae based on the reduced parastylar region of the M1 but are left unassigned at the tribal level. Oligopteryx differs from all living emballonurids in the presence of a p3. Floridopteryx has a reduced parastylar region on M1 and is also considered an emballonurine, but can be separated from Oligopteryx by the presence of a prominent parastyle and lack of a p3. Floridopteryx is placed in the monophyletic New World emballonurine tribe Diclidurini. Taphonomy indicates Oligopteryx was a colonial cave dweller, whereas Floridopteryx more likely roosted in trees, as do most living Neotropical emballonurids. A change from a tropical or subtropical climate in Florida in the Oligocene and early Miocene to a warm temperate climate from the middle Miocene to the present is reflected in the disappearance of emballonurids from Florida after the early Miocene. Molecular studies indicate the Emballonuridae dispersed from Africa to South America in the Oligocene, despite the oldest Western Hemisphere record of this family from the early Oligocene (~30 Ma) of Florida (Oligopteryx). We hypothesize emballonurids may have reached North America from Eurasia in the Eocene using an overland route and then dispersed overwater to the then-island continent of South America, with the oldest South American record of that family from the late Oligocene (~25 Ma) of Peru.

Home at last: Molecular phylogenetic analyses support subsuming Metastachydium within Phlomoides (Lamiaceae)

AbstractDistributed in Central Asia, Metastachydium (Lamiaceae) is a poorly understood and rare monotypic genus, with few collections known. The systematic position of this enigmatic genus within Lamiaceae has remained unresolved due to its poor representation in herbaria and coincident lack of available materials for molecular phylogenetic analysis. Facilitated by some recent collections, we performed Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses, using an 80‐protein‐coding plastid‐gene dataset of Lamioideae, to infer the systematic placement of Metastachydium at the tribal level within Lamioideae. In addition, we used an 8‐plastid‐DNA‐region dataset as well as the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer to determine the phylogenetic affinities of Metastachydium. All phylogenetic analyses agree that Metastachydium is a member of Phlomideae and deeply nested within the genus Phlomoides, suggesting the need to expand the latter to include Metastachydium. Hence, a new combination, Phlomoides sagittata comb. nov., is proposed, and we present the first available photographs and an amended morphological description of P. sagittata. In addition, the infrageneric circumscription of Phlomoides is not supported, as most sections and subsections are not monophyletic. Hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting, following rapid diversification within Phlomoides, seem to be the source of incongruence between the nuclear and plastid tree topologies.

Molecular phylogeny of Cercopidae (Hemiptera, Cercopoidea)

AbstractWith 175 described genera and 1556 described species, Family Cercopidae is currently divided into two subfamilies: the paraphyletic Cercopinae and the monophyletic Ischnorhininae. This study, with emphasis on the family Cercopidae, is in line with the extensive work of Cryan and Svenson which is the first phylogenetic study testing the monophyly of this family and higher‐level relationships within Cercopoidea. This study includes more representative taxa from Old World regions. The results of the phylogenetic analysis based on DNA nucleotide sequence data (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, histone 3, and cytochrome oxidase I) show that Cercopidae is not monophyletic. Three major lineages are recovered: (1) the lineage Microsargane Fowler, 1897 + Hemitriecphora Lallemand, 1949 which is the sister group to Aphrophoridae + Epipygidae, (2) most of the Old World Cercopidae appear as a monophyletic lineage that can be subdivided into two clades, and (3) the monophyletic New World Ischnorhininae, which is separated from the rest of Cercopidae and basal to the two other lineages. It is proposed that Microsargane and Hemitriecphora should be removed from Cercopidae and placed within Aphrophoridae, and only the monophyletic Old World lineage should be kept as Cercopidae sensu stricto. The two subfamilies Cercopinae and Cosmoscartinae, corresponding respectively to the monophyletic lineage groups 2 and 3, should be kept with minimal changes on the tribal level, and the subfamily Ischnorhininae should be raised to family level Ischnorhinidae stat. nov.

