The significance of genetic erosion in the process of extinction

Summary The amount of genetic variation within a population is, among other things, related to population size. In small populations loss of genetic variation due to high levels of genetic drift and inbreeding may result in decline of individual fitness and increase the chance of population extinction. This chain of processes is known as genetic erosion. In this study we tested the genetic erosion hypothesis by investigating the relation between morphological variation and population size in two perennial, outbreeding plant species, Salvia pratensis and Scabiosa columbaria. To relate phenotypic variation to genetic variation the experiments were performed under common environmental conditions. For both species a positive correlation was observed between the amount of phenotypic variation and population size (Salvia r=0.915; Scabiosa r=0.703). Part of this variation is likely to have a genetic base, although maternal effects were present in the seedling and juvenile life stages. Differences between populations could in both species be attributed to parameters related to fitness, i.e. growth rate in Salvia and reproductive effort in Scabiosa. Discriminant functions reflecting these parameters did not however discriminate between large and small populations.Results are discussed in relation to the common environment approach and to electrophoretic results obtained earlier (Van Treuren et al. 1991).     

噬菌蛭弧菌对嗜水气单胞菌裂解作用的研究

本文报道了8株噬菌蛭弧菌对河水中分离的9株嗜水气单胞菌的裂解作用。结果发现,噬菌蛭弧菌Bd32的裂解率为77.78％;Bd83、Bd98的裂解率为88.89％,其余5株噬菌蛭弧菌对9株嗜水气单胞菌全部裂解。     

Sediment supply and accumulation in a small Moroccan lake: an historical perspective

Dayat-er-Roumi is a small lake (73 ha) located in the sub-humid region of NE Morocco. Lake sediment and catchment soils are examined to identify areas of sediment supply to the lake. Magnetic measurements and clay mineralogy are used to show that recent lake sediment is derived predominantly from eroded topsoil. ²¹⁰Pb dating of one sediment core provided a chronology for the calculation of sediment accumulation rates. The rate of sediment accumulation increased slowly throughout the earlier part of the 20th century and then rapidly in the mid-1970's. These increases are attributed to human disturbances in the catchment, initially by olive planting and then by drainage of a wetland area.     

Assessment of wind and water erosion risk in the watershed of the Ningxia-Inner Mongolia Reach of the Yellow River,China

The watershed of the Ningxia-Inner Mongolia Reach of the Yellow River (NIMRYR) suffers from soil erosion by wind and water because of the wide distribution of deserts and arsenic sandstones in this region. The sediment generated by erosion fed into the Yellow River directly or by its tributaries, silting up the Yellow River and raising the elevation of the river bed. The silting of the Yellow River result in serious flood disasters in this watershed. Therefore, it is urgent to implement soil conservation projects to control wind and water soil erosion. To reach this objective, understanding the spatial and temporal variations of soil erosion in this watershed is very important. In this study, an assessment of soil erosion risk by wind and water was performed based on soil erosion models. The Integrated Wind Erosion Modeling System (IWEMS) and the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) were used to estimate the wind erosion modulus in this watershed, and the water erosion modulus was estimated by the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The results show that during 2000s, the wind erosion modulus ranged from 0 to 31,440.4 t/km²/a, and the water erosion modulus was from 0 to 24,048.5 t/km²/a. Moreover, the total soil erosion modulus by wind and water has ranged from 0 to 32,792.7 t/km²/a. Due to the influence of regional weather and geomorphology, occurrences of wind and water erosion in this watershed are not identical in their spatial and temporal patterns. Based on the calculated soil erosion modulus, soil erosion risk was assessed according to the “Classification criteria for soil-erosion intensities” (SL190-2007). It was assumed that the areas with erosion intensity higher than slight were at risk of erosion; by this criterion, more than 34% of the total area of the watershed of the NIMRYR would be at erosion risk. Based on this estimation, it was also found that the NIMRYR watershed is not a region of wind–water erosion crisscross and that land-use conversions have a significant impact on soil erosion.     

Soil Erosion Impact on Agronomic Productivity and Environment Quality

Soil erosion is a global issue because of its severe adverse economic and environmental impacts. Economic impacts on productivity may be due to direct effects on crops/plants on-site and off-site, and environmental consequences are primarily off-site due either to pollution of natural waters or adverse effects on air quality due to dust and emissions of radiatively active gases. Off-site economic effects of erosion are related to the damage to civil structure, siltation of water ways and reservoirs, and additional costs involved in water treatment. There are numerous reports regarding the on-site effects of erosion on productivity. However, a vast majority of these are from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe, and only a few from soils of the tropics and subtropics. On-site effects of erosion on agronomic productivity are assessed with a wide range of methods, which can be broadly grouped into three categories: agronomic/soil quality evaluation, economic assessment, and knowledge surveys. Agronomic methods involve greenhouse and field experiments to assess erosion-induced changes in soil quality in relation to productivity. A widely used technique is to establish field plots on the same soil series but with different severity of past erosion. Different erosional phases must be located on the same landscape position. Impact of past erosion on productivity can also be assessed by relating plant growth to the depth of a root-restrictive horizon. Impact of current erosion rate on productivity can be assessed using field runoff plots or paired watersheds, and that of future erosion using topsoil removal and addition technique. Economic evaluation of the on-site impact involves assessment of the losses of plant available water and nutrients and other additional inputs needed due to erosion. Knowledge surveys are conducted as a qualitative substitute for locations where quantitative data are not available. Results obtained from these different techniques are not comparable, and there is a need to standardize the methods and develop scaling procedures to extrapolate the data from plot or soil level to regional and global scale. There is also a need to assess on-site impact of erosion in relation to soil loss tolerance, soil life, soil resilience or ease of restoration, and soil management options for sustainable use of soil and water resources. Restoration of degraded soils is a high global priority. If about 1.5×10⁹?ha of soils in the world prone to erosion can be managed to effectively control soil erosion, it would improve air and water quality, sequester C in the pedosphere at the rate of about 1.5?Pg/year, and increase food production. The risks of global annual loss of food production due to accelerated erosion may be as high as 190×10⁶?Mg of cereals, 6×10⁶?Mg of soybeans, 3×10⁶?Mg of pulses, and 73×10⁶?Mg of roots and tubers. The actual loss may depend on weather conditions during the growing season, farming systems, soil management, and soil ameliorative input used. Erosion-caused losses of food production are most severe in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and elsewhere in the tropics rather than in other regions.     

