Effects of microorganism on carbon,nitrogen and phosphorus of Dodonaea viscosa and the soils from different elevations in Yuanmou,Yunnan, China

Aims Understanding the effects of soil microorganism at different elevations on plant C:N:P stoichiometry can help us to understand the plant-soil interactions in the context of climate change. Our aim was to quantify the independent and interactive effects of soil microbial communities and temperatures on the C, N, and P in the leaves of Dodonaea viscosa—a global widespread species. Methods Rhizosphere soils of D. viscosa were collected from two elevation zones in Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province. A 2 × 3 factorial experiment with six replications was conducted using climate chambers. The leaf C, N and P contents and the soil properties were measured after three months of the treatments. Important findings Compared with the autoclaved treatment, inoculated rhizosphere soils from both high and low elevations had higher nutrient absorption, especially P uptake. Temperature produced no significant effect on leaf C:N:P stoichiometry, but the interactive effect of temperature and microbial treatment appeared significant. For inoculated rhizosphere soils from high elevation, temperature had no significant effect on leaf C:N:P stoichiometry. For inoculated rhizosphere soils from low elevation, leaf N and P contents under low temperature were significantly lower than those with warmer soils. The promoting effect of soil microorganisms on nutrient uptake may be due to the direct effect of beneficial microorganisms (e.g., mycorrhizal fungi), but not through the alteration of nutrient cycling process. Because D. viscosa in the inoculated rhizosphere soils absorbed more N and P from the soil than those in autoclaved soil, the available N and P in inoculated rhizosphere soils were lower than those in autoclaved soils. As predicted future temperature will be lower in the studied region, the growth of D. viscosa may be negatively affected through plant-microbe feedbacks.     

单主菌属一新种*

报导寄生于我国水龟虫科Hydrophilidae榄形赖牙甲Regimbartiaattenuata昆虫上的虫囊菌目Laboulbeniales单主菌属Autoicomyces一新种:中华单主菌Autoicomyceschinensis,有显微结构图、拉丁文简介及中文描述。所研究的全部标本保存在广东省微生物研究所真菌标本室(HMIGD)。     

ACOUSTIC IDENTIFICATION OF NINE DELPHINID SPECIES IN THE EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC OCEAN

Acoustic methods may improve the ability to identify cetacean species during shipboard surveys. Whistles were recorded from nine odontocete species in the eastern tropical Pacific to determine how reliably these vocalizations can be classified to species based on simple spectrographic measurements. Twelve variables were measured from each whistle ( n = 908). Parametric multivariate discriminant function analysis (DFA) correctly classified 41.1% of whistles to species. Non-parametric classification and regression tree (CART) analysis resulted in 51.4% correct classification. Striped dolphin whistles were most difficult to classify. Whistles of bottlenose dolphins, false killer whales, and pilot whales were most distinctive. Correct classification scores may be improved by adding prior probabilities that reflect species distribution to classification models, by measuring alternative whistle variables, using alternative classification techniques, and by localizing vocalizing dolphins when collecting data for classification models.     

不同土壤和微量元素对车桑子幼苗生长的影响

为了解微量元素对车桑子(Dodonaea viscosa)生长的作用,研究添加微量元素(硼B、铁Fe、锰Mn、锌Zn)对车桑子生长和叶绿素荧光特性的影响。结果表明,除Mn外,B、Zn和Fe均对车桑子的生长和叶绿素荧光参数有显著促进作用(P<0.05);且添加B的车桑子具有更高的生物量积累,比对照显著提高了133.61%。微量元素与土壤类型对叶片磷(P)含量和叶片氮磷比(N/P)具有显著的交互作用(P<0.05),紫色土添加Zn、黄棕壤添加Fe均显著降低了叶片N/P。燥红土和黄棕壤上车桑子的株高、叶面积和生物量积累均高于紫色土,但紫色土和黄棕壤上车桑子的根冠比和叶片N/P显著高于燥红土(P<0.001)。这表明微量元素对干热河谷车桑子生长具有重要作用,在植被恢复过程中可通过添加B、Fe、Zn尤其是B来促进植物生长。     

RELATIVE ABUNDANCE, DISTRIBUTION AND INTER-SPECIFIC RELATIONSHIP OF CETACEAN SCHOOLS IN THE EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC

The relative abundance of the most common cetacean schools in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean for 1977–1980 are estimated based on encounter rates with tuna purse-seiners. No temporal trends were apparent in the relative abundance estimates. The geographic distributions for eight different school types are described. Multivariate statistical techniques are used to investigate interrelations between species and relationships to parameters of the physical environment. The results suggest three major species groupings: (1) an inshore grouping of bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncates ), Risso's dolphin ( Grampus griseus ), pilot whales ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ) and, to a lesser extent, common dolphins ( Delphinus delphis ); (2) an offshore pelagic grouping of spotted and spinner dolphins ( Stenella attenuate and S. longirostris ); and (3) an association between pilot whales and common dolphins that overlaps the first grouping in inshore areas and also tends to be segregated from the second grouping. The results also suggest that relative densities of different school types are strongly related to physical environmental parameters, the most important being sea surface temperature, depth of the thermocline and thickness of the oxygen minimum layer.     

