Photosynthesis,Transpiration, and Water Use Efficiency of Caragana microphylla,C. intermedia,and C. korshinskii

In the order C. microphylla — C. intermedia — C. korshinskii, compensation irradiance, saturation irradiance, and optimum temperature for photosynthesis increased, net photosynthetic rate (P _N) at low irradiance and low temperature decreased, optimum air humidity decreased, and P _N at low air humidity increased. Daily cumulative value of P _N increased while daily cumulative value of transpiration (E) decreased, and hence water use efficiency (WUE =P _N/E) increased. Diurnal course of P _N of C. microphylla was a double-peak curve, but the second peak in the curves of C. intermedia and C. korshinskii was not visible. These physiological characteristics are biological basis for the geographical distribution of these three Caragana species, and are in relation to water conditions of their habitats and distinctiveness in leaf hair of plant.     

Spatial Heterogeneity of Soil Nutrients after the Establishment of Caragana intermedia Plantation on Sand Dunes in Alpine Sandy Land of the Tibet Plateau

The Gonghe Basin region of the Tibet Plateau is severely affected by desertification. Compared with other desertified land, the main features of this region is windy, cold and short growing season, resulting in relatively difficult for vegetation restoration. In this harsh environment, identification the spatial distribution of soil nutrients and analysis its impact factors after vegetation establishment will be helpful for understanding the ecological relationship between soil and environment. Therefore, in this study, the 12-year-old C. intermedia plantation on sand dunes was selected as the experimental site. Soil samples were collected under and between shrubs on the windward slopes, dune tops and leeward slopes with different soil depth. Then analyzed soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK). The results showed that the spatial heterogeneity of soil nutrients was existed in C. intermedia plantation on sand dunes. (1) Depth was the most important impact factor, soil nutrients were decreased with greater soil depth. One of the possible reasons is that windblown fine materials and litters were accumulated on surface soil, when they were decomposed, more nutrients were aggregated on surface soil. (2) Topography also affected the distribution of soil nutrients, more soil nutrients distributed on windward slopes. The herbaceous coverage were higher and C. intermedia ground diameter were larger on windward slopes, both of them probably related to the high soil nutrients level for windward slopes. (3) Soil “fertile islands” were formed, and the “fertile islands” were more marked on lower soil nutrients level topography positions, while it decreased towards higher soil nutrients level topography positions. The enrichment ratio (E) for TN and AN were higher than other nutrients, most likely because C. intermedia is a leguminous shrub.     

Increased Water Storage in the Qaidam Basin,the North Tibet Plateau from GRACE Gravity Data

Groundwater plays a key role in maintaining the ecology and environment in the hyperarid Qaidam Basin (QB). Indirect evidence and data from sparse observation wells suggest that groundwater in the QB is increasing but there has been no regional assessment of the groundwater conditions in the entire basin because of its remoteness and the severity of the arid environment. Here we report changes in the spatial and temporal distribution of terrestrial water storage (TWS) in the northern Tibetan Plateau (NTP) using Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data. Our study confirms long-term (2003–2012) TWS increases in the NTP. Between 2003 and 2012 the TWS increased by 88.4 and 20.6 km³ in the NTP and the QB, respectively, which is 225% and 52% of the capacity of the Three Gorges Reservoir, respectively. Soil and water changes from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) were also used to identify groundwater storage in the TWS and to demonstrate a long-term increase in groundwater storage in the QB. We demonstrate that increases in groundwater, not lake water, are dominant in the QB, as observed by groundwater levels. Our study suggests that the TWS increase was likely caused by a regional increase in precipitation and a decrease in evaporation. Degradation of the permafrost increases the thickness of the active layers providing increased storage for infiltrated precipitation and snow and ice melt water, which may also contribute to the increased TWS. The huge increase of water storage in the NTP will have profound effects, not only on local ecology and environment, but also on global water storage and sea level changes.     

