Seasonal and spatial variations in the zooplankton community of an Eastern Antarctic coastal location

Summary The zooplankton community of a shallow coastal area in Eastern Antarctica was found to be one of low species diversity dominated by Copepoda. It was comprised of the more common Antarctic oceanic copepod species, medusae, molluscs, euphausiids, several copepod species associated with the ice-water interface and, in summer, benthic fauna larvae. Most species of copepods displayed a marked seasonality in abundance with peak numbers between March and May. It is proposed that several factors, including phytoplankton seasonality contribute to the zooplankton species composition, zooplankton seasonality, and to the temporal differences in the period of maximum abundance between copepod species. Annual vertical migratory behaviour in conjunction with the circulation of Prydz Bay are important determining factors for those species which can be considered as oceanic; Calanoides acutus, Calanus propinquus, Ctenocalanus citer, Metridia gerlachei, Oithona similis and Oncaea curvata. However, for copepod species which can be classified as inshore residents, such as Stephos longipes, Paralabidocera antarctica and Drepanopus bispinosus, it is their association with the ice water interface that determines their seasonal appearance and abundance. Some differences were established between the zooplankton community of the Vestfold Hills and that of other Antarctic coastal regions. This may be attributed, in part, to the extensive shallow areas of the Vestfold Hills coastal region. Spatial distribution of the zooplankton with depth and between sites was investigated and found to be essentially homogenous. When differences were established, in the majority of cases all species present, all age classes and both sexes contributed to the differences.     

A survey of the terrestrial Tardigrada of the Vestfold Hills,Antarctica

A survey of the terrestrial tardigrades inhabiting growths of algae, lichens and mosses in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica, was carried out at 11 and 35 sites during the austral summers of 1980 and 1982, respectively. In all, 24 species of plants were collected from which four genera and four species of Tardigrada were recovered. A key to the tardigrades of the area is presented. The distribution and associational patterns of the tardigrades are discussed in the context of other studies of antarctic Tardigrada.     

Widespread occurrence of populations of the unique autotrophic ciliate Metodinium rubrum (Ciliophora: Haptorida) in brackish and saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills (eastern Antarctica)

The occurrence of the unique autotrophic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum was investigated in a suite of lakes of various salinities situated in the Vestfold Hills oasis, Princess Elizabeth Land (eastern Antarctica). M. rubrum was found to occur in all but the most hypersaline lakes in the survey but was most numerous in the more brackish lakes. Salinity and water column temperature appeared to be the most important factors controlling the occurrence and abundance of this species. Nutrient levels (phosphate and nitrate) did not appear to be important controlling factors, although their influence may have been distorted by the fact that nutrient concentrations were generally higher in the more saline lakes. The widespread occurrence of this species in brackish and saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills provides opportunities to study the ecology and possible physiological and ultrastructural adaptations to living in a high-latitude environment of this ubiquitous and important species in marine microbial food webs.     

陆地生态系统植物多样性对矿质元素输入的响应

人类活动的加剧改变了陆地生态系统矿质元素(如氮、磷、钾等)循环的速度和方向,并且对生态系统的结构和功能也产生重要影响。如今,矿质元素输入量的改变及其产生的后续效应对陆地生态系统生物多样性的影响备受学者们的关注。从4个方面综述了全球氮沉降背景下主要矿质元素输入的改变对陆地植物多样性的影响及其机理:1)矿质营养元素限制的概念、确定方法以及与植物多样性的耦合关系;2)概述了氮、磷、钾等主要矿质元素输入对陆地植物多样性的影响:主要表现为负面效应;3)探讨了矿质元素输入影响植物多样性的可能机制,包括生态系统水平上的机制(如竞争排斥、酸化铝毒、物种入侵、同质性假说,间接诱导机制等)和植物个体水平上的机制(如元素失衡和环境敏感性增加等);4)根据目前研究现状,指出了已有研究的局限性,分析了未来可能的研究方向和重点。     

不同生态保护地植物特征和土壤性质的对比研究——以黑河中游湿地为例

选择黑河中游张掖国家湿地公园和张掖黑河湿地国家级自然保护区为研究对象,对比分析了植物组成、物种多样性、植物生长状态、土壤养分、土壤理化性质及植物土壤间关系。结果显示:湿地公园的植物高度和土壤养分含量(有机碳、全氮、速效氮、全磷、速效钾)显著高于自然保护区,土壤理化性质含量(容重、pH)显著低于自然保护区,表明湿地公园有利于植物生长发育、土壤养分固存、改善土壤质地;自然保护区的植物科属种、多度、物种多样性(多样性指数、丰富度指数、均匀度指数)显著高于湿地公园,表明自然保护区有利于维持植物多样性;两种保护地中影响植物多样性的土壤因子不同,湿地公园物种多样性与土壤全磷和速效磷显著正相关,而自然保护区物种多样性与土壤盐分显著负相关。     

