Ramet demography and ecological attributes of the perennial river corridor plant Cnidium dubium (Schkuhr) Thell. (Apiaceae)

Cnidium dubium is a highly endangered, perennial river corridor plant in Central Europe. Here we summarise a 4-year field study of its ramet demography, growing in two different flood meadows in the Lower Havel River Valley in northeastern Germany, emphasising the influence of site-specific abiotic factors, mowing and the summer flood of 2002.We recorded 1658 ramets at densities between 2 and 180 ramets m⁻², which varied over area and time, indicating a high small-scale turnover of this species within grasslands. The half-life of the different ramet cohorts was estimated to range from 0.1 to 1.3 years, but single ramets of more than 4 years old were also found. Ramets are monocarpic: they propagate only once in their life. The highest probability of a vegetative ramet becoming a flowering stalk was 11.6%. Ramet density, cumulative number of newly produced ramets per year, leaf length, leaf age, reproductive growth and recovery from the summer flood of 2002 varied, depending on site. C. dubium had a higher performance at sites in intermediate zones of the overall flooding gradient compared with higher zones. Flooding stress is the controlling factor for the lower limit of its performance, while there was no evidence for an upper limit controlled by summer drought. Mowing slightly increased the cumulative number of leaves per ramet, but it decreased the size of new leaves and also the summer above-ground biomass per ramet. As a consequence, the most marked effect was that fewer ramets entered the generative life stage, but the plants were able to keep their overall reproductive performance on a level independent of mowing. Knowledge of basic growth patterns of C. dubium in natural populations could help to explain the species rareness, and may also suggest appropriate strategies to manage its survival.     

Effects of coppicing on demographic structure, fruit and seed set in Orchis mascula

Opening of the forest canopy may result in higher fitness of understory plants due to increased light intensity on the forest soil and increased nutrient availability. Especially, tuberous orchids may profit from increased light as photosynthetic assimilation products and nutrients are accumulated in their belowground storage organs. We investigated the effects of coppicing on demographic structure and fruit and seed set in 15 populations of the tuberous, perennial orchid Orchis mascula, seven of which were located in undisturbed, shaded woodland and eight in recently coppiced woodland. Coppicing resulted in a massive increase in flowering and in increased fruit set. On average, 42.9% of all individuals consisted of flowering plants in coppiced woodland, whereas in undisturbed woodland only 20.8% of all individuals flowered. The percentage fruit set varied between 20% and 55% in coppiced woodland and was strongly related to population size (measured as the number of flowering individuals). Mean fruit weight and fruit size were also significantly higher in populations located in coppiced woodland than in undisturbed woodland, whereas the proportion of viable seeds was not related to woodland type. Given that O. mascula is dependent on seed set to fill space with new individuals, these results suggest that the long-term survival of this species strongly depends on frequent opening of the canopy.     

Stromata, sporangiomata and chlamydosori of Phytophthora ramorum on inoculated Mediterranean woody plants

Three types of multihyphal structures, stromata, sporangiomata and chlamydosori, are described for the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. Their morphology, morphogenesis and position on the host organ were observed by dissecting, compound and scanning electron microscopy. Stromata were consistently formed one to two weeks after zoospore inoculation of detached leaves and fruits of an assortment of Mediterranean sclerophyll shrubs. Stroma initials appeared subcuticularly or subepidermally and developed as small hyphal aggregates by repeated branching, budding, swelling and interweaving, eventually forming a prosenchyma. They always emerged through the adaxial side of the leaf by rupture of the overlying host tissue. Occasionally sporangia and chlamydosori (packed clusters of chlamydospores) were formed on the stromata. Sporangiomata bore short sporangiophores and clusters of 20–100 sporangia and resembled sporodochia of the mitosporic fungi. The biological significance of these multihyphal structures is discussed. Some epidemiological aspects were also studied: several understorey species of the holm oak (Quercus ilex) woodland were susceptible to in vitro infection with three isolates of P. ramorum originally collected from different ornamental hosts. The risk of spread to this ecosystem is evaluated.     

神农架南坡小叶青冈+曼青冈常绿阔叶林主要木本植物生态位与种间联结

为揭示神农架南坡代表性常绿阔叶林主要木本植物的种间生态联系及群落演替趋势,以小叶青冈+曼青冈群系20个主要木本植物的190组种对为研究对象,通过生态位测定并区分生态位特化种和生态位泛化种以及种间联结性检验,分析该群落主要物种生态位与种间联结特征。主要结果:(1)该常绿阔叶林群落物种丰富,群落组成复杂,小叶青冈(Cyclobalanopsis myrsinifolia)的重要值(11.13%)和生态位宽度(58.3)均最大,占绝对优势,生态位宽度排序和重要值排序不一致,分布频度对生态位宽度影响较大。(2)将20种主要木本植物划分为生态位特化种(6种)、生态位泛化种(3种)、中性类群(11种),生态位分化程度较高,资源利用差异以及生境适应性是影响生态位分化的主要因素。(3)生态位宽度大的物种其生态位重叠和相似度较高,生态位重叠指数总体略低,大部分物种对环境或资源需求相似,但相似度不高,种间竞争较弱,种间关系比较稳定。(4)主要木本植物总体正联结显著(P ＜ 0.05),χ²检验、联结系数AC、Spearman秩相关检验结果均显示种间正联结作用占优势,但大多数种对联结不显著,物种趋于独立分布。(5)通过聚类分析,将20种主要木本植物划分三大生态种组:建群种组,共生种组和边缘种组。研究表明,神农架南坡小叶青冈+曼青冈常绿阔叶林目前正处于相对稳定的演替中后期阶段,群落发育较成熟,生态位分化、生境选择以及资源需求互补或互利是影响该群落物种共存的主要原因。研究阐明了神农架南坡代表性常绿阔叶林主要物种之间实际相互作用以及群落特征,为深入理解群落物种共存原因以及群落演替规律提供依据。     

