Quantitative measures of sexual selection reveal no evidence for sex-role reversal in a sea spider with prolonged paternal care

Taxa in which males alone invest in postzygotic care of offspring are often considered good models for investigating the proffered relationships between sexual selection and mating systems. In the pycnogonid sea spider Pycnogonum stearnsi, males carry large egg masses on their bodies for several weeks, so this species is a plausible candidate for sex-role reversal (greater intensity of sexual selection on females than on males). Here, we couple a microsatellite-based assessment of the mating system in a natural population with formal quantitative measures of genetic fitness to investigate the direction of sexual selection in P. stearnsi. Both sexes proved to be highly polygamous and showed similar standardized variances in reproductive and mating successes. Moreover, the fertility (number of progeny) of males and females appeared to be equally and highly dependent on mate access, as shown by similar Bateman gradients for the two sexes. The absence of sex-role reversal in this population of P. stearnsi is probably attributable to the fact that males are not limited by brooding space but have evolved an ability to carry large numbers of progeny. Body length was not a good predictor of male mating or reproductive success, so the aim of future studies should be to determine what traits are the targets of sexual selection in this species.     

文峪河上游河岸林群落环境梯度格局和演替过程

以文峪河上游河岸林为研究对象,通过对群落建群种的DCA排序和物种关联分析进行生态种组划分,阐明了河岸林群落建群种各生态种组之间的生态演替功能差异,结合对样地和生态适应性功能组的DCA排序结果,分析了河岸林群落空间分布的环境梯度格局及其影响因素,基于以上分析,构建了研究地区河岸林群落演替过程,揭示了环境梯度格局对河岸林群落演替的控制作用。通过研究,文峪河上游河岸林群落生态适应性功能组比群落在排序空间上具有更好的分异性,采用生态适应性功能组更有利于分析群落的时空关系;研究地区河岸林群落9个建群种划分为阳性喜湿先锋型、阳性中生演替型、耐阴喜湿演替后期型和阳性中生逃避型4个生态种组;研究地区海拔梯度、河岸带坡度和河谷型共同决定了河岸林群落的分布格局,河岸带坡度和河谷型实际反映的是河岸带水文状况对河岸林群落时空格局的控制作用;根据生态适应性功能组和生态种组构建了研究地区河岸林群落演替模型,不同的海拔及其相应的河谷型具有明显不同的演替过程。     

The adaptive value of gluttony: predators mediate the life history trade‐offs of satiation threshold

Animals vary greatly in their tendency to consume large meals. Yet, whether or how meal size influences fitness in wild populations is infrequently considered. Using a predator exclusion, mark–recapture experiment, we estimated selection on the amount of food accepted during an ad libitum feeding bout (hereafter termed ‘satiation threshold’) in the wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata. Individually marked, size‐matched females of known satiation threshold were assigned to predator exclusion and predator inclusion treatments and tracked for a 40‐day period. We also estimated the narrow‐sense heritability of satiation threshold using dam‐on‐female‐offspring regression. In the absence of predation, high satiation threshold was positively associated with larger and faster egg case production. However, these selective advantages were lost when predators were present. We estimated the heritability of satiation threshold to be 0.56. Taken together, our results suggest that satiation threshold can respond to selection and begets a life history trade‐off in this system: high satiation threshold individuals tend to produce larger egg cases but also suffer increased susceptibility to predation.     

