Living with uncertainty: genetic imprints of climate shifts in East Pacific anchovy (Engraulis mordax) and sardine (Sardinops sagax)

In the upwelling zone of the northeastern Pacific, cold nutrient-rich conditions alternate with warm nutrient-poor intervals on timescales ranging from months to millennia. In this setting, the abundances of Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) fluctuate by several orders of magnitude, with sardine dominating during warm conditions and anchovy dominating during cool conditions. Two population models can explain the response of these fishes to adverse conditions. Under the basin model, species distributions contract to a central (optimal) range during population crashes. Expectations of this model may include a single range-wide population with a decline in genetic diversity on both sides of a central refuge. In contrast, the self-recruitment model invokes a series of local oceanographic domains that maintain semi-isolated subpopulations. During adverse conditions, some subpopulations cannot complete the life cycle within the local environment and are extirpated. Expectations of this model include some degree of population genetic structure and no clear gradient in genetic diversity. We examined mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b sequences to assess these competing models for anchovy (N = 196; 539 bp) and sardine (N = 107; 425 bp). The mitochondrial DNA gene genealogies are shallow but diverse for both species. Haplotype frequencies are homogeneous among subpopulations, but genetic diversities peak for both species along Baja California and adjacent southern California. Mismatch distributions and Tajima's D-values reveal distinctive signatures of population bottlenecks and expansions. Sardine haplotypes coalesce at approximately 241,000 years bp, with an initial female effective population size Nf0 = 0 followed by exponential growth to Nf1 = 115 million. Anchovy haplotypes coalesce at approximately 282,000 years bp, with an initial population size of Nf0 = 14,000, followed by exponential growth to Nf1 = 2.3 million. These results indicate a founder event for sardine and a severe population decline for anchovy in the California Current during the late Pleistocene. Overall, these data support the basin model on decadal timescales, although local recruitment may dominate on shorter timescales.     

Developing a Benthic Index of Biological Integrity and Some Relationships to Environmental Factors in the Subtropical Xiangxi River,China

The aim of this study is to develop a benthic index of biotic integrity (B‐IBI) to help understand how the increasing anthropogenic pressure may impact the subtropical Xiangxi River in China. Benthic macroinvertebrate and environmental surveys were conducted at 77 sites in early summer 2004. Each collection site was categorized as reference or impaired based on physical, chemical, biological, and land‐use information. Six non‐redundant metrics from 35 metrics were used to differentiate between reference and impaired sites. We selected six metrics for the final IBI. The scoring criteria of each metric were normalized based on the quadrisection and 0–10 scaling systems. Both scaling methods were used to assess the aquatic health of each site in the Xiangxi River watershed. The results showed that most sites were in fairly poor condition. Furthermore, we identified the relationship between B‐IBI metrics, water‐quality, and land‐use variables with a principal component analysis. A composite of nutrients and land‐use intensity explained most variances. These results suggest that the B‐IBI may be a suitable method for assessing river conditions within the subtropical Xiangxi River in central China (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

拉萨河流域耕地不同尺度土壤水分影响因子

土壤水分影响因子的尺度差异及作用是其尺度依赖性研究的基础.本文以青藏高原拉萨河流域耕地土壤为对象,通过遥感影像分析和野外调查,在全流域和小流域尺度上分别布设样点115和49个,采用土钻法分3层（0～20、20～40、40～60 cm）抽取土壤样本,获取土壤水分含量,然后运用生态学冗余分析和统计分析,筛选出影响耕地土壤水分的主要因子.结果表明： 在全流域尺度,受气候、海拔影响,土壤水分呈西南 东北递增趋势,其中,河谷区耕地受河流侧渗补给影响,下层土壤水分高于上层;在小流域尺度,耕地土壤水分随海拔升高及坡度增大而减少,土壤贮水能力随石砾含量增多而减弱.研究结果为拉萨河流域耕地向高海拔扩张、作物结构调整、土地整理及灌溉设施布设提供了重要依据.     

吐鲁番-哈密盆地早二叠世晚期植物群

首次记述了吐鲁番－哈密盆地的早二叠世晚期植物１１属１３种（包括４新种和４未定种），这是一个以科达类及其相关属为主的安加拉植物群。典型的安加拉植物Ｖｏｊｎｏｖｓｋｙａ属的发现，不但在时代的判定上，而且在植物地理区划上都具重要意义。文中还对这一植物群的特征和时代问题作了简要讨论。     

High‐latitude Hirnantian (latest Ordovician) brachiopods from the Eusebio Ayala Formation of Paraguay,Paraná Basin

Abstract: Examination of newly collected brachiopods from the Eusebio Ayala Formation of Paraguay reveals the occurrence of Arenorthis paranaensis sp. nov., Plectothyrella? itacurubiensis sp. nov., Hindella sp. and Eostropheodonta conradii (Harrington). Associated graptolites of the N. persculptus Zone indicate that the age of the fossiliferous beds is Hirnantian. The overall generic composition of the fauna is similar to that of the atypical Hirnantia Fauna of the Bani Province. The record in Paraguay of Arenorthis, hitherto only known from North Africa, together with species of Plectothyrella? and Eostropheodonta different from those recorded in the Kosov Province, emphasizing the affinities between the Paraguayan fauna and the low‐diversity African assemblages. Stratigraphic and faunal evidence indicates that biogeographical links between South America and Africa already existed by the end of the Ordovician when most of the intra‐cratonic basins of Gondwana were flooded during the postglacial sea level rise.     

