A cikin wani abin ban mamaki, an tono kudan zuma da aka rufe a cikin kwalayensu a bakin tekun kudu maso yamma na Portugal. Wannan hanya ta ban mamaki na kasusuwa ta baiwa masana kimiyya dama ta musamman don yin nazari daidai kan rayuwar wadannan tsoffin kwari, da ba da haske kan abubuwan da suka shafi muhallin da ka iya shafe su, da kuma iya fahimtar tasirin sauyin yanayi ga yawan kudan zuma a yau.
Kudan zuma, waɗanda aka adana su daki-daki na musamman, suna ba wa masu bincike fahimtar jinsinsu, nau'insu, har ma da pollen da uwa ta bari. Gabaɗaya, an gano wuraren binciken burbushin halittu huɗu da ke cike da wannan da ba kasafai ake ganowa ba a yankin Odemira na ƙasar Portugal, tare da kowane rukunin yanar gizon yana alfahari da dumbin burbushin kudan zuma. Amma watakila abu mafi ban sha'awa na wannan binciken shine kusancin kudan zuma a cikin lokaci, domin waɗannan kwakwalen sun yi kusan shekaru 3,000.
Kudan zuma da aka yi da su suna cikin nau'in Eucera, ɗaya daga cikin kusan nau'ikan ƙudan zuma 700 waɗanda har yanzu ke zaune a ƙasar Portugal a yau. Kasancewarsu ya haifar da tambaya: menene yanayin muhalli ya haifar da mutuwarsu da kuma kiyaye su daga baya? Duk da yake ba a fayyace ainihin dalilan ba, masu bincike sun yi hasashen cewa raguwar zafin dare ko kuma tsawaita ambaliya a yankin na iya taka rawa.
Don ci gaba da bincika waɗannan samfuran da ba kasafai ba, al'ummar kimiyya sun juya zuwa microcomputed tomography, wata dabarar hoto mai yanke hukunci wacce ke ba da hotuna nau'i uku na ƙudan zuma da aka dasa a zurfafa a cikin kwandon da aka rufe. Wannan fasaha mai ban sha'awa na ba wa masu bincike damar bincika ƙayyadaddun tsarin jikin kwari da kuma samun haske mai mahimmanci a rayuwarsu ta baya.
Ko da yake gano waɗannan ƙudan zuma da aka yi da su ba shakka yana da ban mamaki a cikinsa da kansa, abubuwan da suke iya haifarwa ne ma ya fi jan hankali. Yayin da duniya ke fama da karuwar barazanar da sauyin yanayi ke haifarwa, raguwar masu yin pollin masu mahimmanci kamar ƙudan zuma ya zama batun ƙara damuwa. Ta hanyar fahimtar yadda canje-canjen muhalli suka shafi waɗannan ƙudan zuma a baya, masana kimiyya suna fatan samun haske game da yawan kudan zuma na yanzu da haɓaka dabarun jurewa na gaba.
Naturtejo Geopark, wanda ya ƙunshi yankin Odemira, yana taka muhimmiyar rawa a cikin wannan bincike. A matsayin wani ɓangare na Cibiyar Sadarwar Duniya ta UNESCO, filin geopark ya ƙunshi gundumomi da yawa kuma an sadaukar da shi don adanawa da bincika abubuwan al'ajabi na ƙasa da muhalli na yankin. Gano kudan zuman da aka garkame yana ƙara wani nau'in wadata ga ɗimbin halittu masu ban sha'awa na geopark kuma yana ƙarfafa mahimmancinsa wajen fahimtar sarƙaƙƙiyar sarƙaƙƙiya na duniyarmu ta halitta.
An buga sakamakon binciken a cikin mujallar Takardu a cikin Palaeontology. 27 Yuli 2023.
