Generic species richness and body mass in North American mammals: Support for the inverse relationship of body size and speciation rate

Generic species richness, the number of species per genus, is examined as a function of mean generic body mass for extant North American mammals. Species richness decreases as an inverse power function with increased mass, and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient of the logio transformed data is significant (r_s= ‐0.37). When the data are partitioned by trophic level, the relationship is not statistically significant for carnivores but strengthens for herbivores (r_s= ‐0.46). This interesting but incidental effect is due to the negligible number of diminutive and excessively large carnivores, which is in turn determined by foraging strategies. Alternate hypotheses for the “right‐skewed”; size distribution of modern North American mammals, such as disproportionate extinction of large species, differential species longevity, and a geographical scaling function, are rejected in favor of the proposition that elevated levels of speciation are restricted to animals of small body mass, as originally proposed by Gould and Eldredge (1977). This phenomenon is explained as a function of habitat restriction and particularly in herbivores, limited home range size. Aquatic mammals, regardless of body size, speciate rarely. Cope's Rule, the tendency of many animal groups to evolve towards large size, is understood as a probabilistic statement reflecting the phylogenetic tendencies of a disproportionately high number of small species alive at any given point in time.     

植物居群的基因流动态及其相关适应进化的研究进展

生物自然居群间的基因流不但可以阻止遗传分化以维持物种的完整性,而且也能积极响应生物多样化的进程。理解与基因流相关的适应性进化及其内在机理将有助于我们更好地认识生物物种形成和多样化的原始动力以及真正原因。该文通过对植物种内和种间居群基因流动态进行讨论,阐述了近年来有关植物基因流动态的一些重要理论观念和研究进展,以期为相关领域动态及趋势研究提供参考。     

Species,speciation and human evolution

Human evolution is considered from the perspective of the recognition concept of species, which views species as an epiphenomenon of shared fertilisation systems in sexually reproducing organisms. It is argued that this concept predicts the controversial pattern of punctuated equilibrium, and offers an understanding of the hominid fossil evidence in line with that pattern. Changes in the nature of the fertilization system in the human lineage over time are discussed in relation to the pattern of morphological continuity between proposed species.     

基于源汇指数的沈阳热岛效应

基于2001和2010年Landsat 遥感影像,利用GIS技术识别沈阳城市热岛源区和汇区,利用地表温度(LST)、源区和汇区面积比率指数（CI）和热岛强度指数（LI）,评价分析了沈阳土地利用发展布局模式对热岛效应的影响.结果表明: 2001-2010年,沈阳三环内土地利用类型变化较大,导致热岛源、汇区面积变化明显,且主要发生在二环和三环.2001年,一环内热岛源、汇区面积比例分别为94.3%和5.7%,三环内分别为64.0%和36.0%;2010年,其比例在一环内分别为93.4%和6.6%,三环内分别为70.2%和29.8%,说明10年来“摊饼式”土地利用布局决定了沈阳热岛效应的“摊饼式”布局.研究期间,沈阳地表温度从一环至三环均呈递减趋势,热岛效应强度在2001年以单一中心为主,至2010年发展为多中心态势,热岛效应强度等级有所降低.从一环至三环,CI绝对值均呈增加趋势,LI值均小于1,说明期间研究区土地利用布局变化对改善区域热岛效应没有明显作用.     

Settling down of seasonal migrants promotes bird diversification

How seasonal migration originated and impacted diversification in birds remains largely unknown. Although migratory behaviour is likely to affect bird diversification, previous studies have not detected any effect. Here, we infer ancestral migratory behaviour and the effect of seasonal migration on speciation and extinction dynamics using a complete bird tree of life. Our analyses infer that sedentary behaviour is ancestral, and that migratory behaviour evolved independently multiple times during the evolutionary history of birds. Speciation of a sedentary species into two sedentary daughter species is more frequent than speciation of a migratory species into two migratory daughter species. However, migratory species often diversify by generating a sedentary daughter species in addition to the ancestral migratory one. This leads to an overall higher migratory speciation rate. Migratory species also experience lower extinction rates. Hence, although migratory species represent a minority (18.5%) of all extant birds, they have a higher net diversification rate than sedentary species. These results suggest that the evolution of seasonal migration in birds has facilitated diversification through the divergence of migratory subpopulations that become sedentary, and illustrate asymmetrical diversification as a mechanism by which diversification rates are decoupled from species richness.     

