结构稳定性: 概念、方法和应用

群落内物种间相互作用的结构是高度组织化的。群落结构对多物种共存的影响机制是群落生态学的核心科学问题之一。目前生态学界在这一问题上存在多种不同的观点。一个可能的原因是, 由于环境因子的复杂性, 大部分研究忽略了环境因子对群落结构和物种共存的重要影响。在这一背景下, 近期发展起来的结构稳定性理论系统地联系了群落结构、环境因子和物种共存, 并在此基础上建立了一个和经验数据紧密结合的理论框架。本文首先简要回顾了当前关于群落结构研究的争鸣, 然后介绍了结构稳定性的理论框架和计算方法, 最后详细介绍了结构稳定性理论在不同生态群落和不同生态学问题中的应用。在全球气候变化的背景下, 结构稳定性理论提供了一种新的视角来理解群落层面的生物多样性维持机制。     

Methane emissions along a salt marsh salinity gradient

The seasonal flux of methane to the atmosphere was measured at three salt marsh sites along a tidal creek. Average soil salinities at the sites ranged from 5 to 17 ppt and fluxes ranged from below detection limits (less than 0.3 mgCH₄ m^-2 d^-1) to 259 mgCH₄ m^-2 d^-1. Annual flux to the atmosphere was 5.6 gCH₄ m^-2 from the most saline site, 22.4 gCH₄ m^-2 from the intermediate site, and 18.2 gCH₄ m^-2 from the freshest of the three sites. Regression of the amount of methane in the soil with flux indicates that changes in this soil methane can account for 64% of the observed variation in flux. Data on pore water distributions of sulfate suggests that the activity of sulfate reducing bacteria is a primary control on methane flux in these transitional environments. Results indicate that relatively high emissions of methane from salt marshes can occur at soil salinities up to approximately 13 ppt. When these data are combined with other tidal marsh studies, annual CH₄ flux to the atmosphere shows a strong negative correlation with the long term average soil salinity over a range from essentially fresh water to 26 ppt.     

Inclusion of biotic stress (consumer pressure) alters predictions from the stress gradient hypothesis

1.  The stress gradient hypothesis (SGH) predicts a shift from net negative interactions in benign environments towards net positive in harsh environments in ecological communities. While several studies found support for the SGH, others found evidence against it, leading to a debate on how nature and strength of species interactions change along stress gradients, and to calls for new empirical and theoretical work.
2.  In the latest attempt in this journal, it is successfully argued how the SGH should be expanded by considering different life strategies of species (stress tolerance versus competitive ability) and characteristics of abiotic stress (resource versus non-resource based) over wider stress gradients (opposed to low–high contrasts), but the crucial role of biotic stress by consumers is largely ignored in this refinement.
3.  We point out that consumers strongly alter the outcome of species interactions in benign and harsh environments, and show how inclusion of consumer-incurred biotic stress alters the predicted outcome of interactions along resource- and non-resource-based stress gradients for stress-tolerant and competitive benefactors and beneficiaries.
4.   Synthesis. New studies should include stress gradients consisting of both abiotic and biotic components to disentangle their impacts, and to improve our understanding of how species interactions change along environmental gradients.     

Adaptive divergence in moor frog (Rana arvalis) populations along an acidification gradient: inferences from Q(st) -F(st) correlations

Microevolutionary responses to spatial variation in the environment seem ubiquitous, but the relative role of selection and neutral processes in driving phenotypic diversification remain often unknown. The moor frog (Rana arvalis) shows strong phenotypic divergence along an acidification gradient in Sweden. We here used correlations among population pairwise estimates of quantitative trait (P(ST) or Q(ST) from common garden estimates of embryonic acid tolerance and larval life-history traits) and neutral genetic divergence (F(ST) from neutral microsatellite markers), as well as environmental differences (pond pH, predator density, and latitude), to test whether this phenotypic divergence is more likely due to divergent selection or neutral processes. We found that trait divergence was more strongly correlated with environmental differences than the neutral marker divergence, suggesting that divergent natural selection has driven phenotypic divergence along the acidification gradient. Moreover, pairwise P(ST) s of embryonic acid tolerance and Q(ST) s of metamorphic size were strongly correlated with breeding pond pH, whereas pairwise Q(ST) s of larval period and growth rate were more strongly correlated with geographic distance/latitude and predator density, respectively. We suggest that incorporating measurements of environmental variation into Q(ST) -F(ST) studies can improve our inferential power about the agents of natural selection in natural populations.     

