A new interstitial cyclopoid copepod from a sandy beach on the western shore of Lake Baikal,Siberia

A new species of cyclopoid copepod, Diacyclops biceri sp. nov., is described from Lake Baikal. It was found in the interstitial water of a sandy beach at Buchta Peschanaya on the western shore of the central basin of Baikal. The new species is unique in possessing 2-segmented endopods in swimming legs 3 and 4. Swimming legs 2 to 4 have 3-segmented exopods. The slender body form, the lack of the antennal exopodal seta, and the presence of a secondary pseudosomite anterior to the genital double somite of the adult female are interpreted as adaptations to the interstitial habitat. The harpacticoid Epactophanes richardi Mrazek was found in the same interstitial habitat as D. biceri.     

青海湖地区芨芨草草地土壤种子库的初步研究

选择青海湖地区的次生芨芨草草地为研究对象,以围栏内封育和围栏外自由放牧的草地做对照,研究了围栏内外土壤种子库的萌发状况、密度和数量、物种多样性,以及土壤种子库与地上植被的关系。结果表明,围栏内外土壤种子库的萌发趋势非常相似,但是萌发种子累计数量不同;围栏内外土壤种子库中萌发种子的平均密度分别为3660和2460粒·m-2,围栏内萌发种子数比围栏外提高了48.8%;围栏内外土壤种子库的物种多样性指数差异较大,围栏内外丰富度指数R1分别为17和13,R2为3.693和2.832,丰富度围栏内大于围栏外,多样性指数和丰富度指数具有相同的规律,均匀度指数围栏内外分别为0.812和0.857,则是围栏外大于围栏内。围栏内外地上植被群落组成存在显著差异,围栏内的封育草地的物种丰富度和多样性指数均大于围栏外的放牧草地,而均匀度指数则呈相反趋势。     

Structure of plant communities and cenopopulations of Astragalus serioceocanus Gontsch. on the shore of Lake Baikal

Plant communities with Astragalus sericeocanus have been studied. Data on the ontogenetic structure and quantity of cenopopulations, as well as the seed productivity of their individuals, are given. It has been revealed that the habitats on the northern shore of Lake Baikal are characterized by high phytocoenotic diversity with the dominance and codominance of A. sericeocanus. The state of cenopopulations and parameters of seed productivity indicate that the northern habitats of Lake Baikal have more favorable conditions due to the optimal climatic characteristics for the growth and development of the species.     

松嫩平原西部草甸草原典型植物群落土壤呼吸动态及影响因素

以松嫩平原西部草甸草原中典型植物虎尾草、碱茅、芦苇和羊草群落为对象,分析了4种植被群落土壤呼吸速率日动态和季节动态及其影响因素,以及土壤盐碱度与土壤呼吸碳排放量的关系.结果表明： 4种植物群落的土壤呼吸速率日变化均呈明显的单峰曲线,峰值出现在11:00-15:00,而谷值大多出现在21:00-1:00或3:00-5:00;4种植被群落土壤呼吸速率的季节变化趋势一致,7、8月的土壤呼吸速率(3.21~4.84 μmol CO₂·m^-2·s^-1)最高,10月最低(0.46~1.51 μmol CO₂·m^-2·s^-1);各群落土壤呼吸速率与土壤和近地表大气温度之间呈极显著相关关系,其中,虎尾草群落的土壤呼吸速率与土壤表层含水量极显著相关,芦苇和羊草群落土壤呼吸速率与近地表的相对湿度显著相关.土壤盐分含量明显抑制了土壤CO₂排放量,土壤pH、电导率和土壤交换性钠可以解释该草甸草原土壤呼吸空间变异的87%～91%.     