皇甫川流域梁地生境中间锦鸡儿不同龄级植株光合生理特性的比较研究

对内蒙古鄂尔多斯市准格尔旗皇甫川流域梁地生境人工栽植的中龄级（5年生）和老龄级（24年生）中间锦鸡儿植株的光合生理特性进行了比较研究。结果表明：中龄级植株的净光合速率和蒸腾速率均大于老龄级植株;两个龄级植株在12:00~14:00净光合速率均下降,老龄级植株是由于光抑制使光系统Ⅱ受损、细胞光合能力下降等非气孔因素所导致,而中龄级植株是气孔因素和非气孔因素共同作用的结果,其中气孔因素是主要因素。光合色素含量的测定结果显示,中龄级植株的叶绿素含量、类胡萝卜素含量均显著高于老龄级植株,前者具有更高的净光合速率和光能利用效率,并且具有更高的抵御强光能力。中龄级植株的水分利用效率高于老龄级植株,具有更强的耐旱能力。     

Livestock Water Use and Productivity in the Nile Basin

Livestock are the major consumers of water but also sustain millions of pastoralist and farming families. In regions where water is a scarce commodity, such as the Nile basin, there is a need for strategies to improve livestock water productivity (LWP). This study seeks to contribute to this need through a better understanding of livestock water use and productivity within the Nile basin and how this varies across the basin. We developed a spatial framework combining dynamic models of digestion in ruminants, crop water requirements (CWRs), and animal drinking water requirements to estimate spatial distribution of livestock water requirements in different livestock production systems (LPSs). We compared this with livestock production and water availability estimates within the basin. The results show that in most areas LWP is less than 0.1 USD/m³, with only few areas showing a LWP of 0.5 USD/m³ and higher. This is largely related to very low livestock meat and milk production on one hand and very variable, but, in general, low feed water productivity (fWP). Total water need for feed production was estimated to be roughly 94 billion m³, which amounts to approximately 5% of the total annual rainfall (68 billion m³ or 3.6% of total annual rainfall when excluding water for residues). Differences in LWP between systems and regions are large, suggesting considerable scope for improvements. We discuss the main factors influencing observed patterns of LWP and livestock water use and how this information can be used for developing strategies for increasing the water productivity of agricultural systems at the basin level.     

Genetic diversity of rhizobia isolated from Caragana intermedia in Maowusu sandland,north of China

AIMS: Thirty-three rhizobial strains isolated from nodules of Caragana intermedia in Maowusu sandland were examined for their genetic diversity and putative phylogenetic position. METHODS AND RESULTS: Isolates from Caragana intermedia were classified into 12 genotypes by 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), which showed no distinct relationships with those of the reference strains. The genotypes of rhizobia were not related to geographical location. Thr 16S rDNA sequence of representative strain GH2001 from dominant genotype 2 shared high homologuey with some Rhizobium species: Rh. giardinii (96.4%), Rh. huautlense (95.3%), Rh. galegae (95.7%), Rh. yanglingense (95.2%), Rh. mongolense (95.6%), Rh. radiobacter (99%) and Rh. rubi (98.3%). CONCLUSIONS: A high degree of genetic diversity existed among rhizobia nodulating Caragana intermedia in Maowusu sandland. Most of the new isolates might belong to Rhizobium. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results suggest that the rich diversity of rhizobia might have contributed to the adaptation of the arid region. These strains could be valuable at the economic and ecosystem level.     

鄂尔多斯高原不同降雨量地区中间锦鸡儿(Caragana davazamcii Sancz)种群的ISSR遗传分析

采用简单重复间序列（ISSR）方法,对鄂尔多斯高原从东向西降雨量逐渐减少选5个地区的中间锦鸡儿种群进行分子生态学研究的结果表明,随着这一地区多年平均降雨量由东向西的逐渐减少,中间锦鸡儿种群遗传多样性有所增加,大部分变异发生在种群内（79.95％）,属异交类型,中间锦鸡儿群体间遗传距离缓慢增加,遗传一致度降低。这种随着水分递减呈现生态梯度变异的现象,说明水分变化特别是长期形成的水分条件对中间锦鸡儿的遗传多样性可能有一定的影响。     

水分胁迫对沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides)和中间锦鸡儿(Caragana intermedia)蒸腾作用影响的比较

