北部湾涠洲岛水域发现上颌和须板异常的布氏鲸:对保护的启示

2018年初以来,北部湾涠洲岛附近出现了布氏鲸（Balaenoptera edeni）的活动。一头上颌与须板异常的小布氏鲸个体引发热议,其视频在网络上广泛流传。我们在船只调查时,目击该个体10次,其以单独活动为主（90%）,主要出现在涠洲岛到斜阳岛之间的水域,最小凸多边形家域面积为14km2,核心家域面积为166.9km²。然而,在 2019年3月30日我们发现该个体已死亡漂浮在海面,根据尸体腐烂状况来推测,该个体的死亡时间大约为3~5日,死亡原因不明。根据照片和现场解剖分析,推测该小布氏鲸的上颌和鲸须异常可能是被渔网或绳索缠绕导致的。由于无法从外形上确认属于哪一个亚种,因此我们测定了该个体的线粒体DNA D-loop（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）和细胞色素b（cytochrome b, Cyt b）基因,分别得到909bp和395bp的序列,经比对和系统发育重建,发现该个体属于近岸分布的小布氏鲸亚种（Eden’s whale, B. e. edeni）。由于小布氏鲸具有一定季节迁移特性,我们无法判断造成其上颌伤害的渔网或绳索是否在中国水域。尽管如此,仍然建议当地部门应加强宣传,减少渔网等海洋垃圾的丢弃和排放,为小布氏鲸营造一个安全的栖息环境。     

Stejneger's beaked whale strandings in Alaska, 1995–2020

Presented here is the first comprehensive and updated compilation of history, distribution, and findings of Stejneger's beaked whales (Mesoplodon stejnegeri) in Alaska. Stejneger's beaked whales are a poorly understood, elusive, deep-diving cetacean species found in the North Pacific Ocean. Since Stejneger's beaked whale strandings data in Alaska through 1994 were last published, 35 additional strandings have been documented. Twenty-seven animals stranded in the Aleutian Islands, seven stranded in Southcentral Alaska, and one animal stranded on St. Lawrence Island. Twenty-two carcasses were necropsied, but only four were fresh. Seventeen of the 22 died during mass stranding events and cause of death could not be definitively determined. Barotrauma was suspected in three cases and infectious disease possibly complicated by barotrauma occurred in two cases. We documented an expansion of strandings into the northern Bering Sea, characterized a sex bias, examined stomach contents that included macroplastic, and identified parasites not previously associated with Stejneger's beaked whales. Also included are data on the largest known mass stranding of Stejneger's beaked whales, which occurred on Adak Island in 2018. The history, distribution, and findings presented here are central to further our understanding of this species.     

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。     

不同人类干扰背景下横断山南段保护优先区规划研究

建立自然保护区是保护和维持生物多样性最有效、最基本的措施。在有限的资金和人力条件下,如何参考不同人类干扰在保护优先区建设中的影响并选择合适的保护规划方案,在更大程度上的保护本区域的生物多样性,一直以来都是保护生物学家争论的焦点。以横断山南段区为例,重点关注保护区建设过程中不同的人类干扰程度,以人类干扰的高低为切入点,基于多准则决策分析的原理和方法,以横断山南植被生态系统和人类干扰强度因子为基础,对比分析横断山南的生态系统保护价值分布、人类干扰格局和保护成效,结果显示：一是区域内森林生态系统（针阔混交林、常绿阔叶林、落叶阔叶林、落叶混交林、常绿针叶林）、湿地生态系统（湖泊、河流、草本湿地）、高山生态系统（冰川和永久积雪、高寒草甸、高寒草原）价值高且分值在21分以上;二是从人类干扰高低分析入手,基于维持和提升区域生物多样性的角度出发,提出了不同的保护优先区域和保护策略。三是识别出横断山南段区的保护优先区主要包括峨边县、马边县、石棉县、越西县、保山市、腾冲市、维西县、德钦县、察隅县等区域。     

太行山南麓坡面土壤碳氮空间变异性及其影响因素

太行山南麓是我国华北平原的重要生态屏障,研究该区域土壤养分的空间变异性对土石山区林业生态建设具有重要意义。本研究以太行山南麓典型坡面(人工林坡地和自然荒坡地)为对象,采用网格法布设采样点,运用经典统计学、地统计学和约束性排序相结合的方法对土壤养分的空间变异性进行分析。结果表明: 1)太行山南麓的土壤全碳(TC)含量为6.80～57.05 g·kg^-1,全氮(TN)含量为0.74～3.93 g·kg^-1;土壤TC、TN变异系数为25.0%～52.8%,均属于中等程度变异,该变异由随机性因素和结构性因素共同引起;养分的空间聚集性均随着滞后距的增加而下降。2)土壤养分含量从坡上到坡下均有增加的趋势,养分的高值区出现在坡下部分。3)土壤总容重、砾石含量、植被覆盖度、土壤含水量是影响太行山南麓土壤TC、TN空间变异的主要因素。4)土壤含水量是影响自然荒坡地土壤养分的主控因素,但不是影响人工林坡地的主控因素。     

The extensive development of the turf-forming red alga Womersleyella setacea (Hollenberg) R. E. Norris (Rhodophyta,Ceramiales) in the Bay of Boka Kotorska,Montenegro (southern Adriatic Sea)

Abstract

In August 2003, dense turfs formed by the filamentous red alga Womersleyella setacea (Hollenberg) R. E. Norris were found in the open part of the Bay of Boka Kotorska, on the shore of Montenegro (southern Adriatic Sea). The habitat and morphology of the alga are described and the impact of the massive development of this species on the structure of the algal communities is discussed.     

