Hierarchical processes define spatial pattern of avian assemblages restricted and endemic to the arid Karoo, South Africa

Abstract Aim To identify and quantify biotic and abiotic factors associated with the regional gradients in the distribution and abundance of bird communities restricted and endemic to the Succulent and Nama Karoo biomes of South Africa. Location The arid Nama and Succulent Karoo biomes in South Africa. Methods The quarter degree grid cell (QDGC) was used to extract environmental data, while the bird data previously atlased, was linked to the same geo‐referenced system, using a geographical information system (GIS). Bird species were grouped into different life‐history assemblages. A quantitative, systematic analysis of the different bird communities spanning the Karoo was undertaken to examine contributions of broad‐ and local‐scale physical environmental and biotic factors to regional variations in the species composition, using multivariate statistical and spatial analytical tools. These included two indirect gradient methods; principal components analysis (PCA) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and two direct gradient methods; canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Results Principal components analysis results showed that the selected environmental variables accounted for about 85% of the variation in the region. The first two principal gradients defined regional temperature seasonality and variability especially in winter and summer. The third principal gradient mainly defined summer rainfall areas in association with the coefficient of variation of rain and regional primary production, while the fourth gradient defined winter rainfall areas, growth days and elements of landscape structure. CCA/RDA analysis produced shortened hierarchically ranked explanatory variables for each bird assemblage. Stepwise gradient analysis results showed summer rain, rainfall concentration, topographic heterogeneity and annual evapotranspiration, as the most important climate variables explaining species occurrence. Landscape, in terms of percentage transformation, morphology, coefficient of variation of primary productivity and distance between suitable habitat patches, were also important, but to a lesser degree. Total variation explained (TVE) by the supplied variables was between 23 and 37% of variation. Less than 20% of TVE was the intrinsic spatial component of environmental influence, indicating that any unmeasured factors were independent of spatial structuring. For all the eight bird assemblages, climate contributed most to TVE (24–57%). Landscape characteristics (human‐induced transformation, vegetation in terms of size if grassy clumps and the average distances between them) contributed theleast to TVE for all the different assemblages (0–6%), especially the granivorous assemblage where it was not significant at all (0%). Seasonal extremes and variability were more important in explaining species gradients than were annual climatic conditions, with the exception of annual potential evapotranspiration. Main conclusions This study was able to synthesize species environment relations at the broad scale and demonstrated the association of arid zone endemic species occurrence with climate extremes and seasonality. Given the predicted climate change scenarios for South Africa, this regional gradient study provides a quantitative ecological basis for finer scale modelling and analysis, developing regional strategies for conserving biodiversity as well as predicting and planning for the effects of global climate change. However, most importantly, it clearly showed that bird species restricted and endemic to the arid Karoo biome may be more sensitive to climate rather than vegetation structure as previously thought.     

三峡大老岭地区森林植被的空间格局分析及其地形解释

为探讨地形对景观尺度植被格局的影响,在对三峡大老岭山地森林的大量群落学调查基础上 ,采用７个指标刻画群落生境的地形特征;利用去势典范对应分析（ＤＣＣＡ）排序方法分析不同群落类型的地形分布格局;并定量分离地形、空间及其交互作用等因素对植被格局总体变异的影响。结果表明：上述３方面的贡献分别是９．５０％、５．９４％和６．８１％,地形对植被格局的控制作用显著;但仍有７７．７５％的变异未得到解释。     

The Spatial Pattern and Topographic Interpretation of the Forest Vegetation at Dalaoling Region in the Three Gorges

The paper aims to explore the influence of topography on the pattern of vegetation on landscape scale. Based on the investigation of a large number of forest communities at Dalaoling Mountain in the Three Gorges, 7 indexes were used to figure out the topographical characteristics of habitats. The topographical pattern of different communities were analyzed with detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA) ordination, and the influence of topographical factors, spatial factors and their interaction on the total variance of vegetative pattern were quantitatively partitioned. The results suggested that, the contribution of the 3 aspects is 9.50%, 5.94% and 6.81%, respectively. Topography shows dominant controlling effect on the vegetative pattern at Dalaoling. But 77.75% of the variance were not interpreted yet.     

The relative importance of environment, human activity and space in explaining species richness of South African bird orders

Aim To assess the relative importance of environmental (climate, habitat heterogeneity and topography), human (population density, economic prosperity and land transformation) and spatial (autocorrelation) influences, and the interactions between these predictor groups, on species richness patterns of various avifaunal orders. Location South Africa. Methods Generalized linear models were used to determine the amount of variation in species richness, for each order, attributable to each of the different predictor groups. To assess the relationships between species richness and the various predictor groups, a deviance statistic (a measure of goodness of fit for each model) and the percentage deviation explained for the best fitting model were calculated. Results Of the 12 avifaunal orders examined, spatially structured environmental deviance accounted for most of the variation in species richness in 11 orders (averaging 28%), and 50% or more in seven orders. However, orders comprising mostly water birds (Charadriiformes, Anseriformes, Ciconiformes) had a relatively large component of purely spatial deviance compared with spatially structured environmental deviance, and much of this spatial deviance was due to higher‐order spatial effects such as patchiness, as opposed to linear gradients in species richness. Although human activity, in general, offered little explanatory power to species richness patterns, it was an important correlate of spatial variation in species of Charadriiformes and Anseriformes. The species richness of these water birds was positively related to the presence of artificial water bodies. Main conclusions Not all bird orders showed similar trends when assessing, simultaneously, the relative importance of environmental, human and spatial influences in affecting bird species richness patterns. Although spatially structured environmental deviance described most of the variation in bird species richness, the explanatory power of purely spatial deviance, mostly due to nonlinear geographical effects such as patchiness, became more apparent in orders representing water birds. This was especially true for Charadriiformes, where the strong anthropogenic relationship has negative implications for the successful conservation of this group.     

