Comparison of temperate and tropical rainforest tree species: photosynthetic responses to growth temperature

Little is known about the differences in physiology between temperate and tropical trees. Australian rainforests extend from tropical climates in the north to temperate climates in the south over a span of 33° latitude. Therefore, they provide an opportunity to investigate differences in the physiology of temperate and tropical trees within the same vegetation type. This study investigated how the response of net photosynthesis to growth temperature differed between Australian temperate and tropical rainforest trees and how this correlated with differences in their climates. The temperate species showed their maximum rate of net photosynthesis at lower growth temperatures than the tropical species. However, the temperate species showed at least 80% of maximum net photosynthesis over a 12-16°C span of growth temperature, compared with a span of 9-11°C shown by the tropical species. The tropical species showed both larger reductions in maximum net photosynthesis at low growth temperatures and larger reductions in the optimum instantaneous temperature for net photosynthesis with decreasing growth temperature than the temperate species. The ability of the temperate species to maintain maximum net photosynthesis over a greater span of growth temperatures than the tropical species is consistent with the greater seasonal and day-to-day variation in temperature of the temperate climate compared with the tropical climate.     

Phylogenetic relationships and climatic adaptations in the Drosophila takahashii and montium species subgroups

We analyze phylogenetic relationships among temperate, subtropical highland, and subtropical lowland species of the Drosophila takahashii and montium species subgroups based on sequence data of COI and Gpdh genes and discuss the evolution of temperate species in these subgroups with reference to their climatic adaptations. In the takahashii subgroup, D. lutescens (the temperate species) branched off first in the tree based on the combined data set, but D. prostipennis (the subtropical highland species) branched off first in the trees based on single genes. Thus, phylogenetic relationships in this subgroup are still ambiguous. In the montium subgroup, the cool-temperate species are phylogenetically close to the warm-temperate species, and these cool- and warm-temperate species form a cluster with the subtropical highland species. This suggests that perhaps the cool-temperate species derived from the warm-temperate species and the warm-temperate species derived from the subtropical highland species. In comparison with the subtropical lowland species, the subtropical highland species may be better able to colonize temperate areas since, as in the temperate species, they have an ability to develop their ovaries at moderately low temperature. However, the subtropical highland species, as well as the subtropical lowland species, were much less cold tolerant than the temperate species. Therefore, considerable genetic reformation would be required for both the subtropical highland and the subtropical lowland species to adapt to temperate climates.     

上升流和水团对浙江中部近海浮游动物生态类群分布的影响

依据2010年4月、7月和11月对浙江中部近海上升流海域进行的海洋调查资料,运用定量、定性方法,探讨了上升流对该海域浮游动物生态类群分布的影响.结果表明:3个季节共鉴定浮游动物64种,桡足类占主要优势,包括5个生态类群,分别是暖温带近海种、暖温带外海种、亚热带近海种、亚热带外海种和热带大洋种.在种类数组成上,春季以暖温带近海种为主,夏季则是亚热带近海种和亚热带外海种居多,秋季也是亚热带种居多,其中夏季暖温带种种类数要高于春季和秋季,这一现象与同时期东黄海沿海有所不同,主要是由于上升流将一些在海洋底部度夏的暖温种带至海洋表面造成的.此外,3个季节生态类群都是以近海种为主,表明沿岸流是影响这一海域的最主要的水团.在丰度组成上,4月暖温带近海种占总丰度的98.79％,7月暖温带近海种也是组成丰度的重要部分,10月则是亚热带近海种丰度最高.丰度组成所反映的规律与种类数组成规律一致.上升流的存在导致夏季近海暖温带种大量出现,是影响这一海域浮游动物生态类群组成的重要因素;受长江径流和椒江径流的影响,近海种成为主要生态类群,是这一海域浮游动物的一个重要的生态特征.     

South temperate birds have higher apparent adult survival than tropical birds in Africa

Life history theory predicts an inverse relationship between annual adult survival and fecundity. Globally, clutch size shows a latitudinal gradient among birds, with south temperate species laying smaller clutches than north temperate species, but larger clutches than tropical species. Tropical birds often have higher adult survival than north temperate birds associated with their smaller clutches. However, the prediction that tropical birds should also have higher adult survival than south temperate birds because of smaller clutch sizes remains largely untested. We measured clutch size and apparent annual breeding adult survival for 17 south temperate African species to test two main predictions. First, we found strong support for a predicted inverse relationship between adult survival and clutch size among the south temperate species, consistent with life‐history theory. Second, we compared our clutch size and survival estimates with published estimates for congeneric tropical African species to test the prediction of larger clutch size and lower adult survival among south temperate than related tropical species. We found that south‐temperate species laid larger clutches, as predicted, but had higher, rather than lower, apparent adult survival than related tropical species. The latter result may be an artefact of different approaches to measuring survival, but the results suggest that adult survival is generally high in the south temperate region and raises questions about the importance of the cost of reproduction to adult survival.     