The unseen majority: soil microbes as drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems

Microbes are the unseen majority in soil and comprise a large portion of life's genetic diversity. Despite their abundance, the impact of soil microbes on ecosystem processes is still poorly understood. Here we explore the various roles that soil microbes play in terrestrial ecosystems with special emphasis on their contribution to plant productivity and diversity. Soil microbes are important regulators of plant productivity, especially in nutrient poor ecosystems where plant symbionts are responsible for the acquisition of limiting nutrients. Mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria are responsible for c. 5–20% (grassland and savannah) to 80% (temperate and boreal forests) of all nitrogen, and up to 75% of phosphorus, that is acquired by plants annually. Free-living microbes also strongly regulate plant productivity, through the mineralization of, and competition for, nutrients that sustain plant productivity. Soil microbes, including microbial pathogens, are also important regulators of plant community dynamics and plant diversity, determining plant abundance and, in some cases, facilitating invasion by exotic plants. Conservative estimates suggest that c. 20 000 plant species are completely dependent on microbial symbionts for growth and survival pointing to the importance of soil microbes as regulators of plant species richness on Earth. Overall, this review shows that soil microbes must be considered as important drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems.     

高原鼢鼠干扰下高寒草甸大型土壤动物多样性对环境因子的响应

为研究高寒草甸大型土壤动物群落组成和分布对环境因子的响应,选取祁连山东段的甘肃省天祝县高原鼢鼠典型分布区域,以鼠丘密度代表干扰强度设置4个干扰区。调查各干扰区植被群落特征、土壤理化性质、大型土壤动物类群组成及其数量,采用约束性排序方法分析环境因子对大型土壤动物类群组成和分布的影响。结果表明：高原鼢鼠干扰下高寒草甸大型土壤动物优势类群为瓦娄蜗牛科、象甲科和短角亚目幼虫;极重度干扰区大型土壤动物类群的丰度、丰富度、Shannon指数显著高于重度干扰区（P<0.05）;多元回归分析表明大型土壤动物类群丰度、丰富度和Shannon指数与土壤温度呈显著负相关（P<0.05）,丰富度与土壤含水量呈显著负相关（P<0.05）,丰度与土壤紧实度呈显著负相关（P<0.05）,丰富度和Shannon指数与植物Shannon指数呈显著负相关（P<0.05）;冗余分析和偏冗余分析表明,土壤温度、紧实度和含水量是影响高寒草甸大型土壤动物类群组成和分布的主要环境因子。     

Long‐term nutrient addition alters arthropod community composition but does not increase total biomass or abundance

A simple bottom–up hypothesis predicts that plant responses to nutrient addition should determine the response of consumers: more productive and less diverse plant communities, the usual result of long‐term nutrient addition, should support greater consumer abundances and biomass and less consumer diversity. We tested this hypothesis for the response of an aboveground arthropod community to an uncommonly long‐term (24‐year) nutrient addition experiment in moist acidic tundra in arctic Alaska. This experiment altered plant community composition, decreased plant diversity and increased plant production and biomass as a deciduous shrub, Betula nana, became dominant. Consistent with strong effects on the plant community, nutrient addition altered arthropod community composition, primarily through changes to herbivore taxa in the canopy‐dwelling arthropod assemblage and detritivore taxa in the ground assemblage. Surprisingly, however, the loss of more than half of plant species was accompanied by negligible changes to diversity (rarefied richness) of arthropod taxa (which were primarily identified to family). Similarly, although long‐term nutrient addition in this system roughly doubles plant production and biomass, arthropod abundance was either unchanged or decreased by nutrient addition, and total arthropod biomass was unaffected. Our findings differ markedly from the handful of terrestrial studies that have found bottom‐up diversity cascades and productivity responses by consumers to nutrient addition. This is probably because unlike grasslands and salt marshes (where such studies have historically been conducted), this arctic tundra community becomes less palatable, rather than more so, after many years of nutrient addition due to increased dominance of B. nana. Additionally, by displacing insulating mosses and increasing the cover of shrubs that cool and shade the canopy microenvironment, fertilization may displace arthropods keenly attuned to microclimate. These results indicate that terrestrial arthropod assemblages may be more constrained by producer traits (i.e. palatability, structure) than they are by total primary production or producer diversity.     