Late Holocene vegetation history suggests natural origin of steppes in the northern Mongolian mountain taiga

Insular occurrences of steppe vegetation are a common feature of the northern Mongolian mountain taiga. Steppe vegetation is limited here to southern slopes, whereas northern slopes and valley bottoms are principally wooded with light and dark taiga forests. In a case study in the valley of the river Eroo at Khonin Nuga Research Station in the western Khentey Mountains, we searched for evidence of an anthropogenic versus natural origin of steppe vegetation on the southern slopes. Pollen data of three profiles covering the last 2500 years showed continuous presence of steppe throughout the late Holocene with human influence restricted to the recent past. Virtual absence of charcoal in the soil on and beneath three steppe slopes suggested that the present steppe grasslands are not replacing former forests burnt by humans or lightning. The floodplains in the center of the Eroo valley were recently deforested. This is suggested by the pollen analysis and by interviews with local people on landuse history. Steppe grasslands of the study area have probably never been used as pastures. Pastoral nomads traditionally avoided the Eroo valley near Khonin Nuga because of difficult access and high densities of wolves and bears. All our data suggest that the present vegetation pattern of the western Khentey with steppes (and single small Ulmus pumila trees) on south-facing slopes occurring as islands in the mountain taiga is driven by climate and relief and is not the result of human activities as suggested for other regions of Asia.     

Microbial Biodiversity in the Water of Lake Baikal

An investigation of the microbial community of Lake Baikal by the methods of general and molecular microbiology showed that culturable bacterial strains are represented by various known genera. The lake water contains a great number of bacterial morphotypes, as revealed by electron microscopy, and a great diversity of nonculturable microorganisms belonging to different phylogenetic groups, as revealed by 16S rRNA gene fragment sequencing. The inference is made that the microbial community of Lake Baikal contains not only known species but also new bacterial species that are possibly endemic to the lake.     

Molecular phylogeny of the freshwater sponges in Lake Baikal

The phylogenetic relationship of the freshwater sponges (Porifera) in Lake Baikal is not well understood. A polyphyletic and/or monophyletic origin have been proposed. The (endemic) Baikalian sponges have been subdivided into two families: endemic Lubomirskiidae and cosmopolitan Spongillidae. In the present study, two new approaches have been made to resolve the phylogenetic relationship of Baikalian sponges; analysis of (1) nucleotide sequences from one mitochondrial gene, the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and of (2) one selected intron from the tubulin gene. Specimens from the following endemic Baikalian sponge species have been studied; Lubomirskia baicalensis , Baikalospongia intermedia, Baikalospongia recta , Baikalospongia bacillifera and Swartschewskia papyracea . They are all grouped to the family of Lubomirskiidae. Sequence comparisons were performed with the ubiquitously distributed freshwater sponge Spongilla lacustris (family Spongillidae) as well as with one marine sponge, Suberites domuncula . A sequence comparison * * The sequences reported here are being deposited in the EMBL data base. of the mitochondrial COI gene revealed a monophyletic grouping of the endemic Baikalian sponges with S. lacustris as the most related species to the common ancestor. The sequences of the COI gene from B. recta , B. intermedia , B. bacillifera and L. baicalensis were found to be identical and separated from those of S. lacustris and S. papyracea . In a second approach, the exon/intron sequences framing the intron‐2 of the sponge tubulin gene were chosen for the phylogenetic analysis. The intron sequences were aligned and used for construction of a phylogenetic tree. This analysis revealed again a monophyletic grouping with S. lacustris as the closest related species to the common ancestor. It is concluded that the Baikalian sponges, which have been studied here, are of monophyletic origin. Furthermore, the data suggest that the endemic species S. papyracea is the phylogenetically oldest, extant, endemic Baikalian sponge species.     

Microorganisms in the Sediments of Lake Baikal,the Deepest and Oldest Lake in the World

Microbiology - The review summarizes the results of recent studies of microbial communities of the Lake Baikal sediments obtained using diverse techniques. In the sediments of the areas of stable...     

