Goose grazing influences the fine-scale structure of a bryophyte community in arctic wetlands

Herbivores can shape plant communities, especially in the Arctic. We tested the role of geese for structuring bryophyte communities at fine spatial scales in the arctic tundra by excluding them from 4 × 4 m areas. We surveyed the presence and absence of bryophyte species in quadrats (10 × 10 cm) divided into 25 cells outside and inside these exclosures, after 5 and 11 years of treatment. Species richness per cell (4 cm²) was higher in the presence of geese, especially after 11 years of treatment, while geese had little effect on richness at larger scales (i.e. quadrat and whole exclosure). The slope of the species–area relationship within quadrats was consequently shallower outside exclosures. Our results further suggest that the community outside the exclosures was more variable in space and time than that inside the exclosures. We conclude that goose foraging activity promotes the coexistence of bryophyte species at the centimetre scale.     

Changes in abundance and spatial distribution of geese molting near Teshekpuk Lake,Alaska: interspecific competition or ecological change?

Goose populations molting in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska have changed in size and distribution over the past 30 years. Black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) are relatively stable in numbers but are shifting from large, inland lakes to salt marshes. Concurrently, populations of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons frontalis) have increased seven fold. Populations of Canada geese (Branta canadensis and/or B. hutchinsii) are stable with little indication of distributional shifts. The lesser snow goose (Anser caerulescens caerulescens) population is proportionally small, but increasing rapidly. Coastline erosion of the Beaufort Sea has altered tundra habitats by allowing saltwater intrusion, which has resulted in shifts in composition of forage plant species. We propose two alternative hypotheses for the observed shift in black brant distribution. Ecological change may have altered optimal foraging habitats for molting birds, or alternatively, interspecific competition between black brant and greater white-fronted geese may be excluding black brant from preferred habitats. Regardless of the causative mechanism, the observed shifts in species distributions are an important consideration for future resource planning.     

The revolution that didn't arrive: A review of Pleistocene Sahul

There is a "package" of cultural innovations that are claimed to reflect modern human behaviour. The introduction of the "package" has been associated with the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition and the appearance in Europe of modern humans. It has been proposed that modern humans spread from Africa with the "package" and colonised not only Europe but also southern Asia and Australia (McBrearty and Brooks, 2000; Mellars, 2006a). In order to evaluate this proposal, we explore the late Pleistocene archaeological record of Sahul, the combined landmass of Australia and Papua New Guinea, for indications of these cultural innovations at the earliest sites. It was found that following initial occupation of the continent by anatomically and behaviourally modern humans, the components were gradually assembled over a 30,000-year period. We discount the idea that the "package" was lost en route to Sahul and assess the possibility that the "package" was not integrated within the material culture of the initial colonising groups because they may not have been part of a rapid colonisation process from Africa. As the cultural innovations appear at different times and locations within Sahul, the proposed "package" of archaeologically visible traits cannot be used to establish modern human behaviour. Whilst the potential causal role of increasing population densities/pressure in the appearance of the "package" of modern human behaviour in the archaeological record is acknowledged, it is not seen as the sole explanation because the individual components of the "package" appear at sites that are widely separated in space and time.     

Diplonemid glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and prokaryote-to-eukaryote lateral gene transfer.

Lateral gene transfer refers to the movement of genetic information from one genome to another, and the integration of that foreign DNA into its new genetic environment. There are currently only a few well-supported cases of prokaryote-to-eukaryote transfer known that do not involve mitochondria or plastids, but it is not clear whether this reflects a lack of such transfer events, or poor sampling of diverse eukaryotes. One gene where this process is apparently active is glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), where lateral transfer has been implicated in the origin of euglenoid and kinetoplastid genes. We have characterised GAPDH genes from diplonemids, heterotrophic flagellates that are closely related to kinetoplastids and euglenoids. Two distinct classes of diplonemid GAPDH genes were found in diplonemids, however, neither class is closely related to any other euglenozoan GAPDH. One diplonemid GAPDH is related to the cytosolic gapC of eukaryotes, although not to either euglenoids or kinetoplastids, and the second is related to cyanobacterial and proteobacterial gap3. The bacterial gap3 gene in diplonemids provides one of the most well-supported examples of lateral gene transfer from a bacterium to a eukaryote characterised to date, and may indicate that diplonemids have acquired a novel biochemical capacity through lateral transfer.     

基于Maxent模型的粤港澳大湾区水鸟多样性热点研究

粤港澳大湾区拥有丰富的滨海湿地和水网湿地,是水鸟迁徙路线上的重要栖息地。基于55种水鸟的分布数据和15个环境变量数据,利用最大熵模型（Maximum Entropy model）分析了粤港澳大湾区水鸟多样性的空间分布格局及热点地区。研究表明：影响水鸟潜在分布的主要环境因子依次是降雨量季节变化、土地利用类型、距离水源的距离,水鸟丰富度最高出现在粤港澳大湾区的东南区域,呈现往内陆地区逐渐降低的趋势,与当地水资源空间分布一致。水鸟多样性热点地区分布在东南部沿海一带,集中在珠海、江门、深圳、中山等市。研究结果能为粤港澳大湾区水鸟多样性保护规划提供参考,对维持该区域生态系统安全和稳定具有重要意义。     

