Skates and rays (Elasmobranchii,Batomorphii) from the Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations,Seymour Island,Antarctica

Abstract

Eocene deposits of the famous La Meseta Formation of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, yielded the most diverse Paleogene fossil elasmobranch association of the Southern Hemisphere. In this assemblage, sharks clearly dominate the fauna, whereas batoids are very rare components. Herein, we describe two new taxa of cold water tolerant skates, Marambioraja leiostemma gen. et sp. nov., and Mesetaraja maleficapelli gen. et sp. nov., two new species of the genus Raja, Raja amphitrita sp. nov. and Raja manitaria sp. nov., as well as remains of warm water adapted myliobatiforms. It is, however, not possible to unambiguously assign these remains either to Myliobatidae or Rhinopteridae, or to any specific genus. Previously reported remains of Raja/Bathyraja sp. are assigned to the new described species Raja manitaria sp. nov. The biogeographic distribution of extant and extinct rays and skates clearly shows that both groups are more widely distributed today than in the past, and additionally seem to have been more diverse in the Northern than the Southern Hemisphere. The occurrence, albeit rare of isolated teeth of skates (Rajidae) and rays (Myliobatidae) in the La Meseta Formation representes a minimum age constraint for their first appearance in the Southern Ocean.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E507D86C-FFEC-4047-A337-AE77606BB1A6     

Political mobilization of a regional minority: Han Chinese settlers in Xinjiang

The tumultuous events of summer 2009 have brought Uighur protests and minority mobilization in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) to the forefront. But this focus overlooks similar protests organized by various groups of Han Chinese settlers over the years. This paper contributes to the body of literature on minority mobilization and ethnic relations in Xinjiang by illustrating how the political mobilization of a group that is simultaneously a national majority and a regional minority differs substantially from ‘traditional’ minority mobilization. Reviewing the main instances of Han Chinese political mobilization since the XUAR was created in 1955, I argue that two factors are particularly important in enabling their mobilization: the Han Chinese's subjective perception of discrimination and their close ethnic ties to the state. This paper concludes with a discussion on the presence of a cycle of protests between Han settlers and the Uighurs in Xinjiang.     

Revalidation of Phyllocaulis renschi (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Veronicellidae) based on radula and mandible structures of taxonomic significance for the genus

Exospermastix robustus Verhoeff, 1951 (Mato Grosso, nr Cuiaba) is regarded as a species of Urostreptus; the gonopods of the type specimen are illustrated and their structure discussed. The species is in many ways similar to U. camerani and U. paxillatus, but is much larger than either. The status of the generic and specific names Stenostreptus hassleri Carl is reviewed after a study of the type material, and the previous estimate of hassleri as a species of Urostreptus is reaffirmed. New drawings made from the lectotype of hassleri are given. The gonopods of a species identified as U. borelli by F. Silvestri, the author of that name, are illustrated, and the suggestion made that borelli may be found to be a senior synonym of hassleri.     

白顶鹀(Emberiza stewarti)——中国鸟类新纪录

白顶鹀(Emberiza stewarti)为中亚特有物种,比较罕见。2013年5月12日,喀什地区观鸟爱好者与户外摄影人在新疆乌恰县境内膘尔托阔依乡(39°20'N和75°05'E,海拔2 100 m)帕米尔东麓拍摄到一只雄性白顶鹀照片,经过查阅文献,确认是中国鸟类新纪录。     

Late‐glacial recolonization and phylogeography of European red deer (Cervus elaphus L.)

The Pleistocene was an epoch of extreme climatic and environmental changes. How individual species responded to the repeated cycles of warm and cold stages is a major topic of debate. For the European fauna and flora, an expansion–contraction model has been suggested, whereby temperate species were restricted to southern refugia during glacial times and expanded northwards during interglacials, including the present interglacial (Holocene). Here, we test this model on the red deer (Cervus elaphus) a large and highly mobile herbivore, using both modern and ancient mitochondrial DNA from the entire European range of the species over the last c. 40 000 years. Our results indicate that this species was sensitive to the effects of climate change. Prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) haplogroups restricted today to South‐East Europe and Western Asia reached as far west as the UK. During the LGM, red deer was mainly restricted to southern refugia, in Iberia, the Balkans and possibly in Italy and South‐Western Asia. At the end of the LGM, red deer expanded from the Iberian refugium, to Central and Northern Europe, including the UK, Belgium, Scandinavia, Germany, Poland and Belarus. Ancient DNA data cannot rule out refugial survival of red deer in North‐West Europe through the LGM. Had such deer survived, though, they were replaced by deer migrating from Iberia at the end of the glacial. The Balkans served as a separate LGM refugium and were probably connected to Western Asia with genetic exchange between the two areas.     