多年生灌木沙棘和中间锦鸡儿是黄土高原生态重建的重要物种,设计人工模拟水分胁迫实验,测量沙棘和中间锦鸡儿蒸腾作用的各种指标,研究其蒸腾特性对水分胁迫的适应方式。结果表明,同等水分处理条件下,中间锦鸡儿单叶水平上的蒸腾速率高于沙棘。沙棘和中间锦鸡儿的蒸腾速率日进程在晴天、阴雨天和生长发育的不同阶段明显不同。夜间蒸腾占全天蒸腾的比例相当大,夜间蒸腾在不同物种之间、不同供水量之间存在明显差异,而且越干旱的环境比例越大。两种植物气孔阻力的季节变化格局在不同水分处理间大体相似。沙棘的昼夜蒸腾节律在各种水分处理条件下都表现出明显的气孔振荡现象,而中间锦鸡儿没有。叶片温度、光合有效辐射和气孔阻力是各种水分条件下沙棘和中间锦鸡儿蒸腾作用的共同的限制因子,相对于沙棘,中间锦鸡儿还更多地受到空气相对湿度的影响。     

荒漠草原区柠条林平茬和牧草补播对地面节肢动物群落的影响

以荒漠草原区25年龄柠条林为研究对象,通过调查未平茬未补播、补播、平茬和既平茬又补播牧草的柠条林地中地面节肢动物群落特征,分析了补播和平茬及其交互作用对柠条林间和林下地面节肢动物个体数和类群数分布的影响.结果表明:在未平茬未补播牧草的林地中,林间地面节肢动物个体数和类群数均显著低于林下.与未平茬未补播牧草林地相比,补播、平茬和既平茬又补播牧草均显著增加柠条林间地面节肢动物个体数和类群数,而对柠条林下地面节肢动物个体数和类群数分布无显著影响,经过不同管理措施处理后,柠条林下与林间的地面节肢动物分布无显著差异.平茬和补播对柠条灌丛内外地面节肢动物分布影响具有类同效应,而且相互之间存在缓冲作用,补播与平茬处理、平茬与既平茬又补播处理、补播与既平茬又补播处理之间,林间和林下地面节肢动物的分布均无显著差异.在荒漠草原区柠条人工林中,平茬、补播和既平茬又补播牧草均可以显著提高柠条林地特别是林间地面节肢动物多样性,有利于退化草地生物多样性保护、生态系统恢复和柠条人工林的有效管理.     

Heart Dissection in Larval,Juvenile and Adult Zebrafish,Danio rerio

Zebrafish have become a beneficial and practical model organism for the study of embryonic heart development (see recent reviews^1-6), however, work examining post-embryonic through adult cardiac development has been limited^7-10. Examining the changing morphology of the maturing and aging heart are restricted by the lack of techniques available for staging and isolating juvenile and adult hearts. In order to analyze heart development over the fish''s lifespan, we dissect zebrafish hearts at numerous stages and photograph them for further analysis¹¹. The morphological features of the heart can easily be quantified and individual hearts can be further analyzed by a host of standard methods. Zebrafish grow at variable rates and maturation correlates better with fish size than age, thus, post-fixation, we photograph and measure fish length as a gauge of fish maturation. This protocol explains two distinct, size dependent dissection techniques for zebrafish, ranging from larvae 3.5mm standard length (SL) with hearts of 100μm ventricle length (VL), to adults, with SL of 30mm and VL 1mm or larger. Larval and adult fish have quite distinct body and organ morphology. Larvae are not only significantly smaller, they have less pigment and each organ is visually very difficult to identify. For this reason, we use distinct dissection techniques.We used pre-dissection fixation procedures, as we discovered that hearts dissected directly after euthanization have a more variable morphology, with very loose and balloon like atria compared with hearts removed following fixation. The fish fixed prior to dissection, retain in vivo morphology and chamber position (data not shown). In addition, for demonstration purposes, we take advantage of the heart (myocardial) specific GFP transgenic Tg(myl7:GFP)^{twu34 (12)}, which allows us to visualize the entire heart and is particularly useful at early stages in development when the cardiac morphology is less distinct from surrounding tissues. Dissection of the heart makes further analysis of the cell and molecular biology underlying heart development and maturation using in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, RNA extraction or other analytical methods easier in post-embryonic zebrafish. This protocol will provide a valuable technique for the study of cardiac development maturation and aging.Download video file.^{(42M, mov)}     

