The latest Ordovician Hirnantia Fauna (Brachiopoda) in time and space

The diachronous temporal and spatial distribution of the Hirnantia brachiopod fauna and the complicated pattern of terminal Ordovician events are documented through biostratigraphical analysis of the Ordovician-Silurian boundary strata in S China, Sibumasu, Xizang and elsewhere. The duration of these events (longer than the half Myr derived from isotopic excursions) indicates that they were not abrupt and instantaneous. The presence of some core taxa of the Hirnantia fauna in the upper P. pacificus Biozone (known from their earliest occurrence in China) signals the start of increased water ventilation due to the invasion of cool water across the Yangtze Basin. Low- and higher-diversity Hirnantia faunas related to onshore, shallow-water and to offshore, deeper-water environments, respectively, developed first in the basal and upper N. extraordinarius-N. ojsuensis Biozone. Disappearance of most of the fauna in the early N. persculptus Biozone suggests that the glacial maximum started to decline. The presence of the Hirnantia fauna in the upper N. persculptus to the lower P. acuminatus biozones indicates the continuation of cool water environments in some places. The diachronous disappearance of deteriorating environments (earlier in later Hirnantian and finally in the early Rhuddanian) is associated with geographical heterogeneity. Occurrences of atrypids, pentamerids and spiriferids along with key elements of the Hirnantia fauna in N Guizhou provide a link between the Late Ordovician radiation and Early Silurian recovery of these major brachiopod groups.     

Evolutionary and biogeographical shifts in response to the Late Ordovician mass extinction

The Late Ordovician mass extinction was an interval of high extinction with inferred low ecological selectivity, resulting in little change in community structure after the event. In contrast, the mass extinction may have fundamentally changed evolutionary dynamics in the surviving groups. We investigated the phylogenetic relationships among strophomenoid brachiopods, a diverse brachiopod superfamily that was a primary component of Ordovician ecosystems. Four Ordovician families/subfamilies sampled in the analysis (Rafinesquinidae, Strophomeninae, Glyptomenidae and Furcitellinae) were reconstructed as monophyletic groups, and the base of the strophomenoid clade that dominated the Silurian recovery was reconstructed as diversifying alongside these families during the Middle Ordovician. We time‐calibrated the phylogeny and used geographical occurrences to investigate biogeographical changes in the strophomenoids through time with the R package BiogeoBEARS . Our results indicate that extinction was higher in taxa whose ranges were constrained to tropical or subtropical regions. Furthermore, our results suggest important shifts in the diversification patterns of these brachiopods after the mass extinction. While most of the strophomenoid families survived the Late Ordovician event, ecologically abundant taxonomic groups during the Ordovician were either driven to extinction, reduced in diversity, or slowly died off during the Silurian. The new abundant strophomenoid taxa derived from one clade (consisting of Silurian–Devonian groups such as Douvillinidae, Strophodontidae and Amphistrophiidae) that diversified during the post‐extinction radiation. Our results suggest the selective diversification during the Silurian radiation, rather than selective extinction in the Late Ordovician, had a greater impact on the evolutionary history of strophomenoid brachiopods.     

The influence of denitrifying seawater on graptolite extinction and diversification during the Hirnantian (latest Ordovician) mass extinction event

A continuous trench exposure within the uppermost type Vinini Formation at Vinini Creek, Roberts Mountains, Nevada, provides an unparalleled opportunity to examine the fate of graptolites, prominent Paleozoic zooplankton, during most of the Hirnantian mass extinction event. On the basis of a detailed biostratigraphic and sedimentological dataset, the relatively complete extinction record is examined in the context of ecological constraints, and it is found to reflect an ecological collapse driven by glacio-eustatic sea-level fall and associated changes in oceanic circulation. Diverse graptolite populations of the Dicranograptidae-Diplograptidae-Orthograptidae (DDO) fauna, which flourished in denitrifying waters within the oceanic oxygen-minimum zone (OMZ) during sea-level highstand, largely vanished with the loss of these conditions during glacio-eustatic sea-level fall. However, populations of one clade, the normalograptids, which inhabited the oxygenated waters of the photic zone, not only survived but diversified. These survivors gave rise to rapid recolonization and diversification with re-establishment of the oxygen-minimum and denitrifying conditions during post-Hirnantian sea-level rise. This ecological model also applies globally to other well-documented coeval stratigraphic intervals, representing both oceanic and platform sea settings.     

