Faunal breaks and species composition of Indo-Pacific corals: the role of plate tectonics,environment and habitat distribution

Species richness gradients are ubiquitous in nature, but the mechanisms that generate and maintain these patterns at macroecological scales remain unresolved. We use a new approach that focuses on overlapping geographical ranges of species to reveal that Indo-Pacific corals are assembled within 11 distinct faunal provinces. Province limits are characterized by co-occurrence of multiple species range boundaries. Unexpectedly, these faunal breaks are poorly predicted by contemporary environmental conditions and the present-day distribution of habitat. Instead, faunal breaks show striking concordance with geological features (tectonic plates and mantle plume tracks). The depth range over which a species occurs, its larval development rate and genus age are important determinants of the likelihood that species will straddle faunal breaks. Our findings indicate that historical processes, habitat heterogeneity and species colonization ability account for more of the present-day biogeographical patterns of corals than explanations based on the contemporary distribution of reefs or environmental conditions.     

Two new Cocconeis taxa (Bacillariophyceae) from coral sands off the Mascarenes (Western Indian Ocean) and some related unidentified taxa

Coral sands off Réunion Island and Rodrigues (Mascarene archipelago, Western Indian Ocean) support diverse diatom communities, particularly rich in Monoraphidineae. Recent surveys of reef environments (June 2005 and June 2007) permitted the recognition of several taxa belonging to the diatom genus Cocconeis, among which are two new, relatively small taxa, epipsammic on coral sand. Cocconeis coronata Riaux-Gobin et Romero sp. nov. is similar to C. scutellum but has its own distinctive features. In external view, the concave raphe valve possesses uniseriate striae and a subsident hyaline marginal rim, while the strongly convex sternum valve has a submarginal, generally continuous crest, a hexagonal pattern of areolation, short, rounded spines that are often regularly arranged around valve face areolae, a complex areola hymen and small marginal chambers. Some morphometric differences were noted between the populations of C. coronata at Réunion and Rodrigues. Cocconeis margaritata Riaux-Gobin et Al-Handal, sp. nov. is smaller, possesses a sternum valve like that of C. placentula and C. neothumensis, but has denser striation and small pearl-like concretions around the areola aperture on the sternum valve. Several other taxa that resemble, or may be varieties of, C. margaritata require further study before being formally described. Cocconeis margaritata and C. coronata are small and relatively rare, so their study requires scanning electron microscopy.     

城市不同地表覆盖类型对土壤呼吸的影响

采用Licor-6400-09的土壤呼吸测量系统对北京市区3种不同覆盖类型地表(全硬地表、半透砖地表、草坪覆盖地表)的土壤呼吸速率及其影响因子进行了测定和分析。结果表明:(1)不同地表覆盖类型的土壤呼吸速率年均值分别为7.928 μmol·m^-2·s^-1(全硬地表),5.592 μmol·m^-2·s^-1(部分硬化地表)、2.625 μmol·m^-2·s^-1(草坪覆盖地表);土壤呼吸日均值最高均出现在夏季(14.785,10.296,5.143 μmol·m^-2·s^-1),最低为冬季(0.490,0.319,0.239 μmol·m^-2·s^-1);(2)3种地表类型的土壤呼吸速率有显著差异(P<0.05),大小排序为:草坪覆盖地表<部分硬化地表<全硬地表;(3)3种地表类型土壤呼吸速率均与土壤温度呈显著的指数相关,Q₁₀值排序为:草坪覆盖地表<部分硬化地表<全硬地表;(4)土壤含水率和土壤电导率与土壤呼吸均有一定的相关性,但关系较为复杂,有待于进一步研究。     

