Unraveling the mystery of the glacier bear: Genetic population structure of black bears (Ursus americanus) within the range of a rare pelage type

Glacier bears are a rare grey color morph of American black bear (Ursus americanus) found only in northern Southeast Alaska and a small portion of western Canada. We examine contemporary genetic population structure of black bears within the geographic extent of glacier bears and explore how this structure relates to pelage color and landscape features of a recently glaciated and highly fragmented landscape. We used existing radiocollar data to quantify black bear home‐range size within the geographic range of glacier bears. The mean home‐range size of female black bears in the study area was 13 km² (n = 11), whereas the home range of a single male was 86.9 km². We genotyped 284 bears using 21 microsatellites extracted from noninvasively collected hair as well as tissue samples from harvested bears. We found ten populations of black bears in the study area, including several new populations not previously identified, divided largely by geographic features such as glaciers and marine fjords. Glacier bears were assigned to four populations found on the north and east side of Lynn Canal and the north and west side of Glacier Bay with a curious absence in the nonglaciated peninsula between. Lack of genetic relatedness and geographic continuity between black bear populations containing glacier bears suggest a possible unsampled population or an association with ice fields. Further investigation is needed to determine the genetic basis and the adaptive and evolutionary significance of the glacier bear color morph to help focus black bear conservation management to maximize and preserve genetic diversity.     

基于大气沉降与径流的乌鲁木齐河源区氮素收支模拟

选取天山乌鲁木齐河源区作为自然状态下内陆河源区的代表,将区域氮循环简化为大气沉降输入与径流输出,模拟了该区域内的氮素收支状况,得出结论:(1)乌鲁木齐河源区(总控制水文点以上区域)的年均氮素干湿沉降量为17.0 t/a,且以有机氮为主,其次为铵态氮与硝态氮;年均氮素沉降通量为5.92 kg·hm-2·a-1,明显小于下游受人类活动影响更为强烈的地区。(2)河源区氮素的径流输出主要包括大气沉降直接随径流流失、冰川融水流失与泥沙输移流失等,在总控制水文点以上区域以泥沙输移为主,其次为大气沉降直接随径流流失,冰川融水携带氮量相对较少。(3)河源区氮素的输入量普遍小于输出量,该区域表现为一个氮源;在仅计算大气沉降与径流的情况下,总控制水文点以上区域的年均氮素净通量为-2.64 kg·hm-2·a-1,若将生物固氮与反硝化作用纳入考虑则氮源效应更加显著。     

新疆天山一号冰川地区十种藓类植物叶尖的微形态观察

在光学显微镜和扫描电镜下,对新疆天山一号冰川地区生长的10种藓类植物的叶尖（毛尖）的形态、齿（刺毛）、疣、角质层纹饰等微结构进行观察,其中电镜观察结果均为首次报道。结果表明：10种藓类植物叶尖的顶尖细胞和边缘细胞大部分都是透明的,并且细胞壁厚,细胞腔大;而叶尖边缘内卷、粗糙,细胞壁厚,干时细胞壁上下或侧面凹陷,其上有较多的小孔,这些都是明显耐旱特征,有利于水分的吸收及抵御长期寒冷、反射太阳辐射对其伤害,叶尖的类型对苔藓植物科、属级的分类意义不大,但其微形态如叶尖细胞及边缘细胞的形状、数目、细胞壁的凹陷程度以及其上角质层纹饰、乳突的微形态在同属的不同种之间存在明显差异,对于属下种间的鉴定具有一定的分类学价值。     

新疆天山一号冰川地区12种藓类植物叶形态结构研究

采用石蜡切片和扫描电镜的方法,对新疆天山一号冰川地区的12种藓类植物叶片结构及叶表面微形态进行了观察。结果显示,不同苔藓植物叶细胞、中肋、细胞壁、细胞表面等各项指标在类型、大小、分布、干燥时细胞壁的凹陷程度以及表面角质层纹饰和小孔形态、分布等都明显不同,这些微形态特点不仅在藓类植物属下种间的区分上具有分类学意义,同时也反映出藓类植物叶片为保水抗旱,抵御长期寒冷、多风和强光照射等恶劣环境对其的伤害而形成的生存策略。本研究结果为苔藓植物在极端环境地区的生态学功能研究提供了重要的科学依据。     

On ecosystems dynamics

We show how a dynamical system given by a t-score function for some class of monotonic data transformations generates consistent extreme value estimators. The variation of their values increases the uncertainty of proper assessment of climate change. Two important examples illustrate the methodology: mass balance measurements on Guanaco glacier, Chile, and extreme snow loads in Slovakia. We experience singular learning of the transitions in ecosystems.     