The history of regional relations of the peoples of Jibal Nuba in the 16th–20th centuries

The article is devoted to regional relations of the tribal groups of the Jibal Nuba region of the South Kordofan province in Sudan. The Islamization of these tribes, which lasted for a period of more than a century, seriously changed the traditional way of life, contributed to demographic transformations, and contributed to the integration of local residents into Sudanese society. At the same time, one can observe deformations in the political course of local leaders who are trying to achieve a weakening of ties with the center and oppose initiatives aimed at a compromise and a peaceful solution to all regional problems. It is traced from the complex and controversial history of relationships during both the pre-colonial period and the period of the Anglo-Egyptian condominium after 1898. Particular attention in the material provided is given to the contacts of the Jibal Nuba tribes with neighboring Arab tribes. They are ready for positive interaction at the clan and tribal level. The article also examines the history of relations between the Nuba and the state formations that arose after the consolidation of Islam as a state doctrine in the Sultanate of the Funj with its center in Sennar in the 16 th century. Along with this, there were active contacts with other Muslim states, primarily with the sultanate in Darfur and small state formations in Kordofan.

Phylogenomics sheds new light on the drivers behind a long-lasting systematic riddle: the figwort family Scrophulariaceae.

The figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, comprises c.2000 species whose evolutionary relationships at the tribal level have proven difficult to resolve, hindering our ability to understand their origin and diversification. We designed a specific probe kit for Scrophulariaceae, targeting 849 nuclear loci and obtaining plastid regions as by-products. We sampled c.87% of the genera described in the family and use the nuclear dataset to estimate evolutionary relationships, timing of diversification, and biogeographic patterns. Ten tribes, including two new tribes, Androyeae and Camptolomeae, are supported, and the phylogenetic positions of Androya, Camptoloma, and Phygelius are unveiled. Our study reveals a major diversification at c.60 million yr ago in some Gondwanan landmasses, where two different lineages diversified, one of which gave rise to nearly 81% of extant species. ASouthern African origin is estimated for most modern-day tribes, with two exceptions, the American Leucophylleae, and the mainly Australian Myoporeae. The rapid mid-Eocene diversification is aligned with geographic expansion within southern Africa in most tribes, followed by range expansion to tropical Africa and multiple dispersals out of Africa. Our robust phylogeny provides a framework for future studies aimed at understanding the role of macroevolutionary patterns and processes that generated Scrophulariaceae diversity.

Primitive Bush People:Language and Discrimination On Social Media

Language is a vehicle through which people communicate with one another. The words and expressions people use to communicate with each other can either build relationships, act as a catalyst to commence conflict or fan the flames of an ongoing conflict. People do not usually find themselves in a conflict zone with persons to refer to them as “the other”. Social media brings people from around the globe to communicate but there is always a feeling of belonging that units these people in the social media speech community. This work examines the language of discrimination on social media by Cameroonians at the tribal, regional and gender levels. It looks at the language from the level of discursive vocabulary items used by Cameroonians on social media that can provoke feelings of discrimination towards one another. Data for this study comprised of some 50 WhatsApp and Facebook screenshots and some 25 questionnaires administered through random selection of users of the social media platforms under study. Using the theory of Critical Discourse Analysis by Norman Fairclough, (1995) and the discursive model of Language and Gender by Cameron (2005). The results reveal that 100% of the respondents agreed to the fact that there is the prevalence of the language of discrimination on social media in varying proportions at gender, regional and tribal level. 67% of those who have encountered such discrimination express that this can affect life out of social media, while the 33% of those who think it will not affect their lives put up several mechanisms to shield this effect like ignoring such posts, defending their kind or reproaching the author of the discriminatory post.

Institutional levels of water management in the Colorado River basin region: A macro-historical geographic review

Complex water-stressed basins like the Colorado River in North America have multiple institutional levels of water management. Each institutional level is characterized by rules, organizations, and spatial jurisdictions that developed over decades to centuries to shape a dynamic multi-level system. After introducing the concept of institutional levels, and its relationship to geographic scales, this paper employs systematic bibliographic search methods to review their development in the Colorado River basin region. Results begin with the community level of water management from prehistoric Indian water cultures to early Hispanic water communities, 19th century water communities, and 20th century water organizations. Conflict among water communities shaped the state level of constitutional authority over water rights administration during the 19th century. Competition among states led in the 20th century to the interstate level of apportionment that often paralleled federal and tribal level water development policies, eventually leading to the international level of treaty relations between the U.S. and Mexico. This macro-historical geographic progression from institutions that were relatively small in size and early in time to those at higher levels and more recent in time offers insights into the multi-level institutional logic of the “law of the river” in the Colorado River basin region.

