Post‐glacial history and introgression in Abies (Pinaceae) species of the Russian Far East inferred from both nuclear and cytoplasmic markers

Aim The main aim of the present study is to infer the post‐glacial history of Abies species from north‐east Asia and to test the hypotheses that coastal Abies populations suffered less from climatic fluctuations during Pleistocene glacial periods than their more continental counterparts, and that Sakhalin was a major area of introgression. Location Natural ranges of the fir species Abies nephrolepis, Abies sachalinensis and Abies holophylla in the Russian Far East, and of Abies gracilis, which is endemic to the Kamchatka Peninsula. Methods Nineteen populations were sampled for allozyme analysis. Seventeen of these populations were also screened for variation at two paternally inherited chloroplast DNA microsatellite loci (cpSSR) and variation at one maternally inherited mitochondrial marker (nad4‐3/4). Finally a subset of 11 populations was analysed with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Comparisons were made with already available Abies sibirica data. For all sets of markers, we estimated genetic diversity and differentiation using an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Population clustering was assessed with a Bayesian approach implemented in structure v.2.3. Results Among the three major species, A. sibirica, A. nephrolepis and A. sachalinensis, A. sachalinensis demonstrated the highest cytoplasmic and nuclear diversity and the most continental species, A. sibirica, the lowest. Both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers revealed the presence of a transitional zone on Sakhalin Island between A. nephrolepis and A. sachalinensis of south Sakhalin. The structure analysis delivered very clear results confirming the admixed origin of A. sachalinensis, with a genetic contribution from A. nephrolepis. No variation in cytoplasmic markers was found in A. gracilis, suggesting the occurrence of a recent bottleneck. Main conclusions There is a clear reduction of genetic diversity in Abies species from the Pacific coast into the continent. The higher diversity in A. sachalinensis could have two causes: a larger effective population size in the islands due to relatively stable climatic conditions and consequently less pronounced demographic fluctuations in population size and/or hybridization with continental and Japanese populations. Sakhalin Island is a major transitional zone for conifer species. Finally, the fir from Kamchatka, A. gracilis, should be regarded as a separate species closely related to the A. nephrolepis–A. sachalinensis complex.     

Vegetation and environment changes inferred from pollen records since 3000 cal. yr BP in Kanas wetland,Xinjiang

Aims Climate change can significantly affect the vegetation worldwide. Thus, paleovegetation and paleoclimate reconstruction should consider the quantitative relationship between modern vegetation and climate. The specific objectives of this study were (i) to assess the influence of environmental variables on pollen assemblages in the Kanas region, (ii) to reconstruct the evolution of vegetation over the past 3000 years using pollen records and (iii) to quantify historical climate change (including mean annual temperature and total annual precipitation) using a weighted averaging partial least squares regression method (WAPLS) applied to fossil pollen data from the Kanas wetland in Xinjiang, China.     

神农架常绿落叶阔叶混交林凋落物养分特征

凋落物是联结陆地生态系统植物与土壤养分的重要媒介,了解凋落物养分特征有助于理解陆地生态系统物质循环的机理。该研究于2015年收集了神农架地区常绿落叶阔叶混交林的新鲜凋落物及现存凋落物,测定其不同器官中大量元素(C、N、P、K、Ca、Mg)的含量,据此分析其养分含量、养分归还量、养分储量及化学计量比的特征。结果发现:该常绿落叶阔叶混交林新鲜凋落物的C、K养分含量显著高于现存凋落物,N、P、Ca、Mg养分含量显著低于现存凋落物;其凋落物大量元素的养分归还量及养分储量大小顺序均为C Ca N Mg K P,分别为1569.84、52.44、34.82、6.24、5.24、1.30 kg hm~(-2) a~(-1)及1835.29、87.87、51.17、12.12、3.90、1.95 kg hm~(-2) a~(-1);其新鲜凋落物及现存凋落物的C∶N∶P分别为1307.33∶27.73∶1及976.48∶26.77∶1,新鲜凋落物的C∶N、C∶P显著高于现存凋落物,N∶P无显著区别。研究表明,新鲜凋落物与现存凋落物养分含量之间的差异与不同元素在分解过程中的可淋溶性及生物固持等因素有关。该地区常绿落叶阔叶混交林凋落物养分归还量及养分储量相对于亚热带阔叶林平均水平较低;且显著低于喀斯特地区同类型森林,主要与其凋落物产量、降水量及植被类型有关。该森林生态系统新鲜凋落叶与中国及全球范围内阔叶树种凋落叶相比C∶N较低,C∶P、N∶P较高,这可能是由于该地区N沉降及P限制现象较为严重所致。     

北祁连山东段早石炭世棘鱼类、辐鳍鱼类和软骨鱼类--北祁连山东段石炭纪鱼类序列研究之一

对甘肃靖远一带和内蒙古自治区黑山地区早石炭世前黑山组、臭牛沟组和靖远组中三亚纲鱼类微体化石进行了形态学和古组织学研究。这些化石涉及 7个目或亚目 ,含 4属 4种 ,其中有 2新种。文中记述的属均为全球广布的属。建立了 3个早石炭世鱼类组合 ,这是我国早石炭世第一个鱼类组合序列。辐鳍鱼类和软骨鱼类中 2个目的化石均为我国早石炭世鱼类的首次记录     

Leaf domatia and foliar mite abundance in broadleaf deciduous forest of north Asia

