Phenology shifts at start vs. end of growing season in temperate vegetation over the Northern Hemisphere for the period 1982–2008

Changes in vegetative growing seasons are dominant indicators of the dynamic response of ecosystems to climate change. Therefore, knowledge of growing seasons over the past decades is essential to predict ecosystem changes. In this study, the long‐term changes in the growing seasons of temperate vegetation over the Northern Hemisphere were examined by analyzing satellite‐measured normalized difference vegetation index and reanalysis temperature during 1982–2008. Results showed that the length of the growing season (LOS) increased over the analysis period; however, the role of changes at the start of the growing season (SOS) and at the end of the growing season (EOS) differed depending on the time period. On a hemispheric scale, SOS advanced by 5.2 days in the early period (1982–1999) but advanced by only 0.2 days in the later period (2000–2008). EOS was delayed by 4.3 days in the early period, and it was further delayed by another 2.3 days in the later period. The difference between SOS and EOS in the later period was due to less warming during the preseason (January–April) before SOS compared with the magnitude of warming in the preseason (June–September) before EOS. At a regional scale, delayed EOS in later periods was shown. In North America, EOS was delayed by 8.1 days in the early period and delayed by another 1.3 days in the later period. In Europe, the delayed EOS by 8.2 days was more significant than the advanced SOS by 3.2 days in the later period. However, in East Asia, the overall increase in LOS during the early period was weakened in the later period. Admitting regional heterogeneity, changes in hemispheric features suggest that the longer‐lasting vegetation growth in recent decades can be attributed to extended leaf senescence in autumn rather than earlier spring leaf‐out.     

青藏高原高寒湿地GPP变化特征及对生长季积温的响应

基于涡度相关系统,利用2004-2016年的涡度相关系统观测资料,做了青藏高原高寒湿地生长季总初级生产力（GPP）在不同时间尺度上对生长季有效积温（GDD）响应的研究。结果表明：高寒湿地生态系统在生长季的日GPP、GDD与月际GPP、GDD都表现为先增大后减小的单峰变化趋势,都在7月或8月达到峰值,在5月达到最小值。在整个生长季尺度上,GPP与GDD变异性较大,没有明显的变化趋势。2004-2016年整个生长季GPP与GDD的均值分别为（458.82±25.78）gC m^-2季^-1和（1060.89±84.07）℃。在日尺度、月尺度、生长季尺度上,GPP与GDD都呈极显著正相关关系（P < 0.01）。但是,通过比较生长季分别每个月GPP与GDD的关系发现,5、9月的GPP与GDD没有显著相关性（P > 0.05）,而在7月相关性最为显著（P < 0.01）。整体上看,高寒湿地生态系统植被的总初级生产力与热量条件表现为正相关关系,由此说明在全球气候变暖的背景下,将会提高青藏高原高寒湿地生态系统植被的光合生产能力。     

Ranging behaviour of Uganda’s elephants

Elephant populations are in decline across the African continent, but recent aerial surveys show that populations in Uganda are increasing. However, threats such as poaching and habitat disturbance remain. Having a comprehensive knowledge of the ranging behaviour of Ugandan elephants is crucial to understanding where critical habitat for the species occurs. We investigated various aspects of ranging behaviour of 45 radio-collared elephants (Loxodonta africana) in three areas—Queen Elizabeth Protected Area (QEPA), Murchison Falls (MFPA) Protected Area and Kidepo Valley (KVCA) Conservation Area. We also set Ugandan analyses in a continental context by comparison with home ranges reported in published literature. Elephants within KVCA had larger core ranges than elephants in QEPA or MFPA. Wet season ranges in KVCA were much larger than dry season ranges. The most important core areas in all three national parks were centred around water resources. Home range size was negatively correlated with net primary productivity (NPP) at Ugandan (N = 39 individuals) and continental (N = 17 sites) scales. This study indicates that, at a local scale, factors such as water source location are important in shaping elephant ranging behaviour. At larger scales, factors such as NPP are good predictors of elephant home range size.     

Riparian Areas and Conservation of Herpetofauna in a Tropical Dry Forest in Western Mexico

Studies that assess the importance of riparian habitats in maintaining diversity of herpetofaunal assemblages in tropical dry forests are limited. We examined changes in abundance, diversity and composition of anuran, lizard and snake assemblages along stream edge–upslope gradients in conserved and disturbed areas of tropical dry forest on the Pacific coast of México. We sampled 659 plots in six watersheds over 2 yr. Two forest conditions (conserved and human disturbed, with three watersheds as replicates) were evaluated in the dry and rainy season. Within each watershed, plots were randomly located at three different distance categories from either stream edge: 0–10 m (near‐stream environment), 30–40 m (mid‐slope environment), and 50–60 m (upslope environment). Herpetofauna was surveyed by time‐constrained searches with a sampling effort of 1980 person‐hours. Eighteen anuran, 18 lizard and 23 snake species were recorded. Overall, abundance and diversity of lizards and snakes decreased from near‐stream to upslope areas in both forest conditions and seasons; while that of anurans followed this trend only for the conserved forest during the rainy season. Regardless of distance, abundance and diversity of anurans markedly decreased during the dry season, while that of snakes and lizards increased. Overall, our study shows that the importance of riparian areas for herpetofaunal conservation in dry tropical forests varies with forest condition and season.     

