Julia Francesca C.

Gison

11- St. Thomas

EXPONENTIAL DECAY (estimating the age of pre-historic cave paintings)

April 10, 2019

“Archaeologists identify first prehistoric figurative cave art in Balkans”

An international team, led by an archaeologist from the University of

Southampton and the University of Bordeaux, has revealed the first example of
Paleolithic figurative cave art found in the Balkan Peninsula.

Dr Aitor Ruiz-Redondo worked with researchers from the universities of Cantabria

(Spain), Newfoundland (Canada), Zagreb (Croatia) and the Archaeological
Museum of Istria (Croatia) to study the paintings, which could be up to 34,000
years old. The cave art was first discovered in 2010 in Romualdova Pećina
('Romuald's cave') at Istria in Croatia, when Darko Komšo, Director of the
Archaeological Museum of Istria, noticed the existence of the remains of a red
colour in a deep part of the cave. Following his discovery, the team led by Dr
Ruiz-Redondo and funded by the French State and the Archaeological Museum
of Istria, with the support of Natura Histrica, undertook a detailed analysis of the
paintings and their archaeological context. This led to the identification of
several figurative paintings, including a bison, an ibex and two possible
anthropomorphic figures, confirming the Paleolithic age of the artworks.
Furthermore, an excavation made in the ground below these paintings led to
the discovery of a number of Paleolithic age remains; a flint tool, an ochre
crayon and several fragments of charcoal. Radiocarbon dating of these objects
show an estimated age of around 17,000 years and other indirect data suggest
the paintings date to an even earlier period -- at around 34,000-31,000 years
ago. Further research will be conducted in order to establish the precise age of
the rock art. Findings are published in the journal Antiquity. This discovery
expands the so far sparse register of Paleolithic art in south east Europe. It makes
Romualdova Pećina the first site where figurative Paleolithic rock art has been
discovered in this area. Together with Badanj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
two are the only examples of rock art from the Paleolithic period in the Balkans.
Dr Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, a British Academy-funded Newton International Fellow at
the University of Southampton and postdoctoral researcher at the University of
Bordeaux, said: "The importance of this finding is remarkable and sheds a new
light on the understanding of Paleolithic art in the territory of Croatia and the
Balkan Peninsula, as well as its relationship with simultaneous phenomena
throughout Europe. “A new project started by Dr Ruiz-Redondo and his team,
funded by the British Academy, will develop further research at these two sites
during the next few years.

source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190410120604.htm
Julia Francesca C. Gison
11- St. Thomas

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH (population growth of raccoons)

BY DOUGLAS MAIN 30 JULY 2019

“RACCOONS ARE SPREADING ACROSS EARTH—AND CLIMATE CHANGE COULD

HELP”

The voracious invaders are found on three continents, and warming could help
their range expand northward. Much of the world is hospitable for raccoons,
and the potential range of these masked invaders is set to expand into new
areas with climate change, according to new research. A study published in
Scientific Reports looked at what climatic conditions are most suitable for these
native North American mammals, in areas where they are currently found. The
scientists then extrapolated across the globe to find where environment
variables were likely to support populations of the animals—and how that will
change with global warming. The scientists found favourable climatic conditions
for the adaptable, voracious omnivores in much of the world, in a zone that is
expected to expand considerably to the north, says Vivien Louppe, study lead
author and a researcher at the French National Museum of Natural History in
Paris.
This will only further assist the dispersal of these animals, which are already
spreading as introduced species throughout much of Europe, as well as Central
and East Asia. Raccoons can outcompete native species and eat massive
quantities of prey, causing significant but little-studied environmental damage in
these areas. “The species is able to cope with a high diversity of environmental
and bioclimatic conditions,” Louppe says—everything from Caribbean
mangroves to European temperate forests to the cold and snowy American
North Woods. The climatic conditions modeled included variables having to do
with heat and moisture, such as average yearly temperature, annual
precipitation, and daily temperature range. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are best
suited to riverine environments. Their scientific name translates to “before the
dog,” and “washer” in Latin, referencing their habit of catching and washing
food in rivers and water bodies. The name for them in German, Italian, and
Japanese all roughly translate to “washing bear.” First introduced into Germany
in the 1930s, raccoons have dispersed to every surrounding country, west to
Spain, south to Italy, and east to Poland. In Japan, they’ve been bounding their
way through the islands of the country since the 1960s, and are found in at least
42 of the country’s 47 prefectures. There is another major population in Iran and
Azerbaijan. Part of the reason the mammals became a problem in Japan is due
to a book and ensuing cartoon series called “Rascal,” featuring a cute raccoon,
which became a hit in Japan in the 1970s. That spurred the importation of up to
1,500 animals per month for a time, though the country later banned the
practice. But it was too late: Raccoons make terrible pets, and many of the
animals were released into the wild. To create the model, the scientists looked
at several future trajectories of carbon dioxide emissions and how each scenario
would contribute to warming temperatures around the globe. Though the team
saw similar increases in favourable conditions for raccoons with several
trajectories, the team settled on the most extreme case—mainly because the
expansion was more pronounced. Called RCP 8.5 (for Representative
Concentration Pathway), this represents the “worst-case scenario”—albeit one
we could be on a path toward—and involves robust petroleum use into the
future. “RCP 8.5 is the most extreme case but also, unfortunately, the most
realistic and probable,” Louppe says. The most concerning thing about the
raccoons’ potential northward spread is the impact on northern woodlands,
known as boreal forests, Louppe adds. “The ecosystems in these areas are
peculiar and fragile,” he says, and could suffer from the introduction of a new
predator. This is particularly relevant to the northern forests of Europe and Asia,
where raccoons could expand much further, says Suzanne MacDonald, a
professor at York University in Toronto who studies animal behaviour and wasn’t
involved in the paper. Raccoons can “completely upend whatever delicate
balance is already there,” says MacDonald, a National Geographic Society
explorer. “And they’re already finding that, in places like Japan.” That’s
because “they eat everything—small invertebrates, frogs, bird eggs, birds, small
mammals, everything,” she says. Though little is known about the animal’s
ecological impact in Europe, “raccoons might seriously threaten native fauna,”
says Agnieszka Perec-Matysiak, a researcher at Poland’s University of Wroclaw.
The creatures are particularly well suited to cities, where they happily subsist on
trash (hence their popular nickname, trash pandas). “Every night in Toronto,
you’ll see raccoons in your backyard,” MacDonald says, by way of example.
“Not some nights, but every night.” She especially worries about their potential
to spread disease, such as rabies. “I lose sleep over these things.” The modelling
in the study didn’t include some ecological variables, like the presence of prey
and predators, so it’s not a definitive demonstration of where they could live,
Louppe cautions. That being said, since raccoons eat just about everything,
there’s a good chance they could survive in much of these climatically
favourable places. Meanwhile, raccoons continue to spread through non-
native areas, eliciting less alarm than they probably should. “They are cute,”
Macdonald says, “but they are insidious.” “People don't know what they’ve
done by importing them,” she adds. “They are going to decimate anything in
other countries that’s not prepared for them.”

