Diel changeover in sandbank fish assemblages in a neotropical floodplain river

Fishes were collected over 7 months (February to June and November to December 1999) from seven sandbanks located on the main channel of the Cinaruco River, Venezuela. Significant shifts in assemblage structure and species richness were documented between diurnal and nocturnal samples. Seine samples standardized for effort yielded 41 604 individual fishes representing seven orders, 25 families, 80 genera and 134 species. Nocturnal samples yielded 68% of the total individuals, and 54% of species were collected exclusively at night. Nocturnal samples were significantly more species rich than their paired diurnal samples, even after rarefaction. Correspondence analysis revealed consistent differences in assemblage structure between diurnal and nocturnal samples probably due to species-specific habitat use and activity patterns. In spite of the magnitude of seasonal variation in hydrology and habitat availability in the Cinaruco River, species richness and abundance on sandbanks varied relatively little. The study of biological diversity and understanding of patterns of habitat use in a neotropical river were enhanced by nocturnal sampling.     

不同生境下莼菜群落的物种多样性

采用Braun Blanquet多盖度等级法研究了苏州东山镇和杭州转塘镇莼菜群落的物种多样性.结果表明：两地半自然莼菜群落的种类组成均较为简单,其物种多样性指数均较低;随着从池塘中央向岸边生境过渡,莼菜群落的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Simpson优势度指数和群落均匀度指数均有显著提高;经聚类分析,同一生境类型中的样地较为相似,且池塘中央的样地比岸边的样地更为相似;线性回归和聚类分析发现,与转塘镇相比,东山镇两类生境莼菜群落间的差异性更大.     

山东曲阜地区蚂蚁群落结构及物种多样性研究

通过诱捕法和样方调查法获得曲阜地区蚂蚁4亚科15属19种。优势种为菱结大头蚁（Pheidole rhombino-da)、粗面收获蚁（Messor aciculatus)和异色草蚁（Lasius alienus),前2种亦是研究区域的广布种。根据调查数据分析了该地区5种生境中蚂蚁群落的结构及多样性特征,以及人为干扰和生境异质性对蚂蚁群落的影响。结果表明：5种生物中蚂蚁群落种类组成和多样性等指标均不相同。落叶阔叶林中蚂蚁群落种类数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数（H′）和Pielou均匀度指数（J）最高;人工杨树林中蚂蚁群落Shannon-Wiener多样性指数（H′）最低;河滩草丛中蚂蚁巢数、个体数以及种类优势度指数（D）最高。人类干扰越强的生境,蚂蚁群落多样性指数越低;生境质量和异质性越高的生境,蚂蚁群落多样性指数越高。聚类分析与群落结构序列分析结果基本一致,人工杨树林与人居环境中蚂蚁群落相似性最高,其他几个生境蚂蚁群落间相似性很低。同种蚂蚁在不同生境中巢穴和蚁群大小有差异。     

Bird assemblages on Amazonian river islands: Patterns of species diversity and composition

The principles of island biogeography are rarely applied to the animal assemblages of Amazonian river islands. Here, we compare bird assemblages of Amazonian river islands with a variety of mainland habitats. We also examine how bird species diversity and composition are related to island physical attributes. Birds were sampled with mist nets and qualitative censuses on 11 river islands and 24 mainland sites on the lower reaches of the Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon. Island bird assemblages were characterized by lower species richness and a higher abundance of a few dominant species. Additionally, the species composition of the islands was distinct from that of the mainland, including the nearby floodplain habitats. The number of bird species increased with island size and habitat diversity, and decreased with degree of isolation. In addition, small islands tended to harbor an impoverished subset of the species present on larger ones. Bird species diversity and composition on Amazonian river islands are likely influenced by the ecological succession and historical events affecting island formation. Considering their small total area across the Amazon basin, these insular fluvial communities could be disproportionately threatened by river channel disturbances related to climate change or hydroelectric dam development. Abstract in Portughese is available with online material.     