Seasonal Shifts in Nocturnal Habitat Use by Coastal Bat Species

Sensitivity of bats to land use change depends on their foraging ecology, which varies among species based on ecomorphological traits. Additionally, because prey availability, vegetative clutter, and temperature change throughout the year, some species may display seasonal shifts in their nocturnal habitat use. In the Coastal Plain of South Carolina, USA, the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius), tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), and northern yellow bat (Lasiurus intermedius) are species of conservation concern that are threatened by habitat loss. Our objective was to identify characteristics of habitat used by these species during their nightly active period and compare use between summer and winter. We conducted acoustic surveys at 125 sites during May–August and at 121 of the same 125 sites December–March 2018 and 2019 in upland forests, bottomland forests, fields, ponds, and salt marsh and used occupancy models to assess habitat use. The northern long-eared bat and southeastern myotis (i.e., myotis bats) used sites that were closer to hardwood stands, pine stands, and fresh water year-round. We did not identify any strong predictors of tri-colored bat habitat use in summer, but during winter they used bottomland forests, fields, and ponds more than salt marsh and upland forests. During summer and winter, northern yellow bats used sites close to fresh water and salt marsh. Additionally, during summer they used fields, ponds, and salt marsh more than upland and bottomland forests, but in winter they used bottomland forests, fields, and ponds more than upland forest and salt marsh. Our results highlight important land cover types for bats in this area (e.g., bottomland forests, ponds, and salt marsh), and that habitat use changes between seasons. Accounting for and understanding how habitat use changes throughout the year will inform managers about how critical habitat features may vary in their importance to bats throughout the year. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

Physical interactions facilitate sex change in the protogynous orange-spotted grouper,Epinephelus coioides

Sex change in teleost fishes is commonly regulated by social factors. In species that exhibit protogynous sex change, such as the orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides, when the dominant males are removed from the social group, the most dominant female initiates sex change. The aim of this study was to determine the regulatory mechanisms of socially controlled sex change in E. coioides. We investigated the seasonal variation in social behaviours and sex change throughout the reproductive cycle of E. coioides, and defined the behaviour pattern of this fish during the establishment of a dominance hierarchy. The social behaviours and sex change in this fish were affected by season, and only occurred during the prebreeding season and breeding season. Therefore, a series of sensory isolation experiments was conducted during the breeding season to determine the role of physical, visual and olfactory cues in mediating socially controlled sex change. The results demonstrated that physical interactions between individuals in the social groups were crucial for the initiation and completion of sex change, whereas visual and olfactory cues alone were insufficient in stimulating sex change in dominant females. In addition, we propose that the steroid hormones 11-ketotestosterone and cortisol are involved in regulating the initiation of socially controlled sex change.     

季节性干旱地区典型树种长期水分利用特征与模式

在季节性干旱地区,水分是影响植物生长发育的关键核心因子。基于长期连续观测数据探究植物水分利用模式,对于季节性干旱地区植被建设具有重要意义。本研究以北京山区侧柏人工林为对象,利用稳定氢氧同位素技术测定了2012—2017年间土壤、植物枝条和降水同位素组成,通过MixSIAR模型定量分析侧柏对不同土层土壤水分的贡献率。结果表明: 深层(40～100 cm)土壤水较浅层(0～40 cm)土壤水稳定,受蒸发和降水的影响,浅层土壤含水量和水同位素值变化幅度较深层明显;侧柏主要吸收利用稳定的深层土壤水,贡献率为55.7%。在旱季,随着土壤水分含量的降低,植物对土壤水分的吸收深度逐渐向浅层转移;在水量充沛、自然适宜、轻度干旱、中度干旱条件下,深层土壤水的贡献率依次为59.8%、57.9%、54.6%、52.7%。在轻度和中度干旱条件下,雨季侧柏对深层土壤水的依赖程度高于旱季,以维持较大的蒸腾作用;在水量充沛、自然适宜、轻度干旱、中度干旱条件下,深层土壤水贡献率分别为58.9%、57.6%、56.4%、57.1%。侧柏依据土壤水分条件调整吸水深度的自适应特性,对季节性干旱地区生态造林树种的选择和长期管理规划具有重要意义。     

