Infestation of walleye pollock with the parasitic copepod Haemobaphes diceraus Wilson, 1917 (Copepoda: Pennellidae) in waters of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands

The infestation of walleye pollock with a parasitic copepod Haemobaphes diceraus at the coasts of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands was studied during the spring of 2008. The extensiveness of the infestation in Pacific waters of the northern Kurils was 1.85–1.97%. In the southern Kurils it was from 2.0% (northeast of Iturup Island) to 7.41% (Prostor Bay), in the Tatar Strait it was 1.61%, and off northern Sakhalin Island it was 0.46%.     

Population structure of chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta in the Russian Far East, as revealed by microsatellite markers

Chum salmon populations in the Russian Far East have a complex multi-level genetic structure. A total of 53 samples (2446 fish) were grouped into five major regional clusters: the southern Kurils, eastern Sakhalin, southwestern Sakhalin, the Amur River, and a northern cluster. The northern cluster consists of chum salmon populations from a vast geographical region, including Chukotka, Kamchatka, and the continental coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. However, the degree of its genetic differentiation is low, 1.9%. In contrast, the southern population cluster exhibits much higher variation; for example, differentiation between chum salmon groups within Sakhalin Island reaches 4.6%, and the differentiation between Iturup Island and Sakhalin Island chum salmon is 7.7%. This suggests that southern populations of Asian chum salmon have a more ancient evolutionary history than northern populations. In contrast to the available data, our study indicates a great deviation of southwestern Sakhalin populations from other Sakhalin chum salmon. The Russian Far East chum salmon are genetically diverse and show statistically significant differentiation even within small geographic localities. This can be used to assign samples of unknown origins to definite local populations.     

The Cathaysia Flora and the Mixed Late Permian Cathaysian-Angaran Floras in East Asia

The Cathaysla flora, one of the most prominent floras of the Carboniferous and Permian, was mainly distributed In East Asia and was characterized by numerous endemic elements. China Is one of the most Important localities of the Cathaysla flora and It ;s also the center of origin of this flora. This paper reviews and discusses the characteristics of the Cathaysla flora and the blogeographlcally mixed Permian Cathayslan-Angaran floras of East Asia. In addition, the formative mechanism of the mixed Permian floras Is also discussed.     

Biogeographical Evidences Help Revealing the Origin of Hainan Island

Both the continental or island origin of Hainan, and the Indo-Malaysian or East Asian affinity of its flora, are debatable. In this study, 196 families, 1283 genera and 3894 species of Hainan plants were recognized. Patterns of seed plant distribution were quantified at the generic and the family levels. The floras of Vietnam, and the adjacent Guangxi and Guangdong provinces of mainland China, were compared with Hainan. The results showed that the flora of Hainan Island is dominated by families and genera with tropical distributions. Among its floristic elements, tropical Asian distributions make up 23.85% of the total flora, while East Asian distributions contribute only 3.74%. There are only 7 genera and c. 10% of species endemic to Hainan Island. The Hainan flora has strong similarities to the flora of Vietnam at the family and the generic levels, and also to the flora of Guangxi, but less with the adjacent Guangdong province. The main conclusions are: Hainan’s flora is tropical in nature with a strongly tropical Asian affinity, and it has very low endemism at the generic and species levels, which implies a continental origin. We conjecture that Hainan Island could have been adjacent to northern Vietnam and the Guangxi at least in Eocene. This suggestion is supported by palaeobotanical, palaeomagnetic and volcanism studies.     

皖西大别山北坡苔藓植物区系

该研究于2019-2021年4次对安徽大别山北坡进行苔藓植物野外考察和标本采集,对采集到的1 517份标本鉴定以及文献整理,统计分析该区苔藓植物物种组成、区系地理组成;并与华东、华中、华北等地的苔藓植物区系地理组成进行比较,以明确大别山北坡苔藓植物区系的归属问题。结果表明：(1)安徽大别山北坡共有苔藓植物80科180属482种(包括种以下单位);该次调查增加了12科40属206种,其中安徽省新记录种9个。(2)发现受威胁苔藓植物2种——滇西高领藓(Glyphomitrium minutissimum)属于极危(CR),瘤根真藓(Bryum bornholmense)属于易危(VU)。(3)大别山北坡苔藓植物区系拥有3个世界性单种科,14个世界性单种属,且有34个世界性寡种属(2～6种),该区单种属和寡种属(48属)占该区总属数的26.67%,表明该区苔藓植物起源古老。(4)大别山北坡苔藓植物区系地理成分复杂多样,以北温带成分(26.43%)和东亚成分(24.89%)为主,热带亚洲成分(14.54%)次之。(5)安徽大别山北坡苔藓植物区系与华东(西天目山、清凉峰、阳际峰)区系的关系最为密...     

