岩溶山区景观多样性变化的生态学意义对比——以贵州四个典型地区为例

岩溶石漠化是中国西南典型的土地退化,但关于岩溶山区景观多样性的研究还不多见。岩溶山区景观异质性强,景观格局空间差异大,岩溶山区土地利用/土地覆被变化引起的景观多样性变化,其生态学意义有何差异,值得开展研究。本文采用高分辨率的航片和遥感影像,以100m?100m 网格为单元,分析了贵州省王家寨、后寨河、花江和茂兰4个典型岩溶地点的景观多样性指数在1963年和2004年的空间分布。 为了说明多样性指数变化的生态学意义,进一步,把4个研究地点景观多样性指数空间分布图与其土地退化图结合起来,对比其多样性指数变化与土地退化和生态恢复的关系。结果表明：（1）茂兰、后寨河和花江多样性指数都表现出随距聚落距离增加而减少的趋势,王家寨1963年和2004年则表现出随距聚落距离增加,多样性指数先减小后增加。（2）茂兰地区以森林为基质,后寨河地区坡耕地退耕为林、灌、草地,土地利用方式单一,景观破碎化程度降低;因此,茂兰、后寨河地区多样性指数的降低表明该地区生态实质上有所恢复;花江地区土地利用/土地覆被逐渐向多样化方向发展,石漠化景观逐渐被林灌斑块代替,多样性指数升高表明该地区植被有所恢复;王家寨地区峰丛坡地多样性指数增加表示生态有所恢复。（3）研究地点多样性的升、降不能简单地与生态变好、变差直接联系。只有正确区分岩溶地区的景观基质,才能准确运用景观指数分析石漠化土地的变化趋势。     

Exceptional record of submarine cave communities from the Pleistocene of Sicily (Italy)

An Early Pleistocene benthic community, discovered inside the Rumena Cave in NW Sicily, Italy, was studied. Analysis of the community led to the recognition of several encrusting species – notably scleractinians, bryozoans, serpuloideans, cirripeds, foraminifera and brachiopods – and borings mostly referable to the ichnogenus Gastrochaenolites. All fossils detected are typical of the present‐day hard‐surface submarine cave biota, at both high taxonomic rank and species level. The biogenic crust, restricted to a few sectors of the cave but locally up to few centimetres thick, largely consist of scleractinians, mainly represented by dendrophylliids. Bryozoans and serpuloideans are also present with Hippaliosina depressa and Spiraserpula massiliensis, locally forming multi‐layered sheets and dense specimen aggregates, respectively. Basing mostly on the composition of the encrusting community and on morphological/morphometric features of some species, it has been hypothesized that at least part of the cave was blind when the crust formed, possibly at relatively shallow depth in a sheltered setting or, more probably, at higher depths, below the fair weather swell zone. Encrustations and borings on the rocky cave ceiling and on occasional speleothems broken surfaces document subsequent phases of cave submersion/colonization separated by emersion/erosion phases. The importance of the Early Pleistocene fossils of the Rumena Cave for the knowledge of submarine cave communities through time and for the understanding of sea‐level variations and the uplift of the area has been remarked.     

Evidence for reproductive isolation between cave bear populations

The European cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), which became extinct around 15,000 years ago, had several morphologically different forms. Most conspicuous of these were small Alpine cave bears found at elevations of 1,600 to 2,800 m. Whereas some paleontologists have considered these bears a distinct form, or even a distinct species, others have disputed this. By a combination of morphological and genetic methods, we have analyzed a population of small cave bears from Ramesch Cave (2,000 m altitude) and one of larger cave bears from Gamssulzen Cave (1,300 m), situated approximately 10 km apart in the Austrian Alps (Figure 1A). We find no evidence of mitochondrial gene flow between these caves during the 15,000 years when they were both occupied by cave bears, although mitochondrial DNA sequences identical to those from Gamssulzen Cave could be recovered from a site located about 200 km to the south in Croatia. We also find no evidence that the morphology of the bears in the two caves changed to become more similar over time. We suggest that the two cave bear forms may have represented two reproductively isolated subspecies or species.     

Sur un poisson gravé magdalénien de la grotte Margot (Thorigné-en-Charnie,Mayenne)

An engraved fish that can be attributed to the final Magdalenian period was discovered in 2010 in the Margot cave (Thorigné-en-Charnie, Mayenne, France). It shows graphic details that allow us to propose some clues to taxonomic determination. It must be a freshwater fish; the hypothesis of a Cyprinidae such as a tench is acceptable, considering that the 3.1 layer of the nearby Rochefort cave, attributable to the Final Paleolithic, has yielded a branchial arch of another Cyprinidae (probably a chub or a dace). Fish is not a usual theme in Paleolithic wall art. Here it is associated with another engraved animal figure, which is not fully determinable (seal or other fish).     