The impact of temperature regimes on development,dormancy breaking and germination of dwarf shrub seeds from arctic,alpine and boreal sites

It has been suggested that the infrequent sexual reproduction of arctic dwarf shrubs might be related to the harsh environmental conditions in which they live. If this is the case, then increases in temperature resulting from global climate change might drastically affect regeneration of arctic species. We examined whether recruitment of Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum and Vaccinium uliginosum (hereafter E. nigrum and V. uliginosum) was affected by temperature during three reproductive stages: seed development, dormancy breakage and germination. Seeds were collected from an arctic, an alpine (only E. nigrum) and a boreal site with different climates; stored at different winter temperatures and incubated for germination at different temperatures. Seeds of V. uliginosum developed in the boreal region had a higher percentage germination than did seeds developed in the Arctic. In contrast, seeds of E. nigrum from the arctic site had a higher or similar percentage germination than did seeds from the alpine and boreal sites. Increased winter temperatures had no significant effect on resulting germination percentage of E. nigrum. However, V. uliginosum seeds from the arctic site suffered increased fungal attack (and thus decreased germination) when they were stratified under high winter temperatures. Seeds of both species increased germination with increased incubation temperatures. Our results suggest that both species would increase their germination in response to warmer summers. Longer summers might also favour the slow-germinating E. nigrum. However, increased winter temperatures might increase mortality due to fungal attack in V. uliginosum ecotypes that are not adapted to mild winters.     

濒危植物海南龙血树的种群结构与动态

了解种群的生存现状与动态趋势对濒危植物的保护至关重要。为了更好地保护濒危海南龙血树种群,对海南岛不同生境的11个海南龙血树(Dracaena cambodiana)种群进行了调查;并利用个体基径数据建立各种群的年龄结构和静态生命表,得到种群年龄结构动态指数,绘制种群存活曲线和生存函数曲线,从而获得海南龙血树的种群结构与动态。结果表明:海南龙血树种群年龄结构与种群所处的生境关系密切,海边的NS和YL种群结构为衰退型,LN和CH居群为稳定型,而非海边种群为增长型,没有老龄个体;11个种群中,EXL种群显示出最高的增长趋势和最好的种群稳定性,NS和YL种群稳定性最差,种群抗干扰能力极低;11个种群的存活曲线均属于Deevey-Ⅰ型,但生存函数分析显示海南龙血树种群生活史早期和晚期脆弱,中期稳定,这表明海南龙血树种群所处的生境更适合成年个体生存,现有的生境对幼龄个体的环境筛作用较强。海南龙血树属于退偿物种,针对其种群的生存现状,应采取多种方法相结合的方式进行保护与复壮。     

The impact of sea‐level rise on Snowy Plovers in Florida: integrating geomorphological,habitat, and metapopulation models

Sea‐level rise (SLR) is a projected consequence of global climate change that will result in complex changes in coastal ecosystems. These changes will cause transitions among coastal habitat types, which will be compounded by human‐made barriers to the gradual inland migration of these habitat types. The effect of these changes on the future viability of coastal species will depend on the habitat requirements and population dynamics of these species. Thus, realistic assessments of the impact of SLR require linking geomorphological models with habitat and population models. In this study, we implemented a framework that allows this linkage, and demonstrated its feasibility to assess the effect of SLR on the viability of the Snowy Plover population in Florida. The results indicate that SLR will cause a decline in suitable habitat and carrying capacity for this species, and an increase in the risk of its extinction and decline. The model projected that the population size will decline faster than the area of habitat or carrying capacity, demonstrating the necessity of incorporating population dynamics in assessing the impacts of SLR on coastal species. The results were most sensitive to uncertainties in survival rate and fecundity, and suggested that future studies on this species should focus on the average and variability of these demographic rates and their dependence on population density. The effect of SLR on this species’ viability was qualitatively similar with most alternative models that used the extreme values of each uncertain parameter, indicating that the results are robust to uncertainties in the model.     

The effects of surimi and pelleted diets on the laboratory survival, growth, and feeding rate of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L.

The effects of feeding a prepared surimi diet (fish-based) and a prepared pelleted diet (shrimpbased) on the survival, growth and feeding rate of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L. were evaluated during a 45-day experiment. One hundred and twenty juveniles of laboratory cultured cuttlefish (74.5 ± 12.36 g) were divided into three treatments and were fed thawed shrimp (control), pellets or surimi. Survival rates on these diets were 95.0%, 67.5% and 22.5%, respectively. Preliminary data indicated that the low survival of cuttlefish fed surimi may have been caused by low levels of copper in their blood (131 vs 244 μg/ml) since copper is required for their respiratory blood pigment, hemocyanin. Instantaneous growth rates were 2.71 % body weight BW/day for cuttlefish fed raw shrimp, 0.33% BW/day for cuttlefish fed pellets, and 0.54% BW/day for cuttlefish fed surimi. The feeding rate of cuttlefish fed shrimp was high (6–8% BW/day). The feeding rate on pellets increased with time (from < 1 to 3% BW/day) but never reached the level for raw shrimp. The feeding rate on surimi increased to equal the rate for raw shrimp during days 1–30 (8 to 9% BW/day) and thereafter decreased (<4% BW/day). In conclusion, there was a major distinction between the palatability of a prepared diet and the ability of that diet to support growth. Surimi was highly palatable but resulted in poor survival, suggesting low nutritional quality. In contrast, pellets were less palatable but produced maintenance growth. Development of practical surimi diets will require supplementation of the surimi with soluble micro- and macronutrients.