半干旱区锦鸡儿群落优势种种间关系

根据58个样方的调查资料,采用x2检验和Spearman秩相关系数研究了中国半干旱地区锦鸡儿群落优势种的种间关系.结果表明:在所有种对中,呈极显著和显著关联的种对数所占比率较低,且大部分种对呈现负关联趋势,表明锦鸡儿群落仍处于动态演替状态,受外界干扰易发生波动甚至退化.根据种间关联和种间相关分析结果,将20个优势种划分为3个生态种组,同一生态种组内,种组成员之间具有较强的正联结,表明其资源利用方式和生态要求相似,有一定的群落依存关系,而不同种组间联结较为松散,表现出明显的地域分布差异.     

山西五鹿山白皮松群落乔灌层的种间分离

种间分离的研究对于揭示种间相互作用、群落组成与动态具有重要意义。为了探讨五鹿山自然保护区白皮松林内物种间的关系及其共存机制,运用ArcGIS软件、N×N最近邻体列联表及其2×2列联表截表的方法、Pielou的分离指数,Hegyi单木竞争指数对山西五鹿山白皮松群落55个样方内的15种乔木和灌木的种间分离规律及9种乔木的种内种间竞争关系进行研究,并根据种间分离情况以及物种对环境的适应方式,将样地中15个物种划分为3个生态种组。结果表明:(1)该群落中随机毗邻种对占绝大多数(80%),正分离种对较少(16.19%),负分离种对极少(3.81%),群落趋于稳定。(2)种间分离在不同种之间存在着一定的差异,正分离常发生在群落中的建群种或优势种之间;而负分离常发生在群落中的优势种和一些伴生种之间。(3)物种的种间分离状况与其种内种间竞争及物种的空间分布格局具有密切的关系,正分离常常发生在种内竞争大于种间竞争呈聚集分布的优势种或建群种之间;而负分离常常发生在种间竞争大于种内竞争的优势种和伴生种之间,且同一生态种组内的物种种间竞争较不同生态种组间激烈。(4)种间分离与群落的生境异质性和物种的生态需求也具有密切的关系,即两个具有不同生境要求的物种之间常常发生正分离;而具有相同或相似生境要求的物种之间常常发生负分离。(5)白皮松群落内物种的总体分离规律为全面不分离。(6)由生境异质性和物种间不同的生态适应性引起的种内种间关系是维持五鹿山自然保护区白皮松群落稳定共存的机制。     

毛乌素沙地东缘黑沙蒿群落种间联结性分析

种间联结是生态群落的重要特征之一, 对研究群落物种格局的形成, 种群进化和群落演替动态具有重要意义。基于方差比率(VR)、χ² 检验和点相关系数ψ, 对毛乌素沙地东缘黑沙蒿群落13 个主要种的种间联结性进行了分析。结果表明: (1)毛乌素沙地东缘黑沙蒿群落总体种间关联性为显著正相关。(2)χ² 检验显示有40 对正相关种对, 37 对负相关种对, 1 对不相关种对,不显著种对占84.61%。(3)点相关系数ψ 与χ² 检验所得结果相似, 主要种对间多为不显著正相关关系。(4)根据种间联结性的分析结果, 可将黑沙蒿群落分为两个不同的生态种组, 且两个生态种组间具有一定排斥关系。总之, 在沙漠边缘取样条件下毛乌素沙地东缘黑沙蒿群落仅少数种对间表现出强依赖性, 多数物种间未形成一种稳定、协调的搭配关系, 群落处于演替动态过程中。     

沱沱河地区紫花针茅群落种间联结性分析

基于方差比率(VR)、χ2检验和Jaccard指数对沱沱河地区紫花针茅群落12个主要种的种间联结性进行了分析。结果表明,紫花针茅群落优势种多物种间显著正关联,存在稳定共存的种间关系。建群种与其它物种间联结性不显著,在群落中能够稳定存在并占据优势生态位,群落处于植被演替过程的一个相对稳定的阶段。伴生种或次优势种之间联结显著,在群落中表现出很强的依赖性,分布易受其它物种的影响,在群落中不能稳定存在且只占据劣势生态位。根据种间联结性的分析结果,将紫花针茅群落分为2个不同的生态种组,但这2个生态种组并不具有明显的界限,它们之间存在着直接或间接的联系。     

协同系统发生的研究方法

协同系统发生研究生态上相关群体的系统发生间的关系,其研究方法主要分为两类：基于事件法和整体拟合法.基于事件法包括布鲁克斯简约分析、组分分析、协调树分析等,此类方法考虑进化情境,逻辑性强,但分析结果过多,较难选择;整体拟合法考虑了系统发生的误差,提供较好的关系一致性,但缺乏联系进化情境.本文详细比较了两类方法下各种分析软件的优劣,提出了整合两类方法的可能性,以便更好地理解协同系统发生.     