荒漠草原柠条新萌蘖枝叶相关关系及生态学意义

为了解荒漠草原柠条当年新生枝叶比例关系及其对干旱环境的生态适应策略,通过调查当年新萌蘖枝长、枝重和总叶数、叶面积、叶重和比叶重等指标以及测定新生叶水分含量,研究了新萌蘖枝量和叶量间相关关系,并分析了枝量变化对枝叶水分分配的影响.结果表明,总叶数(R~2=0.573,Adjusted R=0.569,P=0.000)和比叶重(R~2=0.237,Adjusted R=0.230,P=0.000)均与枝长存在幂函数回归关系,总叶面积(R~2=0.522,Adjusted R=0.518,P=0.000)和叶鲜重(R~2=0.485,Adjusted R=0.481,P=0.000)均与枝长存在线性回归关系;枝长越大,叶量越大,叶重越大.总叶数与枝重间存在幂函数回归关系(R~2=0.626,AdjustedR=0.623,P=0.000),而总叶面积(R~2=0.645,Adjusted R=0.642,F=196.824,P=0.000)、叶重(R~2=0.758,AdjustedR=0.756,P=0.000)和比叶重(R~2=0.361,Adjusted R=0.356,P=0.000)均与枝重间存在线性回归关系;叶重与枝重间成等速生长关系,与WBE预测模型3/4次幂函数关系出现偏差.并且,枝量(枝长和枝重)与叶水分含量间存在显著负相关关系(P<0.01),枝量特别是枝长显著影响新叶的水分含量.     

Benefits, Costs and Constraints of Anti-Parasitic Grooming in Adult and Juvenile Rodents

Grooming behaviour plays various roles in the health care, reproduction, and social life of an individual vertebrate. However, the reasons for the variability in time spent grooming amongst species, populations and individuals are not fully understood. We tested the hypothesis that the main role of grooming is ectoparasite removal and thus that time spent grooming by an animal reflects the costs of parasite infestation offset against the costs of grooming. The test was conducted on a rodent, Meriones crassus, that is parasitised by a flea, Xenopsylla conformis. We monitored behaviour of juvenile and adult rodents before and after flea infestation and quantified the probability of mortality of fleas with respect to the time spent grooming in adults compared with juvenile rodents. We predicted that: (1) increased costs of flea infestation (e.g. in parasitised as opposed to flea‐free rodents and in juveniles as opposed to adults) increases time spent grooming and (2) mortality probability per flea increases with increasing time spent grooming and is higher for fleas on juveniles than for fleas on adult rodents. We were interested to discover at the expense of which activity grooming is increased. Our findings established that the major role of grooming is in flea removal, as exposure to fleas evoked grooming activity in all rodents and grooming activity explained 57–70% of the variation in flea mortality. Furthermore, we showed that the rise in grooming activity was at the expense of resting. However, we found only partial support for the predicted increase in grooming time with increasing costs of flea infestation. Flea infestation did indeed increase the time spent grooming by rodents. Nevertheless, juvenile rodents who incur higher costs of flea infestation spent less time grooming than adults and sustained similar flea densities, suggesting that these hosts are constrained by some other factors, such as feeding time.     

中间锦鸡儿CiUPF0114克隆与表达及豆科UPF0114基因家族成员分析

本研究克隆了中间锦鸡儿一个CiUPF0114基因,该基因编码框长876 bp,编码291个氨基酸的蛋白质,预测等电点9.83,分子量32.13 kD。利用荧光定量PCR检测发现,在干旱、脱水和冷处理后,CiUPF0114基因转录水平的表达量均明显上调。通过全基因组筛选,获得了29个来自于8种豆科植物以及模式植物拟南芥和水稻中的UPF0114基因家族成员,并对其进行了系统进化分析、基因结构和保守基序分析。系统进化分析将UPF0114基因分成A和B两个亚家族,A亚家族又分成A1和A2两个组,本研究中克隆的中间锦鸡儿CiUPF0114属于B亚家族成员。通过对蛋白长度、结构域数量、分子量、等电点、基因结构和保守基序的分析发现,29个UPF0114基因差异不大,说明该基因家族成员在进化上相对保守。该研究为进一步验证CiUPF0114基因的功能奠定了基础。     

Long-Term Monitoring of Rainfed Wheat Yield and Soil Water at the Loess Plateau Reveals Low Water Use Efficiency

