微生物性状揭示物种分布格局、群落构建机制和生态系统功能

微生物性状是指与其存活、生长和繁殖紧密相关的一系列核心属性,这些属性能够反映微生物对环境变化的响应,进而影响微生物的物种分布格局、群落构建机制以及相应的生态系统功能。越来越多的研究表明,相比于微生物分类学信息,微生物性状可以在种群、群落和生态系统尺度等视角扩展我们对微生物生态过程的理解,并提供生态模式的机理性解释。本文回顾微生物性状研究的发展历程,总结近年来基于微生物性状研究的前沿科学问题,比如微生物性状的分类和测定方法、基于性状的功能多样性定义及应用、性状与物种分布格局和群落构建机制的关系、性状对生物多样性和生态系统功能的影响以及对环境变化的响应等。尽管微生物性状研究已经延伸到生态学领域的各个方面,有力推动着各个前沿科学问题的研究发展,但是仍然面临很多机遇与挑战。因此,本文也从研究方法和研究方向等方面对未来基于微生物性状的研究提出了展望。     

植物功能性状研究进展

植物功能性状是指植物体具有的与其定植、存活、生长和死亡紧密相关的一系列核心植物属性,且这些属性能够显著影响生态系统功能,并能够反映植被对环境变化的响应.越来越多的研究表明,相比大多数基于植物分类和数量的研究,植物功能性状在种群、群落和生态系统尺度上,都已成为解决重要生态学问题的可靠途径.本文回顾了植物功能性状研究的发展历程,总结了近10年来基于植物功能性状研究的前沿科学问题,包括功能性状的全球分布格局和内在关联,沿环境梯度的变化规律,功能多样性的定义及应用,与群落物种共存机制和群落动态变化的关系,与系统发育的关系,对生态系统功能的影响以及对各类干扰的影响和响应.尽管功能性状研究已经延伸到生态学领域的各个方面,有力推动了各个前沿科学问题的研究发展,仍然有很多值得关注和着重研究的方向.本文也对未来基于植物功能性状的研究,从性状测量和选取、研究方法以及研究方向上提出了展望,并指出,在当前全球气候变化背景下,功能性状也可应用于指导生物多样性保护和生态系统管理政策的制定.     

中国稻田昆虫群落多样性及生态调控功能研究进展

稻田昆虫群落是农业昆虫群落总体的重要组成部分,也是稻田生态系统的重要结构。本文综述了我国稻田昆虫群落多样性及生态调控功能研究进展。显示,我国的稻田昆虫群落研究,主要围绕天敌资源利用与水稻害虫防治两个方面,且基于水稻害虫防治中心目标开展。而且,稻田昆虫群落常被分为捕食性昆虫、寄生性昆虫、中性昆虫、水稻害虫等亚群落或功能团被研究,且昆虫群落中重要天敌昆虫种群与重要水稻害虫种群密切联系。为此,本文主要就我国稻田昆虫群落与组成、稻田昆虫多样性与资源、水稻害虫发生动态、防治方法策略与害虫生态调控、食物网营养关系与能流、采样技术方法、稻田生态安全性评价指示生物等进展进行了介绍,并指出了未来发展的方向。     

被子植物性系统及其可塑性

繁殖是生物适合度的最终表现,有性繁殖相关性状的多态性极大地促进了物种分化和生物多样性的维持,并影响着植物对环境变化的响应。在种群水平上,被子植物的花有雌花、雄花和两性花三种性表型,三种性表型在种群中的分布和频率即定义了种群的性系统。被子植物的性系统包含植物影响性分配和交配的相关特性,决定着雌配子、雄配子在种群中的频率、交配机会及交配方式,是有性繁殖的关键性状,在被子植物中表现出丰富的多态性,在种群水平上分为性单态和性多态两大类。性单态为被子植物的古老性状,而性多态在100多个被子植物科中独立进化产生。被子植物性系统多态性及其变化机理一直是进化生物学与生态学的热点问题之一。该文以种群水平的性多态为对象,总结了被子植物性系统的类型、表达的遗传基础、分布频率,以及遗传因子、非生物环境和交配环境对性系统表达和性分配的影响。     