Relationship between pelagic larval duration and abundance of tropical fishes on temperate coasts of Japan

The influence of pelagic larval duration (PLD) and egg type dispersal capabilities of 35 demersal and pelagic-spawning tropical fish species is examined in relation to their abundance on the temperate coasts of Japan. The PLDs of pelagic spawners were significantly longer than those of demersal spawners, and a high occurrence of pelagic spawners on the temperate coasts suggests that these fishes are more easily transported to temperate coasts than demersal spawners. For demersal spawners, the common species on the temperate coasts had significantly longer PLDs than the rare species; this suggests that PLD is a major factor influencing the distribution patterns of tropical demersal spawners on temperate coasts. Moreover, a negative correlation between PLD and the abundance of some species of pelagic and demersal spawners suggests the presence of reproductively active fishes in northern subtropical and even in temperate waters.     

Thermoregulatory ability and mechanism do not differ consistently between neotropical and temperate butterflies

Climate change is a major threat to species worldwide, yet it remains uncertain whether tropical or temperate species are more vulnerable to changing temperatures. To further our understanding of this, we used a standardised field protocol to (1) study the buffering ability (ability to regulate body temperature relative to surrounding air temperature) of neotropical (Panama) and temperate (the United Kingdom, Czech Republic and Austria) butterflies at the assemblage and family level, (2) determine if any differences in buffering ability were driven by morphological characteristics and (3) used ecologically relevant temperature measurements to investigate how butterflies use microclimates and behaviour to thermoregulate. We hypothesised that temperate butterflies would be better at buffering than neotropical butterflies as temperate species naturally experience a wider range of temperatures than their tropical counterparts. Contrary to our hypothesis, at the assemblage level, neotropical species (especially Nymphalidae) were better at buffering than temperate species, driven primarily by neotropical individuals cooling themselves more at higher air temperatures. Morphology was the main driver of differences in buffering ability between neotropical and temperate species as opposed to the thermal environment butterflies experienced. Temperate butterflies used postural thermoregulation to raise their body temperature more than neotropical butterflies, probably as an adaptation to temperate climates, but the selection of microclimates did not differ between regions. Our findings demonstrate that butterfly species have unique thermoregulatory strategies driven by behaviour and morphology, and that neotropical species are not likely to be more inherently vulnerable to warming than temperate species.     

Seaweed biogeography of the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States

The northern boundary of the warm temperate region of the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States is set at Cape Hatteras; the southern boundary lies at Cape Canaveral. There is some spillover of cool temperate species south of Cape Hatteras into North Carolina and spillover of warm temperate species south of Cape Canaveral toward Palm Beach. Elements of the warm temperate flora also extend into the northern Gulf of Mexico, but precise limits to the flora cannot be drawn there. Thirty-one species are endemic to the warm temperate flora. The inshore waters of North Carolina include approximately equal numbers of species with northern and southern centres of distribution; the species of the offshore waters have predominantly southern affinities, but also include most of the endemic species. Seasonal changes in the shallow water flora of North Carolina reflect eurythermal cool temperate and tropical elements in winter and summer respectively and a year-round warm temperate element. These groupings have been verified by experimental studies in which light and temperature were varied. The deep water flora is a summer flora dominated by perennial species. The inshore, eurythermal cool temperate and tropical species have a variety of cryptic stages by which they persist throughout the year.Paper presented at the Seaweed Biogeography Workshop of the International Working Group on Seaweed Biogeography, held from 3–7 April 1984 at the Department of Marine Biology, Rijks-universiteit Groningen (The Netherlands). Convenor: C. van den Hoek.     