Santa Rosalia revisited: Why are there so many species of bacteria?

The diversity of bacteria in the world is very poorly known. Usually less than one percent of the bacteria from natural communities can be grown in the laboratory. This has caused us to underestimate bacterial diversity and biased our view of bacterial communities. The tools are now available to estimate the number of bacterial species in a community and to estimate the difference between communities. Using what data are available, I have estimated that thirty grams of forest soil contains over half a million species. The species difference between related communities suggests that the number of species of bacteria may be more than a thousand million. I suppose that the explanation for such a large number of bacterial species is simply that speciation in bacteria is easy and extinction difficult, giving a rate of speciation higher than the rate of extinction, leading to an ever increasing number of species over time. The idea that speciation is easy is justified from the results of recent experimental work in bacterial evolution.     

Colonization and diversification of Galápagos terrestrial fauna: a phylogenetic and biogeographical synthesis

Remote oceanic islands have long been recognized as natural models for the study of evolutionary processes involved in diversification. Their remoteness provides opportunities for isolation and divergence of populations, which make islands remarkable settings for the study of diversification. Groups of islands may share a relatively similar geological history and comparable climate, but their inhabitants experience subtly different environments and have distinct evolutionary histories, offering the potential for comparative studies. A range of organisms have colonized the Galápagos Islands, and various lineages have radiated throughout the archipelago to form unique assemblages. This review pays particular attention to molecular phylogenetic studies of Galápagos terrestrial fauna. We find that most of the Galápagos terrestrial fauna have diversified in parallel to the geological formation of the islands. Lineages have occasionally diversified within islands, and the clearest cases occur in taxa with very low vagility and on large islands with diverse habitats. Ecology and habitat specialization appear to be critical in speciation both within and between islands. Although the number of phylogenetic studies is continuously increasing, studies of natural history, ecology, evolution and behaviour are essential to completely reveal how diversification proceeded on these islands.     

Ribosomal RNA Sequencing of Members of the Crypthecodinium cohnii (Dinophyceae) Species Complex; Comparison with Soluble Enzyme Studies

ABSTRACT. Sixty-five members of the Ctypthecodinium cohnii species complex were analyzed for sequence differences within the D2 region of the 23S ribosomal RNA molecule. On the basis of 46 sequence differences the strains fell into 19 distinct ribosets (strains of identical sequence), some with many members. Members of four of the seven major sibling species (widespread breeding groups) were each found within single ribosets. Members of three other major sibling species were each, however, divided into two ribosets by a single sequence difference correlated with geographic separation and with previously reported electrophoretic polymorphisms of soluble enzymes within the sibling species. In addition to members of major sibling species, some ribosets include many minor sibling species (each represented by only one strain). Of 38 minor sibling species, 22 shared sequence with a major sibling species. Of these 22, 14 were identical in soluble enzymes to their related major sibling species or differed by only one of three enzymes. Other minor sibling species appear to have diverged extensively from any others in both rRNA sequence and electrophoretic profile. As a group, major sibling species differ markedly in the number of minor sibling species associated with them, suggesting differences in frequency of sexually isolating events in their past histories. These findings are discussed in the context of the previously proposed model of sympatric speciation.     

The interaction of sexually and naturally selected traits in the adaptive radiations of cichlid fishes

The question of how genetic variation translates into organismal diversity has puzzled biologists for decades. Despite recent advances in evolutionary and developmental genetics, the mechanisms that underlie adaptation, diversification and evolutionary innovation remain largely unknown. The exceptionally diverse species flocks of cichlid fishes are textbook examples of adaptive radiation and explosive speciation and emerge as powerful model systems to study the genetic basis of animal diversification. East Africa's hundreds of endemic cichlid species are akin to a natural mutagenesis screen and differ greatly not only in ecologically relevant (hence naturally selected) characters such as mouth morphology and body shape, but also in sexually selected traits such as coloration. One of the most fascinating aspects of cichlid evolution is the frequent occurrence of evolutionary parallelisms, which has led to the question whether selection alone is sufficient to produce these parallel morphologies, or whether a developmental or genetic bias has influenced the direction of diversification. Here, I review fitness-relevant traits that could be responsible for the cichlids' evolutionary success and assess whether these were shaped by sexual or natural selection. I then focus on the interaction and the relative importance of sexual vs. natural selection in cichlid evolution. Finally, I discuss what is currently known about the genes underlying the morphogenesis of adaptively relevant traits and highlight the importance of the forthcoming cichlid genomes in the quest of the genetic basis of diversification in this group.     

森林群落物种组成对凋落物组成的影响

在海南铜鼓岭山麓灌木林和季雨矮林固定大样地的基础上,通过收集凋落物,比较两林型的凋落物数量及其器官组成、凋落叶物种组成,探讨森林群落物种组成与凋落物组成的关系。结果表明:(1)两林型的凋落物总量及其器官组成不同,山麓灌木林(6.227 t/hm~2)比季雨矮林的年凋落量大(5.636 t/hm~2);凋落叶是凋落物的主要组成部分,能反映凋落物的凋落情况。(2)山麓灌木林凋落物优势种和主要物种为贡甲、林仔竹、橄树等15个物种,凋落叶总量占77.72%;季雨矮林的凋落物优势种和主要物种为方枝蒲桃、肖蒲桃、贡甲等17个物种,凋落叶总量占71.84%;山麓灌木林中凋落物优势种和主要物种的叶凋落量与其组成物种的株数、总断面积、树冠面积极显著正相关而季雨矮林的凋落物优势种和主要物种的叶凋落量与其组成物种的株数极显著正相关。山麓灌木林中两者的Jaccard相似性系数为20%,季雨矮林为25.93%,两林型的群落物种组成与凋落叶物种组成不一致,热带森林群落优势种不一定是凋落物优势种。     

纳帕海流域五种优势乔木树种光合速率日变化特征

为了解纳帕海流域高山环境中优势乔木树种光合速率特征及其对环境因子的响应规律,运用LI-6400便携式光合测定仪,分别测定了香格里拉纳帕海流域5种优势乔木树种净光合速率(Pn)、蒸腾速率(Tr)、水分利用效率(WUE)等主要光合生理参数日变化,并对其与环境因子的相关性进行统计分析。结果表明:(1)所测定的5种优势树种中,除川滇高山栎以外,其他4个树种的Pn均呈双峰型;5种树种Pn峰值大小依次为云杉高山松山楂清溪杨川滇高山栎,分别为21.58、21.57、15.21、14.18、11.87μmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1)。(2)树种气孔导度(Gs)和蒸腾速率(Tr)在一天之内都呈现出早晚低、中午高的规律,胞间CO2浓度(Ci)与Pn基本呈相反趋势。(3)树种WUE和LUE日均值与Pn值表现出基本一致的顺序特征,云杉和高山松相对较高,WUE分别为3.27和5.82 mmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1),LUE分别为4.42%和2.99%,川滇高山栎最低,仅为0.92 mmol·m~(-2)·s~(-1)和0.74%。(4)树种Pn对PAR和Gs的变化具有显著的响应特征。该区域树种的Pn最大值高于低海拔区域的同类树种;区域内针叶树种的WUE和LUE显著大于阔叶树种,对高山区域内相对较高的辐射环境具有更高效的适应策略;当地环湖面山上种植的大面积云杉树对区域植被的恢复具有高效的现实意义。     

