The Pitcairn Islands, South Pacific Ocean: plate tectonic and climatic contexts

The remote Pitcairn Group in the South Pacific Ocean comprises a volcanic island (Pitcairn Island), two low coral atolls (Oeno, Ducie) and a raised coralline island (Henderson Island). The geological history of these islands, on anomalously thin oceanic lithosphere, is related to the development of two subparallel island chains (Oeno-Henderson-Ducie; Pitcairn) associated with intra-Pacific plate 'hotspot' activity; the surface manifestation of this activity has been partly determined by structural lineations in the plate inherited from past plate history. The climate of the Pitcairn Islands is determined by the position of the subtropical high pressure system and the South Pacific Convergence Zone. Variations in the strength of this atmospheric circulation system, measured by changes in the Southern Oscillation index of pressure difference, provide a partial explanation of the long-term variability of mean annual rainfall at Pitcairn Island. Knowledge of past climates in the Pitcairn Group remains speculative. Maps of the Pitcairn Islands and a report of climate at Henderson Island (2/91-1/92) are included in the paper.     

Reflections onChloroflexus

A personal historic account is presented of the discovery of the anoxygenic filamentous bacteria of hot springs:Heliothrix oregonensis andChloroflexus aurantiacus. The later discoveries of marine and hypersaline forms are also described.     

Field investigations of ammonia exchange between barley plants and the atmosphere. II. Nitrogen realiocation, free ammonium content and activities of ammonium-assimilating enzymes in different leaves

The activities of glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) in different leaves of field-grown spring barley were measured during the reproductive growth phase in 2 consecutive years. Concurrently, the contents of soluble ammonium ions and free amides in the leaves were determined. The studies were carried out to investigate the relationship between variations in these parameters and emission of NH3 from the plant foliage. GS and GOGAT activities declined very rapidly with leafage. The decline in enzyme activities was followed by an increase in soluble ammonium ions and amides in the leaf tissues. During the same period, about 75% of leaf and stem nitrogen was reallocated to the developing ear. The amount of NH₃ volatilized from the foliage during the reproductive growth phase amounted to about 1% of the reallocated nitrogen. The experimental years were characterized by very favourable conditions for grain dry matter formation and for re-utilization of nitrogen mobilized from leaves and stems. Ammonia volatilization occurring under conditions with declining GS and GOGAT activities and increasing tissue concentrations of NH₄⁺ may be useful in protecting the plant from accumulation of toxic NH₃ and NH₄⁺ concentrations in the tissues.     

Latitudinal variation in blue tit and great tit nest characteristics indicates environmental adjustment

Aim The laying of eggs and the building of a nest structure to accommodate them are two of the defining characteristics of members of the class Aves. Nest structures vary considerably across avian taxa and for many species the structure of the completed nest can have important consequences both for parents and their offspring. While nest characteristics are expected to vary adaptively in response to environmental conditions, large‐scale spatial variation in nest characteristics has been largely overlooked. Here, we examine the effects of latitudinal variation in spring temperatures on nest characteristics, including insulatory properties, and reproductive success of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, and great tits, Parus major. Location Great Britain. Methods Nests and reproductive data were collected from seven study sites, spread over 5° of latitude. The nest insulatory properties were then determined before the nests were separated into nest base material and cup lining material. Results As spring temperatures increased with decreasing latitude, the mass of the nest base material did not vary in either species, while the mass of the cup lining material and nest insulatory properties decreased in both species. This suggests that in response to increasing temperatures the breeding female reduces the mass of the cup lining material, thereby maintaining an appropriate microclimate for incubating and brooding. The mean first egg date of both species advanced with decreasing latitude and increasing spring temperatures, although clutch size and brood size at hatching and fledging did not vary. Main conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that the nest‐construction behaviour of birds varies in response to large‐scale spatial variation in ambient temperatures. Therefore, nest composition reliably indicates environmental conditions and we suggest that studies of nest structure may be sentinels for the early signs of rapid climate change.     

High somatic mutation frequencies in a LacZ transgene integrated on the mouse X-chromosome

To study spontaneous and induced mutagenesis in vivo we recently constructed a series of transgenic mice harboring different numbers of bacteriophage lambda shuttle vectors, provided with a LacZ mutational target gene, integrated in their genome. The transgenic mice enabled analysis of spontaneous and induced mutation frequencies in postmitotic tissues like liver and brain. The obtained data indicated spontaneous mutation frequencies in the order of ⁻⁵ - 10⁻⁶. Here we report a 25–100 times higher spontaneous mutation frequency in liver and brain DNA of mice from strain 35.5, with the lambda-gt10LacZ concatemer integrated on the X-chromosome. These results indicate the presence of a mutational ‘hot spot’ in the mammalian somatic genome in vivo.     

Environmental factors function as constraints on soil nitrous oxide fluxes in bioenergy feedstock cropping systems

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a potent greenhouse gas and major component of the net global warming potential of bioenergy feedstock cropping systems. Numerous environmental factors influence soil N₂O production, making direct correlation difficult to any one factor of N₂O fluxes under field conditions. We instead employed quantile regression to evaluate whether soil temperature, water‐filled pore space (WFPS), and concentrations of soil nitrate () and ammonium () determined upper bounds for soil N₂O flux magnitudes. We collected data over 6 years from a range of bioenergy feedstock cropping systems including no‐till grain crops, perennial warm‐season grasses, hybrid poplar, and polycultures of tallgrass prairie species each with and without nitrogen (N) addition grown at two sites. The upper bounds for soil N₂O fluxes had a significant and positive correlation with all four environmental factors, although relatively large fluxes were still possible at minimal values for nearly all factors. The correlation with was generally weaker, suggesting it is less important than in driving large fluxes. Quantile regression slopes were generally lower for unfertilized perennials than for other systems, but this may have resulted from a perpetual state of nitrogen limitation, which prevented other factors from being clear constraints. This framework suggests efforts to reduce concentrations of in the soil may be effective at reducing high‐intensity periods—”hot moments”—of N₂O production.     

