马尾松种源在异质养分环境中的觅养行为差异

选择广东信宜、福建武平、广西岑溪3个不同磷效率特性的马尾松种源,构建同质和异质两种养分环境开展盆栽实验,研究马尾松搜寻利用异质分布养分的获取机制及不同种源觅养行为差异。结果表明,与同质营养环境相比,异质营养环境中马尾松种源具有较高的苗高、地径生长量、较强光合速率和干物质生产能力。研究证实了根系形态可塑性和生理可塑性在马尾松获取异质分布养分中的重要性。马尾松可通过在富养斑块中须侧根的大量增生、对N、P、K等元素的有效吸收提高其觅养能力。马尾松在拓殖富养斑块的初期主要依靠新生侧根的增加和侧根的延长,在拓殖一段时期之后则主要靠新生侧根的生成和须根数量、须根密度的增加来搜寻异质分布养分。异质养分环境中的根系具有较高的养分吸收效率主要缘由在富养斑块中对N、P、K大量的吸收。综合比较分析认为,在3个参试种源中广西岑溪和福建武平种源在异质营养环境中拓殖富养斑块和觅养能力较强,广东信宜种源拓殖和觅养能力相对较弱。     

竞争对马尾松和木荷觅取异质分布养分行为的影响

为了研究邻株竞争对马尾松(Pinus massoniana)和木荷(Schima superba)觅取异质分布养分机理和行为的影响, 我们设计单植、双株纯栽和两株混植3种栽植方式, 构建了同质和异质养分环境开展盆栽实验。结果表明: 单植时, 马尾松和木荷苗木生长对斑块养分反应敏感, 与同质养分环境相比, 两树种在异质养分环境中具有苗高生长量大、干物质积累量高、根系在富养斑块中大量增生, 根系N、P含量和吸收效率高等特点。在异质养分环境中, 木荷与马尾松邻株竞争时的生长表现优于双株纯栽模式而与单植处理相近, 根系形态可塑性和生理可塑性在其觅取斑块养分中的作用显著增强; 与木荷邻株竞争时, 马尾松苗高生长也表现出较单植和双株纯栽模式一定的优势, 这与其根系的广布性、觅养精确性和反应敏感度变化较小及富养斑块中根系P素含量和吸收效率较高等有关。相反, 同种邻株竞争则使得异质养分环境中马尾松和木荷的根系广布性减小, 反应敏感度减弱, 富养斑块中根系N、P含量降低, 苗高生长量和干物质积累量减小。与马尾松相比, 同种邻株竞争对异质养分环境中木荷生长的负向影响更为强烈。建议在生产中采用混交造林的方式促进马尾松和木荷生长。若要营造人工纯林, 可通过适当降低初植密度或及时调控林分密度促进林木生长。     

Photosynthetic induction responses of two rainforest tree species in relation to light environment

Photosynthetic induction of in situ saplings of two Costa Rican rainforest tree species wre compared in relation to their light environment, using infrared gas analysis and hemispherical photography. The species studied were Dipteryx panamensis, a climax species found in bright microsites, and Cecropia obtusifolia, a pioneer species. In the morning, when leaves were most responsive, induction time necessary to reach 90% of the lightsaturated rate of photosynthesis was on average 16 min for Dipteryx and 10 min for Cecropia. However, induction times for both species increased in the afternoon resulting in shorter daily average induction times for Dipteryx than for Cecropia. Dipteryx also maintained higher levels of induction for a longer period under low light conditions than did Cecropia. The two species differed in the way they adjusted to light availability. Dipteryx saplings growing in shady sites had faster rates of induction than saplings growing in bright sites, with no difference in light-saturated photosynthetic rate. In contrast, Cecropia saplings growing in bright sites had higher light-saturated photosynthetic rates than saplings growing in shady sites, with no difference in rates of induction. Dipteryx appears to exploit temporal variation in light availability by refining the quickness of the induction response to the light environment, while Cecropia adjusts its scale of exploitation by realizing a higher lightsaturated photosynthetic rate in sites of higher light.     

Body condition dependent dispersal in a heterogeneous environment

We find the evolutionarily stable dispersal behaviour of a population that inhabits a heterogeneous environment where patches differ in safety (the probability that a juvenile individual survives until reproduction) and productivity (the total competitive weight of offspring produced by the local individual), assuming that these characteristics do not change over time. The body condition of clonally produced offspring varies within and between families. Offspring compete for patches in a weighted lottery, and dispersal is driven by kin competition. Survival during dispersal may depend on body condition, and competitive ability increases with increasing body condition. The evolutionarily stable strategy predicts that families abandon patches which are too unsafe or do not produce enough successful dispersers. From families that invest in retaining their natal patches, individuals stay in the patch that are less suitable for dispersal whereas the better dispersers disperse. However, this clear within-family pattern is often not reflected in the population-wide body condition distribution of dispersers or non-dispersers. This may be an explanation why empirical data do not show any general relationship between body condition and dispersal. When all individuals are equally good dispersers, then there exist equivalence classes defined by the competitive weight that remains in a patch. An equivalence class consists of infinitely many dispersal strategies that are selectively neutral. This provides an explanation why very diverse patterns found in body condition dependent dispersal data can all be equally evolutionarily stable.     

Foraging behavior related to habitat characteristics in the invasive wasp Vespula germanica

When foraging on carrion resources, the wasp Vespula germanica usually makes repeated visits to the feeding site until depleting the resource. In the present study we analyzed how environmental cues affect wasps' behavior when re‐locating a protein food source. We studied this behavior in two different natural habitats: closed and open habitats. As closed habitats have more references to orient wasps to the feeding site than open habitats, we hypothesized that they would return to the foraging site more frequently in closed habitats than in open ones. We tested this hypothesis by studying wasp behavior in three different natural habitat conditions: (i) closed habitats, (ii) open habitats, and (iii) open habitats artificially modified by adding five sticks with flagging. Experiments consisted of training individual wasps to feed from a certain array, and at the testing phase we removed food and displaced the array by 60 cm. Therefore, we recorded wasps’choices when returning to the training area, by counting both the wasps’first approaches and the number of visits to the original feeding site and the displaced array. Wasps' behavior while re‐locating a protein food source was different if foraging at open or closed habitats. Wasps more frequently revisited a previous feeding location when foraging in closed habitats than when foraging in open ones. Furthermore, wasps more frequently visited the displaced array than the original feeding site in all three treatments. Nevertheless, when wasps were trained in closed habitats, they returned to the original feeding site more frequently than if trained in open ones. Interestingly, when five sticks with flagging were added in open habitats, wasps responded similarly as in closed habitats without these references. The results show that foraging behavior in V. germanica seems to be different in closed and open habitats, probably associated with the existence of references that guide foragers when re‐locating undepleted resources.     

Foraging behavior adjustments related to changes in nectar sugar concentration in phyllostomid bats

Nectar-feeding bats regulate their food ingestion in response to changes in sugar concentration as a way to achieve a constant energy intake. However, their digestive capability to assimilate sugars can limit their total energy intake, particularly when sugar concentration in nectar is low. Our experimental study evaluated the effect that changes in sugar concentration of nectar have on the foraging behavior of the nectar-feeding bats Glossophaga soricina and Leptonycteris yerbabuenae in captivity. We measured foraging behavior and food intake when bats fed at different concentrations of sucrose (5, 15, 25 and 35%wt/vol.). To compensate for low-energy intake, both bat species reduced their flight time, and increased feeding time when sugar concentration decreased. Our results suggest that nectar-feeding bats in nature confront two scenarios with complementary ecological effects: 1) bats feeding on dilute nectars (i.e. ≤15%wt/vol.) should increase the number of flowers visited per night enhancing pollination, and 2) bats feeding on concentrated nectars could spend more time flying, including long- and short-distance-flights increasing food patch exploration for use during subsequent nights, and thus enhancing plant gene flow. Further studies on foraging behavior of nectarivorous bats under natural conditions are necessary to corroborate these hypotheses.     

Susceptibility to photoinhibition of three deciduous broadleaf tree species with different successional traits raised under various light regimes

The susceptibility to photoinhibition of tree species from three different successional stages were examined using chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange techniques. The three deciduous broadleaf tree species were Betula platyphylla var. japonica, pioneer and early successional, Quercus mongolica, intermediate shade‐tolerant and mid‐successional, and Acer mono, shade‐tolerant and late successional. Tree seedlings were raised under three light regimes: full sunlight (open), 10% full sun, and 5% full sun. Susceptibility to photoinhibition was assessed on the basis of the recovery kinetics of the ratio of vaviable to maximum fluorescence (F_v/F_m) of detached leaf discs exposed to about 2000 μmol m^?1 s^?1 photon flux density (PFD) for 2 h under controlled conditions (25 to 28 °C, fully hydrated). Differences in susceptibility to photodamage among species were not significant in the open and 10% full sun treatments. But in 5% full sun, B. platyphylla sustained a significantly greater photodamage than other species, probably associated with having the lowest photosynthetic capacity indicated by light‐saturated photosynthetic rate (B. platyphylla, 9·87, 5·85 and 2·82; Q. mongolica, 8·05, 6·28 and 4·41; A. mono, 7·93, 6·11 and 5·08 μmol CO₂ m^?1 s^?1for open, 10% and 5% full sun, respectively). To simulate a gap formation and assess its complex effects including high temperature and water stress in addition to strong light on the susceptibility to photoinhibition, we examined photoinhibition in the field by means of monitoring ΔF/F′_m on the first day of transfer to natural daylight. Compared with ΔF/F′_m in AM, the lower ΔF/F′_m in PM responding to lower PFD following high PFD around noon indicated that photoinhibition occurred in plants grown in 10 and 5% full sun. The diurnal changes of ΔF/F′_m showed that Q. mongolica grown in 5% full sun was less susceptible to photoinhibition than A. mono although they showed little differences both in photosynthetic capacity in intact leaves and susceptibility to photoinhibition based on leaf disc measurements. These results suggest that shade‐grown Q. mongolica had a higher tolerance for additional stresses such as high temperature and water stress in the field, possibly due to their lower plasticity in leaf anatomy to low light environment.     

Differences in responses of moderately salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive tree species to heterogeneous salinity

Growth responses of the moderately salt-tolerant velvet ash (Fraxinus velutina) and salt-sensitive poplar (Populus × euramericana) were investigated under heterogeneous root zone salinity. The salinity treatments imposed on the two root zones (lower-higher) were 137-137 (uniform), 103-171, 68-205, 34-239, and 0-273 mM NaCl for velvet ash, and 51-51 (uniform), 34-68, 17-85, and 0-103 mM NaCl for poplar. The leaf gas exchange of the plants was measured one month after these treatments were implemented, and the plants were sampled 75 d after treatment to measure other physiological parameters. Net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, total biomass, and fine root compensatory growth increased as the difference in salinity between the two root zones (i.e., salinity heterogeneity) increased in velvet ash. These parameters showed no significant difference among the treatments in poplar. The leaf Na⁺ content was lower under heterogeneous salinity than under uniform salinity in both tested species. The leaf proline content in velvet ash decreased under heterogeneous salinity compared to that under uniform salinity, whereas that of poplar increased. The soluble sugar content of velvet ash leaves increased under heterogeneous salinity, whereas no changes were observed in poplar. The increased fine root biomass in the lower salinity zone promoted velvet ash growth by decreasing the leaf Na⁺ and Cl^- content under heterogeneous salinity. The poplar’s undifferentiated root distribution and gas exchange in response to the heterogeneous salinity were attributed to its salt sensitivity.     

Foraging for nutrients, responses to changes in light, and competition in tropical deciduous tree seedlings

We evaluated (1) the responses of two co-occurring tropical tree species, Heliocarpuspallidus and Caesalpiniaeriostachys, to changes in light, (2) the ability of these species to search for and exploit a fertilized soil patch, (3) the relationship between the capacity to forage for a fertilized patch and the capacity to respond to changes in light availability and (4) how the relationship between light and nutrient acquisition influenced the competitive interactions between these species. Plants of the two species were exposed to a factorial combination of high (H) and low (L) light intensity and fertilized (+Fp) and unfertilized (−Fp) nutrient patches for 50 days. Half of the plants from H were then transferred to L (HL treatment), and half of the plants from L were transferred to H (LH). The remaining plants were kept in their original light condition and grown for another 50 days. Plants were grown in these light and patch treatments alone (one plant per pot) and in interspecific competition (one plant per species resulting in two plants per pot). Both species exploited fertilized patches by increasing root biomass and length in the patch. This enhanced plant productivity and growth rate mainly under LH and HH conditions for Heliocarpus and the HH condition for Caesalpinia). When plants in the HH light environment were grown with an unfertilized patch, plant biomass and relative growth rates (RGRs) were even lower than␣under the LL light environment [(HH–Fp)<LL]. However, the combined activity of shoot and roots when above- and below-ground resources were temporally and spatially heterogeneous influenced plant productivity and growth rate. The benefit from light increase (LH) was reduced when grown with an unfertilized patch. Larger reductions in root biomass, length and density in the patch, and in plant biomass and RGR, were exhibited by Heliocarpus than by Caesalpinia. These results suggest a close relationship between root foraging and light capture, where the benefit of the exploitation of the patch will be reflected in whole-plant benefit, if enough light is captured above-ground. In addition, the results suggest a change in the expected plant responses to light due to heterogeneity in soil nutrients, even though the fertilized patch was only a small proportion of the total soil volume. Leaf characteristics such as specific leaf area responded only to light conditions and not to patchily distributed nutrients. Root characteristics responded more strongly to nutrient heterogeneity. Competition modified the pattern of foraging under both high- and low-light conditions in Heliocarpus by 50 days, and the ability to forage for a fertilized patch under LL after 100 days of growth for Caesalpinia. Even though plant growth and productivity are greatly reduced under low-light conditions (HL and LL), competition modifies the ability of species to forage for a rich patch (especially for the fast-growing species Heliocarpus). Received: 24 November 1997 / Accepted: 15 June 1998     

四种亚高山针叶林树种的表型可塑性对不同光照强度的响应

以青藏高原东缘亚高山针叶林群落演替后期种岷江冷杉、演替中后期种粗枝云杉和青榨槭、及先锋树种红桦为材料,研究了不同光强下生长的4种树苗生长、生物量分配、叶片形态和光合特性,探讨植物幼苗的形态和生理特征的表型可塑性与光适应的关系。结果表明：（1）弱光环境中生长的4种植物的基茎、相对生长速率、叶片厚度、根重比、最大净光合速率、光饱和点、光补偿点、暗呼吸速率较低,而比叶面积、地上／地下生物量、茎长／茎重、叶重比和茎重比较高。（2）大部分光环境下岷江冷杉幼苗的最大净光合速率和暗呼吸速率低于粗枝云杉,青榨槭幼苗的最大净光合速率和暗呼吸速率略低于红桦。（3）高光强下生长的粗枝云杉和红桦幼苗的相对生长速率分别大于岷江冷杉和青榨槭,但在低光强下则与之相反。（4）粗枝云杉和红桦幼苗的11种可塑性指数平均值则分别大于岷江冷杉和青榨槭。岷江冷杉适应弱光环境的能力略强于粗枝云杉和红桦,但适应强光的能力较差。生理适应的可塑性指数大于形态适应的可塑性指数,表明前者在4种植物幼苗光适应方面起到了重要的作用。研究结果支持树种的生理生态特性决定了其演替状况和生境选择的假说。