元谋干热河谷车桑子种子休眠与萌芽的空间变异特征研究

为明确车桑子[Dodonaea viscosa(L.)Jacq.]种子的休眠特性和地理变异特性,测定了云南省元谋县凉山乡(属北亚热带区)和坝区苴林乡(属南亚热带区)车桑子种子形态,观察了种子的休眠特性和萌发特性。结果表明,两地的车桑子种子都具有物理休眠特性,经热水处理的种子萌发率显著高于未处理的种子(P=0.001)。两地种子在长、宽、长/宽以及种子百粒重上十分接近,其萌发特征和幼苗生长特征没有表现出显著差异。因此,坝区苴林乡和凉山乡种子并未发生地理变异,两地均适合车桑子采种,但在播种前应进行种子休眠破除,以提高种子发芽率。     

Phytochemical,acaricidal and biological activity of Dodonaea viscosa L. against the two spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch

Alcohol extract, saponins and flavones fractionated from Dodonaea viscosa leaves were tested for their acaricidal activity against the adult females of Tetranychus urticae Koch. It was found that crude alcohol extract was more potent than the isolates obtained. At LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ levels, the crude extract ranked the first. All the biotic factors are significantly affected. The fecundity was seriously reduced however, the hatchability of eggs was not affected. Two flavonoids were identified as Querectin 3–0-glucose 7-0-rhamnoside and the other as Querectin 3-0 arabinose 7-0 rhammoside from the ethyl acetate fraction of the alcohol extract.     

Unpredictability of nectar nicotine promotes outcrossing by hummingbirds in Nicotiana attenuata

Many plants use sophisticated strategies to maximize their reproductive success via outcrossing. Nicotiana attenuata flowers produce nectar with nicotine at concentrations that are repellent to hummingbirds, increasing the number of flowers visited per plant. In choice tests using native hummingbirds, we show that these important pollinators learn to tolerate high‐nicotine nectar but prefer low‐nicotine nectar, and show no signs of nicotine addiction. Nectar nicotine concentrations, unlike those of other vegetative tissues, are unpredictably variable among flowers, not only among populations, but also within populations, and even among flowers within an inflorescence. To evaluate whether variations in nectar nicotine concentrations increase outcrossing, polymorphic microsatellite markers, optimized to evaluate paternity in native N. attenuata populations, were used to compare outcrossing in plants silenced for expression of a biosynthetic gene for nicotine production (Napmt1/2) and in control empty vector plants, which were antherectomized and transplanted into native populations. When only exposed to hummingbird pollinators, seeds produced by flowers with nicotine in their nectar had a greater number of genetically different sires, compared to seeds from nicotine‐free flowers. As the variation in nectar nicotine levels among flowers in an inflorescence decreased in N. attenuata plants silenced in various combinations of three Dicer‐like (DCL) proteins, small RNAs are probably involved in the unpredictable variation in nectar nicotine levels within a plant.     

A species well travelled – the Dodonaea viscosa (Sapindaceae) complex based on phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETSf sequences

Aim To determine the evolutionary history of the widely studied, cosmopolitan polymorphic species Dodonaea viscosa (hop bush, varnish tree). Location All continents except Antarctica, extending from 44° S (in the South Island of New Zealand) to 33° N (in California and Arizona). Methods For 50 samples across the worldwide distribution, Bayesian analyses of nuclear ribosomal transcribed spacers (ITS 1, ITS 2 and partial ETS) were performed. The alignment was partitioned by secondary structure and analysed using separate models of sequence evolution for each spacer’s stem and loop partition. Bayesian relaxed‐clock estimations of divergence times were used to investigate the tempo of the transoceanic dispersal history of Dodonaea viscosa. Results The widely distributed Dodonaea viscosa evolved in Australia from its most recent common ancestor in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene and subsequently split into two distinct, geographically based, intraspecific lineages. There are a number of regional subclades that are also supported by specific molecular elements. Main conclusions Dodonaea viscosa is not an old lineage, as has often been speculated based primarily on its vast distribution. It diverged from its most recent common ancestor and subsequently dispersed and established around the world within the last 2 Myr. Two distinct lineages within Dodonaea viscosa, which have been shaped by Quaternary climatic change, have separate dispersal histories. The molecular investigations have identified that, although there are least two evolutionary lineages within the complex, they do not correlate with any distinct morphological subunits. It is proposed that Dodonaea viscosa (including D. biloba and D. procumbens) be recognized as an ochlospecies.