Feeding habits of young predatory fishes in marsh creeks situated along the salinity gradient of the Schelde estuary, Belgium and The Netherlands

Fish and macrobenthos were sampled in four different marshes along the salinity gradient of the Schelde estuary, Belgium/Netherlands, to investigate the importance of marsh creeks as foraging grounds for the dominant, larger fish species. The total density and biomass of all the main macrobenthic taxa (Corophium volutator, Nereis diversicolor, Oligochaeta, Macoma baltica and Heteromastus fliliformis) were measured. The feeding habits of the larger predatory fishes (Platichthys flesus, Dicentrarchus labrax) were investigated. Qualitative and quantitative stomach analyses included the calculation of different indices, showing the niche breadth (as diet diversity) and the niche overlap (as similarity between the predators diet) for this habitat. These analyses showed that the two most important benthic prey species for P. flesus were C. volutator and N. diversicolor. D. labrax preyed upon a wider range of species, including C. volutator, N. diversicolor, Crangon crangon, Carcinus maenas and Orchestia spp. The stomach diversity of D. labrax and P. flesus showed differences between the marshes although there was no consistent pattern in diet composition, reflecting the opportunistic nature of feeding by these large predators. The fullness indices of both flounder and sea bass did not differ significantly along the salinity gradient and the estimated minimum consumption by these predators did not indicate a top-down control of the macrobenthic community. The salt marsh creeks seem to provide excess food for the visiting fish species. The benthic prey was present in very high abundances, which may suggest that the typical nursery species such as C. crangon and C. maenas, and early juveniles of P. flesus, D. labrax and Pomatoschistus microps were not preyed upon significantly. This supports the hypothesis that salt marsh creeks provide good refuge areas for nursery species against predation by larger fish.     

Evaluating Effects of Contaminants on Fish Health at Multiple Levels of Biological Organization: Extrapolating from Lower to Higher Levels

Effects of environmental stressors such as contaminants on the health of aquatic ecosystems usually involve a series of biological responses ranging from the biomolecular/biochemical to the population and community levels. To establish relationships and to determine the feasibility of extrapolating between higher and lower levels of biological organization, spatial patterns in fish responses to contaminant loading were investigated in a stream receiving point-source discharges of various contaminants near its headwaters. Relationships among fish responses at four major levels of biological organization (biochemical/physiological, individual, population, and community levels) were evaluated relative to patterns in contaminant loading along the spatial gradient of the stream. Both individual and integrated response analysis demonstrated that bioindicators at several levels of biological organization displayed similar downstream patterns in their response to contaminant loading within the stream. Some of the bioindicator responses at lower levels of organization appear to be useful for the ecological risk assessment process because of their sensitivity and apparent relationships to higher levels. By identifying and establishing relationships between levels of biological organization we should be better able to understand the mechanisms of stress responses in ecological systems that could ultimately result in improved predictive capability of ecological risk assessment and also allow for more informed decisions regarding remedial actions.     

环境胁迫对岷江干旱河谷豆科灌木幼苗根系生长及其结瘤的影响

通过野外调查,分析了岷江干旱河谷海拔梯度上相同年龄段的白刺花、岷谷木蓝和小雀花幼苗根系结瘤、生物量积累、生物量百分比的变化及其相互关系;人为控制土壤水分（田间持水量(WHC)的80%、60%、40%和20% 4个水平）研究了干旱对2月龄的白刺花与小雀花幼苗结瘤能力的影响.结果表明：1)干旱河谷低海拔地段(1600～1950 m)幼苗的结瘤能力都很低,白刺花、岷谷木蓝和小雀花的平均结瘤数分别为每株(0.1±0.1)、(0.9±0.5)和(5.7±1.9)个,未结瘤的个体分别占651%、123%和176%;总体上随着海拔的升高,3种幼苗的根瘤数均呈增加趋势,且与细根百分比及根长正相关.2)土壤水分低于60% WHC时,白刺花与小雀花的根瘤数及生物量均明显减小;在20% WHC条件下,白刺花根瘤数为0,小雀花根瘤数为每株(9.8±3.6)个.综合分析发现,干旱河谷地区豆科灌木的结瘤固氮能力很低,土壤水分在40% WHC以上时其生物固氮才能有效发挥,与白刺花相比,小雀花结瘤能力较高,干旱忍受性较强.     