不同贮藏方式对河西走廊四种茄科植物种子萌发的影响

种子扩散后的贮藏条件对其萌发有着重要影响.本文探讨了4种贮藏条件(室温、冬季枯落物表层、枯落物覆盖、冬季浅层覆土)对河西走廊4种茄科植物黑果枸杞(Lycium ruthenicumr)、黄果枸杞(L.barbarum var.auranticarpum)、红果龙葵(Solanum alatum)和曼陀罗(Darura stramonium)种子萌发的影响.结果表明:经冬季浅层覆土(1 cm)和枯落物覆盖的黑果枸杞种子萌发率(96.5％和75.5％)和黄果枸杞种子萌发率(65.3％、53.6％)显著提高,萌发速率加快;未萌发的黑果枸杞和黄果枸杞种子保持较高活性;黑果枸杞种子经冬季枯落物表层和室温存放后萌发率为57.5％,未萌发种子活性丢失率较高(47.5％和31％);黄果枸杞种子经枯落物表层存放后,萌发率为39.3％,未萌发种子部分活性丢失(38％);经各种贮藏后的红果龙葵种子萌发率均较高(＞90％),曼陀罗种子萌发率极低(＜10％),种子保持较高活性(50.5％ ～81.5％).黑果枸杞和黄果枸杞种子萌发对贮藏条件具有一致性的响应,即经过冬季浅层覆土和枯落物覆盖后萌发率均显著提高、萌发速率加快、萌发历程缩短,说明冬季的湿冷环境能够打破黑果枸杞和黄果构杞种子休眠,并保持种子活性;而冬季干燥寒冷环境可使部分种子失活,不利于种群的建植和自然更新.种子萌发对湿冷的需求反映了温带植物繁衍种族的自然机制,保证了幼苗存活和建植的最大化.     

北部湾近海珊瑚礁区系沉积物抗菌活性放线菌类群

通过对大肠埃希菌和枯草芽胞杆菌抗菌活性初步筛选,从北部湾近海珊瑚礁区5个沉积物样品中成功分离得到51株具有不同抗菌活性的放线菌,其中9株具有较强抗菌能力。根据这9株放线菌的菌落和孢子形态,可确定它们都属于链霉菌属。 RAPD-PCR分析表明这9株放线菌为6种不同类型,16S rDNA序列和系统发生树分析表明,9株放线菌可划分到4个大的类群6种不同类型,且结果显示RAPD-PCR聚类分析与16S rDNA序列聚类分析的结果具有较大的一致性。生理生化鉴定结果表明,分离株与亲缘关系最近的放线菌模式菌株的生理生化特征均存在差异,这说明分离株为放线菌新种的可能性比较大。这6种放线菌具有较为广谱的抑菌活性,并且抑菌活性均存在一定的差异,说明其可能分泌出多种结构功能不同的活性次生代谢产物。研究结果表明,广西北部湾近海珊瑚礁区系沉积物蕴藏着丰富的可供药物开发的放线菌资源。     

Degradation of chemical alarm cues and assessment of risk throughout the day

The use of chemical information in assessment of predation risk is pervasive across animal taxa. However, by its very nature, chemical information can be temporally unreliable. Chemical cues persist for some period of time after they are released into the environment. Yet, we know surprisingly little about the rate of degradation of chemical cues under natural conditions and hence little about how they function in temporal risk assessment under natural conditions. Here, we conducted an experiment to identify a concentration of fresh alarm cues that evoke a strong antipredator response in coral reef damselfish, Pomacentrus ambonensis. We then tested the rate at which these alarm cues degraded under natural conditions in ocean water, paying attention to whether the rate of degradation varied throughout the day and whether the temporal pattern correlated with physicochemical factors that could influence the rate of degradation. Fresh alarm cues released into ocean water evoke strong avoidance responses in juvenile fish, while those aged for 30 min no longer evoke antipredator responses. Fish exposed to cues aged for 10 or 20 min show intermediate avoidance responses. We found a marked temporal pattern of response throughout the day, with much faster degradation in early to mid‐afternoon, the time of day when solar radiation, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH are nearing their peak. Ecologists have spent considerable effort elucidating the role of chemical information in mediating predator–prey interactions, yet we know almost nothing about the temporal dynamics of risk assessment using chemical information. We are in dire need of additional comparative field experiments on the rate of breakdown of chemical cues, particularly given that global change in UV radiation, temperature, and water chemistry could be altering the rates of degradation and the potential use of this information in risk assessment.     