Leaving Money on the Table(s): An Examination of Federal Income Tax Policy Towards Indian Tribes

“When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before thewhite man came, an Indian said simply, ‘Ours’”“[G]overnment’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few shortphrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving,subsidize it.”Indian tribes are on the move. At least those that have opened casinos. Following decades of abject poverty, the advent and rapid expansion of Indian gaming has finally provided tribes with a viable economic development opportunity. Approximately 201 tribes run 321 gaming facilities that employ over 300,000 people. In 2001, tribal gaming operations generated revenue of $12.7 billion. This income goes untaxed at the tribal level since, for nearly forty years, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has taken the position that the income of Indian tribes is not subject to federal income taxation.

Life of the Indigenous Mind: Vine Deloria Jr. and the Birth of the Red Power Movement by David Martínez

Reviewed by: Life of the Indigenous Mind: Vine Deloria Jr. and the Birth of the Red Power Movement by David Martínez Gregory D. Smithers (bio) Life of the Indigenous Mind: Vine Deloria Jr. and the Birth of the Red Power Movement by David Martínez University of Nebraska Press, 2019 FOR MANY OF US working in the fields of Native American and Indigenous studies, the moment we first read Vine Deloria Jr.'s Custer Died for Your Sins was transformative. I first read Deloria's 1969 classic as a teenager in the late 1980s. Reading Custer proved exhilarating; it sparked new insights and fresh questions. Deloria's style had me hooked. Anthropologists did not write like he did; historians certainly didn't. Since my teenage encounter with Custer, I've returned to Deloria's work regularly. Each time I learn something new. David Martínez's brilliant Life of the Indigenous Mind taught me even more about Deloria. Written in clear prose and thoroughly researched, Martínez organizes his analysis around Custer; We Talk, You Listen (1970); God Is Red (1973); and Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties (1974)—four key books in Deloria's influential career. Over ten chapters, Martínez covers issues ranging from tribal self-determination to Indigenous epistemologies. Today, most humanists and social scientists incorporate these themes into their work as a matter of course. But when Deloria began writing about self-determination and Indigenous knowledge as vital to the well-being of Native people—first in his role as head of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and later in his books and essays—he blazed a trail that continues to provide intellectual and political clarity on issues that still resonate across Indian Country. Martínez explains that Deloria made no pretense to the phony objectivity that characterized white scholarship. He wrote as an Indigenous person, specifically as a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and directed his message to "us"—other Native Americans (5). As Martínez explains in chapter 1, Deloria urged Indigenous people to work from within to resist American colonialism by advocating for a tribal court system that would buttress the self-determination of Native nations. Indigenous self-determination, or what Deloria referred to as "tribalism," required bold leadership at the tribal level (65). As Martínez explains in chapters 2 and 3, this meant Indigenous [End Page 162] leaders needed to rise to the challenge of reconnecting communities to the land and throwing off the shackles of termination policy. Indeed, the United States government must fulfill its treaty obligations by recognizing the sovereignty of Indian nations and restoring the nation-to-nation relationship enshrined in hundreds of treaties. Deloria recognized that achieving this new political reality would require a radical shift in how Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) bureaucrats "managed" Indian affairs (105). It would also necessitate creative new thinking out of Indian Country. Overturning what Deloria called the "atrocity" of termination would not be easy (109). However, Martínez notes that Deloria was not alone in championing tribal government, with Indigenous leaders and writers like D'Arcy McNickle also devoting themselves to the cause of self-determination in the decades after World War II. As Martínez argues in chapters 5 and 6, Deloria understood that Indigenous self-determination meant changing how Native people saw themselves and how settlers saw Indigenous people. This is where Deloria offered what, for his time, were stunning insights about the importance of political and cultural self-determination. Native Americans were not individual "others," something that made liberal civil rights discourse ill-suited to Indigenous politics. By taking the term "tribalism" away from anthropologists, Indigenous people could begin to undo stereotypes imposed on them over centuries by Christian missionaries, anthropologists, and politicians. To do so, Deloria insisted that Native people must come together if they hoped to protect their own rights, advance the cause of sovereignty, and articulate their own stories. Martínez has produced a rich and rewarding book. He is balanced in his critiques of Deloria's writings and careful to contextualize Deloria's political motives for self-determination. For those hoping to read a biography of Deloria that...