Sampling strategy,occurrence and diversity of free‐living protozoa in domestic refrigerators

Aims: Evaluation of a sampling method to recover free‐living protozoa (FLP) from plastic surfaces. Application of the method on different areas inside domestic refrigerators. Methods and Results: Plastic coupons seeded with representatives of FLP were swabbed with cotton wools. The recovery efficiency was the highest for Chilomonas paramecium, followed by Tetrahymena pyriformis and the lowest for Acanthamoeba polyphaga. From 43 refrigerators, 19 and 26 were considered FLP positive when sample cultures were incubated at 7°C and 20°C, respectively. The number of FLP‐positive cultures was the highest in samples taken from vegetable trays followed by discharge gutters, whereas interior walls were rarely FLP positive. Higher numbers of taxa were observed in enrichment cultures incubated at 20°C instead of 7°C. The combination of microscopy and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis revealed that discharge gutters occasionally were contaminated with a persistent protozoan population of flagellates (Cercozoa) and amoebae (Tubulinea). The FLP‐positive status of refrigerator surfaces was correlated with a high aerobic plate count. Conclusions: The cotton wool sampling method is useful to sample FLP from plastic surfaces. FLP are part of the microbial communities in domestic refrigerators. Significance and Impact of the Study: Knowledge on the occurrence of FLP in food‐related indoor environments is scarce. For the first time, a high protozoan diversity in domestic refrigerators is described.     

Spatial variation in the demography and population dynamics of a perennial shrub (Atriplex vesicaria) under sheep grazing in semi‐arid Australian rangelands

Atriplex vesicaria Heward ex Benth. (Chenopodiaceae) is a widespread perennial shrub in southern Australia's chenopod rangelands but is sensitive to grazing. A detailed investigation of the demography and population dynamics of A. vesicaria under sheep grazing was conducted over 6.5 years at a range of sites across a typical paddock to assess the long‐term effects of grazing on the species and elucidate the mechanisms of population change under grazing. The effects of rainfall on recruitment and mortality were also examined. Six‐monthly censuses of all A. vesicaria individuals were conducted in permanent grazed and ungrazed plots at sites located across an 1100‐ha paddock. Grazing increased adult shrub mortality close to water and reduced recruitment over a broader area of the paddock, but seedling survival did not appear to be affected by grazing. As a result of these changes, the population declined on grazed plots up to 2200 m from water during the study, but the decline was greatest closer to water. The population was most dynamic at the sites furthest from the water point where it was unaffected by grazing because of the greater recruitment and mortality of young plants, but because these processes balanced out over time, population density was effectively unchanged by the end of the study. Although statistical models indicated that six‐monthly rainfall did not explain temporal variation in recruitment or mortality, rainfall nevertheless has a central role in both processes. In particular, longer periods of favourable rainfall and drought appear to have an important influence on recruitment and mortality, respectively, with heavy grazing during a drought period increasing mortality. Occasional shortages of seed or rains occurring during the warmer months when seed germination is limited possibly explain poor recruitment at sites unaffected by grazing following good rainfall.     

镇江香醋固态发酵醋醅中微生物总DNA提取方法比较

【目的】为了更加全面地分析我国传统固态发酵过程中微生物群落的多样性和演替情况,本文以镇江香醋固态发酵为例,对比研究了11种不同的总DNA提取法对醋醅中总DNA提取的影响。【方法】使用紫外分光光度计法和荧光定量PCR(Realtime Quantitative PCR)测定了不同提取方法得到的醋醅样品总DNA的产量与纯度,采用变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)法对固态发酵中细菌和真菌的多样性进行了分析。【结果】醋醅总DNA得率最高可达93.2±1.5μg/g干醅,细菌总数最高达到1.73×1013 copies.(g干醅)-1,真菌总数最高达到6.49×1012 copies.(g干醅)-1。不同的提取方法对DGGE结果有明显的影响,6种基于SDS裂解的方法所获得的条带较多。【结论】结果表明,液氮研磨+溶菌酶+SDS高盐抽提法(方法3)为最优的醋醅总DNA提取方法。     

End of season carbon supply status of woody species near the treeline in western China