Le Moustérien en Croatie

This paper summarises results of the research on Middle Paleolithic of Croatia with a focus on Mousterian industry. The Hrvatsko zagorje (northwestern, continental part of Croatia) and Adriatic coast with its hinterland are physically divided by the Dinarid mountains, and present two different landscapes for the adaptation of Mousterian people. The sites in northwestern Croatia are represented by cave sites, while in Dalmatia, where the climate is milder, open-air sites are more frequent than the caves. During the early Mousterian of northwestern Croatia, Levallois method at Krapina and Vindija sites and cobble wedge method at Krapina [Journal of human evolution 32 (1997) 561-75] were used. Levallois debitage was also present in the late Mousterian assemblages from eastern Adriatic sites, but is absent in the late Mousterian of Hrvatsko zagorje. Sites on the eastern Adriatic coast are often characterized by tools of small size (like the ones of the so-called Micromousterian) and significant presence of denticulates and notched pieces. In both northwestern Croatia and Dalmatia Mousterian people effectively exploited local raw material sources and successfully adapted to different environmental conditions of these regions.     

Paleoecological and microenvironmental aspects of the first European hominids inferred from the taphonomy of small mammals (Sima del Elefante,Sierra de Atapuerca,Spain)

Unit TE9 of the Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain), where the remains of Homo sp. have been discovered (1.2–1.3 Ma), is also a level rich in small mammals. The taphonomic study of these small vertebrates sheds light on the landscape that provided the setting for the activities of these early hominids and allows us to describe what the cave was like during the formation of the level. Small mammal predators identified in the study indicate that during this period the Sierra de Atapuerca was part of a large biome consisting of semi-open riparian forests with meadows nearby. Postdepositional alterations reveal that the production of fossils took place outside the cave, being transported inside by water currents. During the formation of TE9, the cave presented conditions of high humidity, which made it difficult for hominids to establish occupations inside, although these conditions became somewhat less severe in TE9c, the sublevel where human remains are found.     

Metagenomic Analysis from the Interior of a Speleothem in Tjuv-Ante's Cave,Northern Sweden

Speleothems are secondary mineral deposits normally formed by water supersaturated with calcium carbonate percolating into underground caves, and are often associated with low-nutrient and mostly non-phototrophic conditions. Tjuv-Ante’s cave is a shallow-depth cave formed by the action of waves, with granite and dolerite as major components, and opal-A and calcite as part of the speleothems, making it a rare kind of cave. We generated two DNA shotgun sequencing metagenomic datasets from the interior of a speleothem from Tjuv-Ante’s cave representing areas of old and relatively recent speleothem formation. We used these datasets to perform i) an evaluation of the use of these speleothems as past biodiversity archives, ii) functional and taxonomic profiling of the speleothem’s different formation periods, and iii) taxonomic comparison of the metagenomic results to previous microscopic analyses from a nearby speleothem of the same cave. Our analyses confirm the abundance of Actinobacteria and fungi as previously reported by microscopic analyses on this cave, however we also discovered a larger biodiversity. Interestingly, we identified photosynthetic genes, as well as genes related to iron and sulphur metabolism, suggesting the presence of chemoautotrophs. Furthermore, we identified taxa and functions related to biomineralization. However, we could not confidently establish the use of this type of speleothems as biological paleoarchives due to the potential leaching from the outside of the cave and the DNA damage that we propose has been caused by the fungal chemical etching.     

Les colorants dans l’art pariétal et mobilier paléolithique de La Garma (Cantabrie,Espagne)

La Garma Cave is an Upper Palaeolithic site located ca 15 km from Santander (Cantabria, Spain). The lower gallery, which is accessible thanks to two wells, keeps paintings on the walls and numerous objects laying on the floor, objects made in bone or antler which are carved, engraved and painted. The analysis of more than 50 samples taken from the walls or the objects (37 red, 11 black, five yellow, two brown, one purple) takes part in the global project of the “chaîne opératoire” comprehension of the prehistoric painting activity. The analysis is aimed also to understand the organisation of La Garma cave, looking for the various steps of the decoration of the different rooms. The results bring to light the modulated realisation of the wall paintings: few figures were painted rapidly without any specific intention, the majority, on the other hand, were realised after a complex preparation of the painting matter with the use of specific paint pots.     