Geographic patterns and environmental correlates of taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity for large-scale angiosperm assemblages in China

A full understanding of the origin and maintenance of β-diversity patterns in a region requires exploring the relationships of both taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity (TBD and PBD, respectively), and their respective turnover and nestedness components, with geographic and environmental distances. Here, we simultaneously investigated all these aspects of β-diversity for angiosperms in China. Specifically, we evaluated the relative importance of environmental filtering vs dispersal limitation processes in shaping β-diversity patterns. We found that TBD and PBD as quantified using a moving window approach decreased towards higher latitudes across the whole of China, and their turnover components were correlated with latitude more strongly than their nestedness components. When quantifying β-diversity as pairwise distances, geographic and climatic distances across China together explained 60 and 53% of the variation in TBD and PBD, respectively. After the variation in β-diversity explained by climatic distance was accounted for, geographic distance independently explained about 23 and 12% of the variation in TBD and PBD, respectively, across China. Overall, our results suggest that environmental filtering based on climatic tolerance conserved across lineages is the main force shaping β-diversity patterns for angiosperms in China.     

Below-ground biomass in healthy and impaired salt marshes

Twelve salt marshes in south Louisiana (USA) were classified as either impaired or healthy before a summer sample collection of above- and below-ground biomass and determination of sediment accretion rates. The above-ground biomass of plant tissues was the same at both impaired and healthy salt marshes and was not a good predictor of marsh health. However, below-ground root biomass in the upper 30cm was much lower in the impaired marshes compared to the healthy marshes. Compromises to root production apparently occur before there is an obvious consequence to the above-ground biomass, which may quickly collapse before remedial action can be taken. The subsequent change in vertical position of the marsh surface may be equivalent to many years of accretion, and be irreversible within decades without considerable effort. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that it is the plants below-ground accumulation of organic matter, not inorganic matter that governs the maintenance of salt marsh ecosystem in the vertical plane. Reversing the precursor conditions leading to marsh stress before the collapse of the above-ground biomass occurs is therefore a prudent management objective and could be easier than restoration.     

Environmental gradients and herbivore feeding preferences in coastal salt marshes

Current theories of plant-herbivore interactions suggest that plants may differ in palatability to herbivores as a function of abiotic stress; however, studies of these theories have produced mixed results. We compared the palatability of eight common salt marsh plants that occur across elevational and salinity stress gradients to six common leaf-chewing herbivores to determine patterns of plant palatability. The palatability of every plant species varied across gradients of abiotic stress in at least one comparison, and over half of the comparisons indicated significant differences in palatability. The direction of the preferences, however, was dependent on the plant and herbivore species studied, suggesting that different types of stress affect plants in different ways, that different plant species respond differently to stress, and that different herbivore species measure plant quality in different ways. Overall, 51% of the variation in the strength of the feeding preferences could be explained by a knowledge of the strength of the stress gradient and the type of gradient, plant and herbivore studied. This suggests that the prospects are good for a more complex, conditional theory of plant stress and herbivore feeding preferences that is based on a mechanistic understanding of plant physiology and the factors underlying herbivore feeding preferences.     

Regional vs local drivers of phylogenetic and species diversity in stream fish communities

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Observations on desmids from Scotland,Shetland, Cumbria and the English Midlands

Summary

Samples from bogs and lochs collected in the parish of Assynt, south — west Sutherland; loch and pool samples from Shetland; tarn samples from Cumbria and a small pool in Oadby, Leicestershire, have been examined. New desmid varieties and formae, some rare desmids and interesting observations on common desmids can be reported.     

