南方红壤区生态系统服务权衡与协同关系演变对退耕还林的响应

我国南方红壤区具有丰富的水热资源和优越的社会区位条件,是重要的农业生产基地。由于长期高强度的农业开发,同时山地丘陵的坡度较大,降水集中且强度大,导致该区生态功能退化、环境问题突出,威胁粮食安全和生态安全。以南方红壤区为研究对象,利用估算区域植被净生产力（Carnegie Ames-Stanford Approach,CASA）模型、InVEST模型及修正通用土壤流失方程（RUSLE）定量评估了该区退耕还林前后植被净初级生产力（Net Primary Production,NPP）、农作物生产（Crop Production,CP）、土壤保持（Soil Conservation,SC）和产水（Water Yield,WY）四种生态系统服务;采用偏相关分析和空间自相关分析探讨了各项生态系统服务间权衡与协同关系的时空变化特征和集聚特征,揭示了退耕还林对南方红壤区的多种生态系统服务间相互关系的影响。结果表明：（1）退耕还林后,南方红壤区的NPP、CP、SC和WY总体增强,但部分区域呈现减弱趋势。其中,NPP在南部呈现减弱趋势,SC在东北部减弱,CP与WY均在东南沿海减弱;（2）退耕还林后,NPP与WY间由极显著协同关系（r=0.315,P=0.025）转变为显著权衡关系（r=-0.279,P=0.059）：而SC与WY间由无显著相关转变为极显著权衡关系（r=-0.427,P=0.024）;（3）退耕还林前后,南方红壤区的NPP、CP和SC的空间分布格局均未发生显著变化,而WY的空间分布发生较大变化;（4）四种生态系统服务间的权衡与协同关系空间异质性显著,CP-SC关系的Moran''s I指数最小（0.012）,NPP-SC和NPP-WY关系的Moran''s I指数均大于0.7。研究结果有利于深入理解退耕还林对南方红壤区生态系统服务时空变化的影响,并为确定生态脆弱区的生态农林牧业的发展方向与面向可持续发展目标的生态系统服务优化调控提供科学依据。     

西南地区壳斗科物种丰富度和特有性分布格局模拟及其环境解释

如何准确地模拟物种宏观丰富度格局和特有性中心是生物多样性保护工作的重点,也是生物地理学的热点话题。西南地区是我国壳斗科植物最丰富的地区之一,但物种多样性格局及环境驱动机制尚不清楚。本研究基于西南地区161种壳斗科植物7258个分布点位数据,利用点格局法和物种分布模型两种方式构建了物种丰富度、加权特有性指数和校正加权特有性指数的分布格局,并采用空间自回归模型(SAR)分析上述3个多样性指数与环境因子间的关系。总体上看,物种分布模型模拟的3个指数在空间上比点格局法更为连续,但数值高低分布情况具有相似性: 两种方式模拟的物种丰富度高值区主要分布在滇南边缘、桂北部和桂西南部地区(62～89种);加权特有性指数最大值集中在滇南和桂西地区(1.77～5.02);藏东南、秦岭-大巴山、桂西南部和滇东南地区具有最高的校正加权特有性指数(0.07～0.17)。SAR模型结果显示:最干月降雨量、温度季节性变化标准差、海拔变幅和土壤有机碳含量对物种丰富度的影响均显著,最干月降雨量、温度季节性变化标准差、潜在蒸散量和海拔变幅对加权特有性有着显著影响,温度季节性变化标准差、最干月降雨量、历史温度变化、增强型植被指数变异系数和海拔变幅对校正加权特有性的影响显著;SAR模型对物种丰富度、特有性指数和加权特有性指数的拟合效果(R²=0.857、0.733、0.593)分别优于普通线性模型(R²=0.689、0.425、0.422)。综上,水分可获得性、气候季节性、生境异质性、历史气候变化和土壤状况是制约西南地区壳斗科丰富度和特有性分布的最重要因素。滇南、滇东南、桂西南、桂西、秦岭-大巴山以及藏东南地区是壳斗科物种丰富度中心或特有性中心,应受到重点关注和保护。     