Optical dating of dune sand from Blombos Cave,South Africa: I--multiple grain data

An aeolian sand unit overlies the Middle Stone Age deposits at Blombos Cave on the southern Cape coast. These deposits contained culturally-important artefacts, including bone tools and pieces of engraved ochre, as well as a large number of worked lithics. The aeolian sand and two other remnants of the sand dune formed against the coastal cliff were dated using optical dating. To determine the dose received since deposition, measurements were made on 5mg aliquots of purified quartz grains using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. The results of several internal check procedures are reported and at least 15 replicate dose determinations are presented for each sample. Combining these dose values with measurements of the radioactive content of each sample resulted in an age of 69.2+/-3.9 ka for the unit within the cave, and a mean age of 70.1+/-1.9 ka for all three dune samples. This provides a minimum age for the Middle Stone Age material at Blombos Cave.     

Cultivable microscopic fungi from an underground chemosynthesis-based ecosystem: a preliminary study

Movile Cave, a unique groundwater ecosystem in southern Romania, was discovered in 1986. This chemoautotrophic cave contains an abundant and diverse fauna with terrestrial and aquatic invertebrate communities, including 33 endemic species. Since its discovery, studies have focused mainly on cave chemoautotrophic bacteria, while the microfungal community has been largely neglected. In this study, we determined the microfungal species living on various substrates in Movile Cave and compared this spectrum with the mycobiota detected outside the cave (outside air-borne and soil-borne microfungi). To investigate all of the niches, we collected samples for two consecutive years from the dry part of the cave (cave air and sediment, corroded limestone walls, isopod feces, and isopod and spider cadavers) and from the post-siphon part of the cave, i.e., Airbell II (sediment and floating microbial mat). A total of 123 microfungal species were identified from among several hundred isolates. Of these, 96 species were only detected in the cave environment and not outside of the cave, while 90 species were from the dry part of the cave and 28 were from Airbell II. The most diverse genera were Penicillium (at least 18 species) and Aspergillus (14 species), followed by Cladosporium (9 species). Surprisingly, high CFU counts of air-borne microfungi were found inside the cave; they were even higher than outside the cave during the first year of investigation.     

Faunal and taphonomic analyses of a Late Pleistocene bird-bone assemblage from a cave deposit in north-west Hungary

The paper presents a faunal and taphonomic discussion of the Late Pleistocene bird-bone assemblages excavated in Kálvária Cave n^o 4 near the city of Tatabánya in north-west Hungary. A total of 1150 complete and fragmentary avian remains were recovered from two locations on two separate occasions. Of these, 873 bones could be identified on the species-, family- or order-level. Fifteen of the identified 19 bird taxa could be determined on the species level and they indicate a habitat typical of forest margins. Several species yielded juvenile or subadult specimens, which in view of the breeding period means that these birds died during the summer, most probably between July and September.Each of the two assemblages had distinct characteristics. The high number of kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) long bones in Assemblage I generally included complete skeletal parts from subadult birds, suggesting a colony which bred in the cave, whose chicks died of natural causes. Even though the bones were exposed to a certain degree of water transport and soil corrosion, they were generally well preserved in the cave sediment. Size-characteristic analyses demonstrated that, in spite of the undeveloped morphological features, the sizes of limb bones usually corresponded to those of adult birds.The greater part of the material in Assemblage II originated from a stratified deposit and was dominated by small and fragmented remains of various taxa. The taxa which could be identified and the taphonomic features of the remains suggest that owl pellets formed the core of this bone assemblage.     

基于形态学空间格局和空间主成分的贵阳市中心城区生态网络构建

喀斯特多山地区,城市扩展过程中大量自然山体镶嵌入城,形成具有多种生态系统服务功能的城市遗存自然山体。但在城市内部致密化发展过程中,这些城市遗存山体常被城市建设用地孤立和包围,形成人工干扰场中的生态孤岛。生态网络的构建既有利于城市遗存自然山体自然资源保护,又有助于丰富城市绿色基础设施生态系统服务功能。以喀斯特地区典型的多山城市——贵阳市行政区为研究对象,综合利用形态学空间格局分析法和景观连通性识别中心城区生态源地,基于主成分分析确定研究区综合阻力面,通过最小累积阻力模型、重力模型和水文分析等方法,识别并优化关键衔接廊道及节点,在中心城区行政区和建成区两个尺度构建研究区生态网络。结果表明：（1）行政区生态源地分布整体呈现"南北相望"的格局,建成区生态源地集中在中部;（2）研究区综合生态阻力高值主要集中在研究区中部,呈放射状向外扩散,综合生态阻力低值主要分布在研究区周边,以大型林地斑块为主;（3）行政区极重要、重要、一般廊道数分别为15、21、69,极重要廊道集中分布在北部,建成区极重要、重要、一般廊道数分别为37、113、227条,极重要廊道主要分布在建成区中部;（4）行政区和建成区一类生态节点分别为29、25个,二类生态节点33、17个。最终通过叠加行政区和建成区生态网络要素,形成贵阳市中心城区生态网络,研究结果能为贵阳市中心城区在未来用地空间上协调生态保护与城市发展提供科学合理的参考。     

Upper Pleistocene Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) remains from the Bilstein Caves (Sauerland Karst) and contribution to the steppe lion taphonomy,palaeobiology and sexual dimorphism

Remains of the steppe lion Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss) from historical digs in the Bilstein Caves of Warstein (Sauerland, NW Germany) are described. Their age seems to be from the Early Weichselian periods (Upper Pleistocene). Whereas the Bilstein cave was inhabited by cave bears at that time only a few hyena prey remains, were most likely imported into the cave entrance by hyenas. Bite and crush marks on a few bones of Bison priscus, Bos primigenius, Cervus elaphus, a rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis vertebra and even several chewed cave bear bones prove the hyena presence which is similar to other caves in the Sauerland hyena den cave rich region. Additionally some larger wolves subspecies Canis lupusspelaeus bones were found, but only few Crocuta crocuta spelaea remains are present. After taphonomic comparisons to six other hyena and cave bear den caves of northern Germany, this cave can be classified as a cave bear den, which was briefly used by hyenas only for food storage or commuting or cave bear predation site in one part of the Cave. The lion material refers at least to one young adult lioness, one more adult female and two male lions; therefore, at minimum, the remains of four adult individuals are represented. The absence of juvenile lion material, in contrast to cave bear cub remains in the Bilstein Caves, proves that P. leo spelaea did not use this and all other caves in the region to raise their cubs. The bone material from the Bilstein Caves would prove the same hyena-lion antagonism conflict being recently proven for the Perick Caves, Balve Cave or Martins Cave well. Other situations in caves such as the Keppler Cave and the Bilstein Cave initially show the more complex taphonomic situation of lion remains in European caves, especially in cave bear dens, where they seem to have hunted periodically cave bears, such as it is already proven for hyenas in the Sauerland Karst and other caves of Europe.     

Le mammouth dans l’art paléolithique

The mammoth, an emblematic animal of the Prehistory, possesses an important place in the depictions made by prehistoric artists, both in parietal art (cave art) and in mobile art. Its image is known from the Aurignacian, at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic, until the end of the Last Ice Age, the Magdalenian. However, its geographical and chronological distribution is dissimilar. Mammoth depictions are generally more frequent during the Aurignacian where this animal is found engraved and painted in the Chauvet cave for example and carved from ivory in several cave sites of the Swabian Jura. The Magdalenian cave of Rouffignac and its 160 representations constitute a notable exception. From a formal point of view, the representations of mammoth are elaborated in a rather constant way, like the characteristic cephalic contour and the typical back of the animal, at least as it could be seen in nature. The representations are often even limited to a cursive line with a double curvature that expresses the pachyderm. On the other hand some drawings show intimate details. Sometimes the tusks of the mammoths are not indicated, but certain stylistic features, such as the ventral arch, are relatively reliable chronological markers. Finally, one cannot ignore the ethological or seasonal expressions that sometimes link the mammoths to each other, in a row or in confrontation. This animal obviously inspired the artists of the prehistory who created various portraits of the mammoth.     

湖北西陵峡地区珍稀特有植物分析

湖北西陵峡地区位于湖北西南山地的北部,为了区城上的完整性,作者将临界的巫峡东段也考虑在内,其范围包括宜昌、兴山、秭归、巴东等县的分水岭区域。本文提出峡区存在中国真特有属36属,国家保护植物36种,其它珍贵稀有植物50种,并分析了区系特点,为西陵峡地区植物资源的合理利用和建立峡区自然保护区提供依据。     

Looking at the Camp: Paleolithic Depiction of a Hunter-Gatherer Campsite

Landscapes and features of the everyday world were scarcely represented in Paleolithic art, especially those features associated with the human landscape (huts and campsites). On the contrary, other figurative motifs (especially animals) and signs, traditionally linked to the magic or religious conceptions of these hunter-gatherer societies, are the predominant themes of Upper Paleolithic art. This paper seeks to present an engraved schist slab recently found in the Molí del Salt site (North-eastern Iberia) and dated at the end of the Upper Paleolithic, ca. 13,800 years ago. This slab displays seven semicircular motifs that may be interpreted as the representation of dome-shaped huts. The analysis of individual motifs and the composition, as well as the ethnographic and archeological contextualization, suggests that this engraving is a naturalistic depiction of a hunter-gatherer campsite. Campsites can be considered the first human landscape, the first area of land whose visible features were entirely constructed by humans. Given the social meaning of campsites in hunter-gatherer life-styles, this engraving may be considered one of the first representations of the domestic and social space of a human group.     

Active-site gorge and buried water molecules in crystal structures of acetylcholinesterase from Torpedo californica

Buried water molecules and the water molecules in the active-site gorge are analyzed for five crystal structures of acetylcholinesterase from Torpedo californica in the resolution range 2.2-2.5 A (native enzyme, and four inhibitor complexes). A total of 45 buried hydration sites are identified, which are populated with between 36 and 41 water molecules. About half of the buried water is located in a distinct region neighboring the active-site gorge. Most of the buried water molecules are very well conserved among the five structures, and have low displacement parameters, B, of magnitudes similar to those of the main-chain atoms of the central beta-sheet structure. The active-site gorge of the native enzyme is filled with over 20 water molecules, which have poor hydrogen-bond coordination with an average of 2.9 polar contacts per water molecule. Upon ligand binding, distinct groups of these water molecules are displaced, whereas the others remain in positions similar to those that they occupy in the native enzyme. Possible roles of the buried water molecules are discussed, including their possible action as a lubricant to allow large-amplitude fluctuations of the loop structures forming the gorge wall. Such fluctuations are required to facilitate traffic of substrate, products and water molecules to and from the active-site. Because of their poor coordination, the gorge water molecules can be considered as "activated" as compared to bulk water. This should allow their easy displacement by incoming substrate. The relatively loose packing of the gorge water molecules leaves numerous small voids, and more efficient space-filling by substrates and inhibitors may be a major driving force of ligand binding.     

Phylogeography of Sardinian cave salamanders (genus Hydromantes) is mainly determined by geomorphology

Detecting the factors that determine the interruption of gene flow between populations is key to understanding how speciation occurs. In this context, caves are an excellent system for studying processes of colonization, differentiation and speciation, since they represent discrete geographical units often with known geological histories. Here, we asked whether discontinuous calcareous areas and cave systems represent major barriers to gene flow within and among the five species of Sardinian cave salamanders (genus Hydromantes) and whether intraspecific genetic structure parallels geographic distance within and among caves. We generated mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences from 184 individuals representing 48 populations, and used a Bayesian phylogeographic approach to infer possible areas of cladogenesis for these species and reconstruct historical and current dispersal routes among distinct populations. Our results show deep genetic divergence within and among all Sardinian cave salamander species, which can mostly be attributed to the effects of mountains and discontinuities in major calcareous areas and cave systems acting as barriers to gene flow. While these salamander species can also occur outside caves, our results indicate that there is a very poor dispersal of these species between separate cave systems.     

Unbinding free energy of acetylcholinesterase bound oxime drugs along the gorge pathway from metadynamics‐umbrella sampling investigation

Because of the pivotal role that the nerve enzyme, acetylcholinesterase plays in terminating nerve impulses at cholinergic synapses. Its active site, located deep inside a 20 Å gorge, is a vulnerable target of the lethal organophosphorus compounds. Potent reactivators of the intoxicated enzyme are nucleophiles, such as bispyridinium oxime that binds to the peripheral anionic site and the active site of the enzyme through suitable cation–π interactions. Atomic scale molecular dynamics and free energy calculations in explicit water are used to study unbinding pathways of two oxime drugs (Ortho‐7 and Obidoxime) from the gorge of the enzyme. The role of enzyme‐drug cation–π interactions are explored with the metadynamics simulation. The metadynamics discovered potential of mean force (PMF) of the unbinding events is refined by the umbrella sampling (US) corrections. The bidimensional free energy landscape of the metadynamics runs are further subjected to finite temperature string analysis to obtain the transition tube connecting the minima and bottlenecks of the unbinding pathway. The PMF is also obtained from US simulations using the biasing potential constructed from the transition tube and are found to be consistent with the metadynamics‐US corrected results. Although experimental structural data clearly shows analogous coordination of the two drugs inside the gorge in the bound state, the PMF of the drug trafficking along the gorge pathway point, within an equilibrium free energy context, to a multistep process that differs from one another. Routes, milestones and subtlety toward the unbinding pathway of the two oximes at finite temperature are identified. Proteins 2014; 82:1799–1818. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.