陆地生态系统植物的氮源及氮素吸收

氮是植物生长发育所必需的营养元素,也是其主要的限制因子之一.陆地生态系统植物所需氮的来源及植物对氮素的吸收利用均受控于其种类和生长环境.环境条件的改变,一方面可能改变植物生长区原有氮的形态、浓度、赋存方式等,从而改变氮对植物的供给状况;另一方面可能引起植物生长区土壤质量、水分利用状况、光照等的改变,从而产生耦合现象,直接影响植物的生理生态特性,使植物对氮素的吸收利用发生改变,导致植物生长区的种群类型及物种多样性发生改变,并直接影响到生态系统的功能及演替.本文主要对陆地生态系统中高等植物生长发育所需氮素的来源及植物对氮素吸收利用过程中的影响因素进行了综述和讨论,并结合国内外在该领域的研究现状对其研究前景进行了展望.     

Abundance and diversity of tidal marsh plants along the salinity gradient of the San Francisco Estuary: implications for global change ecology

From 2003 through 2005, tidal marsh plant species diversity and abundance on historically surveyed vegetation transects along the salinity gradient of the San Francisco Estuary were investigated to establish empirical relationships between plant distributions and environmental conditions, and furthermore to examine and predict past and future plant distribution changes. This study suggests that for most species, salinity is the primary control on plant distribution. Thus, ongoing changes in estuarine conditions (increasing sea level and salinity) are resulting in a complex mix of plant distribution changes. On the low marsh, where sediment salinity is similar to that of ambient water, halophytic species are replacing salt-intolerant taxa. However, on marsh plains, where increased tidal flooding is moderating high salinity (concentrated by evaporation), halophytic “high marsh” species are being replaced by salt-intolerant “low marsh” taxa. Thus, future changes in plant distributions will hinge on whether marsh sediment accumulation keeps pace with sea level rise.     

The inshore marine ecosystem off the Vestfold Hills,Antarctica

The planktonic, ice/water interface, and benthic communities at three sites off the coast of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica, were examined over a complete year.The planktonic flora and fauna were composed predominantly of oceanic species with diatoms and copepods the numerically dominant groups. Primary production was largely restricted to the summer months except for epontic algae which developed in spring. The zooplankton exhibited a similar seasonal cycle but lagged some months behind that of the phytoplankton.The ice/water interface (epontic) fauna consisted of species from the plankton and benthos. Copepods were major contributors; however, two amphipod species dominated. Seasonality of the fauna in this habitat was determined by ice formation and breakout, and development of ice algae.Each of the benthic substrates supported a characteristic macrofaunal assemblage, although infaunal amphipods and tanaids were similar at each site. Infauna exhibited a distinct seasonal cycle related to that of the primary producers whereas macrofauna showed no seasonal changes in abundance.Species composition of each community in this coastal antarctic region was comparable with that of similar habitats in other antarctic coastal areas, supporting the circumpolarity of antarctic marine communities.     

海南尖峰岭热带山地雨林60 ha大样地木本植物性别系统数量特征

热带山地雨林中植物不同性别系统的数量和空间分布特征如何? 是否受自然环境条件影响? 这些问题的回答有助于更深入理解群落物种多样性是如何形成的。本文以海南尖峰岭热带山地雨林60 ha大样地中胸径大于1 cm的木本植物为研究对象, 描述了样地内木本植物性别系统的数量特征, 分析了雌雄异株植物空间分布与地形因子的相关关系。结果表明: 大样地内289种木本种子植物中有两性花植物176种, 单性花植物113种; 在单性花植物中, 51种为雌雄同株, 62种为雌雄异株。单性花植物植株数占所有植株总数的36.2%; 雌雄异株植物植株数占所有植株总数的21.5%, 占单性花植物植株数的59.5%。在20 m × 20 m样方的空间尺度, 雌雄异株植物呈现聚集分布的物种共有31种。以20 m × 20 m样方为分析单元, 雌雄异株植物种类的性别比例与海拔、凹凸度和坡度呈弱正相关; 个体相对多度仅和海拔呈弱正相关, 与坡度和凹凸度无相关; 而3个性别系统多样性指数与海拔、凹凸度和坡度均无显著关联。可见雌雄异株植物在海南热带山地雨林中占据了较大的比例, 但大部分种类种群较小, 其数量分布特征与地形因素紧密相关, 雌雄异株植物的存在对群落物种多样性的形成有较大贡献。     

Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems: The Vestfold Hills in context

Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems are briefly described, with emphasis on Signy Island in the maritime antarctic region, and the McMurdo oasis, southern Victoria Land, and Vestfold Hills in the continental antarctic region.As the largest and best known coastal ice-free oasis, the Vestfold Hills contain excellent examples of terrestrial sublithic, epilithic, chasmoendolithic, epiphytic and terricolous algal communities, as well as epilithic, endolithic, and epiphytic lichen communities, and moss communities. Many of the numerous lakes support dense communities of aquatic algae.     

