黄土沟壑区狼牙刺群落优势种群生态位研究

运用Levin公式和百分率相似公式,对狼牙刺群落中13个优势种群的生态位宽度、生态位相似性比例及其生态位重叠值进行了研究.结果表明,生态位宽度依次为狼牙刺(0.964)、茭蒿(0.77)、铁杆蒿(0.664)、黄背草(0.08)、远志(0.48)、狗尾草(0.472)、狗牙根(0.399)、白羊草(0.393)、达乌里胡枝子(0.327)、长芒草(0.321)、杠柳(0.292)、灌木铁线莲(0.21)、糙隐子草(0.234).狼牙刺与其他种群的生态位相似比在0.21～0.76之间,生态位重叠值较高,其他种群与狼牙刺之间的重叠值较低,表明狼牙刺与其他种群之间对资源的竞争并不十分激烈,因而能成为黄土沟壑区狼牙刺群落中利用资源能力和生态适应性最强的优势种群,并在维持群落的物种多样性和相对稳定性中发挥重要作用.     

秦岭锐齿栎林种群生态位特征研究

基于秦岭林区锐齿栎群落31块400m^2的样地调查数据,以物种的重要值为生态位计算的资源状态指标,应用Levins、Hurlbert公式和Pianka公式对该林区锐齿栎群落24种主要乔木和29种灌木进行了生态位宽度和生态位重叠计算与分析．结果表明,该群落中主要优势种群的生态位宽度较大,乔木层的主要优势种群锐齿栎、华山松、漆树、山杨、油松等的Levins、Hurlbert生态位宽度值分别为3．695、1．695、1．325、O．840、0．702和0．036、0．299、0．568、1．721、2．701,灌木层的主要优势种群榛子、美丽胡枝子、鞘柄菝葜等的Levins、Hurlbert生态位宽度值分别为1．833、1．466、0．984和0．111、0．300、0．594．生态位宽度较大的物种对资源利用能力较强,与其它种群间的生态位重叠一般较大;对相似环境要求的物种间生态位重叠较大．     

三种玉米蚜虫种群的生态位分析

对重庆市郊区1998～1999年春玉米上3种蚜虫种群的数量动态、生态位宽度和生态位重叠进行了系统的分析研究．结果表明,发生在春玉米上的玉米蚜(Rhopalosiphum maidis),禾谷缢管蚜(Rhopalosiphum padi)和麦长管蚜(Sitobion avenae)3种蚜虫混合种群的种群数量消长呈现出5月中下旬和6月下旬两个高峰;在生态位宽度上,Livens生态位宽度指数(Bi)分析表明,麦长管蚜表现出时间上的高度分化,玉米蚜表现出空间上的高度聚集特性,而禾谷缢管蚜的分化并不明显;在生态位重叠上,玉米蚜和禾谷缢管蚜的HturlbeIt生态位重叠指数(Lij)最高,玉米蚜和麦长管蚜次之,禾谷缢管蚜和麦长管蚜最小．在春玉米上发生的3种蚜虫中,玉米蚜具有较强的竞争优势．     

两种绣线菊低温锻炼与脱锻炼处理对蛋白质表达的影响

通过2维双向电泳法,研究抗寒能力与光合能力不同的金山绣线菊与华北绣线菊,低温锻炼处理对蛋白质表达所产生的影响。结果表明,低温锻炼处理对2种绣线菊蛋白质表达的影响显著不同,在低温锻炼与脱锻炼处理中,金山绣线菊产生低温诱导特异蛋白,华北绣线菊没有低温诱导特异蛋白表达;蛋白质双向电泳图谱分析表明,华北绣线菊与金山绣线菊经过低温锻炼后发生蛋白质差异表达,经质谱鉴定其中的3种显著差异表达的蛋白质分别为2种未知新蛋白,2种未知蛋白的部分氨基酸序列分别为VSHLAGFSSNNPK、LKADKPTLLSEAK;DPNDHPNPFTVK、DGNGFFLYLLDPDSSK、NGDGMFLYLLDGLESK,另一种差异蛋白为抗坏血酸过氧化物酶;低温锻炼处理使绣线菊中与光合作用密切相关的蛋白质抗坏血酸过氧化物酶发生了显著的变化。     