Earliest ontogeny of Middle Ordovician rhynchonelliform brachiopods (Clitambonitoidea and Polytoechioidea): implications for brachiopod phylogeny

New data on the earliest ontogeny of Mid-Ordovician Baltoscandian clitambonitoid ( Apomatella , Neumania and Oslogonites ) and polytoechioid ( Antigonambonites and Raunites ) brachiopods reveal significant differences in the life history of the taxa belonging to these two superfamilies. The Polytoechioidea and probably other members of the Billingsellida had planktotrophic larvae, in which the dorsal and ventral mantle lobes formed separately and without reversion. The 'pedicle sheath' in Antigonambonites is secreted by a section of modified ventral mantle and thus this 'pedicle' is not homologous within the pedicle of rhynchonellate brachiopods. It is likely that polytoechioids and other members of the strophomenate clade had the same type of ontogeny and mode of attachment. In contrast, the ontogeny and mode of attachment of clitambonitoids are similar to that of recent rhynchonellates: their mantle lobes and both valves formed simultaneously, and the pedicle most likely formed from the larval pedicle lobe. Evidence for the lecithotrophic nature of clitambonitoid larva is discussed. This confirms that the Clitambonitoidea, unlike the Polytoechioidea, represents an ingroup within the Rhynchonellata.     

广西马平灰岩腕足动物群的时代问题--兼评"Fauna of the Maping Limestone of Kwangsi and Kweichow"

ｒａｂａｕ（１９３６）记述的马平动物群中所有的腕足类化石标本并不是产于真正的马平（灰岩）组,而是产自有关地区下石炭统最上部的罗城组和上石炭统下部的黄龙组下部,时代为Ｓｅｒｐｏｕｋｈｏｖｉａｎ－Ｂａｓｈｋｉｌｉａｎ期,而不是Ｕｒａｌｉａｎ期     

From a civil engineering project to an ecological engineering project: An historical perspective from the Mont Saint Michel bay (France)

Because of an excess of sedimentation due to natural and anthropogenic causes, the Mont Saint Michel (France) is becoming less frequently surrounded by seawater during high tide events. This prestigious monument and its bay have both been recognized by multiple national and international institutions for cultural and ecological richness. Diverse human activities such as tourism, fisheries, and farming also occupy the Mont Saint Michel Bay. The French government has been faced with a challenge of preserving the integrity of the bay, while restoring the ‘insularity’ of what used to be an island, the Mont Saint Michel. The objective of this paper is primarily to demonstrate how environmental scientists and ecologists influenced a typical civil engineering project and modified it into a civil/ecological engineering project, more respectful of both environment and human interests. To achieve this objective, we first retrace the formation of the Mont Saint Michel Bay, under both geological and historical perspectives, to provide the necessary background for the understanding of the actual restoration project. Some of the first projects that were proposed were designed to destroy the area of salt marshes that surrounded the Mont Saint Michel, with no consideration for the ecological integrity of the site. We conclude by presenting the current project in which France will invest over 130 million USD in the next few years. If this final project cannot be recognized truly as an ecological engineering project, it has the merit of being a compromise between various partnerships which have been debating for more than a century.     

Astogenetic aspects of the dendroid graptolite Airograptus (Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician) and their phylogenetic implications

Based on a Backscatter Electron (BSE) examination of partially 3-dimensional graptolite specimens of Airograptus from the Tremadocian (Early Ordovician) Yehli Formation at Dayangcha, Baishan of Jilin Province, NE China, the thecal structure and astogenetic aspects of this genus (except for the missing proximal part) are described and illustrated in detail. In the present collection, no furcating but only peltate thecal apertural processes are confirmed. A comparison between the presumably benthic dendroid Airograptus and Rhabdinopora, the earliest planktonic graptolite, indicates that there are remarkable similarities in astogenetic aspects between them, although there are also differences in the development of dissepiments and thecal apertural processes. A possible ancestor-descendent relationship between the two genera is herein proposed.     

A Wuchiapingian (Late Permian) brachiopod fauna from an exotic block in the Indus–Tsangpo suture zone, southern Tibet, and its palaeobiogeographical and tectonic implications

A brachiopod fauna including 19 species of 17 genera from an exotic block in the Indus–Tsangpo suture zone in southern Tibet is described and illustrated. The brachiopod fauna is dominated by Martinia elegans and two new taxa: Jinomarginifera lhazeensis gen. et sp. nov. and Zhejiangospirifer giganteus sp. nov. The fauna is closely comparable with those from the middle and upper parts of the Wargal Formation and the Chhidru Formation in the Salt Range of Pakistan, the Chitichun Limestone in southern Tibet, and the Basleo area of West Timor, and these correlations suggest a Wuchiapingian age. The fauna exhibits substantial links with both peri–Gondwanan and Cathaysian faunas, which may imply that it is a seamount biota originally located in the southern margin of the Neotethys during the Late Permian, and was later (in the early Cenozoic) displaced and became sandwiched into younger marine deposits in the collision process between India and Eurasia.     