百山祖自然保护区植物群落beta多样性

本文采用植物群落学的典型样方法,研究了百山祖自然保护区森林植物群落beta多样性格局及其维持机制。通过对45个20m?20m标准样地的调查数据进行分析,运用Chao’s群落距离指数衡量该植物群落beta多样性格局,并通过Mantel检验、基于距离矩阵的偏RDA分析和方差分解等方法初步检验和衡量了各环境因子差异（包括群落郁闭度、海拔、坡度、坡向和坡位）和群落空间距离对该区域beta多样性格局的影响。结果显示,该区域内植物群落beta多样性随着群落间综合环境差异或群落空间距离的增加而增大, 但环境差异和群落空间距离只能解释36%左右的beta多样性格局。检验的5个环境因子中,只有群落郁闭度和海拔对百山祖自然保护区植物群落beta多样性有显著影响,并且群落郁闭度对beta多样性的解释度（20.0%）略高于海拔对beta多样性的解释度（18.0%）。群落空间距离对百山祖自然保护区beta多样性的解释度最小（9.0%）。本文展现了百山祖自然保护区内植物群落beta多样性格局及其与群落环境和空间距离的关系,所获得的结果支持生境异质性和扩散限制联合对植物群落beta多样性起作用的假说。     

生态位分化与森林群落物种多样性维持研究展望

一直以来,生态学家和进化生物学家对森林群落物种多样格局及其形成机制持有不同的观点。虽然Robert Ricklefs将进化和生态过程整合的观点已经被群落生态学家广泛接受,但是区域物种进化历史以及局域群落微进化过程是否能够影响群落生态学过程以及这些过程如何影响群落结构和动态还有待商榷。经典的生态位理论同时强调了种间和种内生态位分化对群落多样性维持的影响。但是生态学家普遍认为种间差异足以代表群落内个体间的相互作用关系,并且由于进化过程导致的种内分化往往涉及较长的时间尺度,因此,虽然种内差异是自然选择的重要材料,物种对环境的适应性进化过程所导致的种内分化对群落构建的影响往往被生态学家所忽视。为此,通过回顾种间和个体生态位分化的研究历史,对两类研究分别进行简要阐述,强调在今后的群落生态学研究中需要考虑个体分化对局域群落构建的影响。     

滇中几种人工林生态系统恢复效应研究

对滇中几种典型人工林生态系统恢复效应研究表明,由不同树种构成的人工林生态系统植物多样性、森林水文、地表土壤侵蚀控制、土壤改良和森林结构的恢复具有显著差异．用乡土树种造林能促进植物多样性．生态恢复变量间具有某种相关关系．草本植物盖度、群落均匀度、Shannon-Wiener指数、土壤有效钾、土壤容重、草本植物生物量、乔木材积、全钾、土壤侵蚀、土壤Si／V、枯落物凋落量、非毛管孔隙、穿透降雨是生态恢复主导效应变量．植物多样性的恢复处于生态恢复的中心位置．并用平均恢复距离指数及恢复距离树对几种生态系统恢复程度进行了评价。     

山西崦山自然保护区侧柏群落优势种群种间关系分析

在样方调查的基础上,采用方差比率法、Fisher精确检验、Jaccard指数和Spearman秩相关系数研究了山西阳城崦山自然保护区侧柏群落优势种群的种间关系。结果表明：（1）群落优势种总体呈正关联,但关联性较弱,种的分布具有相对独立性。（2）Fisher精确检验与Jaccard指数结合使用可以取得较好的研究结果。（3）Jaccard指数结果表明在乔、灌、草各层中占据明显优势地位的种群其种间联结程度较大。（4）根据研究结果把侧柏群落的优势种群划分为3个生态种组：白皮松生态种组、侧柏生态种组和白莲蒿生态种组。     

野生大豆群落种群空间分布特性

野生大豆为中国二级保护植物.本文选取北京地区野生大豆群落中的28个种群,以Spearman秩相关系数为例,分析了野生大豆与其他种群的种间关系.结果表明:野生大豆与多数种群间无显著相关性,说明野生大豆在群落中的存在是相对独立的;同野生大豆呈显著性正相关的物种,它们具有相似的生物性特性,对小生境要求相似,而同野生大豆呈显著性负相关的物种,它们具有不同的生物学特性,对小生境有不同的要求;28个种群种间关系分析表明,大多数种群之间的相关性并不显著,表明群落结构发育不完善,种间关系还不稳定,体现出该群落的不成熟性;秩相关系数与生态位重叠的结合分析显示,相关性越显著的种对,其生态位重叠值也越大;以秩相关系数值为基础,参考种对的生态位重叠值,将28个种群划分为4个生态种组,各生态种组内的种具有相同的资源利用方式和生态需求.     

