Chemistry of Two Distinct Aeolid Spurilla Species: Ecological Implications

The lipophilic extracts of two marine aeolid nudibranch molluscs of the genus Spurilla collected in distinct geographical areas have been chemically analyzed. The Et₂O extracts of the nudibranchs were dominated by the presence of usual fatty acids and sterols and contained terpenoid compounds 1  –  3 as minor metabolites. Spurillin A ( 1 ) and spurillin B ( 3 ) were new molecules whereas cis‐γ‐monocyclofarnesol ( 2 ) was already reported in the literature as a synthesis product. Interestingly, bursatellin ( 4 ), previously isolated from anaspidean molluscs of the genus Bursatella, was found in the butanol extract of both Spurilla species. Compounds 1  –  4 were not detected in the extracts of the sea‐anemone preys collected together with the molluscs.     

东亚粗叶木属(茜草科)植物的分布及其生物地理意义

茜草科粗叶木属植物是亚洲热带原始林下优势地位明显的一类灌木植物.依据标本资料和分类学修订,研究了东亚产粗叶木属植物33个种的地理分布式样,并将其划分为热带亚洲、东亚和中国特有3个分布区类型,其中热带亚洲分布型可以进一步划分为印度(喜马拉雅)至马来西亚分布、印度(喜马拉雅)至中国南部和大陆东南亚分布及中国南部至大陆东南亚分布3个亚型.中国粗叶木属植物中热带亚洲分布型占总种数的72.7%,显示了中国热带地区植物区系的热带亚洲亲缘.一些粗叶木属植物种类的分布式样暗示了中国-日本、中国-喜马拉雅森林植物区系的分区及物种形成,喜马拉雅(横断山)-台湾山地植物区系的联系及台湾-琉球-日本物种迁移通道.海南、台湾植物区系缺少特有种反映了它们的植物区系大陆性很强. 粗叶木属植物种类的分布式样对中国热带植物种分布区类型的划分提供了参考.     

Dispersal of Two Species of Trichoptera from Desert Springs: Conservation Implications for Isolated vs Connected Populations

During the Pleistocene, when the climate was wetter and cooler, aquatic habitats in the Great Basin of western North America were much more extensive and connected. As the climate warmed over the last 10000 years, many of these habitats dried but others remained as isolated springs and inland lakes. The isolation of desert springs and lack of dispersal between populations of non-vagile species (e.g. fish, spring snails) has led to genetic differentiation and speciation. However, the extent to which vagile species of aquatic insects disperse from spring to spring is unknown. We examined the population genetics of two caddisflies, Hesperophylax designatus (Limnephilidae) and Lepidostoma ojanum (Lepidostomatidae) that occur in isolated springs in Nevada and eastern California to determine the extent of their dispersal from spring to spring. Mitochondrial DNA sequences indicate that the populations of L. ojanum are isolated and that the populations represent management units. In contrast, H. designatus individuals are flying from spring to spring and their populations are connected by dispersal. Disturbance impacts (e.g. grazing by ungulates, water extraction) that eliminate poor dispersers (e.g. L. ojanum) locally may result in permanent losses of genetic diversity; this is less likely with broader dispersers such as H. designatus.     

两种濒危水韭植物迁地保护居群的基因流动态及回归重建保育遗传管理策略

采用微卫星分子标记对中华水韭（Isoetessinensis）安徽休宁、浙江建德和东方水韭（I.orientalis）浙江松阳三个孑遗居群的迁地保护居群开展了遗传多样性检测与遗传结构分析。7对多态性微卫星引物在36个迁地保护亚居群的720个样本中共检测到59个等位基因,每位点平均等位基因数（A）为8·43。迁地保护亚居群均维持很高的遗传多样性,多态信息含量（PIC）平均为0·707。迁地保护亚居群间遗传分化较低,遗传分化系数GST仅为0·070,居群间具有较大基因流（Nm=3·59）。单因素方差分析发现水韭孢子或孢子体在沿主要水流方向上的长距离传播能力要强于弱水流方向上的短距离传播能力,水流动态对水韭植物的基因流有重要影响。这与UPGMA聚类分析中迁地保护亚居群按邻近位置或水流相通程度优先聚类的结果相一致,水流所带动的强大基因流导致了不同孑遗居群来源的迁地保护亚居群间的遗传混杂。建议在开展水韭植物的迁地保护或回归自然重建时,对具有地方适应分化或者显著性进化的水韭植物居群应相互隔离而不宜配置在一起,以避免远交衰退的遗传风险。     