Mosquito vectors of the 1998-1999 outbreak of Rift Valley Fever and other arboviruses (Bagaza, Sanar, Wesselsbron and West Nile) in Mauritania and Senegal

Following an outbreak of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in south-eastern Mauritania during 1998, entomological investigations were conducted for 2 years in the affected parts of Senegal and Mauritania, spanning the Sénégal River basin. A total of 92 787 mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), belonging to 10 genera and 41 species, were captured in light traps. In Senegal, Culex poicilipes (41%) and Mansonia uniformis (39%) were the most abundant species caught, whereas Aedes vexans (77%) and Cx. poicilipes (15%) predominated in Mauritania. RVF virus was isolated from 63 pools of Cx. poicilipes: 36 from Senegal in 1998 and 27 from Mauritania in 1999. These results are the first field evidence of Cx. poicilipes naturally infected with RVFV, and the first isolations of this virus from mosquitoes in Mauritania - the main West African epidemic and epizootic area. Additional arbovirus isolates comprised 25 strains of Bagaza (BAG) from Aedes fowleri, Culex neavei and Cx. poicilipes; 67 Sanar (ArD 66707) from Cx. poicilipes; 51 Wesselsbron (WSL) from Ae. vexans and 30 strains of West Nile (WN) from Ma. uniformis, showing differential specific virus-vector associations in the circulation activity of these five arboviruses.     

衡阳盆地土壤动物多样性研究

对衡阳盆地紫色页岩土壤 9种生境中的土壤动物进行了调查研究 ,共获得土壤动物35 85只 ,隶属于 4门 8纲 39目 ,其中线虫类、蜱螨类为优势类群 ,占总捕量的 5 0 2 4 % ;常见类群 1 2类 ,占总捕量的 4 4 0 1 %。从土壤动物水平分布上看 ,9种生境相似程度较大 ,其中尤以芦竹林和桃树林、阔叶林和桉树林、芦竹林和桉树林之间相似程度更突出。从土壤动物垂直分布上看 ,9种生境中只有桃树林、柑桔林垂直分布较为明显 ,而各种生境中土壤动物具有明显的表聚性。芦竹林、柑桔林、桉树林、菜地、阔叶林和桃树林 6种生境土壤动物群落的多样性及均匀度呈基本一致的趋势 ,且各生境间差别不大     

Assessing biodiversity and endemism using phylogenetic methods across multiple taxonomic groups

Identifying geographical areas with the greatest representation of the tree of life is an important goal for the management and conservation of biodiversity. While there are methods available for using a single phylogenetic tree to assess spatial patterns of biodiversity, there has been limited exploration of how separate phylogenies from multiple taxonomic groups can be used jointly to map diversity and endemism. Here, we demonstrate how to apply different phylogenetic approaches to assess biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. We map spatial patterns of phylogenetic diversity/endemism to identify concordant areas with the greatest representation of biodiversity across multiple taxa and demonstrate the approach by applying it to the Murray–Darling basin region of southeastern Australia. The areas with significant centers of phylogenetic diversity and endemism were distributed differently for the five taxonomic groups studied (plant genera, fish, tree frogs, acacias, and eucalypts); no strong shared patterns across all five groups emerged. However, congruence was apparent between some groups in some parts of the basin. The northern region of the basin emerges from the analysis as a priority area for future conservation initiatives focused on eucalypts and tree frogs. The southern region is particularly important for conservation of the evolutionary heritage of plants and fishes.     

Large amounts of labile organic carbon in permafrost soils of northern Alaska

Permafrost‐affected soils of the northern circumpolar region represent 50% of the terrestrial soil organic carbon (SOC) reservoir and are most strongly affected by climatic change. There is growing concern that this vast SOC pool could transition from a net C sink to a source. But so far little is known on how the organic matter (OM) in permafrost soils will respond in a warming future, which is governed by OM composition and possible stabilization mechanisms. To investigate if and how SOC in the active layer and adjacent permafrost is protected against degradation, we employed density fractionation to separate differently stabilized SOM fractions. We studied the quantity and quality of OM in different compartments using elemental analysis, ¹³C solid‐phase nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C‐NMR) spectroscopy, and ¹⁴C analyses. The soil samples were derived from 16 cores from drained thaw lake basins, ranging from 0 to 5500 years of age, representing a unique series of developing Arctic soils over time. The normalized SOC stocks ranged between 35.5 and 86.2 kg SOC m^?3, with the major amount of SOC located in the active layers. The SOC stock is dominated by large amounts of particulate organic matter (POM), whereas mineral‐associated OM especially in older soils is of minor importance on a mass basis. We show that tremendous amounts of over 25 kg OC per square meter are stored as presumably easily degradable OM rich in carbohydrates. Only about 10 kg OC per square meter is present as presumably more stable, mineral‐associated OC. Significant amounts of the easily degradable, carbohydrate‐rich OM are preserved in the yet permanently frozen soil below the permafrost table. Forced by global warming, this vast labile OM pool could soon become available for microbial degradation due to the continuous deepening of the annually thawing active layer.