Influence of hurricanes on coastal ecosystems along the northern Gulf of Mexico

Available literature indicates that hurricanes do not generally produce long-term detrimental impacts to unmodified coastal systems and that they often provide net benefits along the U.S. Gulf Coast. While there is normally initial erosion from hurricanes, they also often result in a large influx of inorganic sediments, creating new wetlands and contributing to the maintenance of existing wetlands. The formation of washover deposits is disastrous where cultural development has occurred, but in natural areas these deposits are part of the natural cycle of shoreline development and contribute to habitat diversity and productivity. Abundant rainfall typically associated with hurricanes often results in large increases of sediment and nutrient inputs into coastal estuaries, leading to both short-term and long-term increases in productivity. Rainfall during tropical disturbances accounts for a significant part of total precipitation along the northern gulf. The immediate impact of hurricanes may be to reduce populations of some species but these populations generally recover rapidly. Overall, productivity in natural systems seems to be increased by periodic hurricanes. Hurricane impacts are often severe and long lasting in wetlands that have been modified by human impacts such as semi- or complete impoundments.     

基于生态红线划定的祁连山生态保护性开发研究

运用祁连山地区的自然环境数据和社会经济数据,基于GIS平台、加权求和多指标运算模型,选取了30个指标,从生态弹性力、生态敏感性和社会经济影响力3个方面,构建了生态红线评价指标体系,对祁连山生态保护性开发进行研究分析。结果表明:生态红、黄、绿线区,分别占研究区面积的32%、40%、28%。生态红线区主要分布于祁连山的西南段、托来山以南、青海湖区及区内所有冰川分布地区,应实行最严格的管控;生态黄线区是祁连山分布面积最广的区域,主要集中在祁连山中、西段,湟水谷地的中游及乌鞘岭南部,应以修复生态环境和提供部分农产品为主;生态绿线区主要分布在疏勒南山以东地区,应保护优先,以提供生态产品为主,分区开展各具民族特色的生态旅游。     

砾石对红壤工程堆积体边坡径流产沙的影响

为探究砾石对红壤工程堆积体边坡降雨侵蚀的影响,基于室内模拟降雨试验,在1.0、1.5、2.0、2.5 mm/min雨强条件下,以土质边坡为对照,研究了10%、20%和30%的砾石质量分数红壤工程堆积体边坡的径流特征、产沙过程及侵蚀动力机制。结果表明：1）砾石质量分数对稳定径流强度的影响存在阈值,在雨强 > 1.0 mm/min时稳定径流强度随砾石质量分数的增加先减小后增大,在1.0 mm/min雨强时则表现为先增大后减小,且均在10%砾石质量分数下达到极值;2）雨强1.0 mm/min时,径流为缓流,砾石促进径流流动,使弗汝德数增大24.5%-87.8%,雨强2.0、2.5 mm/min时,径流为急流,砾石延缓径流流动,使弗汝德数降低4.2%-13.0%;3）侵蚀速率随产流历时变化过程受砾石质量分数和雨强的影响,雨强越大,砾石质量分数越低,边坡越易发生细沟侵蚀且伴随重力崩塌现象,侵蚀速率呈多峰多谷变化趋势;4）1.0 mm/min雨强时,砾石存在加剧了土壤侵蚀,产沙增幅达28.7%-50.5%;雨强 > 1.0 mm/min时,砾石减沙效益为5.0%-64.4%;5）径流功率是描述红壤工程堆积体侵蚀动力机制最优参数,其可蚀性参数及发生侵蚀临界径流功率从大到小对应的砾石质量分数均为10%、0、20%和30%。研究成果可为红壤区开发建设项目水土流失治理及侵蚀预测模型提供科学依据。     

Population-Specific Selection on Standing Variation Generated by Lateral Gene Transfers in a Grass

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Optimization of 1,3-disubstituted urea-based inhibitors of Zika virus infection

Zika virus (ZIKV) has become a public health concern worldwide due to its association with congenital abnormalities and neurological diseases. To date, no effective vaccines or antiviral drugs have been approved for the treatment of ZIKV infection, and new inexpensive therapeutic options are urgently needed. In this study, we have used an in vitro plaque assay to assess an antiviral activity of the second generation of anti-ZIKV compounds, based on 1,3-disubstituted (thio)urea scaffold. Several compounds in the library were found to possess excellent activity against Zika virus with IC₅₀ values <200 pM. The most active analog, A5 exhibited an exceptional IC₅₀ = 85.1 ± 1.7 pM. Further analysis delineated structural requirements necessary for potent antiviral effects of this class of compounds. Collectively, our findings suggest that 1,3-disubstituted (thio)urea derivatives are excellent preclinical candidates for the development of anti-ZIKV therapeutics.