A comparison of the diversity and structure of butterfly communities in semi-natural and human-modified grassland habitats at the foot of Mt. Fuji, central Japan

To examine the effects of human land use and disturbance on butterfly communities we compared the diversity and structure of communities in relatively undisturbed, semi-natural grassland habitats and highly disturbed, human-modified ones. Comparisons were based on transect counts conducted at 6 study sites at the foot of Mt. Fuji in the cool temperate zone of central Japan during 1995. Out of the six community parameters used in the analyses, the species richness, species diversities H and 1/, and dominance indices were significantly different between the two habitat types stated above. That is, butterfly communities in semi-natural habitats had higher species richness and diversity, and lower dominance indices than those in human-modified ones. This suggests that heavy land modification and disturbance to semi-natural habitats change greatly its butterfly community structure, which, indeed, leads to decreasing species richness and diversity mainly due to the loss of species that are confined to semi-natural habitats. Through the comparisons of various species' characteristics, it was found that the species confined to semi-natural habitats had lower population abundance, fewer generations per year, more restricted local distributions, and narrower geographic range size in Japan than the other component species. Based on our results, it is critical that the persistence of the species that are limited to semi-natural habitats be ensured in order to maintain high species richness and diversity in grassland butterfly communities. Thus, conservation plans that retain as much semi-natural habitat as possible within the process of human grassland use, development, and modification are needed.     

Competition from sea to mountain: Interactions and aggregation in low‐diversity monogenean and endohelminth communities in twospot livebearer Pseudoxiphophorus bimaculatus (Teleostei: Poeciliidae) populations in a neotropical river

1. The role of interspecific interactions in structuring low‐diversity helminth communities is a controversial topic in parasite ecology research. Most parasitic communities of fish are species‐poor; thus, interspecific interactions are believed to be unimportant in structuring these communities.
2. We explored the factors that might contribute to the richness and coexistence of helminth parasites of a poeciliid fish in a neotropical river.
3. Repeatability of community structure was examined in parasitic communities among 11 populations of twospot livebearer Pseudoxiphophorus bimaculatus in the La Antigua River basin, Veracruz, Mexico. We examined the species saturation of parasitic communities and explored the patterns of species co‐occurrence. We also quantified the associations between parasitic species pairs and analyzed the correlations between helminth species abundance to look for repeated patterns among the study populations.
4. Our results suggest that interspecific competition could occur in species‐poor communities, aggregation plays a role in determining local richness, and intraspecific aggregation allows the coexistence of species by reducing the overall intensity of interspecific competition.

     

Fungal diversity in ectomycorrhizal communities: sampling effort and species detection

A number of recent review articles on ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal community diversity have highlighted the unprecedented increase in the number of publications on this ecologically important but neglected area. The general features of these species-rich, highly dynamic and complex communities have been comprehensively covered but one aspect crucial to our assessment of diversity, namely the sampling of ECM communities has received less attention. This is a complex issue with two principal components, the physical sampling strategy employed and the life cycle traits of the ECM fungi being examined. Combined, these two components provide the image that we perceive as ECM diversity. This contribution will focus primarily on the former of these components using a recent study from a pine forest in central Sweden to highlight some sampling problems and also to discuss some features common to ECM communities. The two commonly used elements of diversity, species richness and community evenness, present rather different problems in the assessment of ECM diversity. The applicability of using current measures of abundance (number or percentage of root tips colonised) to determine community evenness is discussed in relation to our lack of knowledge on the size of individual genets of ECM fungi. The inherent structure of most ECM communities, with a few common species and a large number of rare species, severely limits our ability to accurately assess species richness. A discussion of theoretical detection limits is included that demonstrates the importance of the sampling effort (no. of samples or tips) involved in assessing species richness. Species area abundance plots are also discussed in this context. It is suggested that sampling strategy (bulk samples versus multiple collections of single tips) may have important consequences when sampling from communities where root tip densities differ. Finally, the need for studies of the spatial distribution of ECM on roots in relation to small-scale soil heterogeneity and of the temporal aspects of ECM community dynamics is raised.     