Climatic zonation drives latitudinal variation in speciation mechanisms

Many groups of organisms show greater species richness in the tropics than in the temperate zone, particularly in tropical montane regions. Forty years ago, Janzen suggested that more limited temperature seasonality in the tropics leads to greater climatic zonation and more climatic barriers to organismal dispersal along elevational gradients in the tropics relative to temperate regions. These factors could lead to differences in how species arise in tropical versus temperate regions and possibly contribute to greater tropical diversity. However, no studies have compared the relationships among climate, elevational distribution and speciation in a group inhabiting both tropical and temperate regions. Here, we compare elevational and climatic divergence among 30 sister-species pairs (14 tropical, 16 temperate) within a single family of salamanders (Plethodontidae) that reaches its greatest species richness in montane Mesoamerica. In support of Janzen's hypothesis, we find that sister species are more elevationally and climatically divergent in the tropics than in the temperate zone. This pattern seemingly reflects regional variation in the role of climate in speciation, with niche conservatism predominating in the temperate zone and niche divergence in the tropics. Our study demonstrates how latitudinal differences in elevational climatic zonation may increase opportunities for geographical isolation, speciation and the associated build-up of species diversity in the tropics relative to the temperate zone.     

Trophic cascades,invasive species and body-size hierarchies interactively modulate climate change responses of ecotonal temperate–boreal forest

As the climate warms, boreal tree species are expected to be gradually replaced by temperate species within the southern boreal forest. Warming will be accompanied by changes in above- and below-ground consumers: large moose (Alces alces) replaced by smaller deer (Odocoileus virginianus) above-ground, and small detritivores replaced by larger exotic earthworms below-ground. These shifts may induce a cascade of ecological impacts across trophic levels that could alter the boreal to temperate forest transition. Deer are more likely to browse saplings of temperate tree species, and European earthworms favour seedlings of boreal tree species more than temperate species, potentially hindering the ability of temperate tree species to expand northwards. We hypothesize that warming-induced changes in consumers will lead to novel plant communities by changing the filter on plant species success, and that above- and below-ground cascades of trophic interactions will allow boreal tree species to persist during early phases of warming, leading to an abrupt change at a later time. The synthesis of evidence suggests that consumers can modify the climate change-induced transition of ecosystems.     

Invasive Temperate Species are a Threat to Tropical Island Biodiversity

To protect the remaining biodiversity on tropical islands it is important to predict the elevational ranges of non-native species. We evaluated two hypotheses by examining land snail faunas on the eastern (windward) side of the island of Hawaii: (1) the latitude of a species' native region can be used to predict its potential elevational range and (2) non-native temperate species, which experience greater climatic fluctuations in their native range, are more likely to become established at higher elevations and to extend over larger elevational ranges than non-native tropical species. All non-native tropical species were distributed patchily among sites ≤500 m and occupied small elevational ranges, whereas species introduced from temperate regions occupied wide elevational ranges and formed a distinct fauna spanning elevations 500–2000 m. Most native land snail species and ecosystems occur >500 m in areas dominated by temperate non-native snail and slug species. Therefore, knowing the native latitudinal region of a non-native species is important for conservation of tropical island ecosystems because it can be translated into potential elevational range if those species are introduced. Because temperate species will survive in tropical locales particularly at high elevation, on many tropical islands the last refuges of the native species, preventing introduction of temperate species should be a conservation priority.     

黑龙江省木本植物区系分析

黑龙江省有木本植物392种,隶属于42科90属。其中裸子植物4科8属34种,双子叶植物37科81属357种,单子叶植物1科1属1种。本省为大兴安岭植物区、东北植物区和蒙古草原植物区三区汇集之地,木本植物地理成分复杂,具有非常明显的温带性质：温带分布科虽然与热带分布科数目相同,但所含种数多,优势明显;温带分布属占75.86%,以北温带分布比例最高;温带分布种占80.43%,以东北分布居首位,其次是中国—日本分布。该区系木本植物起源古老,有珍稀濒危植物9种,特有植物14种及红松、黄檗等孑遗植物,为第三纪植物区系系统。     

Temperate forest termites: ecology,biogeography, and ecosystem impacts

1. Wood decomposition in temperate forests is dominated by termites, fungi, and some species of ants and beetles. Outside of urban areas, temperate termite ecology is largely unknown, particularly when compared to tropical termites and other temperate organisms in the functional guild of wood‐decomposing animals. 2. This review combines climate habitat modelling with knowledge of species physiology, behaviour, and community interactions to identify and prioritise future research on temperate termite ecology and biogeography. 3. Using a correlative climate model, the regional distributions of three common temperate forest termite species are shown to correlate with different aspects of climate (e.g. mean versus minimum monthly temperature), but that overall their distributions within temperate systems correlate more strongly with temperature variables than with precipitation variables. 4. Existing data are synthesised to outline how the subterranean, wood‐nesting behaviour of most temperate forest termite species links their activity to an additional set of non‐climate controls: wood type and tree species, soil depth, fungal activity, ant abundances and phenology, and competitive asymmetries among termite species. 5. Although fine‐scale estimates of temperate termite abundances are rare, we provide upper bounds on their ecosystem impacts and illustrate how their regional abundances may influence forest structure and habitat availability for other organisms. 6. This review highlights that rigorous ecological studies in non‐urban, intact ecosystems – with a particular focus on community interactions – are critically needed to accurately project future abundances, economic impacts, and ecosystem effects of temperate forest termites.     