The Expansion of and Changes to the National Coast Guards in East Asia

Abstract

East Asian countries have vigorously engaged in a buildup of the capabilities of their coast guards. This has been driven in part by the need to protect their maritime jurisdiction in the face of numerous maritime disputes. The coast guards in East Asia serve as the front-line defender of sovereignty and maritime claims.     

Interregional differentiation of chum salmon from Sakhalin and South Kurils inferred from microsatellite markers

Variability at ten microsatellite loci was examined in wild and hatchery populations of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta Walbaum) from the Sakhalin Island and Southern Kuril Islands, Iturup and Kunashir. Substantial genetic differences between Sakhalin and South Kurils chum salmon (the differentiation reached 6.0%) were revealed. Statistically significant differences between chum salmon from Iturup and those from Kunashir were demonstrated, as well as between the chum salmon populations from different rivers within the islands. It was shown that in different types of population comparisons, different marker sets were most informative.     

Oceanic bryophytes in Atlantic oakwoods

Summary

The oceanic bryophyte element of the vegetation of British and Irish Atlantic oakwoods is not only the richest bryophyte flora in Europe, it is also one of the richest bryophyte floras in the world. The oceanic climate and the buffering provided by the tree canopy are critical in maintaining the constant humidity and equable temperatures which provide the basis for this diversity. Though the initial impression of these woodlands is of a homogeneous green carpet over both rocks and trees, most good woodlands will have over 200 different species of moss and liverwort, many of which are very specific as regards micro-habitat. Within the woodlands, a recently glaciated landscape gives much exposed rock of different aspect, texture and chemistry, and also turbulent burns in deep ravines which enhance the humidity. These niches are exploited by different bryophyte communities which may contain a number of species that are very rare in European terms and for which we have a special responsibility. Any management plans for these woodlands should take account of this variety of micro-habitat, and monitoring of the effects on bryophyte populations of any resulting change in the structure of ground vegetation is vital.     

Origin and diversification of African ferns with special emphasis on Polypodiaceae

Although Africa harbors low species diversity compared to the neotropics or South East Asia, the African fern flora is of interest because of its specific composition and geographic location between the neotropics and Asia. We address the question of how the evolution of the African fern flora may have been enriched by repeated input from the neotropics and Asia. For the purpose of this paper we consider ihree major biogeographic regions: the neotropics, Africa and Madagascar, and Asia including Malesia and Australasia. We interpret distribution data for six clades of Polypodiaceae in a molecular phylogenetic framework. We conclude that African fern taxa shared with or closely related to ones in the neotropics or Asia have been brought about by ancient and recent dispersal events with or without subsequent speciation. The African fern flora is interpreted as being composed of endemic, neotropical, and Asian elements and as being situated in a zone of overlap of typical neotropical and Asian fern floras.     

Large-scale phytogeographical patterns in East Asia in relation to latitudinal and climatic gradients

Aim This paper aims at determining how different floristic elements (e.g. cosmopolitan, tropical, and temperate) change with latitude and major climate factors, and how latitude affects the floristic relationships between East Asia and the other parts of the world. Location East Asia from the Arctic to tropical regions, an area crossing over 50° of latitudes and covering the eastern part of China, Korea, Japan and the eastern part of Russia. Methods East Asia is divided into forty‐five geographical regions. Based on the similarity of their world‐wide distributional patterns, a total of 2808 indigenous genera of seed plants found in East Asia were grouped into fourteen geographical elements, belonging to three major categories (cosmopolitan, tropical and temperate). The 50°‐long latitudinal gradient of East Asia was divided into five latitudinal zones, each of c. 10°. Phytogeographical relationships of East Asia to latitude and climatic variables were examined based on the forty‐five regional floras. Results Among all geographical and climatic variables considered, latitude showed the strongest relationship to phytogeographical composition. Tropical genera (with pantropical, amphi‐Pacific tropical, palaeotropical, tropical Asia–tropical Australia, tropical Asia–tropical Africa and tropical Asia geographical elements combined) accounted for c. 80% of the total genera at latitude 20°N and for c. 0% at latitude 55–60°N. In contrast, temperate genera (including holarctic, eastern Asia–North America, temperate Eurasia, temperate Asia, Mediterranean, western Asia to central Asia, central Asia and eastern Asia geographical elements) accounted for 15.5% in the southernmost latitude and for 80% at 55–60°N, from where northward the percentage tended to level off. The proportion of cosmopolitan genera increased gradually with latitude from 5% at the southernmost latitude to 21% at 55–60°N, where it levelled off northward. In general, the genera present in a more northerly flora are a subset of the genera present in a more southerly flora. Main conclusions The large‐scale patterns of phytogeography in East Asia are strongly related to latitude, which covaries with several climatic variables such as temperature. Evolutionary processes such as the adaptation of plants to cold climates and current and past land connections are likely responsible for the observed latitudinal patterns.     

