青藏高原芨芨草型温性草原不同土地利用方式的理论碳增汇潜力比较

于2009年7~8月对青藏高原芨芨草(Achnatherumsplendens)型温性草原主要分布区的4种土地利用类型──原生草地、退化草地、农田耕种和退耕还草区的土壤容重、土壤有机碳含量和植物地上、地下生物量进行对比研究,以探讨土地利用方式对青藏高原草地生态系统碳储垂向分布的影响.结果表明,土地利用方式显著影响着浅层(0~20 cm)土壤容重和地下生物量(P<0.05);农田耕种和退耕还草对土壤有机碳含量的影响程度可深达60cm;农田耕种区和退耕还草区的地上生物量极显著高于原生草地区和退化草地区(P<0.01);原生草地、退化草地、农田耕种区和退耕还草区的系统(植物+0~40 cm土壤)碳储分别为122.84、108.82、130.68和108.99 t?hm-2;以原生草地区地下系统碳储为参照,退化草地、农田耕种区和退耕还草区的增汇潜力分别为14.05、-6.38和14.88 t?hm-2,但增汇的时间效益和经济效益区别较大.     

Modification of native grasses for biofuel production may increase virus susceptibility

Bioenergy production is driving modifications to native plant species for use as novel biofuel crops. Key aims are to increase crop growth rates and to enhance conversion efficiency by reducing biomass recalcitrance to digestion. However, selection for these biofuel‐valuable traits has potential to compromise plant defenses and alter interactions with pests and pathogens. Insect‐vectored plant viruses are of particular concern because perennial crops have potential to serve as virus reservoirs that influence regional disease dynamics. In this study, we examined relationships between growth rates and biomass recalcitrance in five switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) populations, ranging from near‐wildtype to highly selected cultivars, in a common garden trial. We measured biomass accumulation rates and assayed foliage for acid detergent lignin, neutral detergent fiber, in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility and in vitro true dry matter digestibility. We then evaluated relationships between these traits and susceptibility to a widely distributed group of aphid‐transmitted Poaceae viruses (Luteoviridae: Barley and cereal yellow dwarf viruses, B/CYDVs). Virus infection rates and prevalence were assayed with RT‐PCR in the common garden, in greenhouse inoculation trials, and in previously established switchgrass stands across a 300‐km transect in Michigan, USA. Aphid host preferences were quantified in a series of arena host choice tests with field‐grown foliage. Contrary to expectations, biomass accumulation rates and foliar digestibility were not strongly linked in switchgrass populations we examined, and largely represented two different trait axes. Natural B/CYDV prevalence in established switchgrass stands ranged from 0% to 28%. In experiments, susceptibility varied notably among switchgrass populations and was more strongly predicted by potential biomass accumulation rates than by foliar digestibility; highly selected, productive cultivars were most virus‐susceptible and most preferred by aphids. Evaluation and mitigation of virus susceptibility of new biofuel crops is recommended to avert possible unintended consequences of biofuel production on regional pathogen dynamics.     

Species richness promotes ecosystem carbon storage: evidence from biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments

Plant diversity has a strong impact on a plethora of ecosystem functions and services, especially ecosystem carbon (C) storage. However, the potential context-dependency of biodiversity effects across ecosystem types, environmental conditions and carbon pools remains largely unknown. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis by collecting data from 95 biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) studies across 60 sites to explore the effects of plant diversity on different C pools, including aboveground and belowground plant biomass, soil microbial biomass C and soil C content across different ecosystem types. The results showed that ecosystem C storage was significantly enhanced by plant diversity, with stronger effects on aboveground biomass than on soil C content. Moreover, the response magnitudes of ecosystem C storage increased with the level of species richness and experimental duration across all ecosystems. The effects of plant diversity were more pronounced in grasslands than in forests. Furthermore, the effects of plant diversity on belowground plant biomass increased with aridity index in grasslands and forests, suggesting that climate change might modulate biodiversity effects, which are stronger under wetter conditions but weaker under more arid conditions. Taken together, these results provide novel insights into the important role of plant diversity in ecosystem C storage across critical C pools, ecosystem types and environmental contexts.     

Genetic analysis provides insights into species distribution and population structure in East Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus and T. capensis)

Two sister species of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus and T. capensis) are described that are intensively harvested in East Atlantic waters. To address long-standing uncertainties as to their respective geographical ranges, overlap and intraspecific population structure this study combined genetic (mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite) analysis and targeted sampling of the hitherto understudied West African coast. mtDNA revealed two reciprocally monophyletic clades corresponding to each species with interspecies nuclear differentiation supported by F_ST values. The T. trachurus clade was found across the north-east Atlantic down to Ghana but was absent from Angolan and South African samples. The T. capensis clade was found only in South Africa, Angola and a single Ghanaian individual. This pattern suggests that both species may overlap in the waters around Ghana. The potential for cryptic hybridization and/or indiscriminate harvesting of both species in the region is discussed. For T. capensis mtDNA supports high gene flow across the Benguela upwelling system, which fits with the species' ecology. The data add to evidence of a lack of significant genetic structure throughout the range of T. trachurus though the assumption of demographic panmixia is cautioned against. For both species, resolution of stock recruitment heterogeneity relevant to fishery management, as well as potential hybridization, will require more powerful genomic analyses.     