Range-habitat relationships of vascular plant species at the taiga forest-steppe borderline in the western Khentey Mountains,northern Mongolia

World distribution of 488 out of 619 vascular plant species known from an area of 500 km² within the western Khentey Mountains, northern Mongolia is analyzed. Most species belong to Eastern Asian (29%) or Asian, Eurasian, or circumpolar temperate species (24%) supporting the classification of the Khentey Mountains as part of the temperate zone of Eurasia. Seventeen percent of species are boreal plants. Circumpolar temperate-boreal (9%), Central (-Eastern) Asian (9%), Continental mountain species (5%), Middle-Central Asian (3%), arctic-alpine (3%) as well as Western Eurasian and western Siberian species are of lower significance for the flora of the western Khentey Mountains. Eastern Asian species occur in all types of habitats, whereas plants of other distribution types are focused on certain habitats. Boreal species preferably grow in the dark taiga, which prevails in the upper montane belt and on northern and eastern slopes of the most humid parts of the lower montane belt. Temperate and temperate-boreal species prefer subtaiga forests, which are found on northern and eastern slopes in drier parts of the lower montane belt as well as in upper parts of sun-exposed, southern and western slopes of the lower montane belt. Central (-Eastern) Asian and Middle-Central Asian species primarily inhabit forest steppe habitats, such as meadow and mountain steppes, Ulmus pumila open woodlands and dry Pinus sylvestris forests on steep, southern slopes.     

The fleas of small mammals in the northern taiga of western Siberia

Data on the species composition of fleas, their abundance and distribution on hosts and on territory are given. Changes in the species composition and abundance of fleas in the latitude and meridional directions are shown.     

Soil respiration associated with plant succession at the meadow steppes in Songnen Plain,Northeast China

Aims Soil CO₂ emission from steppes is affected by soil properties and vegetation in different successional stages. Primary and secondary succession of plants frequently occurred at the meadow steppe in Songnen Plain, Northeast China, which indicates the large uncertainty associated with CO₂ emission in this environment. This study aims to investigate the temporal variations of soil respiration (Rs) and the effect of plant succession on cumulative soil CO₂ emission during the growing season.Methods Using a LI-6400 soil CO₂ flux system, Rs of five vegetation types which represented different stages of plant succession in meadow steppes of Songnen Plain, China, was investigated during the growing seasons of 2011 and 2012.Important findings Soil temperature (Ts) was the dominant controlling factor of Rs, which could explain ~64% of the change in CO₂ fluxes. The Q 10 values of Rs were ranged from 2.0 to 6.7, showing a decreasing trend with the plant successional stages. The cumulative CO₂ emission increased with the degree of vegetation succession and it averaged to 316±6g C m ?2 (ranges: 74.8±6.7 to 516.5±11.4g C m ?2) during the growing season. The magnitude of soil CO₂ emission during the growing season was positively correlated with aboveground plant biomass, soil organic carbon content and mean soil water content, while negatively linked to mean Ts, pH, electrical conductivity and exchangeable sodium percentages. The results implied that soil CO₂ emission increased with the development of plant communities toward more advanced stages. Our findings provided valuable information for understanding the variations of CO₂ emission in the process of vegetation succession.     

红嘴鸥在贝加尔湖的分布和繁殖

在对贝加尔湖地区红嘴鸥Larus ridibundus的数量分布及繁殖习性的现场考察中发现,贝加尔湖及其附近广阔的湿地是红嘴鸥繁殖的理想场所,每年至少有50000对红嘴鸥在当地繁殖;红嘴鸥为半早成鸟;红嘴鸥的筑巢、产卵、孵化是在一定的时间范围内先后不一进行的。这次考察为进一步揭示红嘴鸥的繁殖生态和促进对红嘴鸥及其鸟类的保护提供了一些有益的基础资料。     

Composition of the microbial communities of bituminous constructions at natural oil seeps at the bottom of Lake Baikal