Heterocarpy in Dipterocypselinae (Asteraceae): Morphology, anatomy and systematic significance

Heterocarpy occurs when a plant produces fruits of more than one distinct shape. This phenomenon may result in different dispersion, dormancy, and germination, enabling survival in diverse environmental conditions. Heterocarpy is common in Asteraceae, and one of its most extreme examples occurs in Heterocypsela H.Rob. However, the difference between outer and inner cypselae can be originated from its developmental stage. Even with doubts, heterocarpy is applied to circumscribe Heterocypsela, Allocephalus Bringel, J.N.Nakaj. & H.Rob., Dipterocypsela S.F.Blake, and Manyonia H. Rob. in the subtribe Dipterocypselinae S.C.Keeley & H.Rob. A recent phylogenetic study has also raised uncertainties about the Dipterocypselinae monophyly and, consequently, the importance of the heterocarpy and pericarp crystals in the subtribe circumscription. Thus, we reviewed the heterocarpy and its systematic significance in the Dipterocypselinae, using light microscopy and SEM techniques. Our results confirmed the heterocarpy in Heterocypsela, reaffirmed it in Allocephalus and Dipterocypsela, and refuted its loss hypothesis in Manyonia. However, the heterocarpy was not homologous between studied genera and should not be applied as a parameter to group them. The pericarp tissue organization of the studied species, including crystals, was similar to previously studied Vernonieae Cass., reaffirming the systematics significance of the pericarp anatomy at a tribal level. Gaps in the Vernonieae cypselae knowledge hampered the morphological approximation of Allocephalus gamolepsis from Lychnophorinae, and Heterocypsela from Chrestinae-Vernoniinae. However, the Vernonieae morphology comparison demonstrated fruitful, mainly to assess the systematic significance and evolutionary patterns of the cypselae tribe.

First report of complete mitochondrial genome in the subfamily Alleculinae and mitochondrial genome-based phylogenetics in Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea).

Despite worldwide distribution and rich diversity, the knowledge of mitochondrial genome (mtgenome) characteristics within the family Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) is still very limited, and phylogenetics remain unresolved for the family. In this study, the mtgenomes for 12 species are newly sequenced and annotated. Three of the species represent the first report of complete mtgenomes from the subfamily Alleculinae. Comparative analysis of 36 tenebrionid mtgenomes finds that gene composition and order are the same as a theoretical ancestral insect mtgenome, and AT bias, length variation, and codon usage are consistent with other reported beetle mtgenomes. Some intergenic overlap and gap sequences may contain phylogenetically informative information, whereas neither the conserved nor repeat sequences in the control region do. The subfamilies Lagriinae, Pimeliinae, Stenochiinae, and Alleculinae are found to be monophyletic, and the subfamilies Diaperinae and Tenebrioninae polyphyletic in our study. Furthermore, Lagriinae is sister to the rest of the subfamilies. At the tribal level, the tribes Lagriini in the subfamily Lagrrinae; Strongyliini in Stenochiinae; Cteniopodini in Alleculinae; and Triboliini, Opatrini, and Amarygmini in Tenebrioninae are monophyletic; while Diaperini in Diaperinae, and Tenebrionini in Tenebrioninae are polyphyletic.

A mitochondrial genome phylogeny of voles and lemmings (Rodentia: Arvicolinae): Evolutionary and taxonomic implications.

Arvicolinae is one of the most impressive placental radiations with over 150 extant and numerous extinct species that emerged since the Miocene in the Northern Hemisphere. The phylogeny of Arvicolinae has been studied intensively for several decades using morphological and genetic methods. Here, we sequenced 30 new mitochondrial genomes to better understand the evolutionary relationships among the major tribes and genera within the subfamily. The phylogenetic and molecular dating analyses based on 11,391 bp concatenated alignment of protein-coding mitochondrial genes confirmed the monophyly of the subfamily. While Bayesian analysis provided a high resolution across the entire tree, Maximum Likelihood tree reconstruction showed weak support for the ordering of divergence and interrelationships of tribal level taxa within the most ancient radiation. Both the interrelationships among tribes Lagurini, Ellobiusini and Arvicolini, comprising the largest radiation and the position of the genus Dinaromys within it also remained unresolved. For the first time complex relationships between genus level taxa within the species-rich tribe Arvicolini received full resolution. Particularly Lemmiscus was robustly placed as sister to the snow voles Chionomys in the tribe Arvicolini in contrast with a long-held belief of its affinity with Lagurini. Molecular dating of the origin of Arvicolinae and early divergences obtained from the mitogenome data were consistent with fossil records. The mtDNA estimates for putative ancestors of the most genera within Arvicolini appeared to be much older than it was previously proposed in paleontological studies.