Contribution of oribatid and mesostigmatid soil mites in ecologically based estimates of global species richness

Erwin’s method for estimating total global species richness assumes some host‐specificity among the canopy arthropods. This study examined possible host habitat specialization in two major groups of soil arthropods, the oribatid and mesostigmatid mites, by sampling beneath three tree species: Eucalyptus pilularis Smith, Eucalyptus propinqua Deane and Maiden and Allocasuarina torulosa (Aiton) L. Johnson. The sample sites were in the Lansdowne State Forest, New South Wales, Australia and the three tree species were selected on the basis of their known differential effects on soil. Sampling was conducted over three seasons, and 79 oribatid and 34 mesostigmatid species were identified from 25 196 and 3634 individuals, respectively. Tree species had little effect on mite species composition with only three oribatid species and no mesostigmatid species identified as host‐habitat specialists using a niche breadth measure. Of mite species found under E. pilularis, E. propinqua and A. torulosa trees, 2%, 1% and 0% were defined as host‐habitat specialists, respectively. In contrast, tree species had significant and consistent effects on mite community structure, which differed in relative abundance of the oribatid species, their size class distributions and species rankings. In the mesostigmatid communities, there was a difference in the ranking of the mite species among tree species. Although it was demonstrated that tree species have an impact on the soil environment, the differences between tree species were insufficient to change species composition. The low degree of host‐habitat specialization suggested that other factors were more important for determining mite species composition at a site, and soil mite host‐habitat specialization may not make a large contribution to estimates of total global species richness using methods such as those proposed by Erwin (1982) .     

Occurrence Patterns,Habitat Associations,and Potential Prey of the River Dolphin,Inia geoffrensis,in the Cinaruco River,Venezuela1

The distribution, habitat association, group size, population structure, and prey availability of river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) were studied from November 1993-June 1994 in the Cinaruco River, a tributary of the Orinoco River that forms the southern boundary of Venezuela's Santos Luzardo National Park. Dolphins were sampled from a boat using modified strip-width transects, for a total of 418 h. The study area was 1.67 km², and contained 20 km of water courses. Like other rivers of this region, the Cinaruco River undergoes a seasonal flood cycle. Dolphins were seen most often during the period of falling water (41% of total sightings) and least often during the rising water period (24% of total sightings). Dolphins were seen most often in confluence areas (35% of total sightings) and were seldom seen in side channels (13% of total sightings). The presence of rocks or sandbanks was associated with a greater frequency of dolphin sightings, and sightings increased with habitat heterogeneity. Average group size for the 8-mo study was 2.0 (±1.0) and was largest during the rising water period. Calves were first sighted during the end of the dry season and became more common during the early flood season. Six individuals were photo-identified and resighted with one sighted eight times over 186 d. The fish diversity of the study area was high, with 161 species documented in our samples. The stomach of one Inia contained 15 fishes representing at least 4 species.     

Plant species diversity and polyploidy in islands of natural vegetation isolated in extensive cultivated lands

Natural polyploidy is often related to a longer life span, vegetative reproduction and higher competitive ability. In this paper, we test the possibility that these characteristics may favour the survival of polyploid taxa under conditions of long-term habitat fragmentation. In islands of natural vegetation isolated in extensive vineyards located in the South of France and in a large neighbouring area of natural vegetation, plant species richness and the relative abundance of polyploid taxa were assessed according to island size, isolation and vegetation structure. High species richness was observed, with numerous species restricted to the islands, suggesting that these may constitute refugia. However, species richness was not related to island size or to degree of isolation except for the flora of the woody areas. A very positive effect of area fragmentation on plant richness was observed, which is probably attributable to relatively low species overlap among the islands. Particularly high species richness was observed in open areas, provided that these were not extensively colonized by shrubs which seem to be responsible for local extinction of many annual taxa. Polyploids, which comprised mostly perennial herbs and woody species, were predominant in all the islands and in the large reference area. In open habitats invaded by shrubby species, a higher relative frequency of polyploids was observed in islands than in the reference area. Moreover, polyploid taxa were present in a larger number of islands than the diploid taxa, which were often restricted to a single island, suggesting that, after a long period of isolation, the polyploids may still have a lower probability of extinction. Evidence was obtained from vegetation structure analysis that diploid and polyploid annual herbs were restricted to open habitats and were both eliminated by shrubby species. Conversely, the diploid perennial herbs were also significantly affected by shrub colonization whereas the polyploids were mostly present in shrubby areas. This suggests that the higher competitive ability of polyploid perennial herbs may constitute a critical factor responsible for their wider distribution over the islands. We report the implications of our findings on conservation strategies, more particularly for a Mediterranean flora.     

