Changing Ecological Opportunities Facilitated the Explosive Diversification of New Caledonian Oxera (Lamiaceae)

Evolutionary Diversification of New Caledonian Araucaria

New Caledonia is a global biodiversity hotspot. Hypotheses for its biotic richness suggest either that the island is a 'museum' for an old Gondwana biota or alternatively it has developed following relatively recent long distance dispersal and in situ radiation. The conifer genus Araucaria (Araucariaceae) comprises 19 species globally with 13 endemic to this island. With a typically Gondwanan d...

The ecological significance of tool use in New Caledonian crows.

Tool use is so rare in the animal kingdom that its evolutionary origins cannot be traced with comparative analyses. Valuable insights can be gained from investigating the ecological context and adaptive significance of tool use under contemporary conditions, but obtaining robust observational data is challenging. We assayed individual-level tool-use dependence in wild New Caledonian crows by an...

Diversification and cumulative evolution in New Caledonian crow tool manufacture.

Many animals use tools but only humans are generally considered to have the cognitive sophistication required for cumulative technological evolution. Three important characteristics of cumulative technological evolution are: (i) the diversification of tool design; (ii) cumulative change; and (iii) high-fidelity social transmission. We present evidence that crows have diversified and cumulativel...

the effects of changing roughness on the flow structure in the bends

flow in natural river bends is a complex and turbulent phenomenon which affects the scour and sedimentations and causes an irregular bed topography on the bed. for the reason, the flow hydralics and the parameters which affect the flow to be studied and understand. in this study the effect of bed and wall roughness using the software fluent discussed in a sharp 90-degree flume bend with 40.3cm ...

The social structure of New Caledonian crows