The first phylogeny of Australasian Lamiinae longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) reveals poor tribal classification and a complex biogeographic history

ABSTRACTWe used phylogenomic data and information from the beetle fossil record to reconstruct the phylogeny and historical biogeography of Australasian longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) in the subfamily Lamiinae. We further focused our study on the distribution of proposed diagnostic morphological characters in Lamiinae, and on the phylogeny of Rhytiphora Audinet‐Serville, Australia's most species‐rich genus of longhorn beetles. Lamiinae was monophyletic, but the majority of tribes were poly‐ or paraphyletic. Within Lamiinae, we recovered four main clades, including one clade mostly comprised of Australian endemic genera of probable Gondwanan origin. This clade also contained taxa that dispersed from Australia to New Zealand and experienced multiple independent instances of wing loss. Another of the four clades contained Australian genera that colonized the region from Asia, including Rhytiphora. The defining feature of Rhytiphora, the setose ‘sex patches’ on the male abdomen, was shared with many other Asian lamiine genera recovered in the same clade. Our results shed new light on the geographic and temporal origins of Australian Lamiinae, revealing an unexpected mixture of both ancient Gondwanan and recent Asian origins. Moreover, we confirmed rampant nonmonophyly at the tribal level among the Australasian genera of Lamiinae. Based on our results, we move 17 genera into Lamiinae incertae sedis and six genera into the tribe Ancitini Aurivillius. We also reinstate the tribe Niphonini Pascoe for part of the Asian‐Australian Pteropliini Thomson and synonymize Achriotypa Pascoe with Rhytiphora.

Advocating for Preservation

AbstractOver the past few years our body politic has become increasingly polarized: Republicans versus Democrats, conservatives versus liberals. That polarization filters down to governmental actions, policies, and decisions, evidenced in disagreements over regulation versus deregulation and fossil fuels versus renewable energy. Such polarization—whether legislative, administrative, or judicial and whether at the federal, state, or tribal level—can and does impact the management of our archaeological resources and the way cultural resource management is practiced in the United States. Given that most archaeologists in the United States are employed in cultural resource management, these actions affect their employment. Consequently, it is more critical than ever that archaeologists become cultural resource management and historic preservation advocates. This article discusses the whys and hows of preservation advocacy. Active, science-based advocacy by preservationists can engage governmental decision-makers to give due consideration to cultural resources and their management when making decisions or drafting and voting on legislation. Although the discussion focuses on advocacy at the federal level, the observations and suggestions are applicable at the state and local level.

Cyperaceae in a data‐rich era: New evolutionary insights from solid frameworks

Cyperaceae in a data‐rich era: New evolutionary insights from solid frameworks

Integrative taxonomy reveals a new genus from Central Chile and suggests a systematic rearrangement in Stenochiinae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

AbstractStenochiinae is a subfamily of Tenebrionidae with a mainly pantropical distribution, but with a few species distributed at higher latitudes. In general, Stenochiinae has been little studied, and the taxonomic effort been insufficient to understand all its diversity. Recently, a new taxon of Stenochiinae from Central Chile with remarkable morphological characters was collected. Based on phylogenetic analyses of concatenated 28S, 18S, 16S and COI genes and on morphological analyses, a new genus and two species of Stenochiinae are described from Central Chile. Our results suggest that Nestorinus gen. nov. (with the species Nestorinus roitmani sp. nov. and Nestorinus yanettae sp. nov.) has a basal position in Stenochiinae, related to Homocyrtus. The set of morphological characters shared between Stenochiini and Cnodalonini plus their phylogenetic position make it difficult to classify them at tribal level.