Hidden areas of endemism: Small units in the South-eastern Neotropics

This study aimed to establish if the Lower Río de la Plata Basin (LRPB) wetlands can be considered a biogeographic unit. The species of this area were compiled and segregated according to the habitat, selecting only 87 endemic taxa restricted to the LRPB and linked to wetlands. Distributional data of species obtained from the literature, web databases, biological collections, and field trips were georeferenced. The areas of endemism were established as those areas where the distribution of two or more taxa overlaps in groups of rivers’ sections with geographic continuity and were tested with a cluster analysis. This congruence is due to ecological, geomorphological, and historical factors. Four areas of endemism were found: a broad area that comprises the whole study area (Riverine district), which is divided into three nested smaller areas (Paraguay–Paraná Flooding Valleys, Uruguay Basin, and Paraná Delta subdistricts). Then, we analysed 170 taxa distributions to evaluate the relationship between the study area and the neighbouring biogeographic units. According to the results, the study area belongs to the Paraná biogeographic province. Some areas of endemism are hidden inside broader areas and are hardly detected with the currently used biogeographic grid-methods. We propose to combine the information about ecological requirements of each taxon with its georeferenced records to estimate their areas of distribution as a primary step for searching areas of endemism in intracontinental studies.     

Incorporating trnH-psbA to the core DNA barcodes improves significantly species discrimination within?southern African Combretaceae

Recent studies indicate that the discriminatory power of the core DNA barcodes (rbcLa + matK) for land plants may have been overestimated since their performance have been tested only on few closely related species. In this study we focused mainly on how the addition of complementary barcodes (nrITS and trnH-psbA) to the core barcodes will affect the performance of the core barcodes in discriminating closely related species from family to section levels. In general, we found that the core barcodes performed poorly compared to the various combinations tested. Using multiple criteria, we finally advocated for the use of the core + trnH-psbA as potential DNA barcode for the family Combretaceae at least in southern Africa. Our results also indicate that the success of DNA barcoding in discriminating closely related species may be related to evolutionary and possibly the biogeographic histories of the taxonomic group tested.     

Upward ant distribution shift corresponds with minimum,not maximum,temperature tolerance

Rapid climate change may prompt species distribution shifts upward and poleward, but species movement in itself is not sufficient to establish climate causation. Other dynamics, such as disturbance history, may prompt species distribution shifts resembling those expected from rapid climate change. Links between species distributions, regional climate trends and physiological mechanism are needed to convincingly establish climate‐induced species shifts. We examine a 38‐year shift (1974–2012) in an elevation ecotone between two closely related ant species, Aphaenogaster picea and A. rudis. Even though A. picea and A. rudis are closely related with North American distributions that sometimes overlap, they also exhibit local‐ and regional‐scale differences in temperature requirements so that A. rudis is more southerly and inhabits lower elevations whereas A. picea is more northerly and inhabits high elevations. We find considerable movement by the warm‐habitat species upward in elevation between 1974 and 2012 with A. rudis, replacing the cold‐habitat species, A. picea, along the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountain chain in north Georgia, USA. Concomitant with the distribution shifts, regional mean and maximum temperatures remain steady (1974–2012), but minimum temperatures increase. We collect individuals from the study sites and subject them to thermal tolerance testing in a controlled setting and find that maximum and minimum temperature acclimatization occurs along the elevation gradient in both species, but A. rudis consistently becomes physiologically incapacitated at minimum and maximum temperatures 2 °C higher than A. picea. These results indicate that rising minimum temperatures allow A. rudis to move upward in elevation and displace A. picea. Given that Aphaenogaster ants are the dominant woodland seed dispersers in eastern deciduous forests, and that their thermal tolerances drive distinct differences in temperature‐cued synchrony with early blooming plants, these climate responses not only impact ant‐ant interactions, but might have wide implications for ant‐plant interactions.     

A COMMENT ON THE STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE GENUS PARATYLODIPLAX SERENE (BRACHYURA: OCYPODIDAE) IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Summary

The ocypodid genus Paratylodiplax was described in 1974 and contains four species, three of which are endemic to southern Africa where they form an important component of the estuarine benthic fauna. However, very little is known about the biology and ecology of the genus, with discrepancies existing between the commonly quoted distributions and actual records of the species. This comment outlines the current taxonomic status of the genus and attempts to resolve the discrepancies in the distributions of the southern African species Paratylodiplax blephariskios has been recorded from the Morrumbene estuary in Mozambique to the Mngazana estuary in the eastern Cape, while the distributions of P. algoensis and P. edwardsii are given as being from the Mngazana to the Eerste estuary and Langebaan Lagoon in the western Cape respectively.