Cincinnetina,a new Late Ordovician dalmanellid brachiopod from the Cincinnati type area,USA: implications for the evolution and palaeogeography of the epicontinental fauna of Laurentia

Abstract: The most common forms of Late Ordovician dalmanellid brachiopods from the Cincinnatian type area, previously treated as either Dalmanella or Onniella, are assigned to Cincinnetina gen. nov. The new genus differs from Dalmanella and Onniella in having a consistently developed primary medial costa in the dorsal valve, a larger cardinal process that tends to develop a trilobed myophore, strongly differentiated fine and coarse punctae, and sparse aditicules. Cincinnetina can be distinguished from the closely related Paucicrura and Diceromyonia in its smaller trilobed cardinal process (when developed) that does not have a dominant medial lobe and does not extend into the delthyrial cavity of the ventral valve. Globally, Dalmanella and Onniella occur most commonly in deposits of relatively deep‐ or cool‐water palaeoecological settings, whereas in North America, Cincinnetina, Paucicrura and Diceromyonia are found mainly in carbonate‐rich deposits in warm‐water depositional environments, with Cincinnetina and Paucicrura most common in pericratonic settings and Diceromyonia in palaeoequatorial inland seas.     

Performance of the Phytoplankton Index for Lakes (IPLAC): A multimetric phytoplankton index to assess the ecological status of water bodies in France

A new phytoplankton-based index was designed to respond to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements concerning the assessment of lake ecological status. The “Indice Phytoplancton Lacustre” (IPLAC) is a multimetric index, taking into account biomass, abundance and species composition of communities. The first metric is based on the total phytoplankton biomass (MBA), the second on the abundance and taxonomic composition (MCS) of 165 indicator taxa. The IPLAC was developed on 2 independent databases, one for the calibration and the second for the validation of the metrics. The calibration dataset was composed of 255 “lake-years” from 214 distinct lakes sampled between 2005 and 2012. The validation dataset included 173 lake-years in order to confirm the response of the index to the trophic gradient and anthropogenic pressure.The results show that the IPLAC correctly highlights chemical pressure (eutrophication). Especially high Pearson correlations are shown with total phosphorus (r = −0.71, p-value <0.001), chlorophyll-a (r = −0.83, p-value <0.001) and water transparency (r = 0.73, p-value <0.001) which are the main proxies for the trophic level. Corine land cover was used as an indication of the anthropogenic pressure and good correlations are also found with the watershed land use, negatively correlated with agricultural area (r = −0.60, p-value <0.001), population density (r = −0.36, p-value <0.001) and positively with forest area (r = 0.57, p-value <0.001).The index is WFD-compliant and is dedicated to natural lakes and artificial water bodies in metropolitan France, and will be routinely used by the French Ministry of the Environment to assess lake ecological status through the phytoplankton community. However, the results must be carefully interpreted in two cases: reservoirs with large water level fluctuations, and samples that include less than 5 indicator species.     

Biofilm growth kinetics and nutrient (N/P) adsorption in an urban lake using reclaimed water: A quantitative baseline for ecological health assessment

Reclaimed wastewater reuse represents an effective method for partial resolution of increasing urban water shortages; however, reclaimed water may be characterized by significant contaminant loading, potentially affecting receiving ecosystem (and potentially human) health. The current study examined biofilm growth and nutrient adsorption in Olympic Lake (Beijing), the largest artificial urban lake in the world supplied exclusively by reclaimed wastewater. Findings indicate that solid particulate, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and metal oxide (Al, Fe, Mn) constituent masses adhere to a bacterial growth curve during biofilm formation and growth. Peak values were observed after ≈30 days, arrived at dynamic stability after ≈50 days and were affected by growth matrix surface roughness. These findings may be used to inform biofilm cultivation times for future biomonitoring. Increased growth matrix surface roughness (10.0 μm) was associated with more rapid biofilm growth and therefore an increased sensitivity to ecological variation in reclaimed water. Reclaimed water was found to significantly inhibit biofilm nutrient adsorption when compared with a “natural water” background, with elevated levels of metal oxides (Al, Fe, and Mn) and EPS representing the key substances actively influencing biofilm nutrient adsorption in reclaimed water. Results from the current study may be used to provide a quantitative baseline for future studies seeking to assess ecosystem health via monitoring of biofilms in the presence of reclaimed water through an improved quantitative understanding of biofilm kinetics in these conditions.     