Vertical distribution of the soil microbiota along a successional gradient in a glacier forefield

Spatial patterns of microbial communities have been extensively surveyed in well‐developed soils, but few studies investigated the vertical distribution of micro‐organisms in newly developed soils after glacier retreat. We used 454‐pyrosequencing to assess whether bacterial and fungal community structures differed between stages of soil development (SSD) characterized by an increasing vegetation cover from barren (vegetation cover: 0%/age: 10 years), sparsely vegetated (13%/60 years), transient (60%/80 years) to vegetated (95%/110 years) and depths (surface, 5 and 20 cm) along the Damma glacier forefield (Switzerland). The SSD significantly influenced the bacterial and fungal communities. Based on indicator species analyses, metabolically versatile bacteria (e.g. Geobacter) and psychrophilic yeasts (e.g. Mrakia) characterized the barren soils. Vegetated soils with higher C, N and root biomass consisted of bacteria able to degrade complex organic compounds (e.g. Candidatus Solibacter), lignocellulolytic Ascomycota (e.g. Geoglossum) and ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycota (e.g. Laccaria). Soil depth only influenced bacterial and fungal communities in barren and sparsely vegetated soils. These changes were partly due to more silt and higher soil moisture in the surface. In both soil ages, the surface was characterized by OTUs affiliated to Phormidium and Sphingobacteriales. In lower depths, however, bacterial and fungal communities differed between SSD. Lower depths of sparsely vegetated soils consisted of OTUs affiliated to Acidobacteria and Geoglossum, whereas depths of barren soils were characterized by OTUs related to Gemmatimonadetes. Overall, plant establishment drives the soil microbiota along the successional gradient but does not influence the vertical distribution of microbiota in recently deglaciated soils.     

Yeasts in high Arctic glaciers: the discovery of a new habitat for eukaryotic microorganisms

Recently a new habitat for microbial life has been discovered at the base of polythermal glaciers. In ice from these subglacial environments so far only non-photosynthetic bacterial communities were discovered, but no eukaryotic microorganisms. We found high numbers of yeast cells, amounting to a maximum of 4,000 CFU ml⁻¹ of melt ice, in four different high Arctic glaciers. Twenty-two distinct species were isolated, including two new yeast species. Basidiomycetes predominated, among which Cryptococcus liquefaciens was the dominant species (ca. 90% of total). Other frequently occurring species were Cryptococcus albidus, Cryptococcus magnus, Cryptococcus saitoi and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. The dominant yeast species were psychrotolerant, halotolerant, freeze-thaw resistant, unable to form mycelium, relatively small-sized and able to utilize a wide range of carbon and nitrogen sources. This is the first report on the presence of yeast populations in subglacial ice.     

Factors influencing bacterial dynamics along a transect from supraglacial runoff to proglacial lakes of a high Arctic glacier [corrected

Bacterial production in glacial runoff and aquatic habitats along a c. 500 m transect from the ablation area of a Svalbard glacier (Midre Lovénbreen, 79 degrees N, 12 degrees E) down to a series of proglacial lakes in its forefield were assessed. In addition, a series of in situ experiments were conducted to test how different nutrient sources (glacial flour and dissolved organic matter derived from goose faeces) and temperature affect bacterial abundance and production in these ecosystems. Bacterial abundance and production increased significantly along this transect and reached a maximum in the proglacial lakes. Bacterial diversity profiles as assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis indicated that communities in glacial runoff were different from those in proglacial lakes. Heterotrophic bacterial production was mainly controlled by temperature and phosphorus limitation. Addition of both glacial flour and dissolved organic matter derived from goose faeces stimulated bacterial production in those lakes. The results suggest that glacial runoff sustains an active bacterial community which is further stimulated in proglacial lakes by higher temperatures and nutrient inputs from bird faeces. Thus, as in maritime temperate and Antarctic settings, bacterial communities developing in the recently deglaciated terrain of Svalbard receive important inputs of nutrients via faunal transfers from adjacent ecosystems.