An anthropobiological study in Basse Kotto (Central Africa). I. Erythrocyte and sero-genetic markers: an analysis of the genetic differentiation

Phenotype and allele frequencies for hemoglobin types (Hb beta), acid phosphatase (AcP), phosphoglucomutase (PGM1 and PGM2), esterase D (EsD), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD), glyoxalase I (GLO), superoxide dismutase (SOD A), and adenylate kinase (AK) as well as for haptoglobins (Hp), group-specific component (Gc), transferrin (Tf), Gm, and Inv groups and albumin, are reported in the Mbugu, Sango, Yakpa, and Baya Mandja ethnic groups in the Basse Kotto district of the Central African Republic. The total sample size amounts to 133 males and 128 females aged from 16 to 60, unrelated and healthy. A new albumin variant (albumin Mbugu) is described and discussed. The average heterozygosity is high in each group because of a high degree of exogamy. the FST average standardized value among the four groups indicates that the genetic differentiation in Basse Kotto is at level of about 2%. This indicates that the four examined groups might be considered genetically homogeneous, in spite of their different ethnic origins. The genetic distances among the four groups show that only the Baya Mandja are less closely related to the other three groups because of their foreign origin.     

Africa goes Europe: The complete phylogeography of the marbled white butterfly species complex Melanargia galathea/M. lachesis (Lepidoptera: Satyridae)

Climatic oscillations influence the distribution of species in time. Thermophilic species survived the ice ages in refugia around the Mediterranean. Northern Africa is one of the possibly important refugia. In this study we test the genetic differentiation between northern African and European populations, using the marbled white butterfly species complex, Melanargia galathea/M. lachesis, as a model. We studied 18 allozyme loci in 876 individuals from 23 populations representing a major part of Europe (northern Spain to Romania) and the western part of northern Africa (Atlas Mountains). The African populations resemble the European ones in allelic richness; their genetic diversity is higher than in Europe. Cluster analysis discriminated five European genetic groups: M. lachesis, a western European lineage, and three eastern European lineages. However, the African samples did not form a separate cluster within this phenogram, but clustered randomly within the Balkan/southeastern European groups. The genetic differentiation among the African populations (F_ST 8.8%) was higher than that within any of the European lineages (F_ST 2.6–5.5%). The high genetic diversity and the relatively strong differentiation of the four African populations sampled in a comparatively limited area of the Atlas Mountains indicate that the most probable origin of M. galathea is northern Africa, with its sibling species, M. lachesis, evolving in parallel in Iberia. Most probably, M. galathea colonised Europe first during the Eem interglacial, some 130 ky ago. Since M. lachesis must have existed on the Iberian peninsula during that period already, M. galathea should have reached Europe via Italy. The genetic differentiation to distinct groups in Europe most probably evolved during the following Würm glacial period.     

浙江南麂列岛大檑山屿水仙自然居群的物种多样性、环境解释及空间分布格局分析

在野外调查基础上,对浙江南麂列岛大檑山屿水仙(Narcissus tazetta var.chinensis M.Roem.)自然居群5个典型生境(乔木林地、林缘、弃耕地、荒坡和灌木林地)的物种组成和α多样性指数进行分析,并采用典范对应分析(CCA)、最小生成树(MST)分析和空间点格局分析(SPPA)分别研究水仙自然居群物种分布与主要环境因子的关系、水仙与其伴生种的种间关系及空间分布格局.结果表明:浙江南麂列岛大檑山屿水仙自然居群5个生境共有植物28种,其中,乔木林地、林缘、弃耕地、荒坡和灌木林地分别有16、13、9、8和8种.5个生境中水仙的重要值均最高.弃耕地和乔木林地的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数较高,灌木林地和林缘其次,荒坡最低.5个生境的聚类分析结果显示:弃耕地和乔木林地聚为一组,其他3个生境聚为另一组.CCA排序结果显示:水仙的分布与坡度呈负相关,与土壤的电导率、含水量和温度以及坡向和海拔呈正相关,说明水仙适宜生长于坡度平缓以及土壤的含水量、电导率和温度适中的生境.MST分析结果显示:水仙与其伴生种羊蹄(Rumex japonicus Houtt.)、鬼针草(Bidens pilosa Linn.)、野艾蒿(Artemisia lavandulifolia DC.)的种间关系最近,这3个伴生种应作为水仙自然居群恢复生物治理的重点防控对象.SPPA分析结果显示:荒坡中水仙群丛分布数量相对较多,集中分布于东北角,西部和南部较少;在0.0~0.1 m尺度时,水仙群丛表现为随机分布;在大于0.1 m尺度时,表现为集中分布.研究结果显示:浙江南麂列岛大檑山屿水仙自然居群主要集中分布在东南坡的弃耕地,海岛生境异质性与自身繁殖特性是影响南麂列岛水仙自然居群恢复的关键因素,建议对水仙群落动态进行长期监测和相关研究,并结合岛屿生态系统进行综合管理.