Genetic diversity of Asian chum salmon <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus keta</Emphasis> (Salmonidae,Salmoniformes) and the dynamics of gene pools in Sakhalin populations under artificial reproduction

The estimates of genetic diversity in populations of chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta from different regions of Sakhalin Island, Iturup Island, and the Anadyr’ River were obtained on the basis of analysis of allozyme variability. These estimates together with our published earlier data on chum salmon from the Amur River basin and the rivers of the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk demonstrate pronounced regional genetic differentiation in the Asian part of the fish range. The intraregional level of interpopulation genetic diversity was maximum on Sakhalin Island (G _ST = 6.6%) and was small on Iturup Island (G _ST = 0.9%) and the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk (G _ST = 0.6%). Interpopulation genetic diversity of Sakhalin chum salmon was almost commensurable to the diversity of the whole pool of studied Asian populations (G _ST = 7.6%) and would be presented more completely in baselines assigned for genetic identification of mixed stocks. It was demonstrated that the character and degree of genetic differentiation between populations of chum salmon from the main hatcheries situated in different regions of the Sakhalin oblast and connected to one another by numerous transplantations of fertilized eggs did not change significantly during an approximately 20-year period of our observation, and this fact suggests low efficiency of such transplantations.     

海南铜鼓岭与五指山种子植物属的比较研究

铜鼓岭位于海南省东北部,共有维管植物166科626属984种及变种。五指山位于海南岛中部山区,共有维管植物196科911属2146种及变种。前者共有单型科54科,单种属431属,分别占科和属总数的27.11%,68.74%;后者共有单型科35科,单种属496属,分别占科及属总数17.77%,54.5%。说明五指山物种组成比铜鼓岭的更丰富,但两个区系属内种系分化程度都较弱。区系分析表明:(1)铜鼓岭以泛热带分布占优势,热带亚洲分布次之,分别占该区非世界分布属总数的34.5%和17.8%;五指山以热带亚洲分布占优势,泛热带分布次之,分别占非世界分布属总数的37.5%和24.1%;两个区系热带性质强烈,但前者以泛热带分布为主,后者以热带亚洲成分为主。(2)铜鼓岭共有35种海南特有种,占海南536个海南特有种(变种)的6.53%;五指山共有284个海南特有种,五指山特有种16种,占海南特有种的52.99%,说明其在海南植物区系中比铜鼓岭更重要。     

Geographical,anthropogenic and climatic determinants of bryophyte species composition and richness in the Shengsi archipelago,East China Sea

Introduction. Few attempts have been made to assess the comparative contributions of different environmental factors on species composition (SC) and richness (SR) of bryophytes on continental islands.

Methods. The bryophyte flora and the impact of seven environmental variables (island area, elevation, isolation, human disturbance, rainfall, vegetation cover, and exposed rock area) on 18 continental islands of the Shengsi archipelago in the East China Sea were investigated. Redundancy Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis were used to determine to what extent the environmental variables could explain variation in species richness and species composition on these islands.

Key results & Conclusions. Island elevation, isolation, area and human disturbance intensity all significantly influenced bryophyte SC at island level, accounting for 12.7%, 9.9%, 8.8% and 7.8% of the total SC variation, respectively. Island area was the most important determinant of bryophyte SR (P?=?0.002), accounting for 58.3% of the total variation (9.7% by area per se and 48.6% confounded with other variables); elevation and human disturbance intensity also significantly influenced species richness, accounting for 10.5% and 6.9% of the total SR variation (conditional effects), respectively. Elevation and area had a positive interaction effect on SR while isolation exerted no significant effects (P?>?0.05). The relationships of bryophyte species number (S) with area (A) follow log₁₀ (S)?=?c?+?z?×?log₁₀ (A), with z values from 0.28 to 0.38. The effects of human disturbance on bryophyte SR followed the Gaussian model, supporting the ‘intermediate disturbance hypothesis’ to some extent.     