植物与土壤微生物在调控生态系统养分循环中的作用

陆地生态系统的地上、地下是相互联系的。植物与土壤微生物作为陆地生态系统中的重要组成部分, 它们之间的相互作用是生态系统地上、地下结合的重要纽带。该文首先介绍了植物在养分循环中对营养元素的吸收、积累和归还等作用, 阐述了土壤微生物对养分有效性及土壤质量具有重要的作用。其次, 重点综述了植物与土壤微生物之间相互依存、相互竞争的关系。植物通过其凋落物与分泌物为土壤微生物提供营养, 土壤微生物作为分解者提供植物可吸收的营养元素, 比如共生体菌根真菌即可使植物根与土壤真菌达到互惠。然而, 植物的养分吸收与微生物的养分固持同时存在, 因而两者之间存在对养分的竞争。通过植物多样性对土壤微生物多样性的影响分析, 以及土壤微生物直接或间接作用于植物多样性和生产力的分析, 探讨了植物物种多样性与土壤微生物多样性之间的内在联系。针对当前植物与土壤微生物对养分循环的调控机制的争论, 提出植物凋落物是调节植物与土壤微生物养分循环的良好媒介, 植物与土壤微生物的共同作用对维持整个生态系统的稳定性具有重要意义。也指出了目前在陆地生态系统地上、地下研究中存在的不足和亟待解决的问题。     

Herbivore regulation of plant abundance in aquatic ecosystems

Herbivory is a fundamental process that controls primary producer abundance and regulates energy and nutrient flows to higher trophic levels. Despite the recent proliferation of small‐scale studies on herbivore effects on aquatic plants, there remains limited understanding of the factors that control consumer regulation of vascular plants in aquatic ecosystems. Our current knowledge of the regulation of primary producers has hindered efforts to understand the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems, and to manage such ecosystems effectively. We conducted a global meta‐analysis of the outcomes of plant–herbivore interactions using a data set comprised of 326 values from 163 studies, in order to test two mechanistic hypotheses: first, that greater negative changes in plant abundance would be associated with higher herbivore biomass densities; second, that the magnitude of changes in plant abundance would vary with herbivore taxonomic identity. We found evidence that plant abundance declined with increased herbivore density, with plants eliminated at high densities. Significant between‐taxa differences in impact were detected, with insects associated with smaller reductions in plant abundance than all other taxa. Similarly, birds caused smaller reductions in plant abundance than echinoderms, fish, or molluscs. Furthermore, larger reductions in plant abundance were detected for fish relative to crustaceans. We found a positive relationship between herbivore species richness and change in plant abundance, with the strongest reductions in plant abundance reported for low herbivore species richness, suggesting that greater herbivore diversity may protect against large reductions in plant abundance. Finally, we found that herbivore–plant nativeness was a key factor affecting the magnitude of herbivore impacts on plant abundance across a wide range of species assemblages. Assemblages comprised of invasive herbivores and native plant assemblages were associated with greater reductions in plant abundance compared with invasive herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and mixed‐nativeness plants, and native herbivores and native plants. By contrast, assemblages comprised of native herbivores and invasive plants were associated with lower reductions in plant abundance compared with both mixed‐nativeness herbivores and native plants, and native herbivores and native plants. However, the effects of herbivore–plant nativeness on changes in plant abundance were reduced at high herbivore densities. Our mean reductions in aquatic plant abundance are greater than those reported in the literature for terrestrial plants, but lower than aquatic algae. Our findings highlight the need for a substantial shift in how biologists incorporate plant–herbivore interactions into theories of aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning. Currently, the failure to incorporate top‐down effects continues to hinder our capacity to understand and manage the ecological dynamics of habitats that contain aquatic plants.     