Distribution and reproduction of the temperate-specific morphotype of the coral Favites flexuosa in the subtropical region,Lyudao, Taiwan

Favites flexuosa is one of the abundant coral species in the temperate regions of Japan. Although the species ranges widely, from tropical to temperate regions of the Indo-Pacific, colonies of this species living in temperate areas exhibit specific morphological features (in terms of color and skeletal attributes). In addition, the temperate-specific morphotype is limited in distribution to the temperate regions of Japan and has not been recorded in subtropical Okinawa. In the present study, we recorded the temperate morphotype in subtropical Lyudao (Green Island), Taiwan, suggesting that the morphotype is more widely distributed than previously thought and may have colonized temperate Japan directly from Lyudao. We describe the first records of spawning at Lyudao, Taiwan, and also at Wakayama in temperate Japan. In laboratories located in either region, spawning was observed between 30?min and 1?h after sunset. Intraspecific crossing of morphotype samples from either region revealed that the fertilization rates were high (>90%). In addition, we crossed F. flexuosa with Diploastrea favus at Lyudao. The two species hybridized successfully although the fertilization rate was relatively low.     

中国典型地带陆生等足类的区系研究

通过对我国５个典型地带（热带、亚热带、暖温带、高寒带）２０个样点进行陆生等足类的调查采集，共发现陆生等足类１１科、２９属、７２种。由于各地带自然环境明显不同，造成了物种分布上的差异，其中热睡亚热睦区种类最多，分别为３８种和４７种，两地带物种共占总种数的８０％以上；曙带和温带地区仅发现９种，而高寒带由于平均气温在０℃以下，不利于陆生等足类的生存，故迄今仅发现２种。其区系特点为：（１）区系分布的地带性     

秦岭锐齿栎群落种类组成与区系分析

在秦岭林区的锐齿栎群落中出现的维管束植物有82科227属495种,其中乔木123种,灌木100种,草本240种,层间植物32种;非维管束植物有15科19属19种,其中苔藓植物9科13属13种,蕨类植物6科6属6种。群落中偶见种或稀有种的频度出现的百分比高,体现了群落在生境上的差异性,也说明了该群落是一个种类比较丰富、均匀的群落。其区系种类复杂、繁多。地理联系广泛,来源于多种地理成分,其中温带成分占优势,共有115属,占总属数的53．99％;而北温带成分又在其中占明显优势,共有92属,占总属数的43．19％,这些北温带成分大多是该群落各层次中的常遇植物,也是主要的建群植物和主要的伴生植物,体现了锐齿栎群落植物区系的温带亲缘性;各热带成分占有相当的比例,说明了该植物区系与热带植物区系的渊源关系及与其地理位置、气候特征相适应的过渡性特征。     

Biogeographic comparisons of marine algal polyphenolics: evidence against a latitudinal trend

Summary Marine allelochemicals generally are present in greater quantity and diversity in tropical than in temperate regions. Marine algal polyphenolics have been reported as an apparent exception to this biogeographic trend, with literature values for phenolic concentrations significantly higher in temperate than in tropical brown algae. In contrast, our results, the first reported for Caribbean brown algae (orders Dictyotales and Fucales), show that many species have high phenolic levels. In addition, both our study and previous studies with north temperate and tropical species demonstrate that there is marked variation in algal phenolic levels within species from different locations. We conclude that high phenolic concentrations occur in species from both temperate and tropical regions, indicating that latitude alone is not a reasonable predictor of plant phenolic concentrations.     

The tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems: climate-mediated changes in herbivory and community phase shifts

Climate-driven changes in biotic interactions can profoundly alter ecological communities, particularly when they impact foundation species. In marine systems, changes in herbivory and the consequent loss of dominant habitat forming species can result in dramatic community phase shifts, such as from coral to macroalgal dominance when tropical fish herbivory decreases, and from algal forests to ‘barrens’ when temperate urchin grazing increases. Here, we propose a novel phase-shift away from macroalgal dominance caused by tropical herbivores extending their range into temperate regions. We argue that this phase shift is facilitated by poleward-flowing boundary currents that are creating ocean warming hotspots around the globe, enabling the range expansion of tropical species and increasing their grazing rates in temperate areas. Overgrazing of temperate macroalgae by tropical herbivorous fishes has already occurred in Japan and the Mediterranean. Emerging evidence suggests similar phenomena are occurring in other temperate regions, with increasing occurrence of tropical fishes on temperate reefs.     

Logging impacts on avian species richness and composition differ across latitudes and foraging and breeding habitat preferences

Understanding the causes underlying changes in species diversity is a fundamental pursuit of ecology. Animal species richness and composition often change with decreased forest structural complexity associated with logging. Yet differences in latitude and forest type may strongly influence how species diversity responds to logging. We performed a meta‐analysis of logging effects on local species richness and composition of birds across the world and assessed responses by different guilds (nesting strata, foraging strata, diet, and body size). This approach allowed identification of species attributes that might underlie responses to this anthropogenic disturbance. We only examined studies that allowed forests to regrow naturally following logging, and accounted for logging intensity, spatial extent, successional regrowth after logging, and the change in species composition expected due to random assembly from regional species pools. Selective logging in the tropics and clearcut logging in temperate latitudes caused loss of species from nearly all forest strata (ground to canopy), leading to substantial declines in species richness (up to 27% of species). Few species were lost or gained following any intensity of logging in lower‐latitude temperate forests, but the relative abundances of these species changed substantially. Selective logging at higher‐temperate latitudes generally replaced late‐successional specialists with early‐successional specialists, leading to no net changes in species richness but large changes in species composition. Removing less basal area during logging mitigated the loss of avian species from all forests and, in some cases, increased diversity in temperate forests. This meta‐analysis provides insights into the important role of habitat specialization in determining differential responses of animal communities to logging across tropical and temperate latitudes.     

Gill raker variation and the feeding niche of some temperate and tropical freshwater fishes

Synopsis Variability in the mean number of gill rakers was examined in 17 tropical (Panama) and 16 temperate (Canada) freshwater fishes. Ranges for an additional 16 temperate species were obtained from the literature. Variance in gill raker number within species was significantly greater in the tropical species. The tropical species also showed significantly greater dispersion of the species means when among-species variation was compared to an overall mean for each latitude. The reduced among-species variation observed in the temperate species appears to result from a scarcity of high raker means in small, stream species of Canada. This study offers no evidence for the existence of greater feeding specialization among small, primarily stream fishes in the neotropics. The data suggest that the food resource spectrum utilized by these species may be shorter at the higher latitudes examined.     

Temperate tree expansion into adjacent boreal forest patches facilitated by warmer temperatures

Temperate and boreal forests are forecast to change in composition and shift spatially in response to climate change. Local‐scale expansions and contractions are most likely observable near species range limits, and as trees are long‐lived, initial shifts are likely to be detected in the understory regeneration layers. We examined understory relative abundance patterns of naturally regenerated temperate and boreal tree species in two size classes, seedlings and saplings, and across two spatial scales, local stand‐scale ecotones (tens of meters) and the regional temperate–boreal transition zone (?250 km) in central North America, to explore indications of climate‐mediated shifts in regeneration performance. We also tested for the presence of strong environmental gradients across local ecotones that might inhibit species expansion. Results showed that tree regeneration patterns across ecotones varied by species and size class, and varied across the regional summer temperature gradient. Temperate tree species regeneration has established across local ecotones into boreal forest patches and this process was facilitated by warmer temperatures. Conversely, boreal conifer regeneration exhibited negative responses to the regional temperature gradient and only displayed high abundance at the boreal end of local ecotones at cool northern sites. The filtering effects of temperature also increased with individual size for both boreal and temperate understory stems. Observed regeneration patterns and the minor environmental gradients measured across local ecotones failed to support the idea that there were strong barriers to potential temperate tree expansion into boreal forest patches. Detectable responses, consistently in the directions predicted for both temperate and boreal species, indicate that summer temperature is likely an important driver of natural tree regeneration in forests across the temperate–boreal transition zone. Regeneration patterns point toward temperate expansion and reduced but continued boreal presence in the near‐future, resulting in local and regional expansions of mixed temperate‐boreal forests.