Quartered neighbor method: A new distance method for density estimation

Quantitative data are essential to an appro-priate characterization of vegetation. In the past few years, considerable attention has been paid to vegetation sampling techniques. A number of methods have been developed for plant density estimations that utilize spacing distances instead of fixed-area quadrats. In this paper, we review the main distance methods for estimating density and propose a new distance method denominated the quartered neighbor method. In this method, the sampling point is considered the center, and the area around it is divided into four quadrants. The distance from the closest individual in each quadrant to its closest neighbor in the same quadrant is measured, and the average of them is the distance we need. It is actually an integration of two old distance methods, the nearest neighbor method, and the point-centered quarter method. With our new method and an old distance method (the point-centered quarter method), we calculated the average spacing distances of the Larix principis-rupprechtii population in the larch forests of the Donglingshan Mountain. Comparing the two methods with the quadrat method, we found they were almost the same in accuracy, but the precision of the new one was better. Meanwhile, it is adequate in sampling intensity and adaptable for general use in rapid ecological survey work.     

Quartered neighbor method: A new distance method for density estimation

Quantitative data are essential to an appropriate characterization of vegetation. In the past few years, considerable attention has been paid to vegetation sampling techniques. A number of methods have been developed for plant density estimations that utilize spacing distances instead of fixed-area quadrats. In this paper, we review the main distance methods for estimating density and propose a new distance method denominated the quartered neighbor method. In this method, the sampling point is considered the center, and the area around it is divided into four quadrants. The distance from the closest individual in each quadrant to its closest neighbor in the same quadrant is measured, and the average of them is the distance we need. It is actually an integration of two old distance methods, the nearest neighbor method, and the point-centered quarter method. With our new method and an old distance method (the point-centered quarter method), we calculated the average spacing distances of the Larix principis-rupprechtii population in the larch forests of the Donglingshan Mountain. Comparing the two methods with the quadrat method, we found they were almost the same in accuracy, but the precision of the new one was better. Meanwhile, it is adequate in sampling intensity and adaptable for general use in rapid ecological survey work.     

黄河三角洲东方白鹳繁殖期觅食栖息地的利用

2008和2009年3—6月,在黄河三角洲自然保护区采用定点观察、GPS定位、样方调查和逐步判别分析等方法对东方白鹳(Ciconia boyciana)繁殖期觅食地的利用进行了研究。共测定了75个觅食利用样方和74个对照样方的14个生态因子。结果表明,东方白鹳繁殖期倾向于在明水面、芦苇沼泽和滩地中觅食,对草地和农田利用极少。偏向于食物丰富度较高的觅食点;对隐蔽级高低没有明显的偏好。对利用样方和对照样方进行比较,发现利用样方具有植被高度和植被盖度较低,觅食地水深相对较浅,距明水面、芦苇沼泽、树林等距离较近,距重度干扰源较远等特征。逐步判别分析表明,距芦苇沼泽距离、样方内水深、距重度干扰源距离、食物丰富度和明水面距离具有重要作用,由这5个变量构成的方程在对繁殖季节东方白鹳觅食地利用样方和对照样方进行区分时,正确判别率可以达到95.5%。东方白鹳繁殖期觅食地的利用主要与水源、人为干扰和食物条件有关。     

Statistical Measures of DNA Sequence Dissimilarity under Markov Chain Models of Base Composition