Investigating food limitations in wild fisheries: the attendance and growth responses of fish at an anthropogenic feeding station within a temperate estuary

To investigate whether wild fish populations are food limited, this study explored whether the provision of supplementary food had a positive effect on the abundance, condition and growth characteristics of estuarine fish assemblages in New Zealand. Feed (7690 kg) was delivered from an anthropogenic feeding station over a 60-week period to a naturally occurring assemblage of wild fish. Yellow-eyed mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri) of juvenile, sub-adult and newly matured size classes were the dominant species actively foraging at the feeding station throughout its operation, whereas larger piscivorous species visited and foraged from the feed station over the summer period only. Other species were present in the wider area of Nelson Haven, but not at the feed station. No obvious changes in the condition factor of yellow-eyed mullet were observed across the period of monitoring, and no changes in their catchability were detected – although marked seasonal variation in catch rates was observed. Results from tag-recapture data identify that the length-based growth rates of yellow-eyed mullet recaptured near the feed station were higher than those of tagged individuals recaptured at a nearby comparison site, and were higher than the growth rates observed in natural populations of yellow-eyed mullet in the wider region. Shifts in the median size of fish, as observed by acoustic observations, agreed with the tag-recapture data. Although some of the results identified were not amenable to statistical analyses, the attendance of yellow-eyed mullet at the feeding station, in combination with the improved estimates of growth by most of the techniques employed, indicates that yellow-eyed mullet are food limited in their natural environment and that the growth performance of these fish can be positively affected by the increased availability of food.     

Length–weight and length-length relationship of eight marine fish species from Northeastern Brazilian coast

Length-weight relationships (LWR) and length-length relationships (LLR) were provided for eight species inhabiting Northeastern Brazilian coast. Nine transects (5, 15, 30 m deep) between Sergipe and Vaza-Barris rivers mouths were sampled monthly from September 2013 to August 2014. Each sampling was carried out using a shrimp boat equipped with double ring nets (4 m mouth wide, 10 m long and 20 mm mesh size) and trawlings were performed for 15 min. Fishes were measured (standard and total length, 0.1 cm) and weighted (total weight, 0.01 g). We provide LWR and LLR coefficients for these eight species, including new maximum TL for five species, and discuss the similarity of these results with estimates available in Fishbase.     

珍稀濒危植物珙桐过氧化物酶活性和丙二醛含量

采用比色法测定了不同年龄级、部位和叶位珙桐叶的过氧化物酶(POD)活性和丙二醛（MDA）含量,以探讨珙桐的生理生态适应性。结果表明：不同年龄级同一生长时期珙桐叶的POD活性和MDA含量不同,同年龄级同层的POD活性随叶位增大先升后降,MDA含量随叶位增大逐渐升高;同叶位不同层及同层不同叶位的珙桐叶的POD活性和MDA含量不同。珙桐叶POD活性和MDA含量对生长期敏感,同年龄级同叶位的珙桐叶随叶片的生长、衰老,POD活性和MDA含量逐渐升高,即珙桐叶POD活性和MDA含量受生物和非生物因子影响显著,且不同年龄级、叶位、层次存在差异。     

黑木耳原种胞外酶活性的研究

目的：研究黑木耳菌株原种胞外酶活分泌特性,为进行大规模生产用种早期判定提供检测手段。方法：以9个黑木耳栽培菌株的原种为实验材料,分别测定了其胞外漆酶、多酚氧化酶、羧甲基纤维素酶、滤纸维素酶的酶活性变化。结果：胞外漆酶、多酚氧化酶、纤维素酶活性的变化趋势大致相似,酶活随培养时间呈规律性的升高、降低,除个别菌株（3、6）外,不同菌株同种酶活性差别不大,酶活相对较高的菌株有2、3、6、9号。不同菌株酶活高峰出现的时间有差异,较早的出现在培养的第10d,较晚的出现在培养的第70d。结论：被测菌株胞外酶活存在一定的规律性,利用该规律性可检测菌种退化、老化和不利变异。     

Resurrecting the differential mortality model of sexual size dimorphism

In some animal groups males may be several times smaller than females. One of the hypotheses proposed to explain the evolution of this extreme sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is the differential mortality model (DMM), which is based on the assumption that when males are the searching sex, higher male mortality relaxes male–male contest competition, leading to the adaptive evolution of early‐maturing, small males that are favoured by viability selection. Evidence for the main prediction of this model, i.e. that there is a negative relationship between differential mortality and SSD, has remained elusive. Using sex differences in pitfall trap catches – a proxy of sex differences in mobility and mortality – across 40 spider species, and using the evolutionary comparative method, we found significant negative relationships between differential mortality and SSD for three size traits. Thus, the DMM can still explain part of the observed variance in SSD.     

Male hypofertility induced by Paraquat consumption in the non-target parasitoid Anisopteromalus calandrae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

The effects of a herbicide – Paraquat – on male development and reproduction were tested on the parasitoid wasp Anisopteromalus calandrae (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae) by injecting host larvae with different concentrations of this substance. Data measured were: (1) developmental success, (2) sperm stock in seminal vesicles, (3) ability to copulate and transfer sperm, and (4) offspring production. Both developmental success and sperm in seminal vesicles were reduced in the “Paraquat” groups. However, neither sperm stored in the females’ spermatheca, nor offspring production (number of female offspring and sex ratio) differed from controls, whatever the host treatment. The decreased of male sperm reserve in ‘‘Paraquat” group is likely to reduce their reproductive success because they can succefully inseminated less female than control males. These males are thus hyporfertiles. Because Paraquat has non-negligible consequences on non-target parasitoid males, it is likely to affect natural and controlled insect populations.