荒漠植物性状权衡策略及功能多样性研究进展

荒漠植物是干旱区具有独特功能性状与资源权衡表征的地带性植物。植物功能性状及其多样性格局与资源权衡策略对群落结构优化和生态系统功能改善起着关键作用。该综述主要从荒漠植物组织、器官功能性状特征、功能性状权衡策略、功能多样性组分及测度3个方面梳理了荒漠植物性状权衡策略与功能多样性研究的进展脉络：1）荒漠植物独特的根、茎、叶功能性状特征揭露了植被对环境变化的响应以及对生态系统功能的影响，基于植物功能性状的研究有助于解决许多生态学的关键性问题；2）作为植物功能性状之间存在的最普遍的联系，权衡策略是经过自然筛选后形成的性状组合，关键性状已经被发掘并创造性的提出了"经济谱"概念。荒漠植物研究过程中，应分析其根、茎、叶的特征属性筛选关键性状，着眼于关键性状间及整株植物性状间的权衡策略；3）功能多样性是影响生态系统运行和发挥作用的生物多样性的重要组成部分，荒漠植物功能多样性能预测和指示群落中物种对于荒漠生态系统功能发挥和过程变化的影响。功能多样性的组分可以从不同角度反映群落的生态位占据状况和资源利用程度，指数的选择要体现在群落内部物种的功能特征之间的差异程度，同时要考虑这些物种自身在群落内的优势程度。本研究为未来荒漠植物功能性状及多样性研究梳理了一些新的研究方向和内容，期望为荒漠植物生理生态学研究的选题和发展提供一些新的思路。     

遗传多样性在啮齿动物研究中的应用

遗传多样性是物种多样性和生态系统多样性的基础,也是生命进化和物种分化的前提,更是评价自然生物资源的重要依据.遗传多样性在种类繁多的啮齿动物研究中得到广泛应用,本文综述了啮齿动物遗传多样性在鼠害防控、啮齿动物起源和分化及进化历史、啮齿动物的适应潜力、种群数量动态和调节机制、保护生物学方面研究中的应用,提出今后应系统论证种群数量动态与遗传多样性之间的关系,并对啮齿动物遗传多样性进行长期监控.
     

植物群落构件的协同性研究进展

被子植物的营养构件如根、茎、叶以及繁殖构件如花、果实和种子等的结构及功能性状反映了物种对其生长环境的长期适应和响应。在植物种对环境的适应演化过程中,植物各构件在结构和功能上的变化不是孤立的、互不联系的,而是都具有内在的协调性、一致性,是协同进化的,各构件之间的关系决定了植物的生活史对策,进而影响群落(或生态系统)多物种的共存和生物多样性的维持。本文综述了群落水平上植物物种之间的各营养器官、各繁殖器官及二者之间结构性状及功能性状对环境适应协调性的生态学研究进展,不仅探究了植物构件间宏观性状的相关性,而且还涉及微观领域的研究成果及其相关机理,所涵盖的对象尺度有所扩大,是跨物种、跨群落或生态系统、甚至跨区域的。在形态学性状基础上,增加并拓展了其他学科的研究性状,例如解剖学性状、生理学性状、细胞学性状、遗传性状等。另外,也分析了相关研究存在的欠缺之处,并对今后的研究方向做出了展望。     