Intratumor heterogeneity of biomarker expression in breast carcinomas

Small biopsy samples are used increasingly to assess the biomarker expression for prognostic information and for monitoring therapeutic responses prior to and during neoadjuvant therapy. The issue of intratumor heterogeneity of expression of biomarkers, however, has raised questions about the validity of the assessment of biomarker expression based on limited tissue samples. We examined immunohistochemically the expression of HER-2neu (p185^erbB-2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Bcl-2, p53, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in 30 breast carcinomas using archived, paraffin embedded tissue and determined the extent of intratumor heterogeneity. Each section was divided into four randomly oriented discrete regions, each containing a portion of the infiltrating carcinoma. For each tumor, the entire lesion and four regions were analyzed for the expression of these markers. Scores of both membrane and cytoplasmic staining of HER-2neu and EGFR, scores of cytoplasmic staining of Bcl-2, and scores of nuclear staining of both p53 and PCNA were recorded. The intensity of staining and the proportion of immunostained cells were determined. A semiquantitative immunoscore was calculated by determining the sum of the products of the intensity and corresponding proportion of stained tumor cells. We analyzed both invasive (IDC) and in situ (DCIS) carcinomas. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for paired comparisons between overall and regional immunoscores and between overall and regional percentages of stained cells. Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to assess the level of agreement of overall biomarker expression with each of the regions. Generalized linear models were used to assess overall and pair-wise differences in the absolute values of percent changes between overall and regional expression of biomarkers. For IDCs, there were no statistically significant differences in the expression of the biomarkers in terms of either the percentage of cells staining or the immunoscores when comparing the entire tumor with each region except for the lower EGFR expression of arbitrarily selected region 1 and lower p53 expression of region 1 compared to that of the entire tumor section. For DCIS, there were no statistically significant differences in the expression of the biomarkers between the entire tumor and each region except in PCNA of region 2 compared to that of entire tumor section. Positive correlation of immunoscores was observed between the entire tumor and each region as well as across all four regions for IDC. Similar observations were noted with DCIS except for HER-2neu and PCNA. No statistically significant differences were observed in the absolute values of percent changes of biomarker expression between overall and the four regions for both DCIS and IDC. Therefore, no significant intratumor heterogeneity in the expression of HER-2neu, Bcl-2, and PCNA was observed in IDC. Minor regional variations were observed for EGFR and p53 in IDC. Similarly, no significant regional variation in the expression of markers was observed in DCIS except for PCNA.     

Integrating GIS and expert judgment in a multi-criteria analysis to map and develop a habitat suitability index: A case study of large mammals on the Malayan Peninsula

Many habitat patches in tropical landscapes have become less suitable for wildlife due to an increase in anthropogenic disturbances. An index of habitat suitability based on the ecological factors that collectively determine the suitability of an organism's habitat is important for conservation planning. However, a widely accepted and comprehensive multi-criteria habitat suitability index for umbrella species is still lacking, particularly in areas where information related to the biology and ecology of the species of interest is not available. Therefore we develop preliminary habitat maps and measure the degree of habitat suitability for large mammals, focusing on four umbrella species in the State of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia: Panthera tigris jacksoni (Malayan tiger), Tapirus indicus (Malayan tapir), Helarctos malayanus malayanus (Malayan sun bear), and Rusa unicolor cambojensis (sambar deer). The former two are endangered and the latter two are vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List. The suitability of habitat patches for each species was measured across the entire study area as well as in nine wildlife protected areas by integrating GIS data and expert opinion. Expert opinions were used as the source of information regarding the stresses faced by the species because there was insufficient information available from ground surveys.We developed an index and maps of habitat suitability for each species, which were then integrated to represent a combined index (ranging from 0 to 27) and spatially explicit maps of the area's habitat suitability for large mammals. The average large mammal habitat suitability index value of the State of Selangor (9) indicates that many habitat patches have become unsuitable for such species. Of the nine wildlife protected areas, Fraser's Hill (22), Sungai Dusun (22), and Bukit Kutu (21) are very suitable; Klang Gate (20) and Templers Park (17) are suitable; and the remaining four are unsuitable for large mammals. We assume that this preliminary habitat suitability index and mapping are useful for conservation planning of wildlife habitats at both landscape and regional scales, as well as providing an initial foundation for revision by future research with significant new information.     

