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Although ancient DNA (aDNA) cannot predict the facial appearance of skeletal human remains, knowing which extant populations are most closely related to the deceased has proven to be invaluable in rectifying two early facial approximations (popularly known as facial reconstruction) undertaken 15 years ago. These concerned two of the crania excavated from the Lapita burial site at Teouma on the island of Efate, and are associated with the first human arrival in the Vanuatu archipelago approximately 3000 years ago. This experimental revision to incorporate aDNA into both the methods and results ...

Evolution of resistance within insects to pest control has frequently resulted in changes to the organism’s morphotype, including changes in wing shape. By measuring these changes, it is possible to distinguish resistant from non-resistant populations. Geometric morphometrics (GM) quantifies morphological variation within and among populations, it has been used in previous studies to identify changes in morphotype and distinguish between resistant and non-resistant populations of insects. Helicoverpa Zea (corn earworm) is one of the most economically damaging pests for crops across the Unite...

The emergence of resistance (pest resistance to control measures) is a serious and growing problem in agricultural production that significantly reduces yields. Without effective control, 70% of food for human and livestock consumption would potentially be wasted. The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) (WCR), Codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) (CM), and Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) (CPB) are the most important pests in Croatian agriculture, and these insects have developed resistance to various insecticides and established control strategies...

Current approaches to quantify phalangeal curvature assume that the long axis of the bone's diaphysis approximates the shape of a portion of a circle (included angle method) or a parabola (second-degree polynomial method). Here we developed, tested, and employed an alternative geometric morphometrics-based approach to quantify diaphysis shape of proximal phalanges in humans, apes and monkeys with diverse locomotor behaviors. 100 landmarks of the central longitudinal axis were extracted from 3D surface models and analyzed using 2DGM methods, including Generalized Procrustes Analyses. Princ...

Objectives: The study of the development of human bipedalism can provide a unique perspective on the evolution of morphology and behavior across species. To generate new knowledge of these mechanisms, we analyze changes in both internal and external morphology of the growing human talus in a sample of modern human juveniles using an innovative approach. Materials and Methods: The sample consists of high-resolution microCT scans of 70 modern juvenile tali, aged between 8 postnatal weeks and 10 years old, from a broad chronological range from Middle/Late Neolithic, that is, between 4800 and 4500...