新薛河典型生境底栖动物功能性状及其多样性

功能性状对环境变化敏感,在生物多样性与生态系统功能关系的研究中扮演关键角色;基于生物性状的功能多样性与生态系统过程密切相关,是了解生态系统和群落功能的关键所在。基于新薛河底栖动物3个季度的调查数据,对功能性状和功能多样性时空动态及其对环境梯度的响应进行了研究。研究结果表明10个功能性状的等级性状间均存在显著差异。空间格局上,33个等级性状中有21个在河段间差异显著,涉及10个功能性状中的9个;而在时间序列上,仅有12个等级性状于各季节间差异显著,涉及10个功能性状中的6个。功能多样性于各河段间差异显著,表现为D≥E、A≥CB;而于各季节间整体表现为差异不显著;底栖动物各功能性状之间存在一定的权衡关系;水文条件是影响研究区域底栖动物功能多样性的主要因素;功能性状及功能多样性对河流生境质量具有较好的响应性。     

植物化感作用与生物多样性

本文简要地阐释了化感作用的含义、基本特征以及作用机制,并结合生物多样性理论,综述了化感作用研究中化感物种的多样性、化感物质的多样性及其释放途径的多样性,具体讨论了化感作用对物种多样性、遗传多样性及生态系统多样性中的种群生态、协同进化、土壤生境、生态系统功能和生物入侵等方面的可能影响。文中提出了化感作用的利用、管理应与生物多样性保护相统一的看法,并指出对化感作用与生物多样性的关系以及相互影响机制进行本质的探索,特别是对植物化感作用的生态服务功能与价值评估与探讨,可为保护生物学和系统生态学提供理论基础,这也是今后工作开展的一个重要方向。     

我国鸟类生态学的回顾与展望

鸟类生态学是一门蓬勃发展着的学科,它所研究的成果,对于进一步揭示物种的特性与进化、种群的数量动态及其与环境的相互关系,鸟类群落在生态系统中的功能作用以及益鸟的保护利用和鸟害的防除方面,都具有重要意义。     

植物功能性状、功能多样性与生态系统功能: 进展与展望

植物功能性状与生态系统功能是生态学研究的一个重要领域和热点问题。开展植物功能性状与生态系统功能的研究不仅有助于人类更好地应对全球变化情景下生物多样性丧失的生态学后果,而且能为生态恢复实践提供理论基础。近二十年来,该领域的研究迅速发展,并取得了一系列的重要研究成果,增强了人们对植物功能性状-生态系统功能关系的认识和理解。本文首先明确了植物功能性状的概念, 评述了近年来植物功能性状-生态系统功能关系领域的重要研究结果, 尤其是植物功能性状多样性-生态系统功能关系研究现状; 提出了未来植物功能性状与生态系统功能关系研究中应加强植物地上和地下性状之间关系及其与生态系统功能、植物功能性状与生态系统多功能性、不同时空尺度上植物功能性状与生态系统功能, 以及全球变化和消费者的影响等方面。     

A general multi-trait-based framework for studying the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning

Environmental change is as multifaceted as are the species and communities that respond to these changes. Current theoretical approaches to modeling ecosystem response to environmental change often deal only with single environmental drivers or single species traits, simple ecological interactions, and/or steady states, leading to concern about how accurately these approaches will capture future responses to environmental change in real biological systems. To begin addressing this issue, we generalize a previous trait-based framework to incorporate aspects of frequency dependence, functional complementarity, and the dynamics of systems composed of species that are defined by multiple traits that are tied to multiple environmental drivers. The framework is particularly well suited for analyzing the role of temporal environmental fluctuations in maintaining trait variability and the resultant effects on community response to environmental change. Using this framework, we construct simple models to investigate two ecological problems. First, we show how complementary resource use can significantly enhance the nutrient uptake of plant communities through two different mechanisms related to increased productivity (over-yielding) and larger trait variability. Over-yielding is a hallmark of complementarity and increases the total biomass of the community and, thus, the total rate at which nutrients are consumed. Trait variability also increases due to the lower levels of competition associated with complementarity, thus speeding up the rate at which more efficient species emerge as conditions change. Second, we study systems in which multiple environmental drivers act on species defined by multiple, correlated traits. We show that correlations in these systems can increase trait variability within the community and again lead to faster responses to environmental change. The methodological advances provided here will apply to almost any function that relates species traits and environmental drivers to growth, and should prove useful for studying the effects of climate change on the dynamics of biota.     