大水体生态工程技术及绿萍的养用效果

大水体生态工程技术是综合协调水面、水下、水中、空间的生态与生产各要素的相互关系,实行立体结构、优化组合的“萍-鸡-鱼”三业物质生产、循环利用的整体配套技术。生产应用表明,在水面上,采用生产绿萍的“浮盘”工艺,及筛选出适于饲用的良种,并提供新的栽培技术,绿萍产量高达495—547t·ha~(-1)·年~(-1);在水下2.5m深处,开展网箱养吃食性鱼,可提高饲料效价,增加鱼产量37.5—117.6％;在水中,放养滤食性鱼,利用网箱的鱼粪排出为饵料,水中鱼类增产4.29倍;在网箱上空间,设计出禽舍养鸡的工艺,用绿萍饲鸡,可增产2.5—7.5％和节省精料10—20％;再用鸡粪养绿萍和鱼等。形成节地、节粮、节肥、节能、节工的开发大水体生产的新型产业。     

New crinoids from the Baltic region (Estonia): fossil tip‐dating phylogenetics constrains the origin and Ordovician–Silurian diversification of the Flexibilia (Echinodermata)

This study documents previously unknown taxonomic and morphological diversity among early Palaeozoic crinoids. Based on highly complete, well preserved crown material, we describe two new genera from the Ordovician and Silurian of the Baltic region (Estonia) that provide insight into two major features of the geological history of crinoids: the early evolution of the flexible clade during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE), and their diversification history surrounding the end‐Ordovician mass extinction. The unexpected occurrence of a highly derived sagenocrinid, Tintinnabulicrinus estoniensis gen. et. sp. nov., from Upper Ordovician (lower Katian) rocks of the Baltic palaeocontinent provides high‐resolution temporal, taxonomic and palaeobiogeographical constraints on the origin and early evolution of the Flexibilia. The Silurian (lower Rhuddanian, Llandovery) Paerticrinus arvosus gen. et sp. nov. is the oldest known Silurian crinoid from Baltica and thus provides the earliest Baltic record of crinoids following the aftermath of the end‐Ordovician mass extinction. A Bayesian ‘fossil tip‐dating’ analysis implementing the fossilized birth–death process and a relaxed morphological clock model suggests that flexibles evolved c. 3 million years prior to their oldest fossil record, potentially involving an ancestor–descendant relationship (via ‘budding’ cladogenesis or anagenesis) with the paraphyletic cladid Cupulocrinus. The sagenocrinid subclade rapidly diverged from ‘taxocrinid’ grade crinoids during the final stages of the GOBE, culminating in maximal diversity among Ordovician crinoid faunas on a global scale. Remarkably, diversification patterns indicate little taxonomic turnover among flexibles across the Late Ordovician mass extinction. However, the elimination of closely related clades may have helped pave the way for their subsequent Silurian diversification and increased ecological role in post‐Ordovician Palaeozoic marine communities. This study highlights the significance of studies reporting faunas from undersampled palaeogeographical regions for clade‐based phylogenetic studies and improving estimates of global biodiversity through geological time.     

生态学理论在发展生态工业园中的应用研究--以朔州生态工业园为实例

运用生态学理论—关键种、食物链及食物网、生态位、生态系统多样性及生态系统耐受性理论 ,以朔州生态工业园为实例 ,对生态工业园中如何构筑企业共生体、构筑生态产业链、提高企业的竞争能力、工业生态系统的稳定性和规划的合理性进行了分析研究 ,为发展生态工业园提供了基本方法     

Egg cases of the genus Apristurus (Chondrichthyes: Scyliorhinidae): phylogenetic and ecological implications

The genus Apristurus has been divided formerly into three species subgroups based on morphological and molecular phylogenies. Previous studies have agreed on the separation into distinct species groups, the largest two of which have been described as the brunneus and spongiceps groups. An examination of the egg cases produced by these oviparous catsharks corroborates the distinction in species groups: egg cases of the brunneus group have long fibrous and curly tendrils at either end, whereas egg cases of the spongiceps group lack tendrils. The egg cases of A. kampae, A. manis, A. spongiceps and Apristurus sp. D are described for the first time, and the egg cases of A. brunneus and A. riveri are re-described to include comparable morphological characteristics. The ecological implications of egg case morphology on oviposition and ventilation are also discussed.     