In molecular biology, the issue of quantifying the similarity between two biological sequences is very important. Past research has shown that word-based search tools are computationally efficient and can find some new functional similarities or dissimilarities invisible to other algorithms like FASTA. Recently, under the independent model of base composition, Wu, Burke, and Davison (1997, Biometrics 53, 1431 1439) characterized a family of word-based dissimilarity measures that defined distance between two sequences by simultaneously comparing the frequencies of all subsequences of n adjacent letters (i.e., n-words) in the two sequences. Specifically, they introduced the use of Mahalanobis distance and standardized Euclidean distance into the study of DNA sequence dissimilarity. They showed that both distances had better sensitivity and selectivity than the commonly used Euclidean distance. The purpose of this article is to extend Mahalanobis and standardized Euclidean distances to Markov chain models of base composition. In addition, a new dissimilarity measure based on Kullback-Leibler discrepancy between frequencies of all n-words in the two sequences is introduced. Applications to real data demonstrate that Kullback-Leibler discrepancy gives a better performance than Euclidean distance. Moreover, under a Markov chain model of order kQ for base composition, where kQ is the estimated order based on the query sequence, standardized Euclidean distance performs very well. Under such a model, it performs as well as Mahalanobis distance and better than Kullback-Leibler discrepancy and Euclidean distance. Since standardized Euclidean distance is drastically faster to compute than Mahalanobis distance, in a usual workstation/PC computing environment, the use of standardized Euclidean distance under the Markov chain model of order kQ of base composition is generally recommended. However, if the user is very concerned with computational efficiency, then the use of Kullback-Leibler discrepancy, which can be computed as fast as Euclidean distance, is recommended. This can significantly enhance the current technology in comparing large datasets of DNA sequences.     

Ecological factors affecting flight initiation distance in Daurian ground squirrels (Spermophilus dauricus)

More often than not, animals forage under predation risk. Foragers, therefore, face a challenge to balance between two conflicting tasks, namely energy intake and safety. Flight initiation distance (FID, defined as the distance between a prey and a predator when the prey starts to flee) has been widely measured in many taxa to study such economic trade‐offs. However, FID may also be affected by limitations on the prey's ability to detect predators, especially when there is visual obstruction caused by surrounding vegetation. Although both vegetation cover and vegetation height may contribute to such obstruction, the effect of vegetation height on FID has not been well studied. In this study, we explored the effects of vegetation height, vegetation cover and distance to refuge on FID in free‐living Daurian ground squirrels (Spermophilus dauricus) inhabiting a grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Multiple linear regressions suggested that both vegetation height and distance to refuge significantly affected FID in S. dauricus. Ground squirrels fled earlier when vegetation was low or when foraging farther away from a refuge. No significant effect of vegetation cover on FID was detected. Our results have implications for ecologically based pest control, and FID may be used as an effective and easy‐to‐use behavioral indicator in wildlife management.     

低覆盖度行带式固沙林对土壤及植被的修复效应

在我国干旱、半干旱地区由于水分条件的制约,经过漫长的自然演替过程,逐步发育形成了广泛分布的低覆盖度植被,这些低覆盖度植被类型中存在大量的天然乔木疏林或稀疏灌丛,地表处于半流动状态,而配置成行带式后,能够完全固定流沙,并且不同配置模式下行带式固沙林土壤与植被自然恢复程度不同.因此,通过对不同带宽的低覆盖度行带式固沙林对土壤及植被修复的影响研究,揭示了不同带宽行带式固沙林带间土壤因子与植被因子的变化过程,从而阐明行带式固沙林对带间植被自然恢复和土壤发育的促进作用.结果表明,行带式杨树固沙林能够明显的促进带间土壤与植被修复;带间距离的宽窄影响植被恢复及土壤发育效果;宽带间距固沙林带间植被多样性指数高,地上生物量大,根系生物量,总长度及表面积均高,土壤水分养分条件好,微生物数量大植物残体分解快,有利于植被的生长;模糊综合评估结果表明,不同带间距行带式固沙林土壤植被恢复程度不同,宽带间距20m的恢复效果＞带间距15m＞带间距10m.行带式固沙林通过带间宽度的变化可以调节植被与土壤之间的相互作用,窄带间距固沙林土壤与植被的相互作用则由于造林密度大而受到抑制.宽带间距可以明显加快土壤及植被修复的速度,进而缩短土壤及植被修复的时间.     

天山盘羊夏季采食地和卧息地生境选择

2010年7-8月采用样线调查法及直接观察法对天山中部古仁郭楞高山区的盘羊天山亚种采食地和卧息地生境进行了研究。共调查5条沟系的12条样线,测量天山盘羊147个采食地和136个卧息地样方,分析了13类生态因子对天山盘羊采食地和卧息地选择的影响。研究结果表明,天山盘羊夏季采食地与卧息地在坡位、坡向、地貌类型、海拔高度、距最近家畜距离、距道路距离和距居民点距离差异极显著（P < 0.01）,植被高度差异显著（P < 0.05）,而其它生态因子差异性不显著（P > 0.05）;相对卧息地的选择而言,夏季盘羊采食地的选择更偏爱海拔较低,植被高度低,距离道路、居民点和最近家畜距离近的半阴半阳坡,山体中下位的高山草甸缓坡生境。逐步判别分析表明,距道路距离、距居民点距离、植被高度、距家畜距离4个生态因子可以用于判别夏季天山盘羊采食地与卧息地生境,正确区分率达到90.6%。     