Plant species diversity and environmental heterogeneity: spatial scale and competing hypotheses

Questions: What is the observed relationship between plant species diversity and spatial environmental heterogeneity? Does the relationship scale predictably with sample plot size? What are the relative contributions to diversity patterns of variables linked to productivity or available energy compared to those corresponding to spatial heterogeneity? Methods: Observational and experimental studies that quantified relationships between plant species richness and within‐sample spatial environmental heterogeneity were reviewed. Effect size in experimental studies was quantified as the standardized mean difference between control (homogeneous) and heterogeneous treatments. For observational studies, effect sizes in individual studies were examined graphically across a gradient of plot size (focal scale). Relative contributions of variables representing spatial heterogeneity were compared to those representing available energy using a response ratio. Results: Forty‐one observational and 11 experimental studies quantified plant species diversity and spatial environmental heterogeneity. Observational studies reported positive species diversity‐spatial heterogeneity correlations at all points across a plot size gradient from ～1.0 × 10^?1 to ～1.0 × 10¹¹ m², although many studies reported spatial heterogeneity variables with no significant relationships to species diversity. The cross‐study effect size in experimental studies was not significantly different from zero. Available energy variables explained consistently more of the variance in species richness than spatial heterogeneity variables, especially at the smallest and largest plot sizes. Main conclusions: Species diversity was not related to spatial heterogeneity in a way predictable by plot size. Positive heterogeneity‐diversity relationships were common, confirming the importance of niche differentiation in species diversity patterns, but future studies examining a range of spatial scales in the same system are required to determine the role of dispersal and available energy in these patterns.     

Species-specific distribution of two sympatric Maculinea butterflies across different meadow edges

An important consequence of habitat fragmentation is the increase of edge habitats. Environmental factors in the edges are different from those in the interiors, which causes changes in the distribution of plant and animal species. We aimed to study how edges affect the distribution of two butterfly species within meadow fragments. We therefore investigated the effect of distance from edge and edge type (road edge versus tree edge) on two sympatric large blue species (Maculinea teleius and M. nausithous). Our results showed that edge type had contrasting effects on the two species. M. teleius favoured both interiors and road edges, while M. nausithous preferred the tree edges. In the case of the latter species a strong positive edge effect was also found. This kind of within-habitat niche segregation is probably related to the different microenvironmental conditions at the edges. Foodplant density did not seem to limit the distribution of these species. Our results suggest that interiors of meadows are important for M. teleius, while tree edges maintain the habitats of the regionally rarer butterfly, M. nausithous.     

Partitioning of functional diversity reveals the scale and extent of trait convergence and divergence

Questions: Trait differentiation among species occurs at different spatial scales within a region. How does the partitioning of functional diversity help to identify different community assembly mechanisms? Location: Northeastern Spain. Methods: Functional diversity can be partitioned into within‐community (α) and among‐communities (β) components, in analogy to Whittaker's classical α and β species diversity concept. In light of ecological null models, we test and discuss two algorithms as a framework to measure α and β functional diversity (the Rao quadratic entropy index and the variance of trait values). Species and trait (specific leaf area) data from pastures under different climatic conditions in NE Spain are used as a case study. Results: The proposed indices show different mathematical properties but similarly account for the spatial components of functional diversity. For all vegetation types along the climatic gradient, the observed α functional diversity was lower than expected at random, an observation consistent with the hypothesis of trait convergence resulting from habitat filtering. On the other hand, our data exhibited a remarkably higher functional diversity within communities compared to among communities (α?β). In contrast to the high species turnover, there was a limited functional diversity turnover among communities, and a large part of the trait divergence occurred among coexisting species. Conclusions: Partitioning functional diversity within and among communities revealed that both trait convergence and divergence occur in the formation of assemblages from the local species pool. A considerable trait convergence exists at the regional scale in spite of changes in species composition, suggesting the existence of ecological redundancy among communities.     