Increasing crop yield and water use efficiency (WUE) in dryland farming requires a quantitative understanding of relationships between crop yield and the water balance over many years. Here, we report on a long-term dryland monitoring site at the Loess Plateau, Shanxi, China, where winter wheat was grown for 30 consecutive years and soil water content (0–200 cm) was measured every 10 days. The monitoring data were used to calibrate the AquaCrop model and then to analyse the components of the water balance. There was a strong positive relationship between total available water and mean cereal yield. However, only one-third of the available water was actually used by the winter wheat for crop transpiration. The remaining two-thirds were lost by soil evaporation, of which 40 and 60% was lost during the growing and fallow seasons, respectively. Wheat yields ranged from 0.6 to 3.9 ton/ha and WUE from 0.3 to 0.9 kg/m³. Results of model experiments suggest that minimizing soil evaporation via straw mulch or plastic film covers could potentially double wheat yields and WUE. We conclude that the relatively low wheat yields and low WUE were mainly related to (i) limited rainfall, (ii) low soil water storage during fallow season due to large soil evaporation, and (iii) poor synchronisation of the wheat growing season to the rain season. The model experiments suggest significant potential for increased yields and WUE.     

The steppes and deserts of the Xizang Plateau (Tibet)

The Xizang Plateau (Tibet) covers a vast area over 4 000 m with a severe environment. Steppes and deserts are widely distributed on the plateau to the west of 91.5°E. Poaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Cyperaceae are the most important families in the composition of steppe communities. The steppe can be divided into high-cold steppe and montane steppe. The former one is characterized by the Stipa purpurea community, which occupies a vast area with a cold, dry climate: annual mean temperature 0 to –6°C, annual rainfall is 150–300 mm; The latter one is distributed in some limited regions, where the climate is less severe: annual mean temperature 0–7°C, annual rainfall is 150–400 mm. The representative communities here are the Stipa glareosa and S. bungeana communities. Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae play a principal role in both high-cold and montane deserts. The high-cold desert is unique. Its major representative is the Ceratoides compacta community, which is found at about 5 000 m, in an extremely cold and very dry climate. The Ceratoides latens and Ajania fruticulosa communities are the common ones of the montane desert which mainly appears below 4 600 m in elevation, where the annual temperature is about 0°C and the rainfall is less than 100 mm. The distribution of the steppe and the desert communities shows a clear regional differentiation, and an equally clear vertical distribution pattern.     

荒漠草原区柠条人工固沙林生长过程中地表植被-土壤的变化

研究荒漠草原区柠条人工林生长过程中土壤-植被系统演变特征,对于揭示柠条人工固沙林对沙化草地生态系统恢复产生的生态效应具有重要的科学意义.以6、15、24和36年生柠条人工林为对象,通过调查每个样地的土壤性质和地表植被特征,分析了荒漠草原区柠条人工林生长过程中土壤-地表植被的变化.结果表明:随着柠条人工林的发育,柠条的冠幅、树高、分枝数和基径极显著增加,土壤粗沙粒和细沙粒含量显著降低,极细沙和粘粉粒含量显著增加,土壤有机碳、全N和全P含量呈现线性增加,而土壤pH值则显著下降;地表植被物种数和密度显著增加,地表植被盖度和高度均表现为24年生＞15年生＞6年生＞36年生林地,相关分析表明,土壤质地、容重、土壤养分与pH值是影响柠条林地地表植被物种数、个体数和盖度分布的主要因素.在荒漠草原区,柠条人工固沙林发育过程有利于土壤条件改善和地表植被恢复,促进沙化草地生态系统的恢复.     

Hair Cell Orientation Patterns on the Saccules of Juvenile and Adult Toadfish,Opsanus tau

Saccules from 10 adult (five female, five male) toadfish (Opsanus tau), 13.5–26 cm standard length, were examined for individual/sexual variation in the hair cell orientation pattern. In addition, saccules from two juveniles (5 and 6 cm standard length) were compared with those of the adults to determine whether maturational differences exist in the hair cell orientations. The hair cell orientation pattern is unlike any reported previously for this species or its congener, O. beta. There are no major differences between the hair cell orientations of males and females, nor between the juveniles and the adults. A slight individual variation is present in the proportion of hair cells oriented in a particular direction in a specific area of the sensory epithelium. Potential ramifications of this hair cell orientation pattern are discussed with regard to development and auditory processing.