The influence of environmental factors on the morphology of red‐backed voles Myodes gapperi (Rodentia,Arvicolinae) in Québec and western Labrador

Geographical patterns of morphological variation in small mammals are often associated with environmental factors. The southern red‐backed vole Myodes gapperi is a widespread and abundant small mammal in Canada, occurring in environments as diverse as mixed‐wood forests and taiga. First upper molars and skulls from nine populations of southern red‐backed voles distributed across three ecozones and approximately 10° of latitude were analysed by means of geometric morphometric techniques, and their relationships with environmental variables were examined. A weak, non‐linear trend of size increase towards higher latitudes was observed in voles' skulls. Environmental variables appeared to be important drivers of shape differentiation among populations from the three distinct ecozones analysed. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 112 , 204–218.     

Notes On The Occurrence Of Clathrus Cancellatus,Tournf., In Argyllshire

Background: Estuaries are characterised by salinity gradients and regular flooding events. These environmental factors form stress gradients, along which species composition changes.

Aims: Analyse and compare patterns of plant species diversity along the estuarine salinity and flooding gradients of the Elbe and Connecticut Rivers.

Methods: Vegetation was sampled at three elevations (low, mid, high) in five sites of each marsh type (fresh, brackish, salt) in both estuaries. Patterns of species density (SD) and evenness (E) along the gradients were analysed and compared between the two estuaries with three-factor ANOVAs.

Results: The regional species pool was 33% higher for the Connecticut than for the Elbe. SD of fresh marshes (19 ± 2.2) was more than twice in the Connecticut than in the Elbe. We found an overall increase in SD from low to high elevation and from salt to freshwater marshes in both estuaries. However, SD and E were strongly depressed at intermediate elevations in the Elbe fresh and brackish marshes.

Conclusions: Although diversity patterns in the two estuaries show overall similarities, patterns of SD and E differ, when particular elevational zones and marsh types are compared. We hypothesise this to be due to evolutionary and historical influences on the regional species pools, shaping the impact of local biotic and abiotic processes.     

淡水螯虾生理生态学与环境毒理学研究进展

综述了我国2种主养的淡水螯虾(克氏原螯虾和红螯螯虾)在生理生态学与环境毒理学方面的研究进展。总结了淡水螯虾的环境条件(盐度、温度和pH)适应范围、毒性污染物(氨氮、亚硝酸盐、重金属和农药等)的半致死浓度和安全浓度,以及环境胁迫和毒性污染物暴露对淡水螯虾生长、组织结构、生理代谢和免疫功能等的影响,为淡水螯虾养殖的水环境监测与调控提供参考依据。     

Do interactions between plant and soil biota change with elevation? A study on Fagus sylvatica

Theoretical models predict weakening of negative biotic interactions and strengthening of positive interactions with increasing abiotic stress. However, most empirical tests have been restricted to plant-plant interactions. No empirical study has examined theoretical predictions of interactions between plants and below-ground micro-organisms, although soil biota strongly regulates plant community composition and dynamics. We examined variability in soil biota effects on tree regeneration across an abiotic gradient. Our candidate tree species was European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), whose regeneration is extremely responsive to soil biota activity. In a greenhouse experiment, we measured tree survival in sterilized and non-sterilized soils collected across an elevation gradient in the French Alps. Negative effects of soil biota on tree survival decreased with elevation, similar to shifts observed in plant-plant interactions. Hence, soil biota effects must be included in theoretical models of plant biotic interactions to accurately represent and predict the effects of abiotic gradient on plant communities.     

Hypoxic coma as a strategy to survive inundation in a salt-marsh inhabiting spider

Spiders constitute a major arthropod group in regularly inundated habitats. Some species survive a flooding period under water. We compared survival during both submersion and a recovery period after submersion, in three stenotopic lycosids: two salt-marsh species Arctosa fulvolineata and Pardosa purbeckensis, and a forest spider Pardosa lugubris. Both activity and survival rates were determined under controlled laboratory conditions by individually surveying 120 females kept submerged in sea water. We found significant differences between the three species, with the two salt-marsh spiders exhibiting higher survival abilities. To our knowledge, this study reports for the first time the existence of a hypoxic coma caused by submersion, which is most pronounced in A. fulvolineata, the salt-marsh spider known to overcome tidal inundation under water. Its ability to fall into that coma can therefore be considered a physiological adaptation to its regularly inundated habitat.