Genetic and Morphological Variation of Two Rare Species of Lepidium (Brassicaceae) on Mangere Island,Chatham Islands,and Implications for Their Conservation Management

The genus Lepidium in New Zealand comprises a number of threatened and endemic species. Two recently described species, Lepidium panniforme and L. oblitum, have a restricted distribution on the remote and difficult to access Mangere Island, Chatham Islands. We examined the genetic and morphological variation of L. panniforme and L. oblitum on Mangere Island to assess the best conservation management options. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data and morphological data were used to detect finer scale variation in L. panniforme and L. oblitum. Bayesian analysis of AFLP genotypes detected up to four genetic clusters on Mangere Island. The morphological data were also variable, although better reflected the taxonomic treatment of the Mangere Island plants. The conservation implications of such high genetic and morphological variation over such a small spatial scale are discussed, to propose the best method for ensuring the ongoing survival of these island endemics.     

A New Species of Megophryid Frog of the Genus Scutiger from Kangchenjunga Conservation Area,Eastern Nepal

This study investigated the systematics of the megophryid genus Scutiger from eastern and western Nepal using molecular and morphological data. Our results support two divergent lineages, one of which has nuptial spines on the dorsal surface of the first three fingers while the other has spines only on the dorsal surface of the first two fingers. The Ghunsa lineage from eastern Nepal shows significant morphological and molecular differences to other species of genus Scutiger and is here described as a new species. Based on the molecular analysis, the Muktinath lineage from western Nepal is confirmed to be Scutiger boulengeri and represents a species complex widespread throughout the Himalayan region. The newly described taxon is endemic to the eastern Himalayas and currently known only from the Ghunsa valley, Taplejung district, Nepal.     

Ecological Stability: Reality,Misconceptions, and Implications for Risk Assessment

Over a long time frame, an ecological system may not exhibit constancy due to successional and evolutionary changes in the species composing the system. However, over shorter time frames an ecological system exhibits a certain degree of constancy (i.e., varies within defined bounds). Traditionally, ecologists considered this short-term constancy to reflect a “balance of nature,” which was viewed akin to the simple homeostatic dynamics of physiological systems. This is an appealing perspective because the disruption of the system's “balance” (i.e., its ”health“) can be ascertained by comparing the system's current state after the imposition of a perturbation with the societally desired state (i.e., baseline). Recently, ecologists have started to develop a much more complex, and perhaps more realistic, perspective regarding ecosystem dynamics, which does not depend upon homeostasis with a single baseline state. This new view includes stochastic variation, nonlinear dynamics and alternative states, and poses a challenge for assessing environmental “health” and the risk of creating “unhealthy” ecological systems     

First Direct Evidence of Chalcolithic Footwear from the Near Eastern Highlands

In 2008, a well preserved and complete shoe was recovered at the base of a Chalcolithic pit in the cave of Areni-1, Armenia. Here, we discuss the chronology of this find, its archaeological context and its relevance to the study of the evolution of footwear. Two leather samples and one grass sample from the shoe were dated at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). A third leather sample was dated at the University of California-Irvine Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility (UCIAMS). The R_Combine function for the three leather samples provides a date range of 3627–3377 Cal BC (95.4% confidence interval) and the calibrated range for the straw is contemporaneous (3627–3377 Cal BC). The shoe was stuffed with loose, unfastened grass (Poaceae) without clear orientation which was more than likely used to maintain the shape of the shoe and/or prepare it for storage. The shoe is 24.5 cm long (European size 37), 7.6 to 10 cm wide, and was made from a single piece of leather that wrapped around the foot. It was worn and shaped to the wearer''s right foot, particularly around the heel and hallux where the highest pressure is exerted in normal gait. The Chalcolithic shoe provides solid evidence for the use of footwear among Old World populations at least since the Chalcolithic. Other 4^th millennium discoveries of shoes (Italian and Swiss Alps), and sandals (Southern Israel) indicate that more than one type of footwear existed during the 4^th millennium BC, and that we should expect to discover more regional variations in the manufacturing and style of shoes where preservation conditions permit.     