When the exception becomes the rule: The disappearance of limiting similarity in the Lotka-Volterra model

We investigate the transition between limiting similarity and coexistence of a continuum in the competitive Lotka-Volterra model. It is known that there exist exceptional cases in which, contrary to the limiting similarity expectation, all phenotypes coexist along a trait axis. Earlier studies established that the distance between surviving phenotypes is in the magnitude of the niche width 2σ provided that the carrying capacity curve differs from the exceptional one significantly enough. In this paper we studied the outcome of competition for small perturbations of the exceptional (Gaussian) carrying capacity. We found that the average distance between the surviving phenotypes goes to zero when the perturbation vanishes. The number of coexisting species in equilibrium is proportional to the negative logarithm of the perturbation. Nevertheless, the niche width provides a good order of magnitude for the distance between survivors if the perturbations are larger than 10%. Therefore, we conclude that limiting similarity is a good framework of biological thinking despite the lack of an absolute lower bound of similarity.     

Assessing the scale-specific importance of niches and other spatial processes on beta diversity: a case study from a temperate forest

Niche processes and other spatial processes, such as dispersal, may simultaneously control beta diversity, yet their relative importance may shift across spatial and temporal scales. Although disentangling the relative importance of these processes has been a continuing methodological challenge, recent developments in multi-scale spatial and temporal modeling can now help ecologists estimate their scale-specific contributions. Here we present a statistical approach to (1) detect the presence of a space–time interaction on community composition and (2) estimate the scale-specific importance of environmental and spatial factors on beta diversity. To illustrate the applicability of this approach, we use a case study from a temperate forest understory where tree seedling abundances were monitored during a 9-year period at 40 permanent plots. We found no significant space–time interaction on tree seedling composition, which means that the spatial abundance patterns did not vary over the study period. However, for a given year the relative importance of niche processes and other spatial processes was found to be scale-specific. Tree seedling abundances were primarily controlled by a broad-scale environmental gradient, but within the confines of this gradient the finer scale patchiness was largely due to other spatial processes. This case study illustrates that these two sets of processes are not mutually exclusive and can affect abundance patterns in a scale-dependent manner. More importantly, the use of our methodology for future empirical studies should help in the merging of niche and neutral perspectives on beta diversity, an obvious next step for community ecology. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Biomass and morphology of fine roots in temperate broad-leaved forests differing in tree species diversity: is there evidence of below-ground overyielding?

Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning in forests have only recently attracted increasing attention. The vast majority of studies in forests have focused on above-ground responses to differences in tree species diversity, while systematic analyses of the effects of biodiversity on root systems are virtually non-existent. By investigating the fine root systems in 12 temperate deciduous forest stands in Central Europe, we tested the hypotheses that (1) stand fine root biomass increases with tree diversity, and (2) ‘below-ground overyielding’ of species-rich stands in terms of fine root biomass is the consequence of spatial niche segregation of the roots of different species. The selected stands represent a gradient in tree species diversity on similar bedrock from almost pure beech forests to medium-diverse forests built by beech, ash, and lime, and highly-diverse stands dominated by beech, ash, lime, maple, and hornbeam. We investigated fine root biomass and necromass at 24 profiles per stand and analyzed species differences in fine root morphology by microscopic analysis. Fine root biomass ranged from 440 to 480 g m⁻² in the species-poor to species-rich stands, with 63–77% being concentrated in the upper 20 cm of the soil. In contradiction to our two hypotheses, the differences in tree species diversity affected neither stand fine root biomass nor vertical root distribution patterns. Fine root morphology showed marked distinctions between species, but these root morphological differences did not lead to significant differences in fine root surface area or root tip number on a stand area basis. Moreover, differences in species composition of the stands did not alter fine root morphology of the species. We conclude that ‘below-ground overyielding’ in terms of fine root biomass does not occur in the species-rich stands, which is most likely caused by the absence of significant spatial segregation of the root systems of these late-successional species.