Effect of cold and menthol on membrane potential in plants

'The Holy Grail' of plant ecology is to uncover rules that associate species and traits with environmental constraints, community composition and subsequent ecosystem functioning. These aims have been crystallized in recent years within the context of global climate change and environmental pollution, increasing the urgency of the need to predict how vegetation will respond across spatial scales. We investigated whether genetic diversity is associated with the way in which phenotypic plasticity within plant populations is realized and whether this is related to genotype abundance. We used environmental metabolomics to demonstrate biochemical variation between co-occurring genotypes of Carex caryophyllea L. A novel combined metabolomic/functional trait analysis was used to test the functionality of this variation in governing plasticity to variation in edaphic conditions, with particular reference to metabolic pathways that play important roles in growth-related traits. We show that genetic diversity within a wild C. caryophyllea population relates to differences in metabolic composition and functional traits in response to soil nutrient variation, influencing genotype abundance within a community. Our findings highlight the vital role genetic diversity plays within a population in facilitating plant phenotypic plasticity and the potential usefulness of environmental metabolomics to future ecological studies.     

Hierarchical effects of environmental filters on the functional structure of plant communities: a case study in the French Alps

Understanding the influence of the environment on the functional structure of ecological communities is essential to predict the response of biodiversity to global change drivers. Ecological theory suggests that multiple environmental factors shape local species assemblages by progressively filtering species from the regional species pool to local communities. These successive filters should influence the various components of community functional structure in different ways. In this paper, we tested the relative influence of multiple environmental filters on various metrics of plant functional trait structure (i.e. ‘community weighted mean trait’ and components of functional trait diversity, i.e. functional richness, evenness and divergence) in 82 vegetation plots in the Guisane Valley, French Alps. For the 211 sampled species we measured traits known to capture key aspects of ecological strategies amongst vascular plant species, i.e. leaf traits, plant height and seed mass (LHS). A comprehensive information theory framework, together with null model based resampling techniques, was used to test the various environmental effects. Particular community components of functional structure responded differently to various environmental gradients, especially concerning the spatial scale at which the environmental factors seem to operate. Environmental factors acting at a large spatial scale (e.g. temperature) were found to predominantly shape community weighted mean trait values, while fine‐scale factors (topography and soil characteristics) mostly influenced functional diversity and the distribution of trait values among the dominant species. Our results emphasize the hierarchical nature of ecological forces shaping local species assemblage: large‐scale environmental filters having a primary effect, i.e. selecting the pool of species adapted to a site, and then filters at finer scales determining species abundances and local species coexistence. This suggests that different components of functional community structure will respond differently to environmental change, so that predicting plant community responses will require a hierarchical multi‐facet approach.     

Climate and small scale factors determine functional diversity shifts of biological soil crusts in Iberian drylands

Understanding functional diversity is critical to manage and preserve biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the face of global change. However, the efforts to characterize this functional component have been mostly directed to vascular vegetation. We sampled lichen-dominated biological soil crusts (BSCs) in semiarid grasslands along an environmental gradient in the Iberian Peninsula. We characterized five effect functional traits for 31 lichens species, and evaluated the influence of large scale (i.e. precipitation) and small scale factors (i.e. substrate type, shrub presence, Stipa tenacissima presence) on dominant trait values; i.e. community weighted means, and functional divergence; i.e. Rao quadratic entropy in 580 sampling quadrats. Across the gradient, we found multiple trait shifts and a general increase of functional divergence with increasing precipitation. We also observed that substrate type and small scale biotic factors determined shifts in all traits studied, while these factors affected less to functional divergence. Comparing functional diversity with taxonomic diversity, we found contrasting responses to both large and small scale factors. These findings suggest that BSC community trait composition is influenced by multi-scale abiotic and biotic factors with environmental filtering dominating at large spatial scales and limiting similarity at specific small scales. Also, our results emphasize the potential differences between taxonomic and functional diversity in response to environmental factors. We concluded that functional diversity of BSCs not only provides novel and critical knowledge of BSC community structure, but also it should be considered as a critical tool in biodiversity conservation strategies, ecosystem services assessment and ecological modelling.     