华东地区五种香茶菜药理比较及其资源保护

采用斯氏蛙心灌流法,分别测定了香茶菜属(Isodon)五种植物不同器官的水、酊剂对离体蛙心的作用.结果表明:线纹香茶菜(Isodon lophanthoides)叶的水提取物对蛙心正向肌力的作用效果最明显,大萼香茶菜(Isodon macrocalyx)叶的水剂对蛙心反向肌力作用最明显,与对照品比照:多种香茶菜植物之根的水提取物均表现有降血压作用;五种香茶菜植物之酊剂提取物均表现出一致的反向肌力作用,与对照品比照:各器官组织之酊剂提取物同时表现有降血压作用,提示五种香茶菜植物之酊剂型作为降血压药物有良好的开发前途,也说明了香茶菜野生资源巨大的可利用价值.给出了香茶菜资源开发利用的许多方案及香茶菜野生药源保护的两套可行性方案,指明了该综合性比较药理实验对我国野生药材资源的可持续发展具有重要而深远的意义.     

湖南淡水虾类两新种(十足目:匙指虾科:米虾属)

报道湖南省淡水匙指虾科米虾属两新种。窄肢米虾Caridina angustipes sp.now.与保靖米虾C.baojingensis Guo,He et Bai,1992近似,但新种额角长,上缘具15-27齿,下缘具3-6齿;雄性第一附肢内肢的内缘平直。棒肢米虾C.clavipes sp.nov.略似窄肢米虾C.angustipes,但目前雄性第一附肢内肢末端尖细,内缘刺少;雄性第二附肢雄附肢短而细,内缘仅具1刺,末端仅具4刺。正模标本保存在上海水产大学,副模标本保存在佛山科学技术学院。     

Ecological Interactions Involving Feral Horses and Predators: Review with Implications for Biodiversity Conservation

For many ecosystems, feral horses are increasingly becoming an important if not dominant component of ungulate biomass and hence influence on community dynamics. Yet we still know little of how horses contribute to key ecological interactions including predator-prey and indirect competitive relationships at a community level. Notably, feral species like horses can exhibit life-history traits that differ from that of native (mainly artiodactyl) herbivore competitors. Artificial selection for traits like increased, early, or extended reproduction that have yet to be reversed by natural selection, coupled with naturally selected differences in anatomy and behavior, in addition to unique management objectives for horses compared to other species, means that the dynamics of feral horse populations are not likely to align with what might be expected of other large herbivores. Unexpected population dynamics and inherent biological asymmetries between native ungulates and feral horses may therefore influence the former via direct competition for shared resources and through enemy-mediated interactions like apparent competition. In several localities feral horses now co-exist with multiple native prey species, some of which are in decline or are species at risk. Compounding risks to native species from direct or indirect competitive exclusion by horses is the unique nature and socio-political context of feral horse management, which tends towards allowing horse populations to be limited largely by natural, density-dependent factors. We summarize the inherent asymmetries between feral horse biology and that of other ungulate prey species with consequences for conservation, focusing on predator-prey and emerging indirect interactions in multi-prey systems, and highlight future directions to address key knowledge gaps in our understanding of how feral horses may now be contributing to the (re)structuring of food webs. Observations of patterns of rapid growth and decline, and associated skews in sex ratios of feral horse populations, indicate a heightened potential for indirect interactions among large ungulate prey species, where there is a prevalence of feral horses as preferred prey, particularly where native prey are declining. In places like western North America, we expect predator-prey interactions involving feral horses to become an increasingly important factor in the conservation of wildlife. This applies not only to economically or culturally important game species but also at-risk species, both predators (e.g., wolves [Canis lupus], grizzly bears [Ursus arctos]) and prey (e.g., woodland caribou [Rangifer tarandus caribou]), necessitating an ecological understanding of the role of horses in natural environments that goes beyond that of population control. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

Elevated co2 has Differential Effects on Five Species of Microalgae from a Subtropical Freshwater Lake: Possible Implications for Phytoplankton Species Composition

Rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are predicted to have a significant impact on global phytoplankton populations. Of particular interest in freshwater systems are those species that produce toxins or impact water quality, though evidence for how these species, and many others, will respond is limited. This study investigated the effects of elevated CO₂ (1,000 ppm) relative to current atmospheric CO₂ partial pressures (400 ppm), on growth, cell size, carbon acquisition, and photophysiology of five freshwater phytoplankton species including a toxic cyanophyte, Raphidiopsis raciborskii, from Lake Wivenhoe, Australia. Effects of elevated CO₂ on growth rate varied between species; notably growth rate was considerably higher for Staurastrum sp. and significantly lower for Stichococcus sp. with a trend to lower growth rate for R. raciborskii. Surface area to volume ratio was significantly lower with elevated CO₂, for all species except Cyclotella sp. Timing of maximum cell concentrations of those genera studied in monoculture occurred in the lake in order of CO₂ affinity when free CO₂ concentrations dropped below air equilibrium. The results presented here suggest that as atmospheric levels of CO₂ rise, R. raciborskii may become less of a problem to water quality, while some species of chlorophytes may become more dominant. This has implications for stakeholders of many freshwater systems.     

