Phylogenetic diversity and investigation of plant growth-promoting traits of actinobacteria in coastal salt marsh plant rhizospheres from Jiangsu,China

Actinobacteria from special habitats are of interest due to their producing of bioactive compounds and diverse ecological functions. However, little is known of the diversity and functional traits of actinobacteria inhabiting coastal salt marsh soils. We assessed actinobacterial diversity from eight coastal salt marsh rhizosphere soils from Jiangsu Province, China, using culture-based and 16S rRNA gene high throughput sequencing (HTS) methods, in addition to evaluating their plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits of isolates. Actinobacterial sequences represented 2.8%–43.0% of rhizosphere bacterial communities, as determined by HTS technique. The actinobacteria community comprised 34 families and 79 genera. In addition, 196 actinobacterial isolates were obtained, of which 92 representative isolates were selected for further 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The 92 strains comprised seven suborders, 12 families, and 20 genera that included several potential novel species. All representative strains were tested for their ability of producing indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophores, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACCD), hydrolytic enzymes, and phosphate solubilization. Based on the presence of multiple PGP traits, two strains, Streptomyces sp. KLBMP S0051 and Micromonospora sp. KLBMP S0019 were selected for inoculation of wheat seeds grown under salt stress. Both strains promoted seed germination, and KLBMP S0019 significantly enhanced seedling growth under NaCl stress. Our study demonstrates that coastal salt marsh rhizosphere soils harbor a diverse reservoir of actinobacteria that are potential resources for the discovery of novel species and functions. Moreover, several of the isolates identified here are good candidates as PGP bacteria that may contribute to plant adaptions to saline soils.     

银川不同湿地陆生昆虫群落多样性与稳定性

【目的】调查和分析银川不同湿地陆生昆虫群落结构组成、功能多样性及其稳定性变化。【方法】2016年5-10月选取银川黄河湿地(HH)、鸣翠湖湿地(MCH)、芦花台湿地(LHT)、水洞沟湿地(SDG)4种湿地生境,采用棋盘式扫网和陷阱捕捉的方法进行昆虫采集。根据调查数据进行昆虫群落结构多样性分析、主成分分析和聚类分析。【结果】4种湿地生境共采集昆虫38 668头,隶属13目97科370种。双翅目、同翅目、膜翅目在4种生境中均为优势类群。植食性(Ph)昆虫功能团的科数和种数在4种生境昆虫群落中占比均最大。植食性-中性昆虫(Ph-Ne)间个体数在4种生境下均存在显著负相关(P<0.01);植食性-捕食性昆虫(Ph-Pr)间个体数在MCH生境下存在显著正相关(P<0.05);中性-捕食性昆虫(Ne-Pr)间个体数在MCH生境下存在显著负相关(P<0.01),在LHT生境下存在显著负相关(P<0.05);4种功能团结构的其他组合的个体数在4种生境下均不存在显著相关性。主成分分析结果表明,捕食性类群是4个类群中影响构成昆虫群落组成的主要成分。同种功能团在4种生境下的多样性分析结果表明,捕食性功能团(Pr)与寄生性功能团(Pa)在4种生境群落中的群落丰富度、均匀程度［辛普森指数(Simpson index)］差异性显著(P<0.05),而植食性功能团(Ph)与中性功能团(Ne)的群落丰富度、均匀程度的差异性不显著(P>0.05);中性功能团(Ne)在4种生境群落中个体出现的不确定程度［香农-维纳指数(Shannon-Wiener index)］差异性不显著(P>0.05),在4种生境的均匀度指数(Pielou evenness index)差异性显著(P<0.05),其余3个功能团在4种生境下的香农-维纳指数均差异性显著(P<0.05),在4种生境下的均匀度指数均差异性不显著(P>0.05)。4种生境昆虫群落特征指数的聚类分析分为2类,永久性湿地HH和MCH为第1类,季节性湿地LHT和SDG为第2类。Ss/Si和Sa/Sp两个稳定性指标均显示MCH昆虫群落稳定性最高,4种生境昆虫群落最稳定的时期是5和9月。【结论】双翅目和膜翅目昆虫在银川不同湿地生境中均为优势类群,可作为环境指示参考;昆虫群落稳定性最好的湿地类型为永久性湖泊湿地;不同生境昆虫群落多样性随季节时序变化,在银川最稳定的时期是5和9月。气候因子、环境因素如何驱动各湿地昆虫群落多样性及稳定性的变化因素还有待开展研究。     