The postcranial anatomy of Coloradisaurus brevis (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of Argentina and its phylogenetic implications

Abstract: Basal sauropodomorphs from the Upper Triassic Los Colorados Formation of north‐western Argentina have been known for several decades but most of them are only briefly described. New postrcanial remains of Coloradisaurus brevis, the most gracile sauropodomorph from this unit, are described here and evaluated within a phylogenetic context. These materials belong to a single individual and include elements of the vertebral column, pectoral girdle, incomplete forelimb, pelvis and hindlimb. These elements share an autapomorphic feature with the type specimen of Coloradisaurus brevis and provide novel and unique features that diagnose this taxon, such as pubic apron with semicircular cross‐section and with a depression on its anterior surface, distal surface of the tibia deflected and facing posterodistally and well‐developed pyramidal dorsal process of the posteromedial corner of the astragalus. Several postcranial characters of Coloradisaurus are exclusively shared with Lufengosaurus, from the Lower Jurassic of China. The inclusion of this information in two recent phylogenetic data sets depicts Coloradisaurus as closely related to Lufengosaurus and well nested within Plateosauria. Both data sets used indicate strong character support for the inclusion of Coloradisaurus and Lufengosaurus within Massospondylidae.     

Odense Pilot River Basin: implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive in a shallow eutrophic estuary (Odense Fjord,Denmark) and its upstream catchment

Implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a huge environmental management challenge for Europe, demanding an integrated sustainable approach to water management and a common objective of obtaining ‘good status’ for all water bodies before 2015. The main task is the preparation of a river basin management plan for each of the 96 European river basin districts before the end of 2009. In Odense River Basin (island of Fyn, Denmark), one of 14 appointed European Pilot River Basins, the implementation of the WFD has been developed and tested in practice. Reference conditions and ecological status classification for Odense Fjord, based on eelgrass (Zostera marina) depth limit and nutrient concentrations, have been drawn up through a combination of historical data and modelling tools. A subsequent quantitative linking of pressures and impact, in casu between land-based nitrogen (N) loading of the fjord and resulting nutrient concentrations and eelgrass appearance, provided an estimate of the needed nitrogen load reduction of the fjord. This amounted to approx. 1,200 tonnes N per year (an annual load reduction of ca. 11 kg N ha^?1 of catchment area or ca. 19.5 g N m^?2 of fjord surface)—a load reduction of ca. 60% from the present level—to obtain at least ‘good’ ecological status sensu WFD. It is presently not possible to quantify a target load for phosphorus (P) in relation to marine environmental objectives. An economically feasible programme of measures to obtain ‘good’ status in all surface water and groundwater bodies in Odense River Basin, using an integrated cost-effectiveness analysis, showed that re-establishment of wetlands, catchcrops, and reduced fertilisation norms are the most effective measures if large reductions in N loads to the aquatic environment are to be achieved. The total socio-economic cost of implementing the WFD in the river basin amounts to about 13 million €/year, which will increase the expense for water services by only 0.5–0.6% of the total income and production value in the basin (15,650 million €/year). Investments to obtain the needed nitrogen load reductions from agriculture are thus economically feasible. Further, it is not an impossible task, either economically or technically, to reach the objectives of the WFD while still retaining the possibility of keeping a high agricultural production in the catchment (maintaining livestock production but decreasing crop production in the case of Odense River Basin). The future conditions in Odense Fjord will not only depend on the success in reducing the load from the river basin area, but will also be affected by the trend in the nutrient loss from the whole Baltic catchment area. The high growth rates in the new EU Member States thus pose an important challenge to water managers, and decoupling of economic growth from pressure on water bodies will be necessary. Finally, a number of challenges facing water managers around the Baltic and within the EU, namely preconditions required to successfully implement the WFD, are presented.     

Taxonomy and ecological niche modeling: Implications for the conservation of wood partridges (genus Dendrortyx)

Ecological niche models (ENMs) have a wide range of biological applications, particularly in conservation. To build these models, two sources of information are needed: occurrence records for the species of interest and environmental variables. However, taxonomic limits are often unclear, and the selection of occurrence data depends on the species concept being used. In this study we generated ENMs based on different taxonomic levels within the Dendrortyx group, which is comprised of three species and several subspecies; we analyzed the geographic and ecological distribution patterns and discuss the implications for the biogeography and conservation of this group. Our results suggest that the area with suitable climate depends on the taxonomic category used in the model, which in turn affects the interpretation of the importance of different biogeographic barriers and introduces variation into the potential differentiation of Dendrortyx. In terms of conservation, Dendrortyx macroura and Dendrortyx leucophrys are in a low risk category, that of “least concern,” although they may be amended to a higher category when their allopatric lineages are considered as the units for modeling. We suggest carrying out an a priori taxonomic analysis to facilitate the empirical identification of the units to be modeled in order to allow for a better ecological and biogeographic interpretation and more sound conservation policies.