Functional and ecological consequences of saprotrophic fungus–grazer interactions

Saprotrophic fungi are key regulators of nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. They are the primary agents of plant litter decomposition and their hyphal networks, which grow throughout the soil–litter interface, represent highly dynamic channels through which nutrients are readily distributed. By ingesting hyphae and dispersing spores, soil invertebrates, including Arthropoda, Oligochaetae and Nematoda, influence fungal-mediated nutrient distribution within soil. Fungal physiological responses to grazing include changes to hydrolytic enzyme production and respiration rates. These directly affect nutrient mineralisation and the flux of CO₂ between terrestrial and atmospheric pools. Preferential grazing may also exert selective pressures on saprotrophic communities, driving shifts in fungal succession and community composition. These functional and ecological consequences of grazing are intrinsically linked, and influenced by invertebrate grazing intensity. High-intensity grazing often reduces fungal growth and activity, whereas low-intensity grazing can have stimulatory effects. Grazing intensity is directly related to invertebrate abundance, and varies dramatically between species and functional groups. Invertebrate diversity and community composition, therefore, represent key factors determining the functioning of saprotrophic fungal communities and the services they provide.     

Relationships between species richness of vascular plants and terrestrial vertebrates in China: analyses based on data of nature reserves

The relationship between plant diversity and animal diversity on a broadscale and its mechanisms are uncertain. In this study, we explored this relationship and its possible mechanisms using data from 186 nature reserves across China on species richness of vascular plants and terrestrial vertebrates, and climatic and topographical variables. We found significant positive correlations between species richness in almost all taxa of vascular plants and terrestrial vertebrates. Multiple regression analyses indicated that plant richness was a significant predictor of richness patterns for terrestrial vertebrates (except birds), suggesting that a causal association may exist between plant diversity and vertebrate diversity in China. The mechanisms for the relationships between species richness of plants and animals are probably dependent on vertebrate groups. For mammals (endothermic vertebrates), this relationship probably represents the integrated effects of plants on animals through trophic links (i.e. providing foods) and non-trophic interactions (i.e. supplying habitats), whereas for amphibians and reptiles (ectothermic vertebrates), this may be a result of the non-trophic links, such as the effects of plants on the resources that amphibians and reptiles require.     

Linking soil biodiversity and vegetation: implications for a changing planet

Soil biota are intimately tied to plant communities through herbivory and symbiosis and indirectly by the decomposition of dead organic plant material. Through both roots and aboveground organic material (e.g., leaves and wood), plants provide substantial inputs of organic matter to soil systems. Plants are the basis for most biotic soil food webs that comprise an enormous diversity of species whose multiple interactions function to help regulate nutrient cycling, which in turn influences plant growth. Many factors govern the biogeography of soil biota, including the physical and chemical properties of soil, climate, the composition and type of vegetation, and interactions with other soil biota. Despite awareness of factors influencing soil communities, no single factor allows predictions of soil animal diversity or distribution. However, research is showing that plants can have unique soil biotic communities. Degradation of soil, which removes predators and biotic regulation that occurs in less managed ecosystems, can result in increased pathogens and pests that affect humans, other animals and plants. Global changes such as land use, desertification, and soil pollution all have been shown to alter soil animal diversity and abundance. Because of our dependence on soils and plant production, studies linking soil biotic communities to primary productivity are needed to assure long-term soil sustainability.     

西双版纳傣族“龙山”片断热带雨林植物多样性的变化研究

本文选择了西双版纳地区６个傣族“龙山”片断热带雨林和一个同样植被类型的自然保护区原始林为研究样地,在各样地中均设置一个２５００ｍ２面积的样方,采用植物群落学与植物种类编目相结合的方法,比较研究了各“龙山”片断雨林的群落结构（层次和覆盖度）,植物丰富度（单位面积上的植物个体数）和物种多样性指数的变化情况,得出结论：随着隔离（孤立）时间的增加和人为干扰的加剧,“龙山”片断热带雨林的群落结构和植物丰富度将越趋偏离原始热带雨林,亦即群落结构变得不完整,植物丰富度降低,以及物种多样性指数显著下降,片断热带雨林中的雨林成分也将在一定程度上被先锋成分等其它植被类型成分替换。本文也对导致这些变化的原因作了探讨。     

Salinity control of the distribution of diatoms in lakes of the Bunger Hills, East Antarctica

The biogeography of Antarctic lacustrine diatoms is incompletely known due in part to the absence of information from some important ice-free regions. In the first detailed study of the diatoms of the Bunger Hills, 29 species were identified in near-edge microbial mats of lakes ranging in salinity from fresh to 77‰. Most of the species present had previously been recorded in other East Antarctic coastal oases. The distribution and relative abundance of diatoms within the Bunger Hills were strongly influenced by salinity, but other factors, notably the characteristics of lakes in the immediate area of a particular lake, also played important roles.