source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/raccoons-are-
spreading-across-earthand-climate-change-could-help.aspx
Julia Francesca C. Gison

11- St. Thomas

(reflection about exponential growth)

Raccoons are nocturnal animals. They are mostly wild and mostly found in North
America, Europe, as well as Central and East Asia. They can be dangerous and
seen mostly in streets, parks, or even in backyards looking for food in trashes.
They can be vicious when approached by humans. Humans should be cautious
or careful of approaching raccoons because most of them carries rabies,
roundworms and leptospirosis. But according to the news article, the population
of raccoons is increasing and spreading and they are able to cope with a high
diversity of environmental and bioclimatic conditions. Exponential growth is
related or applied to this article because of the rise or increasing population of
raccoons. A possible way or one way of knowing the population increase is
through exponential growth, so it is possible scientists and researchers may have
used exponential growth in getting the estimated population of raccoons.
Exponential growth is used in population increase or growth not just in humans
but also in animals and other living things such as bacteria and plants.
Exponential growth might be a helpful way of knowing the population increase
of raccoons just like in the article and its relation to STEM strand is in line with
science field specifically related to scientists, researchers and climate change.
Julia Francesca C. Gison
11- St. Thomas (reflection about exponential decay)

There are many prehistoric cave paintings that have already been discovered
and yet undiscovered. Prehistoric cave paintings are said to be the very first
paintings. It is said that cave paintings were actually what ancient people back
then used to do during their free time. Its purpose is to record or simply to draw
their existence and lives, to tell a story or their story through their paintings. It is
also said that some people believe it was to document their hunting expeditions
or to ensure they would successfully hunt the animals they drew. They used
natural objects to paint the walls of the caves like ash, dirt, pigment, or even
charcoal mixed with spit or animal fat. According to daily mail or mail online,
“Cave paintings may have played a role in Paleolithic man's religious rituals.
One popular theory is that painters of the Paleolithic era chose the places
where they made art based on their acoustics. Evidence for this theory comes
from previous research which studied three ancient caves in France.” In the
news article, it is said that researchers, scientists and archaeologists worked
together to study and estimate how many years those paintings were. Not only
paintings were found, but also other Paleolithic age remains such as a flint tool,
an ochre crayon, and several fragments of charcoal. Exponential decay and
radiocarbon dating may have possibly been used in estimating the age of these
prehistoric cave paintings. It is actually a helpful way or process of knowing the
estimated amount or years of a specific subject by using its formula. Exponential
decay surely is a lot of help in problems and scenarios that are need to be
solved by getting the year or amount. It’s relation to STEM strand is in line with
science and science-related jobs such as archeologist, scientist, and
researchers. Exponential decay is truly a big help in our world and it’s one of the
possible reasons why these cave paintings and many other discoveries have
known their estimated age and for us to be inspired to continue finding out the
bewildering story of our ancestors.