鄂东大别山国家重点保护野生植物优先保护定量研究

在野外调查的基础上,运用濒危系数、遗传价值系数和物种价值系数对鄂东大别山18种国家重点保护野生植物的优先保护顺序进行定量分析。结果表明属一级保护的有银杏、南方红豆杉、大别山五针松、金钱松、巴山榧树、连香树和楠木共7种,占38.9%;属二级保护的有秤锤树、喜树、香果树、鹅掌楸和川黄檗共5种,占27.8%;属三级保护的有厚朴、凹叶厚朴和榉树3种,占16.7%;属四级保护的有樟树、野大豆和金荞麦共3种,占16.7%。并提出了加强国家重点保护野生植物的保护措施。     

Morphology,Ontogeny, and Molecular Phylogeny of Two Freshwater Species of Deviata (Ciliophora,Hypotrichia) from Southern China

The morphology and partial morphogenesis of two freshwater hypotrichous ciliates, Deviata brasiliensis Siqueira‐Castro et al., 2009 and Deviata rositae Küppers et al., 2007, isolated from southern China, were investigated using live observation and protargol staining. Our populations resemble the original ones in terms of their live characters and ciliary patterns. The main determinable morphogenetic features of D. brasiliensis basically correspond with those of the type population. However, the origin of anlage V for either proter or opisthe is ambiguous: whether anlage V for the proter originates from parental frontoventral row 2 (the same as in the original population) or parental frontoventral row 3 (the same as in Deviata abbrevescens) or even de novo is not clear; the anlage V for the opisthe is possibly derived from frontoventral row 3 and further migrates to frontoventral row 2, like that in D. abbrevescens. In addition, the SSU rRNA gene was first sequenced for both species. Molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that the genus Deviata is non‐monophyletic and has a close relationship with Perisincirra paucicirrata.     

Identification of Aeromonas Species Isolated from Freshwater Fish with the Microplate Hybridization Method

Aeromonas isolates were obtained from the intestinal tracts of six species of cultured freshwater fish and identified on the basis of their genotypic and phenotypic characters. The microplate hybridization method could differentiate type strains of Aeromonas species and related bacteria. DNA-DNA hybridization analysis showed that 65 aeromonad isolates were 72 to 100% related with either Aeromonas caviae, Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas jandaei, Aeromonas sobria, or Aeromonas veronii. As many as 48% of the genotypically identified A. caviae, A. hydrophila, and A. sobria isolates differed from the type strains of corresponding species in one to three phenotypic characters. These results strongly suggest that not all aeromonad isolates from freshwater fish could be identified correctly on the basis of only the phenotypic characters, indicating the usefulness of the microplate hybridization method for the identification of aeromonads.     

新疆东天山微孢衣属地衣2个中国新记录种

对采自新疆东天山米泉林场的地衣鉴定分析,发现2个中国新记录种,即散点微孢衣(Acarospora dispersa H.Magn.)和暗灰微孢衣(A.obnubila H.Magn.)。根据研究标本描述了2个新记录种的形态解剖、化学特征和生境,并提供了相关形态学及解剖学彩色图片。标本保存于新疆大学西北干旱地衣研究中心的标本室(XJUNALH)。     

Genome Sequences of Two Freshwater Betaproteobacterial Isolates,Limnohabitans Species Strains Rim28 and Rim47, Indicate Their Capabilities as Both Photoautotrophs and Ammonia Oxidizers

Betaproteobacterial genus Limnohabitans represents an important part of freshwater bacterioplankton. Here, we report genome sequences of two Limnohabitans isolates, Rim28 and Rim47. They contain a complete photosynthesis gene cluster, RuBisCO, CO dehydrogenase, ammonia monooxygenase, and sulfur-oxidizing genes, which indicates a great metabolic versatility of the Limnohabitans species.