A Comparative Statistical Analysis of Genetic Distances. II–Confidence Intervals and Tests of Comparison

We present methods for constructing the confidence intervals of the estimations of absolute genetic distance and Nei's minimum and standard genetic distances. Two different estimators of the standard distance are considered: jack-knife and corrected. A Monte-Carlo simulation analysis permitted to choose the best adapted confidence interval type for each distance estimator and for each size of the samples of loci and of gametes, taking into account the magnitude of the estimation value. Simulated true confidence levels showed that the best results are obtained using abolute genetic distance. We also give rules for testing the significance of the difference of two distance estimations. Monte-Carlo simulations were performed in order to obtain the distributions of the difference of two distance estimations under the null hypothesis and consequently the true type I errors of tests. Test powers, obtained by simulation under the alternative hypothesis, also showed the superiority of absolute genetic distance.     

Similarity in ectoparasite faunas of Palaearctic rodents as a function of host phylogenetic, geographic or environmental distances: Which matters the most?

Different host species harbour parasite faunas that are anywhere from very similar to very different in species composition. A priori, the similarity in the parasite faunas of any two host species should decrease with increases in either the phylogenetic distance, the distinctness of the environments occupied or the geographical distance between these hosts. We tested these predictions using extensive data on the faunas of fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera) and gamasid mites (Acari: Parasitiformes) parasitic on rodents across the Palaearctic. For each pair of host species, we computed the similarity in parasite faunas based on both species composition as well as the phylogenetic and/or taxonomic distinctness of parasite species. Phylogenetic distances between hosts were based on patristic distances through a rodent phylogeny, geographic distances were computed from geographic range data, and environmental dissimilarity was measured from the average climatic and vegetation scores of each host range. Using multiple regressions on distance matrices to assess the separate explanatory power of each of the three dependent variables, environmental dissimilarity between the ranges of host species emerged as the best predictor of dissimilarity between parasite faunas, especially for fleas; in the case of mites, phylogenetic distance between host species was also important. A closer look at the data indicates that the flea and mite faunas of two hosts inhabiting different environments are always different, whilst hosts living in similar environments can have either very similar or dissimilar parasite faunas. Additional tests showed that dissimilarity in flea or mite faunas between host geographic ranges was best explained by dissimilarity in vegetation, followed by dissimilarity in climatic conditions. Thus, external environmental factors may play greater roles than commonly thought in the evolution of host-parasite associations.     

Evaluation of aerial sampling methods for detecting waterbird colonies

ABSTRACT Estimating the number of waterbird colonies in a given area can have important conservation implications, including assessment of the regional or global importance of an area and the impacts of conservation efforts (e.g., habitat restoration) and human disturbance (e.g., oil spills). Our objective was to examine differences in estimates of the number of waterbird colonies determined using strip‐transect (ST) surveys, distance sampling, and adaptive cluster sampling (ACS), and to compare these estimates to the minimum number of known colonies (MNKC) obtained using point‐to‐point surveys. We conducted aerial surveys in May 2004 and May and June 2005 at two sites in southern Louisiana: the Atchafalaya Basin (AB), a large forested wetland, and the Barataria‐Terrebonne estuary (BTE), a large coastal marsh with isolated clumps of woody vegetation suitable for nesting. In AB, we detected nine and eight colonies using the ACS and ST/distance sampling methods, respectively. Neither ACS estimator of number of colonies (Horvitz–Thompson and Hansen–Hurwitz) was within the 95% confidence interval of the estimate determined from ST; ST estimated—two to three times more colonies than either ACS estimator. The MNKC for the AB was 33, well within the 95% confidence interval of ? by ST sampling. For the BTE, ACS estimators (?_HT= 20.49, CI = 9.3–31.7; ?_HH= 14.15, CI = 2.3–26.0) were similar to the MNKC (20), whereas the ST (?= 87.94, CI = 82.9–92.9) and distance sampling (?= 60, CI = 31–113) methods produced much larger estimates. Our results suggest that the ACS method performed better when waterbird colonies were spatially clumped (BTE) and the ST method performed better in areas where colonies were more uniformly distributed (AB). Depending on management objectives, a complete, systematic survey of a study area may be required if the potential for missing large colonies is unacceptable. If surveying an area with no previous information about colony location or dispersion, we recommend a coarse‐scale analysis of the availability and contiguity of habitat likely to contain waterbird colonies; this analysis will help determine the most appropriate survey method.