Plant morphology may be shaped, in part, by the third trophic level. Leaf domatia, minute enclosures usually in vein axils on the leaf underside, may provide the basis for protective mutualism between plants and mites. Domatia are particularly frequent among species of trees, shrubs, and vines in the temperate broadleaf deciduous forests in north Asia where they may be important in determining the distribution and abundance of mites in the forest canopy. In lowland and montane broadleaf deciduous forests at Kwangn;akung and Chumbongsan in Korea, we found that approximately half of all woody species in all forest strata, including many dominant trees, have leaf domatia. Pooling across 24 plant species at the two sites, mites occupied a mode of 60% (range 20-100%) of domatia and used them for shelter, egg-laying, and development. On average, 70% of all active mites and 85% of mite eggs on leaves were found in domatia; over three-quarters of these were potentially beneficial to their hosts. Further, mite abundance and reproduction (expressed as the proportion of mites at the egg stage) were significantly greater on leaves of species with domatia than those without domatia in both forests. Effects of domatia on mite abundance were significant only for predaceous and fungivorous mite taxa; herbivore numbers did not differ significantly between leaves of species with and without domatia. Comparable patterns in broadleaf deciduous forest in North America and other biogeographic regions suggest that the effect of leaf domatia on foliar mite abundance is general. These results are consistent with several predictions of mutualism between plants and mites, and indicate that protective mutualisms may be frequent in the temperate zone.     

Palaeoctopus pelagicus from the Turonian of Mexico reinterpreted as a coelacanth (Sarcopterygian) gular plate

Abstract: The supposed vestige of a cephalopod gladius from Turonian platy limestones at Vallecillo, north‐east Mexico, named Palaeoctopus pelagicus by Fuchs et al. in 2008, is reinterpreted and shown to be a gular plate of a coelacanth fish, possibly of the genus Megacoelacanthus. In addition to the gular plate, two extrascapulars and fin rays of all fins are preserved on one slab and its counterpart. This is the first record of a coelacanth from these lower Turonian strata at Vallecillo, which are rich in fish.     

天山北麓典型水库细菌多样性分析

为了探讨天山北麓中段水库细菌的多样性及其功能,选取蘑菇湖水库（MGW）、奎屯/车排子水库（KCW）、安集海水库（AJW）和八一水库（BYW）为典型水库进行宏基因组学分析。多点采集水库水样,收集水样中的微生物,CTAB法提取总DNA,用细菌16S rDNA通用引物扩增V3-V4区,扩增产物进行高通量测序,使用BLAST、USEARCH、QIIME等软件和在线工具分析水库细菌的多样性,使用PICRUSt软件和KEGG数据库预测细菌功能基因组成。结果表明,水库细菌分属18个门、38个纲和181个属,其中AJW的操作分类单元（Operational taxonomic units,OTUs）数量和多样性指数较高。4个水库菌群组成有一定的共性,在门分类阶元上优势菌为变形菌门（Proteobacteria）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）;在纲分类阶元上优势菌为黄杆菌纲（Flavobacteriia）;在属分类阶元上优势菌为黄杆菌属（Flavobacterium）。然而各水库菌群组成也存在较大差异,在变形菌门中,γ-变形菌纲（Gammaproteobacteria）的相对丰度在MGW和BYW较高,α-变形菌纲（Alphaproteobacterial）和β-变形菌纲（Betaproteobacteria）分别于AJW和KCW具有较高丰度;芽孢杆菌纲（Bacilli）在AJW和MGW具有较高丰度;相对丰度较高的菌属还包括AJW的动性杆菌属（Planomicrobium）、KCW的马赛菌属（Massilia）、MGW的不动杆菌属（Acinetobacter）和动性杆菌属以及BYW的假单胞菌属（Pseudomonas）和嗜冷杆菌属（Psychrobacter）;另外,AJW特有多种丰度较高的菌纲和菌属,其中微小杆菌属（Exiguobacterium）和CL500-29_marine_group均有利于水质和菌群多样性的维持。PICRUSt功能预测分析表明,4个水库菌群的多种代谢以及遗传信息处理、信号传递和细胞生长相关功能基因丰度较高,并含有环境异生物降解代谢相关基因,其中苯甲酸、氨基苯甲酸酯、氯烷烃和氯烯烃以及萘降解相关基因的相对丰度较高。以上结果提示,天山北麓中段不同水库菌群组成存在差异,其与水源、周边环境和人类活动等因素相关。水库菌群含有芳香族和有机氯等化合物降解相关基因,其可在污染物的降解和生物修复中发挥作用。     

皖南、赣北早特马道克期Staurograptus的再研究

对皖南和赣北早奥陶世早特马道克期的Staurograptus重新研究表明,该属具有原始枝末端正分推迟、分支级数缩减和笔石枝密度降低的演化趋势,而代表不同演化阶段的三个种类,即Staurograptus dichotomus Emmons,S．apertus Ruedemann和S．hyperboreus Obut et Sobolevskaya,构成了该属基本的系统发育谱系。种群分析进一步显示,其主要性状变异范围尽管较宽但趋于正态分布的S．dichotomus,可能包含了除S．apertus和S．hyperboreus之外的所有已知Staurograptus的异名种类。     

陕北黄土高原森林植被数量分类及环境解释

通过对陕北黄土高原森林群落的系统聚类分析和因子分析（FA）及其与5个土壤变量的多元统计分析。定量研究了该地区森林植被的类型及土壤特征之间的相互关系。结果表明,陕北黄土高原森林植被可分为5个群系,即油松林、辽东栎林、山杨林、白桦林和侧柏林,聚类分析结果与传统分类的结果完全一致。该地区森林植被格局可由群落土壤条件的差异来解释,土壤因子中含水量、全氮和有机质是主导性因素,各群落沿此梯度呈现出一定的分布格局,其它土壤因子的作用并不明显。