黄土旱塬区土壤水分状况与作物生长、降水的关系

土壤水分研究是统筹农业生产和生态环境建设的关键环节.本研究结合4年田间定位试验,通过对黄土高原南部长武旱塬冬小麦和春玉米2012—2015年土壤水分状况的研究,分析农田土壤干层形成情况、土壤水分对作物生长的影响、降水对土壤水库的影响以及作物对土壤水分状况的影响.结果表明: 降水年型是冬小麦地土壤干层形成的主导因素,年内降水分布不均是春玉米地土壤干层形成的主导因素.长武旱塬区冬小麦和春玉米一年一季的种植制度不会导致永久性干层的产生;相较于春玉米,冬小麦根系生长习性更符合黄土旱塬区土壤水分循环特征,黄土旱塬区土壤水分有效性可保证作物产量稳定;降水作用下,冬小麦土壤水库充、放水过程呈现收获期、休闲期和苗期连续充水、缓慢消耗期和大量消耗期连续失水相互交替的特点.0～300和300～600 cm土层土壤水库不一致性现象明显,以最大根深作为野外监测试验中土壤含水量的取样深度时,由于深层土壤水库负反馈作用,不同降水年型下,休闲期和苗期的蒸散均会被高估,缓慢消耗期和大量消耗期的蒸散均会被低估.冬小麦田间过渡层存在的范围为140～360 cm;作物生长的时间跨度影响土壤水库效应的发挥,土壤水库对冬小麦供水表现为年际间的调节作用,土壤水库对春玉米供水表现为季节间的调节作用.     

覆盖对西北旱地春小麦旗叶光合特性和水分利用的调控

2015—2016年在西北黄土高原半干旱区进行大田定位试验,以‘陇春35号’为试验材料,设全膜覆土穴播(PMS)、全砂覆盖穴播(SM)和露地穴播(CK)3个处理,分析旗叶光合特性、春小麦耗水特性和产量构成因子之间的关系.结果表明: PMS和SM 在0～300 cm土层的土壤贮水量在灌浆前分别较CK提高47.8和31.6 mm,灌浆期均较CK降低15.6 mm.PMS和SM提高春小麦挑旗-抽穗期和扬花-灌浆期的土壤耗水.PMS和SM的叶面积指数分别较CK提高59.0%～73.7%和40.1%～52.7%,叶片SPAD值分别较CK提高3.5%～28.4%和2.9%～23.9%.PMS的光合速率和气孔导度在春小麦挑旗、抽穗、扬花期分别较CK提高23.5%、33.0%、17.7%和32.6%、76.4%、66.9%,灌浆期分别较CK降低26.2%和16.4%;PMS和SM的气孔限制值在抽穗、扬花、灌浆期分别较CK降低14.6%、23.9%、22.3%和25.7%、29.8%、17.4%.叶片瞬时水分利用效率PMS在挑旗期较CK提高57.8%,扬花期降低11.2%.PMS的表观量子效率在抽穗、扬花期分别较SM和CK增加22.6%、18.7%和26.8%、14.3%.PMS和SM春小麦的株高和产量构成因子均显著高于CK,且在干旱年份增幅较大;PMS的产量较CK和SM分别提高36.2%和8.7%,水分利用效率分别提高9.4%和3.4%.因此,PMS和SM提高了小麦灌浆前土壤贮水,加剧了挑旗到抽穗和扬花到灌浆期的耗水,提高了小麦叶片SPAD值和叶面积指数,增强了小麦灌浆前旗叶光合功能,促进 “库”的建成和同化物的转运,实现增产和水分高效利用.PMS在丰水年份的增产潜力和干旱年份的适应能力比SM更强.     

基于文献计量的生态宜居研究热点和趋势分析

基于CNKI数据库和Web of Science数据库,利用网页检索功能分析了生态宜居研究的年发文量、基金资助机构及国家地区分布、研究方向及研究机构状况;利用Citespace对2002—2017年生态宜居研究关键词进行共现性和可视化图谱聚类分析。结果表明:近年生态宜居研究逐渐成为人们关注的热点,但该方面研究获得国家及相关部门基金资助的比例仍然较小;当前生态宜居研究主要集中在宏观经济管理与可持续发展学科,研究机构排名中,天津地区相关机构发文量相对较多。就目前研究来看,研究热点集中于新型城镇化、城镇化、指标体系、生态宜居度、生态文明等。在未来的研究发展趋势方面,新型城镇化和生态宜居标准的制定仍然是重要的研究领域,必须在此持续发力,为生态宜居建设提供必要的理论支撑和政策依据。     

分子生物学技术在热泉地质微生物学研究中的应用

陆地热泉是一类典型的极端生命-环境互作的地质系统,是我们认识生命与环境协同演化的天然实验室。然而,受限于有限的研究手段,热泉中仍存在大量未解密的微生物"暗物质"。这种困境随着技术的革新得到了改善,尤其是近几年来基于组学、探针和同位素标记的多元化检测手段在嗜热微生物多样性的挖掘、新物种和新代谢途径的发现以及嗜热微生物对元素地球化学循环的调控和响应等方面取得了一系列令人瞩目的研究成果,使得热泉极端微生物和地质环境内在联系的研究也成为地质微生物学研究的热点。立足于前人研究成果,本文将简述常用于热泉地质微生物学研究的分子生物学手段的发展,重点总结其在挖掘热泉微生物多样性和热泉微生物的环境功能研究中的应用及进展,最后对未来研究方向提出展望。