大兴安岭北部兴安落叶松(Larix gmelinii)林下穿透雨空间分布特征

森林冠层对降雨的水量和水质再分配是生态水文学研究的热点问题之一。为了研究兴安落叶松林下穿透雨的空间分布规律,探究森林冠层结构对穿透雨影响的生态机制,利用在兴安落叶松林下布设38个雨量筒,测定19场不同降雨事件的穿透雨数据(2013年7—8月),通过统计学方法分析冠层结构各因子与穿透雨的空间变异性规律,结果表明:观测期间,兴安落叶松林穿透雨量为148.3 mm,占同期大气降雨量的80.62%,穿透雨率随着降雨量的增加呈增加趋势;兴安落叶松林下穿透雨具有较大空间异质性,其变异程度随降雨量的增加而减小,以对数方程拟合较好(P0.01);冠层结构特征是影响穿透雨空间变异的重要因素,冠层复杂程度与穿透雨量呈负相关关系(P0.01);距树干距离、冠层厚度、叶面积指数等因素均可影响穿透雨的空间分布,以距树干距离影响最大,其与穿透雨率呈正相关关系(P0.01),而冠层厚度、叶面积指数则均与穿透雨率呈负相关关系(P0.01),但拟合效果不佳;从影响穿透雨的生态学机制来考虑,在冠层结构特征因子中,冠层厚度是决定穿透雨空间分布的最主要因素。     

随机扩增杂交微卫星方法在大仓鼠种群遗传多态性研究中的应用

随机扩增杂交微卫星(Random amplified hybridization microsatellites,RAHM)是一种复合RAPD扩增和寡核苷酸扫描的方法。该方法能够从RAPD产物凝胶上获得更多的信息,具有分析方法快速,高敏感性,能检测到高水平的多态性等优点。RAHM方法通过对RAPD扩增的DNA片段进行微卫星杂交来替代限制性内切酶对基因组DNA的消化,有助于揭示微卫星基因组克隆,进行微卫星引物的筛选。本文采用随机扩增杂交微卫星方法来检测小型哺乳动物大仓鼠(Techerskia triton)种群的遗传多态性,结果表明RAHM方法能够检测到大仓鼠种群中较高的多态性以及种群间的差异,这些条带模式可能代表真核基因组中另一种多态性标记的来源,可用于检测小型哺乳动物种群的遗传多态性。     

新时期自然生态空间综合管控研究——以粤港澳大湾区为例

梳理国内外自然生态空间管控理论得出,针对自然环境症状的管理方式不足以解决自然生态空间的整体性与复合性问题,研究提出综合多学科理论和多种空间管制规则,对全域自然生态空间的多元生态要素进行综合管控是生态空间管控的发展趋势。为探究自然生态空间综合管控的思路,以粤港澳大湾区为例,分析大湾区自然生态空间总体特征和主要城市的管制措施与特色,指出在增长背景下湾区自然生态空间管控中生态保护与社会发展之间存在的关键问题及产生的原因,针对性地提出大湾区自然生态空间管控的目标、层次、手段、部门、主体层面的转变方向,并详细探讨从湾区自然生态空间的生态服务功能、生态空间分级分类、动态管控指标、区域协同联动机制、空间管控权益主体等方面实施综合管控的具体思路,以促进湾区自然生态空间用途管制效力的提升。     

粤港澳大湾区小型公园绿地生态系统文化服务的供需匹配特征

小型公园绿地是城市生态系统文化服务的重要载体,自新冠疫情爆发以来,这类型公园绿地更是成为提供重要文化服务的场所。以粤港澳大湾区为研究区域,从潜在供给和潜在需求两个方面量化小型公园绿地文化服务,利用空间自相关与耦合协调度模型,探讨粤港澳大湾区文化服务供需的空间分布及匹配特征。结果如下：(1)生态系统文化服务供给具有明显的梯度分布,大致呈现中间低、四周高的特点;文化服务需求在城市中心区域呈连片分布。(2)文化服务供给在城市之间连片、以高-高聚集区域为主,需求则以低-低聚集为主、连片集中于城市中心,供需双变量则以高供给-低需求的聚集态为主、集中于研究区四周。(3)52.2%的区域属于文化服务需求不足,5.2%的区域供给不足。从小型公园绿地文化服务来看,粤港澳大湾区存在一定比例的生态系统文化服务供需错配现象,为提升人类在抵御重大突发事件过程中的生活质量,可分区管理自然生态系统。     

海平面上升对粤港澳大湾区沿海生境脆弱性评估

全球气候变暖所导致的海平面上升和快速城镇化将对沿海生境的分布和景观格局造成重大影响。评估海平面上升影响下的滨海湿地的脆弱性是对区域生态环境进行修复治理的重要依据。以粤港澳大湾区为例,基于SLAMM模型和Fragstas模型,针对六种海平面上升和土地利用耦合情景,对红树林、盐沼和潮滩三类海岸生境在2100年的面积变化、分布状况和脆弱程度进行了预测和分析。结果表明:1) 随着海平面上升,红树林和潮滩生境遭受严重退化。其中,红树林高脆弱性区主要分布在西江口、珠江口和黄茅海东岸。潮滩高脆弱性区则平均分布在大湾区沿海地带。相比之下,盐沼生境受海平面上升的影响较小。2) 与红树林和潮滩相比,土地利用模式对盐沼生境的影响最为显著。在保护已开发用地的情景下,珠江口西侧的盐沼面积大幅增加,脆弱性程度低。在保护所有旱地的情景下,盐沼生境面积虽然基本维持,但景观格局破坏严重,脆弱性程度高。本研究建议针对高脆弱区,动态调整土地利用策略,清理沿海湿地向内迁移的空间,增强沿海生境应对海平面上升的适应性。本研究可为沿海湿地的管理和保护提供科学支持。