Effects of Tea Plantations on Stream Invertebrates in a Global Biodiversity Hotspot in Africa

Tropical stream ecosystems in montane forest watersheds are important centers of endemism and diversity and provide essential ecosystem services. These habitats are subject to a variety of stressors, including the conversion of adjacent terrestrial habitats from forest to agriculture, but the impacts of these anthropogenic effects are largely unknown because of the paucity of studies in these systems. In montane habitats in the wet tropics, large-scale cultivation of tea is common and can represent an important source of income at local and national scales. However, little is known about how tea cultivation impacts adjacent stream ecosystems. In this study, we examine stream macroinvertebrate assemblages in a biodiversity hotspot the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Specifically, we compare diversity of macroinvertebrate assemblages found on cobbles in stream riffles in watersheds dominated by forest with those surrounded by tea cultivation. We found that streams surrounded by tea were characterized by significantly lower dissolved oxygen and had lower total estimated species richness and number of families. Furthermore, the richness of invertebrate taxa known to be sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance were substantially reduced in tea streams and general assemblage-level analysis shows significant differences in the composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages between tea and forested streams. Our results suggest that tea cultivation may reduce stream habitat quality and biodiversity in the East Usambaras. Further research is needed to evaluate the effects of tea cultivation on streams over longer times scales and to address methods for minimizing negative effects of agriculture on montane stream communities.     

Changes in tropical forest vegetation along an altitudinal gradient in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania

This study describes changes in woody vegetation in the Mwanihana forest, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania, over an altitude range of 470–1700 m. Two methods, fixed‐ and variable‐area plots, are compared to elucidate altitudinal variation in tropical forest structure, diversity and community composition. Six 25 m × 100 m fixed area plots recorded a total of 2143 woody stems of ≥3 cm d.b.h. from 204 species. The 78 variable‐area plots recorded the nearest twenty trees of ≥20 cm d.b.h. to an objectively chosen point, giving a total of 1560 stems in 9.1 ha from 156 species. A linear trend of increasing stem density with altitude was seen for variable‐area plots. Species diversity is highest at high elevations. There was no clear zonation of elevational vegetation types. Restricted range taxa occur at all altitudes sampled. The study also revealed some methodological considerations. Bias in sample size and plot area can be tested by employing two sampling methods. Of the two methods used, fixed area plots are preferred as variable area plots are impractical in tangled understorey. Plot size must be controlled for in order to make reliable observations of diversity. Sampling along a continuous or near‐continuous altitudinal gradient with sufficient replication is also important.     

横断山区六种八居群鼠尾草属植物的核型分析

鼠尾草属(Salvia)是唇形科(Lamiaceae)最大的属,属下多种为民间常用草药,亦有供观赏的种类。为探究横断山区物种在细胞学水平的进化方式,讨论形态分类学与分子系统学之间的分类关系,该研究通过广泛收集染色体文献资料,采用植物常规压片法对采集自横断山地区6种8居群鼠尾草属植物进行核型分析,并构建了中国地区分布的鼠尾草属植物叶绿体系统发育树。统计结果表明:(1)全世界范围内报道了约23%的鼠尾草属植物染色体数据,其中分布在中国地区的鼠尾草属植物染色体报道率为32.10%,分布在横断山地区的鼠尾草属植物报道率为40.54%,(2)鼠尾草属植物染色体基数以x=8和x=11为主,分布在中国地区的鼠尾草属植物染色体基数均为x=8。实验结果表明:(1)西藏鼠尾草(S. wardii)核型数据为首次报道。(2)雪山鼠尾草(S. evansiana)首次在云南德钦地区发现二倍体居群。将细胞学数据结合叶绿体进化树开展染色体进化关联分析,论证多倍化可能不是鼠尾草属物种适应高海拔环境的主要机制,表明多倍体不是该属物种形成的主要进化途径而是以二倍体水平为主,推测染色体组的加倍可能是物种在形态学与分子系统学上分类关系不一致的原因之一。该研究丰富了横断山区鼠尾草属植物的染色体核型数据,结合区域分子系统树探讨染色体特征的进化关系,为今后深入研究该属物种的核型进化做出了探索,为开展祖先物种染色体基数推演分析补充了基础数据。     

THE FOSSIL GREEN ALGA MIZZIA (DASYCLADACEAE): A TOOL FOR INTERPRETATION OF PALEOENVIRONMENT IN THE UPPER PERMIAN CAPITAN REEF COMPLEX SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO1