Microbial communities of two bituminous constructions at the bottom of Lake Baikal in the region of natural oil seeps at a depth of 900 m have been investigated. Construction 8 contained biodegraded hydrocarbons, and construction 3, through which oil seeped, contained material that experienced biodegradation to a lesser degree. The composition of the microbial communities was studied by means of pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene fragments. Most of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences identified in both bituminous constructions were attributed to proteobacteria, along with which Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and TM7 were revealed. About 40% of the bacterial sequences in bituminous construction 3 belonged to representatives of uncultured groups within the classes Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria and the phylum Bacteroidetes. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of archaea belonged to aceticlastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogens of the orders Methanosarcinales, Methanomicrobiales, and Methanobacteriales. The 16S rRNA genes of various groups of bacteria carrying out aerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds and n-alkanes were found; their compositions differed between the constructions. Neither known groups of denitrifying betaproteobacteria nor known groups of sulfate-reducing deltaproteobacteria capable of carrying out anaerobic degradation of n-alkanes were found, which agrees with the low content of nitrate and sulfate in the water. In the anaerobic zone of bituminous constructions, the processes of biodegradation of hydrocarbons are probably carried out in the absence of alternative electron acceptors by the syntrophic community, including deltaproteobacteria of the genus Syntrophus and methanogenic archaea.     

Aerobic methanotrophic communities in the bottom sediments of Lake Baikal

The results of the first methodical investigation into the aerobic methanotrophic communities inhabiting the bottom sediments of Lake Baikal are reported. Use of the radioisotopic method revealed methane consumption in 12 10- to 50-cm-long sediment cores. The maximum methane consumption rates (495-737 microl/(dm3 day) were recorded in sediments in the regions of hydrothermal vents and oil and gas occurrence. Methane consumption was most active in the surface layers of the sediments (0-4 cm); it decreased with the sediment depth and became negligible or absent at depths below 20 cm. The number of methanotrophic bacteria usually ranged from 100 to 1000 cells/cm3 of sediment and reached 1 million cells/cm3 in the regions of oil and gas occurrence. The 17 enrichment cultures obtained were represented mainly by morphotype II methanotrophs. Phylogenetic analysis of the enrichment cultures in terms of the amino acid sequence of the alpha subunit of the membrane-bound methane monooxygenase revealed the predominance of methanotrophs of the genus Methylocystis. The results obtained suggest the presence of an active aerobic methanotrophic community in Lake Baikal.     

Aerobic Methanotrophic Communities in the Bottom Sediments of Lake Baikal

The results of the first systematical investigation into the aerobic methanotrophic communities inhabiting the bottom sediments of Lake Baikal have been reported. Use of the radioisotopic method revealed methane consumption in 12 10- to 50-cm-long sediment cores. The maximum methane consumption rates (495–737 µl/(dm³ day) were recorded in sediments in the regions of hydrothermal vents and oil and gas occurrence. Methane consumption was most active in the surface layers of the sediments (0–4 cm); it decreased with the sediment depth and became negligible or absent at depths below 20 cm. The number of methanotrophic bacteria usually ranged from 100 to 1000 cells/cm³ of sediment and reached 1 million cells/cm³ in the regions of oil and gas occurrence. The seventeen enrichment cultures obtained were represented mainly by morphotype II methanotrophs. Phylogenetic analysis of the enrichment cultures in terms of the amino acid sequence of the α subunit of the membrane-bound methane monooxygenase (MMO) revealed the predominance of methanotrophs of the genus Methylocystis. The results obtained suggest the presence of an active aerobic methanotrophic community in Lake Baikal.__________Translated from Mikrobiologiya, Vol. 74, No. 4, 2005, pp. 562–571.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Gainutdinova, Eshinimaev, Tsyrenzhapova, Dagurova, Suzina, Khmelenina, Namsaraev, Trotsenko.     

Finding of the subarctic leeches, Acanthobdella peledina and Cystobranchus mammillatus, in the Lake Baikal basin and the reasons for their absence in Lake Baikal itself]

Acanthobdella peledina was first found in the basin of Lake Baikal on the fluvial form of the Balkal grayling Thymallus arcticus baicalensis and Coregonus lavaretus pidschian from the Upper Angara. Cystobranchus mammillatus, a parasite of burbot, is widely distributed in the tributaries of Baikal. The absence of these subarctic leeches from Baikal itself is explained by their rheophily.