三江平原典型沼泽湿地螺类组成生态指示

螺类作为湿地的重要生物类群,对环境变化响应敏感,这使得螺类成为潜在的环境指示物种。为了研究中国东北沼泽湿地不同类型湿地螺类群落结构的差异以及螺类作为不同类型湿地指示物种的可能,在2014年9月和2015年5月对小叶章沼泽化草甸湿地、臌囊苔草湿地、毛苔草湿地、漂筏苔草湿地共17个采样点进行螺类样品采集。共采集到了螺类8科13属17种4452个。研究表明,螺类以扁卷螺科Planorbidae、椎实螺科Lymnaeidae、膀胱螺科Physidae为主;4种不同类型湿地螺的种类组成不同,这些螺类的种类组成与不同类型湿地的水深、植物类型组成等湿地特征是相对应。螺类的生物多样性指数(ShannonWiener指数和Marglef指数)在不同类型湿地之间也存在一定差异,筛选了指示螺类6种,无褶螺是小叶章沼泽化草甸的指示物种,小土蜗、半球多脉扁螺和虹蛹螺是臌囊苔草湿地的指示物种,琥珀螺是毛苔草湿地的指示物种,平盘螺是漂筏苔草湿地的指示物种,这表明了螺类是沼泽湿地类型的重要指示生物。也为螺类生物多样性资源的保护、恢复和生态评价提供科学依据和资料积累。     

Enhanced invertebrate prey production following estuarine restoration supports foraging for multiple species of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.)

Estuaries provide crucial foraging resources and nursery habitat for threatened populations of anadromous salmon. As such, there has been a global undertaking to restore habitat and tidal processes in modified estuaries. The foraging capacity of these ecosystems to support various species of out‐migrating juvenile salmon can be quantified by monitoring benthic, terrestrial, and pelagic invertebrate prey communities. Here, we present notable trends in the availability of invertebrate prey at several sites within a restoring large river delta in Puget Sound, Washington, U.S.A. Three years after the system was returned to tidal influence, we observed substantial additions to amphipod, copepod, and cumacean abundances in newly accessible marsh channels (from 0 to roughly 5,000–75,000 individuals/m²). In the restoration area, terrestrial invertebrate colonization was dependent upon vegetative cover, with dipteran and hymenopteran biomass increasing 3‐fold between 1 and 3 years post‐restoration. While the overall biodiversity within the restoration area was lower than in the reference marsh, estimated biomass was comparable to or greater than that found within the other study sites. This additional prey biomass likely provided foraging benefits for juvenile Chinook, chum, and coho salmon. Primary physical drivers differed for benthic, terrestrial, and pelagic invertebrates, and these invertebrate communities are expected to respond differentially depending on organic matter exchange and vegetative colonization. Restoring estuaries may take decades to meet certain success criteria, but our study demonstrates rapid enhancements in foraging resources understood to be used for estuary‐dependent wildlife.     

Endophytic bacteria enhance remediation of tannery effluent in constructed wetlands vegetated with Leptochloa fusca

The use of constructed wetlands (CWs) is a promising approach for the remediation of wastewater. The present study aims to develop a plant–bacteria system within CWs for the efficient remediation of tannery effluent. In a vertical-flow CW vegetated with Leptochloa fusca (Kallar grass), a consortium of three different endophytic bacteria, Pantoea stewartii ASI11, Microbacterium arborescens HU33, and Enterobacter sp. HU38, was used for bioaugmentation. CWs vegetated with only L. fusca had the potential to remediate tannery effluent, but augmentation with endophytic bacteria enhanced the growth of L. fusca while aiding in the removal of both organic and inorganic pollutants from the tannery effluent. Moreover, the bacterial augmentation decreased toxicity in the effluent as well. A higher number of chromium (Cr)-resistant bacteria were isolated from the rhizosphere and endosphere of L. fusca inoculated with the endophytes than from uninoculated plants. Due to promising bioremediation and detoxification potential of L. fusca, it is reported for the first time as a potential candidate to develop effective CWs for the remediation of polluted effluents in combination with pollutant-degrading endophytic bacteria.     