As trees and shrubs approach the high elevation tree limit, it is often assumed that they fall short in photosynthate (source limitation). Alternatively, low temperature may restrict carbon investment (growth, sink limitation). The content of mobile non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in tissues is considered a measure of the carbon source–sink balance. To test the source vs. sink limitation hypothesis, we compared late-season NSC concentrations of various woody taxa across altitudinal gradients from the subalpine forest to the treeline at the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Since we were interested in the generality of trends, we present “community” trends across four taxa, namely Quercus aquifolioides, Abies faxoniana, Rhododendron fabri subsp. prattii and Sorbus rufopilosa. NSC concentrations increased significantly with altitude in branch wood, current-year and last-year leaves, while there were no significant trends in stem sapwood and root xylem. The sugar to starch ratio was roughly 1:1 in branches and evergreen leaves, while stems and roots showed a higher starch fraction. Analyses of total nitrogen in leaves and wood tissues indicated no change in the trees’ nitrogen supply with elevation. The overall altitudinal trends of NSC in this group of woody plant species revealed no depletion of carbon reserves near the tree limit, suggesting that sink limitation predominates woody plant life across this treeline ecotone community.     

Detecting climate change induced range shifts: Where and how should we be looking?

Abstract: Global climate warming is expected to cause systematic shifts in the distribution of species and consequently increase extinction risk. Conservation managers must be able to detect, measure and accurately predict range shifts in order to mitigate impacts on biodiversity. However, important responses to climate change may go unnoticed or be dismissed if we fail to collect sufficient baseline data and apply the most sensitive analytical tests. Here we use randomizations of a contemporary data set on rainforest birds of north‐eastern Australia to quantify the sensitivity of three measures for assessing range shifts along altitudinal gradients. We find that smaller range shifts are detectable by analysing change in the mean altitude of presence records rather than upper or lower range boundaries. For a moderate survey effort of 96 surveys, measurements of change in the mean altitude of 34 species have the capacity to provide strong inference for a mean altitudinal range shift as small as 40 m across the species assemblage. We also show that range shifts measured at range boundaries can be potentially misleading when differences in sampling effort between contemporary and historical data sets are not taken into account.     

Community maturity, species saturation and the variant diversity-productivity relationships in grasslands

Detailed knowledge of the relationship between plant diversity and productivity is critical for advancing our understanding of ecosystem functioning and for achieving success in habitat restoration efforts. However, effects and interactions of diversity, succession and biotic invasions on productivity remain elusive. We studied newly established communities in relation to preexisting homogeneous vegetation invaded by exotic plants in the northern Great Plains, USA, at four study sites for 3 years. We observed variant diversity–productivity relationships for the seeded communities (generally positive monotonic at three sites and non-monotonic at the other site) but no relationships for the resident community or the seeded and resident communities combined at all sites and all years. Community richness was enhanced by seeding additional species but productivity was not. The optimal diversity (as indicated by maximum productivity) changed among sites and as the community developed. The findings shed new light on ecosystem functioning of biodiversity under different conditions and have important implications for restoration.     

Differential population structuring and demographic history of two closely related fish species, Japanese sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus) and spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus) in Northwestern Pacific

The Quaternary cold periods in the Northwestern Pacific are thought to have heavily influenced the amount and distribution of intraspecific genetic variation in marine fishes. To estimate the demographic history and genetic structure of Lateolabrax maculatus and L. japonicus in the Northwestern Pacific, 256 individuals were sampled from 19 localities throughout the distribution range of the two species. Mitochondrial DNA variation was analyzed using DNA sequence data from the cytochrome b gene and control region. Nucleotide diversity was much higher in L. japonicus (0.030) than in L. maculatus (0.012). The demographic history of the two species was examined using neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analyses and results indicated Pleistocene population expansion in both species. Estimates of population expansion time suggested earlier population expansion in L. japonicus than in L. maculatus. Molecular variance analyses showed differential genetic structuring for these two closely related species. The results indicated that L. japonicus is panmictic throughout its range. In contrast, populations of L. maculatus showed statistically significant levels of genetic structuring. Pattern of isolation by distance was observed in L. maculatus, suggesting that L. maculatus is in genetic equilibrium. In contrast, L. japonicus did not exhibit isolation by distance.