Deciphering the ecological roles of plant secondary metabolites requires integrative studies that assess both the allocation patterns of compounds and their bioactivity in ecological interactions. Secondary metabolites have been primarily studied in leaves, but many are unique to fruits and can have numerous potential roles in interactions with both mutualists (seed dispersers) and antagonists (pathogens and predators). We des...

A series of small, shallow seasonally, or interannually, waterlogged depressions (dambos) in the upper Zambezi Valley in western Zambia hold shallow peat deposits and are bounded on their western margin by sandy lunette dunes. Using luminescence dating of sands, fossil pollen analyses and the macrocharcoal record from cored peat, the long‐term stability of these landforms and the vegetation they now support is investigated at...

Extreme Late Quaternary climatic events, sometimes of considerable continental extent, are being proposed as major contributors to ancestral human behaviour, particularly migration, in Africa. Most recently, a catastrophic drought in the Afro‐Asian monsoon region has been proposed for 16 000–17 000 years ago, driven by global impacts of the Heinrich event 1 (H1), with potentially significant consequences for Palaeolithic cultu...