Holocene vegetation and climate evolution of Corpus Christi and Trinity bays: Implications on coastal Texas source-to-sink deposition

The Texas coastline stretches 595 km across almost 4° of latitude and is home to diverse coastal vegetation assemblages, yet only a handful of studies have documented the climate and vegetative change of this region through the Holocene. We provide a detailed palynological record of Holocene climate for coastal Texas, based upon three subaqueous sediment cores from Corpus Christi Bay and Trinity Bay. Cluster analysis and correspondence analysis were used to investigate changes in palynological assemblages through time within each core. Common to both bays are nonarboreal taxa including Asteraceae (mainly Ambrosia and Helianthus), Chenopodium, Poaceae, and arboreal taxa such as Carya, Pinus, and Quercus. Our record shows that the coastal environments of central Texas began a transition from herbaceous (nonarboreal) dominated vegetation to arboreal vegetation as early as 8.4 ka within Corpus Christi Bay, and 3.8 ka within Trinity Bay. We note flooding events at 8.2, 5.4, and 3.6 ka in Corpus Christi Bay, and at 1.7, 1.2, and 0.8 ka in Trinity Bay. These events were caused by storms, sea level changes including flooding of relict river terraces, and changes in sediment delivery to the bays. The pollen record also shows evidence for changes in fluvial discharge to Corpus Christi Bay at 4.1 and 2.2 ka, and at 1.8 ka in Trinity Bay. We also see Zea mays in Trinity Bay, indicating local Native American agriculture. We observe no significant changes during the middle Holocene Climatic Optimum, and subtle but not statistically significant evidence of more variable climate oscillations than other records from more interior sites in Texas available for the late Holocene. This indicates that coastal Texas’ climate has operated semi-independently from central Texas regions, and was primarily driven by a coast-wise gradient of precipitation and evapotranspiration.     

Amphipoda and Isopoda diversity around Tunisian wetlands (North Africa) in relation to environmental conditions

Amphipoda and Isopoda were sampled in 40 Tunisian wetlands, and their fauna were compared at four different types: lagoon, sebkhas, dams and hill reservoir. At each station, eight quadrates of 50 × 50 cm were randomly placed. Amphipoda and Isopoda were collected by hand. They were identified to species level. At each station, analyses of organic matter, sodium, calcium and heavy metals content from the soil collected in each station were performed. We recorded 19 and eight species for respectively Isopoda and Amphipoda and caught 3,035 specimens in total. The highest isopod's species richness (11 species) was noted around hill reservoirs and dams, a quite similar richness in the banks of lagoons (10 species) but only six species in the sebkhas. Eight amphipod species were recorded in the supralittoral zone of lagoons, three species around sebkhas but no amphipods were found in samples from dams and hill reservoirs. Isopod species richness was positively correlated with soil humidity. However, the distribution of the species Orchestia mediterranea, Orchestia gammarellus, Orchestia montagui, Orchestia stephenseni and Platorchestia platensis was related to soil metal concentrations.     

Historical changes in the conductivity and ionic charateristics of the source water for the Shark River Slough,Everglades National Park,Florida, U.S.A.

Man-made changes in the hydrological regime of South Florida have significantly altered the conductivity and ionic composition of water in the Shark River Slough system of Everglades National Park. The shift in water inputs from unregulated marsh water flow to regulated delivery of canal water has resulted in a 140% increase in conductivity and 149% increase in total ionic concentration since the early 1960s. Associated with this change has been a 300–400% increase in sodium and chloride concentrations in the waters entering the Shark River Slough of Everglades National Park.     

The community composition of Californian coastal sage scrub

Summary Coastal sage scrub is a community found extensively throughout cismontane California south of San Francisco, but has been surprisingly little studied. In the study area, which extends from Santa Barbara to the San Gorgonio Pass, two major floristic groupings can be found. In the basin bounded coastwards by a line drawn along the axis of the Santa Ana Mountains a large number of native and introduced annual herbs and a few shrubs (e.g.Encelia farinosa), rare or absent in the remainder of the study area, characterize one floristic group. In the coastal region the variety of shrub species increases, and the herbs are predominantly native and more restricted in number. Eleven groups defined by physiognomy, structure and species dominance, and arbitrarily called associations, are recognized. These associations can be grouped into four physiognomic-structural types which transgress the boundaries of the floristic groups. The results of this study and the limited previous literature suggest that Californian coastal sage scrub could be divided, mainly on floristic criteria, into Venturan, San Diegan and Riversidian sage.Plant nomenclature follows Munz & Keek (1968).We gratefully acknowledge the financial help provided by the Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, and the aid in plant identification provided by Mr. Oscar Clarke, Museum Scientist, Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside.