Seasonal phenology and stage-specific parasitism of the apple ermine moth, Yponomeuta malinellus Zeller, in Korea

The apple ermine moth, Yponomeuta malinellus Zeller (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), is a tent caterpillar that feeds on Malus spp. in Korea. Populations of the moth in native areas appeared to be regulated by the assemblage of parasitoids. Phenological associations between host stages and parasitoids, susceptible stage(s) of the host for each parasitoid, and stage‐specific parasitism were studied. The egg larval parasitoid Ageniaspis fuscicollis (Dalman) had highest parasitism of first instar larvae (24%), with 14% parasitism of other larval stages. Dolichogenidea delecta (Haliday) was recovered from all larval instars with the highest parasitism rate of second instar larvae (20.1%), followed by 19.9% parasitism of mid‐larval hosts. Herpestomus brunicornis Gravenhorst was reared from second instar larvae through to pupal collection, and had the highest parasitism rate (29.9%) at the pupal stage. The larval pupal parasitoid Zenillia dolosa (Meigen) was recovered from mid‐larval to pupal stages with the highest parasitism rate (5.5%) occurring in third to fourth instar larvae. The host stages for developing A. fuscicollis completely overlap with those of D. delecta, and with those of H. brunicornis to some degree. A statistically significant negative correlation exists between A. fuscicollis and these dominant parasitoids, indicating competitive interaction within the host.     

Seasonality in bacterial diversity in north-west Mediterranean coastal waters: assessment through clone libraries, fingerprinting and FISH

We combined denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), catalysed reporter deposition-FISH (CARD-FISH) and clone libraries to investigate the seasonality of the bacterial assemblage composition in north-west Mediterranean coastal waters. DGGE analysis indicated that bacterial diversity changed gradually throughout the year, although with a clear distinction of the summer period. Alphaproteobacteria were the dominant group on an annual basis [29% of the DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) counts by CARD-FISH, and 70% of the bacterial clones]. The SAR11 clade was most abundant during spring and summer (>20% of DAPI counts), while the Roseobacter clade was abundant primarily in winter and spring (up to 7% of DAPI counts). The phylum Bacteroidetes constituted the second most important group and was quantitatively uniform throughout the year (average 11% of the DAPI counts). Gammaproteobacteria showed a peak during summer (8% of DAPI counts), when most of them belonged to the NOR5 cluster. Clone libraries and CARD-FISH showed reasonable agreement in the quantitative proportions of Bacteroidetes and Gammaproteobacteria, but Alphaproteobacteria were overrepresented in clone libraries. Sequencing of the most predominant DGGE bands failed to detect the SAR11 group despite their high abundance. The combination of the three molecular approaches allowed a comprehensive assessment of seasonal changes in bacterial diversity.     

A twofold role for global energy gradients in marine biodiversity trends

Explanations for major biodiversity patterns have not achieved a consensus, even for the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG), but most relate to patterns of solar energy influx into Earth systems, and its effects on temperature (as biochemical activity rates are temperature sensitive) and photosynthesis (which drives nearly all of the productivity that fuels ecosystems). Marine systems break some of the confounding correlations among temperature, latitude and biodiversity that typify the terrestrial systems that have dominated theoretical discussions and large‐scale analyses. High marine diversities occur not only in warm shallow seas where productivity may be either low or high, depending on regional features, but also in very cold deep‐sea regions, indicating that diversity is promoted by stability in temperature and in trophic resources (nutrients and food items), and more specifically by their interaction, rather than by high mean values of either variable. The common association of high diversity with stable but low to moderate annual productivity suggests that ecological specialization underlies the similarly high diversities in the shallow tropics and deep sea. Recent work on shallow‐marine bivalves is consistent with this view of decreasing specialization in less stable habitats. Lower diversities in shallow seas are associated with either high thermal seasonality (chiefly in temperate latitudes) or highly seasonal trophic supplies (at any latitude), which exclude species that are adapted to narrow ranges of those variables.     

Diadromus pulchellus in North America: field release against leek moth and new characters to distinguish it from Diadromus subtilicornis,a native diamondback moth parasitoid

We report successful overwintering of Diadromus pulchellus in North America (Ontario) following introduction of this species from Europe to control the leek moth, Acrolepiopsis assectella, a recently established alien species. Field rearing revealed that the native Diadromus subtilicornis emerged only from diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, whereas D. pulchellus was reared almost exclusively from leek moth. The single D. pulchellus reared from diamondback moth was anticipated because host range studies found this species could develop on both leek moth and diamondback moth in the laboratory, although, it had not been previously reported from diamondback moth in the field in Europe. DNA barcoding of specimens of both Diadromus spp. confirmed their species status and novel morphological characters are presented to distinguish D. pulchellus from D. subtilicornis. In addition, DNA from specimens of D. subtilicornis from Europe clustered with DNA from specimens across Canada, confirming that it is a single Holarctic species. Finally, a new host association for D. subtilicornis is recorded from the dame's rocket moth: Pseudoplutella porrectella.     

Definition and application of expert knowledge on vegetation pattern,phenology, and seasonality for habitat mapping,as exemplified in a Mediterranean coastal site

Habitats are effective indicators of biodiversity. Remote sensing data and techniques are of great utility for their long-term monitoring. Habitat maps can be derived from land cover (LC) maps through rules obtained from expert knowledge and integrated with in situ data. Spatial (vegetation pattern) and temporal (phenology and water seasonality) relationships were explored and documented to infer reliable rules for LC (according to the Food and Agricultural Organization Land Cover Classification System (FAO-LCCS) taxonomy) to habitat (Annex I to the 92/43 EEC Directive and EUNIS) class translation. A coastal site in southern Italy was considered as study site for the definition and validation of such rules. Phenological data of the plant communities were collected on the basis of vegetation plots randomly distributed within the study site. Water seasonality was extracted from periodical observation of the water surface. Vegetation pattern was analyzed by means of vegetation survey along transects. The potentiality of rules, based on this specific expert knowledge, was tested in an experimental setting for habitat mapping. The overall accuracy of the habitat map was 75.1%. Such a result supports the usefulness of prior expert knowledge for habitat mapping from LCCS classes and disambiguation on one-to-many relations between LC/LU and habitat types.     

Phenology of a dioecious population of Batrachospermum delicatulum (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) in a stream from southeastern Brazil

The seasonal dynamics of a dioecious population of Batrachospermum delicatulum (Skuja) Necchi and Entwisle was evaluated biweekly during the growth period of the macroscopic gametophyte, from late autumn (May) to early spring (October) in a third-order stream from the northeast region of Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil (20?43'S, 49?13'W). The population fluctuated throughout the study period in terms of percentage cover, frequency and chlorophyll content. Percent cover and frequency showed a clear pattern with the lowest values at the initial and final stages of the growth period and the highest in July-August (winter). Gametophyte growth was associated with high illumination and low temperature, which agrees with most observations on Batrachospermales in stream environments. Relatively wide variations in reproductive characteristics were observed during the growth period, which were not correlated with percentage cover, frequency and chlorophyll content. The phenologic pattern observed in this population was characterized by a synchronic development of female/male plant ratio with the number of spermatangia per plant resulting in: (i) a higher proportion of fertilized (carpo-sporophytic) plants associated with more male plants; (ii) higher fertilization rates during the periods with higher production of spermatangia per plant; and (iii) higher production of spermatangia per plant when the population had more male plants. These characteristics were largely associated with water temperature and ion content. In terms of reproductive success, the population studied can be regarded as highly efficient, considering the relatively low proportion of male to female plants and high fertilization rates. These data are consistent with a hypothesis to explain high fertilization rates in dioecious species in lotic habitats consisting of outcrossing among adjacent plants with intermingled male and female branches within an algal cluster. Efficient reproductive strategies have been reported in dioecious, monoecious and even mixed populations of B. delicatulum and can be interpreted as adaptations to successfully colonize streams with different characteristics.     

Intercomparison, interpretation, and assessment of spring phenology in North America estimated from remote sensing for 1982–2006

Shifts in the timing of spring phenology are a central feature of global change research. Long‐term observations of plant phenology have been used to track vegetation responses to climate variability but are often limited to particular species and locations and may not represent synoptic patterns. Satellite remote sensing is instead used for continental to global monitoring. Although numerous methods exist to extract phenological timing, in particular start‐of‐spring (SOS), from time series of reflectance data, a comprehensive intercomparison and interpretation of SOS methods has not been conducted. Here, we assess 10 SOS methods for North America between 1982 and 2006. The techniques include consistent inputs from the 8 km Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer NDVIg dataset, independent data for snow cover, soil thaw, lake ice dynamics, spring streamflow timing, over 16 000 individual measurements of ground‐based phenology, and two temperature‐driven models of spring phenology. Compared with an ensemble of the 10 SOS methods, we found that individual methods differed in average day‐of‐year estimates by ±60 days and in standard deviation by ±20 days. The ability of the satellite methods to retrieve SOS estimates was highest in northern latitudes and lowest in arid, tropical, and Mediterranean ecoregions. The ordinal rank of SOS methods varied geographically, as did the relationships between SOS estimates and the cryospheric/hydrologic metrics. Compared with ground observations, SOS estimates were more related to the first leaf and first flowers expanding phenological stages. We found no evidence for time trends in spring arrival from ground‐ or model‐based data; using an ensemble estimate from two methods that were more closely related to ground observations than other methods, SOS trends could be detected for only 12% of North America and were divided between trends towards both earlier and later spring.     

生物源农药在苹果蠹蛾防治中的应用

苹果蠹蛾是世界性检疫害虫,对我国苹果优势产区构成了巨大威胁。长期依赖化学防治使该虫抗性问题变得十分严峻。为了保障食品安全,以环境友好的生物源农药替代化学农药已成为当前苹果蠹蛾防治的热点。本文对国内外现有的生物源农药,如寄生蜂、不育昆虫、颗粒体病毒、病原线虫、Bt、病原真菌、微孢子虫、性信息素、斑蝥素、多杀菌素等,在苹果蠹蛾防治中的最新应用及其存在的问题进行论述,讨论了生物源农药凭借其种类多、来源广且在用药时期上选择性强等特点,在该虫综合治理中的重要地位及面临的挑战。     

Incipient allochronic speciation in the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa, Lepidoptera, Notodontidae)

A plausible case of allochronic differentiation, where barrier to gene flow is primarily attributable to a phenological shift, was recently discovered in Portugal for the pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa. Previous results suggested that the observed 'summer population' (SP) originated from the sympatric winter population (WP). Our objectives were to finely analyse these patterns and test their stability in time, through field monitoring and genetic analyses of larvae and adults across different years. Reproductive activity never overlapped between SP and WP. Microsatellites showed a clear differentiation of the SP, consistent with a strong reduction in gene flow owing to the phenological shift. Assignment tests suggested that some individuals shift from the SP to the WP phenology, causing some hybridization. We discuss these patterns and their maintenance over time. This could be a first stage of allochronic speciation, and SP should be considered as a distinct phenological race.     

Macrolepidoptera diversity in the Indo-Australian tropics: geographic, biotopic and taxonomic variations

Data are presented on the richness of Macrolepidoptera faunas in the Indo-Australian tropics, and on the proportional representation of the various families. Both overall diversity and diversity of families decline with latitude and also with isolation from major land areas. Exceptions are noted.
Measures of alpha-diversity from quantitative light-trap samples indicate that diversity within the tropics is often greatest at altitudes around 1000 m, declining above that level. Diversity is much lower in Pacific archipelagos. Loss of diversity through disturbance and conversion to agriculture is evident and marked. Problems in the measurement of diversity with light-traps are discussed, exemplified by results obtained using different trap types.
Changes in family proportions with habitat type are examined. Family diversity generally decreased with altitude and with disturbance and conversion to agriculture, though there are exceptions to this decline.     

Contribution of tree species to the biodiversity of a 1ha Old World rainforest in Brunei, Borneo

Tree biodiversity data is presented for a 1-ha permanent study plot on a low slope position of the Kuala Belalong valley in Temburong District, Brunei, Borneo. This is the first study in the region to document the tree flora of a low slope. All trees 5cm at 1.3m were mapped, measurements of dbh and height taken, and identified to species and morpho-species level. The total and relative values of each family for density, diversity, dominance and Importance Value Indices were calculated. A total of 1062 stems were recorded on the plot (1019 live, 43 dead) with a total of 278 species representing 110 genera in 49 families. The most ecologically significant family as determined by the Family Importance Value (FIV) was Euphorbiaceae with a value of 40 and'the'most significant species, using the Importance Value (IV), was morpho-speciesFordia splendissima with an IV of 29. The total basal area of all living trees was 31.43m². Forest structure was marked by a few tall (>45m) emergents, for example,Koompassia excelsa, Crypteronia griffithii and two species of the Dipterocarpaceae family, however, lower understorey and sub-canopy species dominated the plot with the average height of all individuals over the hectare being 11m.     

基于黑土农田生物多样性监测样地的地表大型节肢动物群落特征

农田生态系统是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,是全球生态与环境研究的关键区之一.为了研究农田生物群落构建过程,探索其多样性维持机理,本研究于2015年在东北典型黑土区建立了16 hm²的农田生物多样性监测样地,按照作物生长期,于玉米生长大喇叭口期(8月初)、抽穗期(9月初)和成熟期(10月初)对陷阱法获取的地表大型节肢动物进行了统计分析.结果表明: 3次调查共获得地表大型节肢动物5284只,隶属于节肢动物门3纲12目32科47种.调查中优势类群3类,常见类群11类.节肢动物营养功能群中植食性和杂食性节肢动物所占比重较大.地表大型节肢动物物种数量和个体数量随作物生长期有显著变化.9月初节肢动物的Shannon多样性指数、Margalef丰富度指数、Pielou均匀度指数相对较高,8月初Simpson优势度指数较高.从不同物种的变异系数(CV)及群落空间插值可以看出,节肢动物群落在水平方向上存在异质性.在与土壤环境因子关系上,双变量相关分析表明,不同月份地表大型节肢动物总个体数与土壤pH值、有机质、全氮、含水量的相关性均未达到显著性水平;典范对应分析(CCA)进一步表明,优势类群和常见类群对环境因子具有较强的适应能力,在研究区内分布广泛.农田生物多样性监测样地内地表节肢动物物种组成丰富,在作物不同生长时期地表节肢动物群落组成及空间分布格局具有明显的变化过程.农田生物多样性监测样地通过大尺度、长时间对样地内土壤动物空间过程进行监测,可以为解决群落生物多样性形成和维持机制提供重要手段.     

Flowering Phenology and Genetic Similarity among Local and Recently Introduced Populations of Andropogon gerardii in Ohio

In Ohio and elsewhere, recent grassland plantings in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) have become much more extensive than native prairie remnants. The seed source for CRP grasslands in Ohio often comes from as far away as Missouri or Texas, which may be undesirable from the standpoint of conservation genetics. The goal of this study was to examine the potential for gene flow from large, recently introduced populations of Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii, Poaceae) to small local populations of this outcrossing perennial species. We examined the potential for cross‐pollination between three local populations and three introduced CRP populations by comparing flowering phenologies. Flowering times overlapped extensively, indicating that cross‐pollination is possible where local and introduced genotypes co‐occur. To compare genetic variation in local and CRP populations, we analyzed variation at 68 RAPD loci in six populations of each type. Somewhat surprisingly, we found no significant differences in the genetic diversity or composition between the two groups (local vs. CRP). In summary, we found that local and introduced populations of Big bluestem have the potential to interbreed, based on their flowering periods, but further research is needed to determine whether local genotypes harbor unique genetic variation that could be jeopardized by hybridization with introduced genotypes.     

Seasonality in river phytoplankton: multivariate analyses of data from the Ohio River and six Kentucky tributaries

Two years of physical/chemical and algal abundance data obtained from national Stream-Quality Accounting Network records of 10 river sites in Kentucky USA (4 Ohio River sites and 6 Ohio River tributaries) were analyzed to determine how seasonal changes in river phytoplankton related to changes in physical and chemical parameters. Phytoplankton assemblages differed among rivers as a function of drainage basin characteristics, but exhibited common seasonal changes related to temporal variation in the physical/chemical environment. Distinct shifts in algal dominance were identified between spring (March, April), late summer (July, August, September), and transitional (May, June, November) periods in the 10 systems. Nine common algal genera were found to differ in their response to changes in physical or chemical parameters. Abundances of Anacystis, Oscillatoria, Scenedesmus, and Melosira were strongly positively correlated with temperature while Chlamydomonas and Navicula abundances were inversely related to temperature. Other physical/chemical factors that were significantly positively ( + ) or negatively ( - ) correlated with algal abundances included discharge and alkalinity (Oscillatoria, +), pH CChlamydomonas and Cyclotella, (both + ), turbidity (Anacystis, \s- ; Navicula + ), silica (Cyclotella, - ), and ammonium/organic N (Anacystis, -). Genera within the same algal division exhibited different seasonal patterns and responded to different physical/chemical parameters.     

新疆植被物候时空变化特征

基于MODIS-NDVI数据,提取新疆2001—2016年典型植被物候期,分析新疆不同生态分区的山地-绿洲系统植被物候期的时空演变趋势和空间分异特征,并结合同期气象数据,探讨植被物候与气候变化的响应关系。结论为:(1)新疆植被物候具有明显的纬向分布和垂直地带性分布特征,海拔在物候的地域分异中扮演着重要作用。新疆植被生长季开始时间(Start of season,SOS)集中于3月中旬至5月上旬,生长季结束时间(End of season,EOS)集中于10月中旬至12月下旬。(2)与全球大背景下典型植被物候特征变化趋势相反,新疆植被SOS呈推迟趋势,推迟幅度为1.9d/10a;EOS呈提前趋势,提前幅度为3.66d/10a;生长季长度(Length of season,LEN)呈缩短趋势,缩短幅度为5.6d/10a。除东疆地区外,全疆及不同分区均呈现出绿洲及平原SOS较早,山地区域较迟;全疆及不同分区均呈现出山地EOS结束较早,绿洲结束较迟;除东疆地区外,全疆及不同分区的LEN均为绿洲及平原区域山地,同样显示出垂直地带性分布的特征。(3)通过冗余分析(Redundancy analysis,RDA)解释了物候特征与气象因子关系的绝大部分信息,生长季开始时间受春季气温、前一年冬季降水量和日照时数的显著影响。夏季和秋季降水量是新疆植被生长季结束时间的重要影响因素,在总体上受气温和日照时数的影响较小。     

Phenological patterns in monsoon rainforests in the Northern Territory,Australia

Abstract Monsoon rainforests occur as scattered patches within a landscape dominated by eucalypt savannas across the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia. This study formed part of a larger project that investigated the interactions between frugivores and monsoon rainforest patches in the Top End of the Northern Territory. Phenological patterns in a set of 12 wet monsoon forests (WMF) and four dry monsoon forests (DMF) were examined by monitoring individuals of more than 100 species over 30 months. Phenological patterns of both WMF and DMF were closely related to the strongly seasonal climate. Leaf flush occurred before the onset of the wet season in WMF, and coincided with the onset of the wet in DMF. Major flowering peaks coincided with leaf flush in both forest types. Fruiting was concentrated in the wet season in both forest types, but fruiting peaks of WMF and DMF were separated by 3–4 months. Variations in fruiting patterns among forest types, patches, seasons and groupings of plant species (based on life form and ecological positioning) provide a mosaic of food resources for frugivores. This has important implications for the conservation and maintenance of the frugivore–rainforest system in northern Australia.     

天津七里海湿地蛾类多样性

系统调查研究了天津七里海湿地的蛾类,已知19科153属198种,并对其多样性作了分析。结果表明,种 多度关系符合对数正态分布模型。但多样性指数与均匀度不相一致（r =-0.47）,而与物种丰富度一致（r=0.95）。研究认为七里海湿地环境条件比较好,但有退化的趋势。     

Traits,trees and taxa: global dimensions of biodiversity in mammals

Measures of biodiversity encompass variation along several dimensions such as species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD) and functional/trait diversity (TD). At the global scale, it is widely recognized that SR and PD are strongly correlated, but the extent to which either tends to capture variation in TD is unclear. Here, we assess relationships among PD, SR and TD for a number of traits both across clades and regional assemblages of mammals. We also contrast results using two different measures of TD, trait variance and a new measure we refer to as trait bin filling (the number of orders of magnitude of variation that contain at least one species). When TD is defined as trait variance, PD is a much stronger correlate of TD than SR across clades, consistent with hypotheses about the conservation value of PD. However, when TD is defined as bin filling, PD and SR show similar correlations with TD across clades and space. We also investigate potential losses of SR, PD and TD if species that are currently threatened were to go extinct, and find that threatened PD is often a similar predictor of threatened TD as SR.