不同土地利用方式对河北坝上步甲物种多样性的影响

为了探讨土地利用方式对步甲物种多样性的影响及其与环境因子的关系, 于2009年5-10月利用巴氏罐法, 对河北坝上塞北管理区内的灌草丛、马铃薯地、苜蓿地、围封草地、中度放牧草地和重度放牧草地6种生境的步甲进行了系统调查。结果表明: （1）共捕获步甲标本10 804号, 计10属18种, 其中强足通缘步甲Pterostichus fortipes、侧步甲Carabus latreillei和双斑猛步甲Cymindis binotata占优势, 个体数分别占总数的67.5%, 7.53%和7.06%。（2）苜蓿地中的步甲密度、物种丰富度、Margalef丰富度指数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和均匀度指数均较高, 其他样地较低。（3）聚类分析结果显示, 不同生境的步甲群落相似性与受干扰强度和土地利用方式一致。（4）步甲主要在6-9月活动, 高峰期为7-8月。各物种在不同土地利用方式生境内的季节变化趋势与不同生境植被生长季节相关, 步甲个体数量随着植物生物量的增加而增加。强足通缘步甲Pterostichus fortipes高峰期大多出现在植物生长旺盛的7月, 仅围封草地内的高峰出现在8月; 双斑猛步甲Cymindis binotata的高峰期出现在8-9月。（5）典范对应分析表明, 土壤含水量、土壤温度、植物盖度、植物生物量及植株高度是影响步甲群落组成的重要环境因子。结论认为, 不同土地利用方式对环境的干扰影响了步甲赖以生存的生境, 进而影响了其物种的组成和数量分布格局。     

高寒草甸不同草地群落物种多样性与生产力关系研究

生态系统的结构和功能、生物多样性与生产力的关系问题是近年来群落生态学中研究的中心问题,其中,生态系统生产力水平是其功能的重要表现形式,用4种不同草地类型探讨自然群落的物种多样性与生产力关系.结果表明,矮嵩草草甸、小嵩草草甸和金露梅灌丛群落中物种多样性与生产力的关系呈线性增加关系,藏嵩草沼泽化草甸群落中线性增加关系不显著,这表明群落生产力除受物种多样性的影响外,也受物种本身特征和环境资源的影响.不同的环境资源和环境异质性是形成群落结构特征、物种多样性分布格局差异的主要原因之一.     

Morphological adaptations to arboreal habitats and heart position in species of the neotropical whipsnakes genus Chironius

The evolution of arboreality in snakes is accompanied by modifications that are remarkably similar across species. Gravity is one of the most important selective agents, and arboreal snakes present adaptations to circumvent the gradient of pressure, including modifications on heart position (HP) and body slenderness (BS). However, the degree to which different life‐history traits influence the cardiovascular system of snakes remains unclear. Here, we used an ecological and a phylogenetic approach to explore the relationship between habitat, HP, BS, and heart size (HS) in five species of the neotropical whipsnakes genus Chironius that occupy terrestrial, semiarboreal, and arboreal habits. Our ecological comparison indicated that the arboreal species have the most posterior‐positioned heart, the most slender body, and the smallest HS, whereas the terrestrial representative of the group exhibited the most anterior heart, the less flattened body, and the largest HS. After removing the phylogenetic effect, we found no difference in HP and BS between terrestrial and arboreal species. Habitat only differed when contrasting with HS. Body slenderness and HS were correlated with HP. Our results suggest that different restrictions, such as anatomical constraints, behavior, and phylogenetic inertia, may be important for the studied species.     