基于高密度SNP数据的东亚人群遗传结构研究

目的 东亚疆域辽阔,民族众多,有着广泛多样的语言。中国34个省级行政区可划分为7个地理分区,人群主要分属世界七大语系。已有研究主要集中在东亚人群的起源、迁徙、融合等遗传历史。本文基于5 147份世界人群个体的高密度单核苷酸多态性（SNP）数据,从地域及语言两个角度研究东亚人群尤其是中国人群与世界其他人群的遗传关系,研究中国人群的遗传关系和遗传结构。方法 收集了5 147份世界人群个体的高密度SNP数据,并对其进行质控、合并。通过频率差异分析方法对最终获得的32 789个SNP进行统计学检验,并进一步使用主成分分析、系统发育树、祖先成分分析和D检验统计等方法,对东亚人群与世界其他人群的遗传关系,以及中国人群的遗传关系和遗传结构进行研究。结果 研究发现东亚人群与非洲、美洲和欧洲人群存在显著差异。中国人群可分为7个亚群,不同人群间的遗传聚类与其地理分布、语系语族和族源历史有很强的相关性。结论 本文研究了中国人群与世界人群的遗传关系和差异,并系统研究了中国人群的遗传亚结构。这将丰富东亚人群的群体遗传学、法医遗传学等研究基础,为个体化医疗等工作提供数据支撑。     

Phytogeography of the bryophyte floras of oak forests and páramo of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica

Aim Central America is a biogeographically interesting area because of its location between the rich and very different biota of North and South America. We aim to assess phytogeographical patterns in the bryophyte floras of oak forests and páramo of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Location Tropical America, in particular the montane area of Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Methods The analysis is based on a new critical inventory of the montane bryophyte flora of Cordillera de Talamanca. All species were assigned to phytogeographical elements on the basis of their currently known distribution. Absolute and percentage similarities were employed to evaluate floristic affinities. Results A total of 401 species [191 hepatics (liverworts), one hornwort, 209 mosses] are recorded; of these, 251 species (128 hepatics, one hornwort, 122 mosses) occur in oak forests. Ninety‐three per cent of all oak forest species are tropical in distribution, the remaining 7% are temperate (4%) and cosmopolitan (3%) species. The neotropical element includes almost 74% of the species, the wide tropical element (pantropical, amphi‐atlantic, amphi‐pacific) only 19%. A significant part of the neotropical species from oak forests are species with tropical Andean‐centred ranges (27%). As compared with bryophyte species, vascular plant genera in the study region are represented by fewer neotropical, more temperate and more amphi‐pacific taxa. Bryophyte floras of different microhabitats within the oak forest and epiphytic bryophyte floras on Quercus copeyensis in primary, early secondary and late secondary oak forest show a similar phytogeographical make‐up to the total oak forest bryophyte flora. Comparison of oak forest and páramo reveals a greater affinity of the páramo bryophyte flora to temperate regions and the great importance of the páramo element in páramo. Surprisingly, oak forests have more Central American endemics than páramo. Main conclusions (1) Providing first insights into the phytogeographical patterns of the bryophyte flora of oak forests and páramo, we are able to confirm general phytogeographical trends recorded from vascular plant genera of the study area although the latter were more rich in temperate taxa. (2) Andean‐centred species are a conspicuous element in the bryophyte flora of Cordillera de Talamanca, reflecting the close historical connection between the montane bryophyte floras of Costa Rica and South America. (3) High percentages of Central American endemics in the bryophyte flora of the oak forests suggest the importance of climatic changes associated with Pleistocene glaciations for allopatric speciation.     

Of Asian forests and European fields: Eastern U.S. plant invasions in a global floristic context

Background

Biogeographic patterns of species invasions hold important clues to solving the recalcitrant ‘who’, ‘where’, and ‘why’ questions of invasion biology, but the few existing studies make no attempt to distinguish alien floras (all non-native occurrences) from invasive floras (rapidly spreading species of significant management concern), nor have invasion biologists asked whether particular habitats are consistently invaded by species from particular regions.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Here I describe the native floristic provenances of the 2629 alien plant taxa of the Eastern Deciduous Forest of the Eastern U.S. (EUS), and contrast these to the subset of 449 taxa that EUS management agencies have labeled ‘invasive’. Although EUS alien plants come from all global floristic regions, nearly half (45%) have native ranges that include central and northern Europe or the Mediterranean (39%). In contrast, EUS invasive species are most likely to come from East Asia (29%), a pattern that is magnified when the invasive pool is restricted to species that are native to a single floristic region (25% from East Asia, compared to only 11% from northern/central Europe and 2% from the Mediterranean). Moreover, East Asian invaders are mostly woody (56%, compared to just 23% of the total alien flora) and are significantly more likely to invade intact forests and riparian areas than European species, which dominate managed or disturbed ecosystems.