Limited contemporary gene flow and high self‐replenishment drives peripheral isolation in an endemic coral reef fish

Extensive ongoing degradation of coral reef habitats worldwide has lead to declines in abundance of coral reef fishes and local extinction of some species. Those most vulnerable are ecological specialists and endemic species. Determining connectivity between locations is vital to understanding recovery and long‐term persistence of these species following local extinction. This study explored population connectivity in the ecologically‐specialized endemic three‐striped butterflyfish (Chaetodon tricinctus) using mt and msatDNA (nuclear microsatellites) to distinguish evolutionary versus contemporary gene flow, estimate self‐replenishment and measure genetic diversity among locations at the remote Australian offshore coral reefs of Middleton Reef (MR), Elizabeth Reef (ER), Lord Howe Island (LHI), and Norfolk Island (NI). Mt and msatDNA suggested genetic differentiation of the most peripheral location (NI) from the remaining three locations (MR, ER, LHI). Despite high levels of mtDNA gene flow, there is limited msatDNA gene flow with evidence of high levels of self‐replenishment (≥76%) at all four locations. Taken together, this suggests prolonged population recovery times following population declines. The peripheral population (NI) is most vulnerable to local extinction due to its relative isolation, extreme levels of self‐replenishment (95%), and low contemporary abundance.     

The distribution of the thermally tolerant symbiont lineage (Symbiodinium clade D) in corals from Hawaii: correlations with host and the history of ocean thermal stress

Spatially intimate symbioses, such as those between scleractinian corals and unicellular algae belonging to the genus Symbiodinium, can potentially adapt to changes in the environment by altering the taxonomic composition of their endosymbiont communities. We quantified the spatial relationship between the cumulative frequency of thermal stress anomalies (TSAs) and the taxonomic composition of Symbiodinium in the corals Montipora capitata, Porites lobata, and Porites compressa across the Hawaiian archipelago. Specifically, we investigated whether thermally tolerant clade D Symbiodinium was in greater abundance in corals from sites with high frequencies of TSAs. We recovered 2305 Symbiodinium ITS2 sequences from 242 coral colonies in lagoonal reef habitats at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, French Frigate Shoals, and Kaneohe Bay, Oahu in 2007. Sequences were grouped into 26 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with 12 OTUs associated with Montipora and 21 with Porites. Both coral genera associated with Symbiodinium in clade C, and these co‐occurred with clade D in M. capitata and clade G in P. lobata. The latter represents the first report of clade G Symbiodinium in P. lobata. In M. capitata (but not Porites spp.), there was a significant correlation between the presence of Symbiodinium in clade D and a thermal history characterized by high cumulative frequency of TSAs. The endogenous community composition of Symbiodinium and an association with clade D symbionts after long‐term thermal disturbance appear strongly dependent on the taxa of the coral host.     

Seed and microsite limitation in Rheum nobile,a rare and endemic plant from the subnival zone of Sino-Himalaya

Background: Species persistence, particularly in monocarpic species, depends on the successful recruitment of individuals. An understanding of the factors that limit the recruitment of rare monocarpic plant species is therefore vital for their conservation.

Aims: To identify the factors limiting the recruitment of Rheum nobile, a rare and highly specialised monocarpic giant herb endemic to the high eastern Himalayas.

Methods: Seed sowing (seeds added or not added) and seedling transplanting experiments were conducted in disturbed (vegetation removed) and undisturbed plots in the vicinity of established populations of R. nobile to explore the mechanisms of recruitment limitation. Four levels of photosynthetically active radiation (0, 15, 30 and 50 μmol m^?2 s^?1) and two sowing positions (beneath and above grass litter or moss layer) were manipulated in the laboratory to determine how ground cover limited seedling emergence.

Results: Seed addition increased seedling recruitment. Disturbance significantly increased seedling emergence and establishment. Seed germination significantly decreased with the reduction of light availability, but 31.7% of all seeds germinated in complete darkness. Seedling emergence was close to zero when seeds were sown on top of a layer of grass litter or moss, but rose to 34.5% when the seeds were sown beneath such layers.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that the recruitment of R. nobile is limited by a combination of seed and microsite availability. Therefore, in order to conserve this species, we suggest adding seeds to suitable sites and implementing soil disturbances in existing populations to create suitable microsites.