沙区植物多样性保护研究进展

沙区景观表现为沙丘和低地交错分布.沙区常具独特的植物区系,含有特有和稀有植物.沙区植物丰富度降低和特有(稀有)植物消失问题近些年已受到很大关注,被列入国际生物多样性保护计划,很多国家和地区都对此开展了专门的研究.本文以近期发表的文献为基础,从植物多样性保护问题的提出、植物多样性形成机制、植物多样性保护途径、植物多样性研究与生态学理论的发展等方面论述了沙区植物多样性保护及其研究进展.沙区植物多样性保护应注意植物多样性保护目标的地域间差异(维持沙丘上的高植物丰富度还是保护特有或稀有植物)、流沙固定-植物多样性保护间的均衡、"植物多样性保护的量(高的植物丰富度)-质(特有或稀有植物出现)"间的均衡.还应将沙丘体和丘间低地视为一个统一体,研究干扰和生境破碎化对植物多样性造成的影响.     

陆地植物群落物种多样性研究进展

生物多样性是当前生态学研究的热点之一,物种多样性层次是最直接、最易观察和最适合研究生物多样性的层次。总结了与群落动态、生境因子、取样尺度及生态系统相关的陆地植物物种多样性研究。同时,根据目前的趋势提出了多样性动态研究的发展动向。     

西双版纳不同地点和生境鼠类及蚂蚁的多样性比较

于2004年4月至2005年5月在西双版纳的3个不同地点(勐仑植物园、新山和补蚌)选择荒地、野芭蕉林和森林3种不同植被类型的生境,对2个重要的雨林种子传播类群--鼠类和蚂蚁的多样性进行了研究.采用铗日法捕获9种鼠共97只,采用陷阱法捕获104种蚂蚁共2 600头.结果表明,蚂蚁聚集生活在干燥的荒地生境中,而鼠类则集中生活在食物资源丰富的野芭蕉林生境中.不同地点鼠的种类和数量无显著差异(P＞0.05),但不同地点蚂蚁的种类和数量差异显著(P＜0.05);不同生境鼠和蚂蚁的种类和数量均差异显著(P＜0.05).地点和生境对2个类群分布有不同的影响,这种影响也通过它们对种子散布的不同作用,最终影响地区内植被的更新和循环.     

New species of Nanomis Lugo-Ortiz and McCafferty, 1999 (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) from Venezuela

As the first taxonomic and faunistic report of Nanomis Lugo-Ortiz and McCafferty, 1999 for Venezuela, we describe a new species, N. rasmusseni sp. n., based on material from Andean streams. Comparisons of the nymphal and imaginal stages of N. rasmusseni with those of N. galera Lugo-Ortiz and McCafferty, 1999 – the only species currently known for this genus – are done in detail. Further, additional morphological characters are discussed to delineate the genus from the other baetid genera. Likewise, ecological data and distribution of N. rasmusseni in the Andean highlands of Venezuela are provided, which improves knowledge of the richness and distribution of the genus in South America.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C9DF3936-101F-4240-B067-AC5DF394C805     

Macroecological explanations for differences in species richness gradients: a canonical analysis of South American birds

Aim To evaluate how spatial variation of species richness in different bird orders responds to environmental gradients and determine which order level trait best predicts these relationships. Location South America. Methods A canonical correlation analysis was performed between the species richness in each of 17 bird orders and eight environmental variables in 374, 220 × 220 km cells. Loadings associated with the first two canonical variables were regressed against six order‐level predictors, including diversification level (number of species in each order), body size, median geographical range size and characteristics included in the model to control Type I error rates (the phylogenetic relationship among orders and levels of local‐scale spatial autocorrelation). Results Richness patterns of 14 bird orders were highly correlated with the first canonical axis, indicating that most orders respond similarly to energy‐water gradients (primarily actual evapotranspiration, minimum temperature and potential evapotranspiration). In contrast, species richness within Trochiliformes, Apodiformes and Galliformes were also correlated with the second canonical variable, representing measures of mesoscale climatic variation (range in elevation within cells, minimum temperature, and the interaction term between them) and landcover (habitat diversity). We also found that total diversification within orders was the best predictor of the loadings associated with the first canonical axis, whereas body size of each order best predicted loadings on the second axis. Conclusion Our results broadly support climatic‐related hypotheses as explanations for spatial variation in species richness of different orders. However, both historical (order‐specific variation in speciation rates) and ecological (dispersal of species that evolved by independent processes into areas amenable to birds) processes can explain the relationship between order level traits, such as body size and diversification level, and magnitude of response to current environment, furnishing then guidelines for a further and deeper understanding of broad‐scale diversity gradients.