Evaluating the performance of multiple remote sensing indices to predict the spatial variability of ecosystem structure and functioning in Patagonian steppes

Assessing the spatial variability of ecosystem structure and functioning is an important step towards developing monitoring systems to detect changes in ecosystem attributes that could be linked to desertification processes in drylands. Methods based on ground-collected soil and plant indicators are being increasingly used for this aim, but they have limitations regarding the extent of the area that can be measured using them. Approaches based on remote sensing data can successfully assess large areas, but it is largely unknown how the different indices that can be derived from such data relate to ground-based indicators of ecosystem health. We tested whether we can predict ecosystem structure and functioning, as measured with a field methodology based on indicators of ecosystem functioning (the landscape function analysis, LFA), over a large area using spectral vegetation indices (VIs), and evaluated which VIs are the best predictors of these ecosystem attributes. For doing this, we assessed the relationship between vegetation attributes (cover and species richness), LFA indices (stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling) and nine VIs obtained from satellite images of the MODIS sensor in 194 sites located across the Patagonian steppe. We found that NDVI was the VI best predictor of ecosystem attributes. This VI showed a significant positive linear relationship with both vegetation basal cover (R² = 0.39) and plant species richness (R² = 0.31). NDVI was also significantly and linearly related to the infiltration and nutrient cycling indices (R² = 0.36 and 0.49, respectively), but the relationship with the stability index was weak (R² = 0.13). Our results indicate that VIs obtained from MODIS, and NDVI in particular, are a suitable tool for estimate the spatial variability of functional and structural ecosystem attributes in the Patagonian steppe at the regional scale.     

Understanding extracellular vesicle diversity – current status

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent an important mode of intercellular communication. There is now a growing awareness that predominant EV subtypes; exosomes from endosomal origin, and shed microvesicles from plasma membrane budding, can be further stratified into distinct subtypes, however specific approaches in their isolation and markers that allow them to be discriminated are lacking.

Areas covered: Knowledge about these distinct EV subpopulations is important including the regulation of composition, release, targeting/localization, uptake, and function. This review discusses the mechanisms of distinct EV biogenesis and release, defining select EV classes (and subpopulations), which will be crucial for development of EV-based functions and clinical applications. We review the dynamics of cargo sorting leading to the mechanisms of EV heterogeneity, their mechanisms of formation, intracellular trafficking pathways, and provide an uptake about biochemical/functional differences. With advances in purification strategies and proteomic-based quantitation, allows significant benefit in accurately describing differences in EV protein cargo composition and modification.

Expert commentary: The advent of quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics, in conjunction with advances in molecular cell biology, and EV purification strategies, has contributed significantly to our improved characterization and understanding of the molecular composition and functionality of these distinct EV subpopulations.     

Drove roads: Keystone structures that promote ant diversity in Mediterranean forest landscapes

Drove roads are the traditional corridors used by pastoralists for seasonal movements of livestock (transhumance). They cover a considerable land area in Mediterranean countries and, although they are an obvious source of landscape diversity, their influence on the diversity and composition of animal assemblages has not been documented. Ant communities were studied on four active drove roads, two in forests (submediterranean and conifer) and two in open environments (croplands and rangelands). They were compared with the respective matrix communities and their contribution to local species richness was evaluated. The effects were heavily dependent on the open or closed nature of the matrix. In forest environments, drove roads increased ant species richness at the local scale, acting as clear keystone structures. Their species richness and functional diversity were highest on the fine scale, species composition was different, and a slight edge effect in the matrix was detected. In contrast, drove roads had little or even a negative effect in open environment locations. We conclude that drove roads have a high conservation value for ants in Mediterranean forest environments, in addition to their importance as reservoirs of plant biodiversity and generators of ecological goods and services.