Conclusions/Significance

These patterns suggest that the often-invoked ‘imperialist dogma’ view of global invasions equating invasion events with the spread of European colonialism is at best a restricted framework for invasion in disturbed ecosystems. This view must be superseded by a biogeographic invasion theory that is explicitly habitat-specific and can explain why particular world biotas tend to dominate particular environments.     

Functional diversity and composition of bryophyte water-related traits in Azorean native vegetation

Background: Functional trait-based approaches link species diversity patterns to ecosystem functioning. In the context of global change, understanding these links is vital for developing holistic biodiversity management strategies. Bryophytes, important ecosystem components owing to their biogeochemical functions, have not been the focus of many functional studies.

Aims: This is the first assessment of bryophyte functional diversity in the Azores archipelago, aiming to uncover multivariate trait richness and composition patterns along the elevational gradient on Terceira Island.

Methods: Based on five water acquisition and retention traits of leafy liverworts and mosses, we calculated functional diversity metrics within and among six bryophyte communities sampled along a 1021-m elevational transect.

Results: Trait composition differed significantly between coastal and mountain communities. Mosses presented inrolled leaves and ornamented leaf cells at low elevation but not at high elevation. These patterns were associated with an uphill shift from drier and warmer conditions to a moister and cooler environment.

Conclusions: Future climatic changes might affect bryophyte functional diversity patterns in Terceira Island, particularly for mosses. These results can be directly compared with those obtained for other archipelagos where the same protocol has been applied, allowing a joint assessment of insular vegetation functional diversity patterns.     

The collision of the Indian plate with Asia: molecular evidence for its impact on the phylogeny of freshwater crabs (Brachyura: Potamidae)

Aim We used molecular data to answer the following questions: (1) Is morphology‐based (and to some extent, geography‐based) classification of the freshwater crab family Potamidae congruent with a molecular phylogeny? (2) What historical biogeographical event could have shaped this phylogeny? Location Material from the entire geographical range of the family Potamidae was analysed, including specimens from East Asia (China, Taiwan, the Ryukyus), Southeast Asia, South Asia (northern India, the Middle East and Near East), North Africa, and southern Europe. Methods Mitochondrial DNA sequences encoding 503 base pairs (excluding the variable regions) of the large subunit rRNA (16S rRNA) gene were obtained from 72 species belonging to 49 potamid genera, representing 51% of all known genera in this species‐rich family. Sequences were compared by means of phylogenetic analyses (minimum evolution, Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony) and Bayesian relaxed molecular clock estimates. Results The family Potamidae was found to be monophyletic with two major lineages, and there was support for the recognition of two mostly allopatric subfamilies, Potaminae and Potamiscinae. This is largely consistent with the current classification proposed. The ‘Potamiscinae’ clade comprised three subclades: (1) a well‐supported ‘eastern Asia’ subclade that included species from the eastern part of the range (China, Taiwan, the Ryukyus, the Philippines, Indochina, Malay Peninsula, northern India and Myanmar/Burma); (2) a weakly supported ‘Sunda Shelf islands’ subclade that included species from the larger Southeast Asian islands on the Sunda Shelf (Borneo, Sumatra and Java); and (3) a ‘Socotra’ subclade that comprised only Socotrapotamon from Socotra Island, off the north‐east coast of Africa. Main conclusions The discrete distribution of the two subfamilies in Europe/Asia is hypothesized to be the result of vicariance due to the collision of the Indian tectonic plate with the Asian continent, and the orogeny that caused the separation of the two freshwater crab lineages around 22.8 Ma. Within the Potamiscinae, the ‘Sunda Shelf islands’ subclade separated from other potamiscines around 21.1 Ma; and the endemic fauna of the East Asian islands (Taiwan, the Ryukyus and mainland Japan) was isolated from the Asian continent c. 8.4 Ma, following the opening of the Okinawa Trough. The ‘Socotra’ subclade diverged from the ‘eastern Asia’ subclade at 19.1 Ma during the Miocene. Its taxonomic position, however, remains unclear as the members of this clade possess the key potamine character of a transverse ridge on thoracic sternite 8, suggesting that this may in fact be a relict potamid group.