Stress from cold and drought as drivers of functional trait spectra in North American angiosperm tree assemblages

Understanding how environmental change alters the composition of plant assemblages, and how this in turn affects ecosystem functioning is a major challenge in the face of global climate change. Assuming that values of plant traits express species adaptations to the environment, the trait‐based approach is a promising way to achieve this goal. Nevertheless, how functional traits are related to species’ environmental tolerances and how trait spectra respond to broad‐scale environmental gradients remains largely unexplored. Here, we identify the main trait spectra for US angiosperm trees by testing hypotheses for the relationships between functional traits and species’ environmental tolerances to environmental stresses, as well as quantifying the environmental drivers of assemblage means and variances of these traits. We analyzed >74,000 community assemblages from the US Forest Inventory and Analysis using 12 functional traits, five traits expressing species’ environmental tolerances and 10 environmental variables. Results indicated that leaf traits, dispersal traits, and traits related to stem hydraulics were related to cold or drought tolerance, and their assemblage means were best explained by minimum temperatures. Assemblage means of traits related to shade tolerance (tree growth rate, leaf phosphorus content, and bark thickness) were best explained by aridity index. Surprisingly, aridity index, rather than minimum temperature, was the best predictors of assemblage variances of most traits, although these relationships were variable and weak overall. We conclude that temperature is likely to be the most important driver of functional community structure of North American angiosperm trees by selecting for optimum strategies along the cold and drought stress trade‐off. In turn, water availability primarily affects traits related to shade tolerance through its effect on forest canopy structure and vegetation openness.     

植物性状研究的机遇与挑战:从器官到群落

植物性状(Plant trait)或植物功能性状(Plant functional trait)通常是指植物对外界环境长期适应与进化后所表现出的可量度、且与生产力优化或环境适应等密切相关的属性。近几十年来,植物性状研究在性状-生产力、性状-养分、性状间相互关系、性状-群落结构维持等方面取得了卓越成就。然而,由于大多数性状调查都是以植物群落内优势种或亚优势种为对象,使其在探讨群落尺度的性状-功能关系、性状数据如何用于改进或优化模型、性状数据如何与遥感连接等问题时,存在空间尺度和量纲不匹配的极大挑战。为了破解上述难题,亟需发展新的、基于单位土地面积的群落性状(Community trait)概念体系、数据源和计算方法等,推动植物性状数据与快速发展的宏观生态学新技术(遥感、模型和通量观测等)相结合,既拓展了植物性状研究范畴,又可推动其更好地服务于区域生态环境问题的解决。所定义的群落性状(如叶片氮含量、磷含量、比叶面积、气孔密度、叶绿素含量等),是在充分考虑群落内所有物种的性状实测数据,再结合比叶面积、生物量异速生长方程和群落结构数据等,推导而成的基于单位土地面积的群落性状。受测试方法的影响,传统的直接算术平均法或相对生物量加权平均法所获得的群落水平的植物性状(如叶片氮含量g/kg或%),虽然可以有效地探讨群落结构维持机制,由于无法实现对群落性状在量纲上向单位土地面积转换,使它很难与模型和遥感数据相匹配。基于单位土地面积的群落性状,可在空间尺度匹配(或量纲匹配)的前提下实现个体水平测定的植物性状数据与生态模型和遥感观测相联系,更好地探讨区域尺度下自然生态系统结构和功能的关系及其对全球变化的响应与适应。同时,它也可更好地建立群落水平的性状-功能的定量关系(非物种水平),为更好地探讨自然群落结构维持机制和生产力优化机制提供了新思路。