| Salamanders, headwater streams critical in food chain
University of Missouri scientist Ray Semlitsch studies creatures most people don't ever see. These creatures are active only at night and thrive in the shallow, cool, wet surroundings of headwater streams, an oft-overlooked biological environment. A collaborative study, with MU graduate student Bill Peterman, recently published in the journal Freshwater Biology, revealed the biomass (total mass of an organism in an area) of the black-bellied salamander far exceeds any previous estimates, and the contribution of the species and its habitat may be critical in the food chain. While the ecological role of the salamander is not fully understood, radio-telemetry and mark-recapture tracking methods used in the study indicate the salamanders are a critical component in the productivity of headwater streams, possibly ensuring the survival of other species of fauna.
Forensic sketch revives cold case in Albuquerque death
She wrote to family saying I will contact you, but don't contact me. She was starting her own life." Still, when family stopped hearing from Woodman in the fall of 2004, they started looking for her. They eventually filed a missing persons report with Albuquerque police on Feb. 28, 2005. The report said she'd last been living with Paul Eugene Perea, then 28. Woodman was Perea's girlfriend, though he was married at the time, according to court records. Police have not named suspects in the case and would not comment on Perea. Perea, now 32, is serving 14 years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl in January 2005, the same month Woodman's skeleton was found. He also served time at age 19 after he was convicted of beating his abusive father to death at an Albuquerque softball park.
Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of 1999
The few but high-quality jade articles used as burial objects may symbolize another type of funeral of the Liangzhu Culture. The southern part of Jiangsu Province where Gaochengdun is located is a very important region on the Lake Taihu Culture rim. The discovery of the site shows that the position of the southern part of Jiangsu in the Liangzhu Culture cannot be neglected. It may represent another center similar to the important position of the Ningzhen and Shanghai Fuquanshan areas. 2. Relics at Wanfabozi of Tonghua, Jilin Province. The excavation covers an area of more than 6,000 square meters. The site has rich cultural accumulations, covering the period from the Neolithic Age to the Shang and Zhou, the periods of Spring and Autumn and the Warring States, the Western Han, the Wei and Jin and the Ming dynasties.
Lowcountry resident misses museum's shrunken heads
Shrunken heads are a product of the Jivaro clan, a tribe of people in the Amazon who considered their enemies' heads trophies. Leff can remember the four heads' sewn-up lips and eyes, and their creepy quality. They were more than interesting; they were educational, "a fascinating view" of a certain culture and should still be available for others to see, said Leff, a destination planner for Charleston Tours. So where did the shrunken heads go? According to Martha Zierden, curator of historical archaeology at the Charleston Museum, the heads are in storage. They were taken off display in the early 1980s, as public opinion changed on what was appropriate, she said. "Ethics and the way we perceive human remains have changed over the years," she said, citing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act as an example.
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