青藓科中国新记录种——短尖拟青藓

该文报道了短尖拟青藓［Sciuro-hypnum ornellanum (Molendo) Ignatov & Huttunen］在新疆阿尔泰山的分布,这是该种在中国的首次记录。详细介绍了拟青藓属［Sciuro-hypnum （Hampe） Hampe］的由来,讨论了短尖拟青藓的形态特征及其地理分布,对其与形态相近种进行了比较分析,并提供了中国拟青藓属分种检索表。该种的发现不仅为中国青藓科植物研究提供了新资料,同时也进一步佐证了中国新疆植物区系与俄罗斯、中亚及欧洲的密切联系。     

新疆赤藓属植物的地理分布及3个新记录种

采用经典分类方法,对1989～2012年采自新疆各地的赤藓属植物360余号标本进行鉴定。结果表明:(1)共鉴定出新疆赤藓属(Syntrichia Brid.)植物11种(含1变种),其中3种为新疆新记录种。(2)新疆首次发现的3个新记录种为:北方赤藓(Syntrichia norvegica)、双齿赤藓(S.bidentata)和齿肋赤藓异叶变种(S.caninervis var.spuria),其中双齿赤藓为中国濒危物种。(3)对新疆赤藓属植物11种的形态特征及其在新疆的分布进行了描述,并编制了新疆赤藓属植物的分种检索表。     

Fractionation of metals in the Sa1/2 sediment core from Lake Sarbsko (northern Poland) and its palaeolimnological implications

Abstract

This article documents and interprets stratigraphical changes in fractionation of Fe, Mn, Mg, K, Pb, Cu and Zn in the Sa1/2 sediment core from a coastal freshwater lake, Lake Sarbsko (northern Poland). The elements were sequentially extracted from the samples to distinguish five geochemical fractions: exchangeable, acid-extractable, reducible, oxidisable and residual. The analyses revealed substantial variations in geochemical partitioning of the elements and showed no correlation between the fractionation patterns and lithology of the sediments. In the sediments of Lake Sarbsko, iron is mainly bound to sulfides. Potassium occurs in its residual form. Magnesium and zinc are associated with carbonates and aluminosilicates, while copper occurs in compounds with organic matter and sulfides. Lead is found in connection with aluminosilicates and, to a lesser extent, with sulfides and organic matter. Manganese is partitioned between the oxidisable, acid-extractable, and exchangeable fractions. Heavy metals and potassium display the overall tendency to reduce the contents of their residual forms towards the top of the depositional sequence. Fe, Mn, Mg and Zn were found to be the most susceptible to post-sedimentary mobilisation.     

Is individual consistency in body mass and reproductive decisions linked to individual specialization in foraging behavior in a long‐lived seabird?

Individual specialization in diet or foraging behavior within apparently generalist populations has been described for many species, especially in polar and temperate marine environments, where resource distribution is relatively predictable. It is unclear, however, whether and how increased environmental variability – and thus reduced predictability of resources – due to global climate change will affect individual specialization. We determined the within‐ and among‐individual components of the trophic niche and the within‐individual repeatability of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in feathers and red blood cells of individual female southern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) across 7 years. We also investigated the effect of environmental variables (Southern Annular Mode, Southern Oscillation Index, and local sea surface temperature anomaly) on the isotopic values, as well as the link between stable isotopes and female body mass, clutch initiation dates, and total clutch mass. We observed consistent red blood cell δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values within individuals among years, suggesting a moderate degree of within‐individual specialization in C and N during the prebreeding period. However, the total niche width was reduced and individual specialization not present during the premolt period. Despite significant interannual differences in isotope values of C and N and environmental conditions, none of the environmental variables were linked to stable isotope values and thus able to explain phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, neither the within‐individual nor among‐individual effects of stable isotopes were found to be related to female body mass, clutch initiation date, or total clutch mass. In conclusion, our results emphasize that the degree of specialization within generalist populations can vary over the course of 1 year, even when being consistent within the same season across years. We were unable to confirm that environmental variability counteracts individual specialization in foraging behavior, as phenotypic plasticity in δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N was not linked to any of the environmental variables studied.     

陕南秦巴山区药用植物群落物种多样性研究

采用样方法对陕南秦巴山区药用植物群落物种多样性进行了研究。结果显示,该地区药用植物共计105科268属361种,其中药用裸子植物5科6属7种,药用被子植物92科254属344种,药用蕨类植物7科8属10种;含1属的科、含2~5属的科和含1种的属的药用植物数量较多,所占比例较高;该地区各植被类型的物种多样性变化各具特点,其中,物种丰富度指数(S)、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H)及Simpson多样性指数(D)表现为:乔木层最小、灌木层较大、草本层最大,但Pielou物种均匀度指数(J)的变化较为复杂;药用植物群落总的物种丰富度、乔木层物种丰富度和草本层物种丰富度均随海拔的升高表现出先升高后下降的趋势,且物种丰富度最大值出现在海拔1000~1200 m的山地常绿落叶阔叶林和温性针阔混交林的过渡区域,但灌木层物种丰富度与海拔之间无相关关系。本研究结果为阐明山地物种多样性的分布格局提供了基础资料,也为该区域药用植物的保护和管理提供参考。