岩溶石漠化治理优良先锋植物种类光合、蒸腾及水分利用效率的初步研究

针对西南岩溶石漠化地区干旱缺水的特点,采用Li-6400对其先锋树种任豆、金银花、狗骨木的光合、蒸腾及水分利用效率等特征进行分析,以揭示先锋树种利用水分生理生态学特征,从而提出植被恢复的对策。光响应模拟结果表明金银花和狗骨木符合Walker的非直线双曲线模型。蒸腾临界值狗骨木(幼树期)最小,金银花次之,任豆树较大,说明阳性树种任豆具有较大的蒸腾拉力,能够从土壤提取更多的水分,以减少岩溶石漠化地区强光引起的高温灼伤。任豆树、金银花、狗骨木具有同地带干性或沙漠优势植物的光合速率特征。任豆树有较耐受强光的能力,这与其在石漠化地区总是能够成为优势层片优势种的地位相符。三种植物光有效辐射与叶片蒸腾的呈极显著的线性关系;任豆树的蒸腾作用受气孔调节明显;狗骨木有较高的水分利用效率。上午9点左右和下午5∶00~6∶00是这些石漠化地区植物水分利用最高时间段。可以说这三种植物具有适应石漠化地区干旱和高温的生理生态学适应特征和避旱避高温策略,并保持旺盛的生物生产力。从植物固定碳水化合物效率并提高水分利用效率而言,三种植物套种,任豆树能够对藤灌植物适当遮荫,对加速狗骨木生长,提高金银花的产量将具有较好的效益。     

Rate of Chromosome changes and Speciation in Reptiles

The chromosome changing rate (i.e. the number of chromosome rearrangements per million years) was studied in 1329 reptile species in order to evaluate the karyological evolutionary trend and the existence of possible correlations between chromosome mutations and some aspects of the evolution of this class. The results obtained highlight the existence of a general direct correlation between chromosome changing rate and number of living species, although different trends can be observed in the different orders and suborders. In turtles, the separation of pleurodires from cryptodires was accompanied by a considerable karyological diversification. Among pleurodires, the evolution of the Chelidae and Pelomedusidae was also characterised by chromosome variation, while in cryptodires a marked karyological homogeneity is observed between and within infraorders. Similarly there is no correlation between changing rate and species number in crocodiles, where the evolution of the families and genera has entailed few chromosome mutations. Chromosome variability was greater in lizards and snakes. In the formers variations in chromosome changing rate accompanied the separation of the infraorders and the evolution of most of the families and of some genera. The origin of snakes has also been accompanied by a marked karyological diversification, while the subsequent evolution of the infraorders and families has entailed a high level of chromosome variability only in colubroids. The karyological evolution in reptiles generally entailed a progressive reduction in chromosome changing rate, albeit with differences in the diverse orders and suborders. This trend seems to be consistent with the “canalization model” as originally proposed by Bickham and Baker in [Bickham, J.W. & R J. Baker, 1979. Bull. Carnegie Mus. Nat. Hist. 13: 70–84.]  However, several inconsistencies have been found excluding that in this class the ultimate goal of chromosome variations was the achievement of a so-called ``optimum karyotype' as suggested by the above-mentioned theory. Other mechanisms could underpin chromosome variability in Reptiles. Among them a genomic composition more or less favourable to promoting chromosome rearrangements and factors favouring the fixation of a mutant karyotype in condition of homozygosis. Turtles and crocodiles would have a genome characterised by large chromosomes and a low level of chromosome compartmentalisation limiting the recombination and the frequency of rearrangements. A low rate of chromosome variability modifying little if at all the gene linkage groups would have favoured a conservative evolutionary strategy. In the course of evolution, lizards and snakes could have achieved a genome characterised by smaller chromosomes and a higher level of compartmentalisation. This would have raised the frequency of recombination and consequently an evolutionary strategy promoting a higher degree of variability and a greater level of speciation.