A paleoenvironmental study of the dasyclad Mizzia Schubert, 1907 is potentially important because, unlike most of the other fossil reef-dwelling organisms found in the Guadalupe Mountains, the fossil Mizzia (restricted to the Permian) has a modern analog, Cymopolia Lamouroux, 1916 (Cretaceous to Holocene). The overall morphology of the two genera is similar: both are articulated, and observations on our specimens suggest that both were branched. The transition from the remarkably high-diversity sponge and algal assemblage in the reef into the remarkably low-diversity dasyclad-dominated assemblage in the back reef is abrupt, occurring over distances as short as 10 m. Mizzia is the dominant and usually the only component in grainstones, packstones, and wackestones found; immediately shelfward of the Capitan reef. The low percentage of broken segments (average 10%) and the discovery of several intact sections of thallus are evidence against wave action as a possible limiting factor. Because the climate in the Guadalupe Mountains was extremely arid and because dasyclads are euryhaline, hypersalinity is considered the most likely limiting factor in this case. Our conclusion that prolific stands of dasyclads formed in shallow protected lagoons immediately behind an emergent barrier reef is not compatible with the currently accepted marginal mound hypothesis for deposition of the Capitan reef complex. We suggest that the marginal mound model must either be modified or abandoned in favor of the originally proposed barrier reef model of deposition.     

A re-consideration of the taxonomic status of Nebria lacustris Casey (Coleoptera,Carabidae, Nebriini) based on multiple datasets – a single species or a species complex?

This study gathered evidence from principal component analysis (PCA) of morphometric data and molecular analyses of nucleotide sequence data for four nuclear genes (28S, TpI, CAD1, and Wg) and two mitochondrial genes (COI and 16S), using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. This evidence was combined with morphological and chorological data to re-evaluate the taxonomic status of Nebria lacustris Casey sensu lato. PCA demonstrated that both body size and one conspicuous aspect of pronotal shape vary simultaneously with elevation, latitude, and longitude and served to distinguish populations from the southern Appalachian highlands, south of the French Broad, from all other populations. Molecular analyses revealed surprisingly low overall genetic diversity within Nebria lacustris sensu lato, with only 0.39% of 4605 bp varied in the concatenated dataset. Evaluation of patterns observed in morphological and genetic variation and distribution led to the following taxonomic conclusions: (1) Nebria lacustris Casey and Nebria bellorum Kavanaugh should be considered distinct species, which is a NEW STATUS for Nebria bellorum. (2) No other distinct taxonomic subunits could be distinguished with the evidence at hand, but samples from northeastern Iowa, in part of the region known as the "Driftless Zone", have unique genetic markers for two genes that hint at descent from a local population surviving at least the last glacial advance. (3) No morphometric or molecular evidence supports taxonomic distinction between lowland populations on the shores of Lake Champlain and upland populations in the adjacent Green Mountains of Vermont, despite evident size and pronotal shape differences between many of their members.     

Reproductive biology of two Himalayan alpine gingers (Roscoea spp., Zingiberaceae) in China: pollination syndrome and compensatory floral mechanisms

According to the concept of pollination syndromes, floral traits reflect specialisation to a particular pollinator or set of pollinators. However, the reproductive biology of endemic, and often specialised, plants may require increased attention as climate change accelerates worldwide. Species of Roscoea endemic to the Himalayan region have striking orchid-like flowers with long corolla tubes, suggesting pollination by long-tongued insects. Until now, the reproductive biology of species of Roscoea has been poorly documented. We investigated the floral biology, breeding system and pollination ecology of R. cautleoides and R. humeana, from Hengduan Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot in southwest China. We also tested whether floral longevity increases pollination success. Pollination experiments showed that the two species were self-compatible and depended on insects for fruit production. Over several flowering seasons we did not observe any potential pollinators with long tongues that matched the corolla tube visiting flowers in centres of distribution. The principal pollinators observed were pollen-collecting generalist bees, with low visitation frequencies. In general, members of the ginger family are characterised by short-lived (usually 1 day) flowers, but flowers of R. cautleoides and R. humeana last 8 and 6 days, respectively. Removing stigmas decreased fruit set in both study populations. Our results suggest that the original pollinators may have been long-tongued insects that are now absent from the Chinese Himalayas because habitats have responded to climate change. However, long-lived and self-compatible flowers, coupled with the presence of generalist pollinators, are traits that have allowed these gingers to reproduce and continue to persist in the alpine habitats.     