云南高黎贡山地区蝴蝶群落多样性

位于滇西北的高黎贡山是全球生物多样性研究和保护的热点地区之一, 然而该地区昆虫多样性缺乏系统调查和总结。本研究聚焦蝴蝶类群, 考虑该区域高山峡谷特点, 结合海拔梯度、生境类型和季节变化, 采用样线法调查、分析蝴蝶物种多样性及群落结构变化。结果显示: 共观测记录到蝴蝶2,055只, 隶属于5科85属151种, 在历史记录上新增27种, 使该地区已知蝴蝶种类达488种; 其中蛱蝶科物种多样性最高, 灰蝶科次之, 凤蝶科最低。蝴蝶群落多样性分析结果表明: 中海拔1,000-2,000 m区域种类丰富、多样性指数最高; 低海拔区蝴蝶分布明显聚集, 并且与高海拔地区空间上分离, 少有重叠。该地区不同生境中蝴蝶的种类及数量差异也较大, 物种数及多样性指数在自然保护区最高、边缘交错带居中及农业种植区最低。此外, 蝴蝶的种类和数量也存在季节差异, 春季调查到的个体数少, 夏季观察到的物种数少, 两年秋季调查到的物种丰富度、多样性均高, 但存在季节内变化。总之, 高黎贡山地区不同海拔、生境、季节间和季节内蝴蝶群落组成有自身特点, 共存物种有限, 蝴蝶群落相似性低。综合评估分布于该地区的蝴蝶保护种类, 包括易危种17种、近危种50种, 有国家二级保护蝴蝶3种。本研究弄清了高黎贡山地区蝴蝶的物种本底, 并调查获得其多样性随海拔、生境和季节变化的模式, 为加强区域物种多样性监测、保护生物多样性提供了科学依据。     

Ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation in juvenile rhesus monkeys

The objective of this study was to investigate juvenile rhesus monkeys responding to various gonadotropin regimen stimulations. Thirty-two prepubertal rhesus monkeys were randomly allocated into five groups for ovarian stimulation as follows: Groups I, II, and III were given 35, 18, and 9 IU recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (rhFSH), respectively, twice daily for 8 d; Group IV was given 18 IU rhFSH twice daily until the appearance of maximal increase in sex skin during the breeding season; and Group V was treated identically to Group II but during the nonbreeding season. In addition, nine menarchial monkeys (Group VI) were treated identically to Group II. Menarchial monkeys yielded two- to fivefold the numbers of MII oocytes (24.1) and almost twice the development potential of in vitro-fertilized oocytes (blastocyst rate: 50.0%) compared with those of the other groups. Moreover, prepubertal monkeys in Group V had approximately double the numbers of MII oocytes and in Groups IV and V twice the development potential compared with those of Groups I and II, whereas Group III did not respond to stimulation. The most prominent sex skin swelling was in association with peak serum estradiol concentrations, and good responses to stimulation were associated with reduced body temperatures. All stimulated monkeys had normal reproductive performance at adulthood, except those in Group I. In conclusion, gonadotropin stimulation of menarchial monkeys could be appropriate for addressing the high cost and limited availability of rhesus monkeys in studying reproductive biology in primates.     

过去20年中国耕地生长季起始期的时空变化

多时相遥感数据能够较好地描述区域尺度的植被物候和生长季节的变化特征.利用NDVI时序数据,采用非对称性高斯函数拟合方法重建平滑曲线,分别提取了我国20世纪80年代初、90年代初和21世纪初等3个时期为我国耕地第一生长季起始期,计算3个时期平均生长起始期,并分析了我国耕地第一生长季起始期的区域空间分异规律;然后,从区域和省份两个尺度分析了20世纪80年代初至90年代初和20世纪90年代初至21世纪初两个阶段我国耕地生长季起始期动态变化趋势和空间格局.结果表明,我国不同区域耕地第一生长季起始期存在十分明显的空间差异,清楚地呈现出一个从南向北逐渐推迟的空间特征;从不同区域看,在20世纪80年代初至90年代初和20世纪90年代初至21世纪初两个时期,我国耕地第一生长季起始期变化都是提前和推迟并存,不同区域变化程度不一;从不同省份看,在过去20年间,我国绝大多数省份耕地第一生长季起始期都表现为总体提前的趋势,但不同省份的起始期变化具有差异性.影响我国耕地生长季起始期变化的因素很多,如何区别气候变化等自然因子和人类活动因子对耕地生长季起始期变化的影响是一个值得深入研究的问题.