Multilocus molecular DNA variation in Winifred's Warbler Scepomycter winifredae suggests cryptic speciation and the existence of a threatened species in the Rubeho–Ukaguru Mountains of Tanzania

Winifred's Warbler Scepomycter winifredae has a disjunct but very restricted distribution in the mountains of central Tanzania. It was once known only from the Uluguru Mountains. Subsequently, this rare warbler has been recorded from the Ukaguru Mountains, and more recently from the Rubeho Mountains, as well as from Mwanihana Forest on the eastern scarp of the Udzungwa Highlands (single record). These three localities are isolated from the Uluguru Mountains by more than 100 km of lowland savannah. Here we characterize the populations morphologically and estimate demographic parameters using a multilocus molecular approach. Birds from the Uluguru Mountains differed from those of the Rubeho–Ukaguru Mountains in mtDNA by 1.6% (uncorrected) sequence divergence, or at 16 sites: one at each of the first and second codon positions, and at 14 third codon position sites. Five autosomal introns were also sequenced for a total of 2922 bp of nuclear DNA. No single nucleotide polymorphisms were completely fixed between the Uluguru and Rubeho–Ukaguru populations. Results from our coalescent analyses suggest that there is currently unlikely to be any exchange of birds between the Uluguru and Rubeho–Ukaguru populations and that the shared nuclear alleles are a consequence of lineage sorting not yet having been completed due to the recent divergence (upper Pleistocene) between these two populations. In view of the lack of gene flow between the Uluguru and Rubeho–Ukaguru populations, and morphological diagnosability, we propose to recognize the latter populations as a separate species, which we name Rubeho Warbler Scepomycter rubehoensis .     

How does parental role influence the activity and movements of breeding wolves?

We studied the activity and movements of a male and a female wolf during breeding in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland. The female was less active and mobile and on average closer to the den than the male. The male was less active and mobile when the pack size was seven compared to a year when the pack consisted only of the breeding pair. We conclude that the roles played by breeding males and females rearing pups influence their activity, and that breeding males in larger packs move less during the nursing period because of help by other pack members.     

秦岭大熊猫精液的细管冷冻保存

2008年3月1日至4月27日和2009年3月3日至5月1日,在陕西省珍稀野生动物抢救饲养研究中心对处于繁殖期内的4只雄性秦岭大熊猫(Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis)精液进行了细管冻精实验。比较组成不同的4种稀释液:葡萄糖-果糖-柠檬酸三钠-卵黄-甘油-双抗(稀释液1)、葡萄糖-蔗糖-柠檬酸三钠-卵黄-甘油-双抗(稀释液2)、葡萄糖-柠檬酸三钠-卵黄-甘油-双抗(稀释液3)和美国进口的TEST(加入3.5%甘油),以及直接降温平衡法(方法 1)与逐级降温平衡法(方法 2)2种冷冻保存操作方法,对秦岭大熊猫精液进行细管冷冻保存后精子活力和顶体完整率的影响。结果表明:稀释液1的精子活力为46.25%±11.67%,顶体完整率为80.75%±7.89%,TEST的精子活力为48.75%±8.54%,顶体完整率为84.50%±7.59%,两者的精子活力和顶体完整率均无明显差异(P0.05),但是都明显高于稀释液2(P﹤0.01)和稀释液3(P﹤0.01);采用方法 1冷冻保存秦岭大熊猫精液,解冻后精子的活力和顶体完整率分别为45.67%±10.54%和81.37%±8.42%,都显著高于方法 2(P﹤0.01);方法 1解冻后畸形率为23.50%±3.51%,明显低于方法 2(P﹤0.01)。经比较确定,方法 1(用稀释液1)是一种较好的细管冷冻保存秦岭大熊猫精液的方法。     

长白山区眼灰蝶属(鳞翅目,灰蝶科)研究和中国一新纪录种

记述长白山区眼灰蝶属4种,其中兹眼灰蝶Polyommatus tsvetaevi(Kurentzov,1970)为中国新纪录种,编制分种检索表,提供成虫照片和外生殖器特征图。因阿眼灰蝶Polyommatus amanda和酷眼灰蝶Polyommatus semiargus在长白山的亚种名均为amurensis,因此,amurensis Tutt,1909就成为amurensis(Staudinger,1892)的次同名,需要提出替代名Polyommatus semiargus changbaishanensis nom.nov.