Hidden in the Arabian Mountains: Multilocus phylogeny reveals cryptic diversity in the endemic Omanosaura lizards

An increase in studies in the Hajar Mountains from the southeastern Arabian Peninsula has revealed a high richness of endemic evolutionary lineages with many cryptic taxa. Omanosaura is the only lacertid lizard genus endemic to the Hajar Mountains, with two species O. cyanura and O. jayakari distributed throughout this mountain range. The phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity between and within these species have been poorly studied. In this study, we collected mitochondrial (12S, cytb, and nd4) and nuclear (cmos and mc1r) sequences for 25 specimens of Omanosaura, including 15 individuals of O. jayakari and 10 of O. cyanura. We performed phylogenetic analyses based on network reconstruction, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference to estimate the relationships and intraspecific genetic diversity of these species. We estimated the time of divergence between the two species in the Miocene, around 8.5 million years ago. Omanosaura jayakari shows little genetic diversity, while O. cyanura presents two differentiated lineages. These are reciprocally monophyletic at mitochondrial and nuclear genes and present a high genetic distance between them. These two lineages are associated with the geographic features of the Hajar Mountains, with one lineage distributed in the northernmost part of the Hajar Mountains and the other in the rest of the western Hajars, the Jebel Akhdar, and the eastern Hajars. This geographic relationship has been recovered previously in other reptile taxa and is generally associated with high levels of local genetic diversity. Our results suggest the existence of cryptic diversity within O. cyanura and support a general biogeographic pattern of high diversity and endemism in the northern Hajar Mountains that certainly deserves additional research in the future.     

太白山针叶林的Fuzzy分类研究

应用模糊聚类分析法和模糊图论分析对太白山针叶林进行了数量分类比较研究。将２６个样地分为两大类共７个群落类型。研究结果表明,两种方法在植物群落分类研究中,不但是可行的,而且所分类的实际结果是等价的,与实际观测情况也是吻合的。其中的图论法直接依据模糊相似系数得到树状图,简便易行,显示出更大的适用性。     

Biogeography of Great Basin butterflies: revisiting patterns, paradigms, and climate change scenarios

We used comprehensive data on butterfly distributions from six mountain ranges in the Great Basin to explore three connected biogeographic issues. First, we examined species richness and occurrence patterns both within and among mountain ranges. Only one range had a significant relationship between species richness and area. Relationships between species richness and elevation varied among mountain ranges. Species richness decreased as elevation increased in one range, increased as elevation increased in three ranges, and was not correlated in two ranges. In each range, distributional patterns were nested, but less vagile species did not always exhibit greater nestedness. Second, we compared our work with similar studies of montane mammals. Results from both taxonomic groups suggest that it may be appropriate to modify existing general paradigms of the biogeography of montane faunas in the Great Basin. Third, we revisited and refined previous predictions of how butterfly assemblages in the Great Basin may respond to climate change. The effects of climate change on species richness of montane butterflies may vary considerably among mountain ranges. In several ranges, few if any species apparently would be lost. Neither local species composition nor the potential order of species extirpations appears to be generalizable among ranges.     

Temperature, but not productivity or geometry, predicts elevational diversity gradients in ants across spatial grains

Aim  This research aims to understand the factors that shape elevational diversity gradients and how those factors vary with spatial grain. Specifically, we test the predictions of the species–productivity hypothesis, species–temperature hypothesis, the metabolic theory of ecology and the mid-domain effects null model. We also examine how the effects of productivity and temperature on richness depend on spatial grain.
Location  Deciduous forests along an elevational gradient in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA.
Methods  We sampled 22 leaf litter ant assemblages at three spatial grains, from 1-m² quadrats to 50 × 50 m plots using Winkler samplers.
Results  Across spatial grains, warmer sites had more species than did cooler sites, and primary productivity did not predict ant species richness. We found some support for the predictions of the metabolic theory of ecology, but no support for the mid-domain effects null model. Thus, our data are best explained by some version of a species–temperature hypothesis.
Main conclusions  Our results suggest that temperature indirectly affects ant species diversity across spatial grains, perhaps by limiting access to resources. Warmer sites support more species because they support more individuals, thereby reducing the probability of local extinction. Many of our results from this elevational gradient agree with studies at more global scales, suggesting that some mechanisms shaping ant diversity gradients are common across scales.     

大兴安岭不同火烧年限森林凋落物和土壤C、N、P化学计量特征

测定大兴安岭林区不同火烧年限(火后4、14、40、70和120年内未火烧)、不同坡度(坡地、平地)凋落物和土壤C、N、P含量及其化学计量比,分析火烧对凋落物和土壤养分的长期影响及两者之间的关系.结果表明: 不同火烧年限凋落物和土壤C、N、P化学计量特征差异显著,凋落物C含量变化不大.凋落物N、P含量随火烧年限的增加而增加,在火后4和14年较低,在火后40年恢复到对照(未火烧)水平.凋落物C∶N和C∶P值随火烧年限增加而下降,N∶P值则呈上升趋势.土壤C、N、P含量及其比值随土层深度增加而降低.坡地土壤C含量随火烧年限增加而增加,在火后70年显著高于对照,在平地差异不显著.火烧年限和坡度的交互作用影响土壤P含量和C∶P值.坡地土壤P含量在火后4年高于对照,而平地在火后40年高于对照;坡地C∶P值在火后14年达到对照水平,而平地与对照差异不显著.冗余分析表明,有机质层土壤的坡度效应大于年限效应,矿质层土壤主要受年限效应影响.火后4和14年凋落物及土壤养分含量低于对照,随着火烧年限的增加,植被生长迅速同时凋落物分解加快,凋落物质量及土壤养分质量不断提高,在火后40年恢复到未火烧水平,趋于稳定状态.     

山西省管涔山林区苔藓植物垂直带的研究

本文根据山西省管涔山林区苔藓植物特有种及优势种, 并参考环境特征, 将苔藓植物垂直带划分为:低山苔藓植物带, 针叶林区苔藓植物带、亚高山灌丛草甸区苔藓植物带。     

杭州西湖山区植被的分类

用Braun-B1anquet法对西湖山区植被的132个样地进行了群落的分类。初步确定了2个 群丛(木荷群丛与黄连木群丛)、7个亚群丛和6个变型;并对28个鉴别种组进行了分析,它们都较好地反映了群落分类单位的特征和生境条件特点以及植被在空间分布上的连续性变异。     

论武夷山在中国生物多样性保护中的地位

武夷山位于福建省西北部。其主峰黄岗山海拔2158 m,是中国大陆东南部最高峰。山岭纵横,气候温润,生物种类繁多。已知有高等植物2615种,动物5249种,而且有不少特有和古老、孑遗、珍稀种类。分布到这里的种类有些还出现变异,是国内外闻名的动物新种模式标本产地。是中国东南部重要的物种形成和分化中心,生物的“避难所”。生态系统也很多样。存在不少树龄在200年以上,甚至上千年的古树名木,因而在《中国生物多样性国情研究报告》中被列为中国陆地11个生物多样性保护的“关键区”之一。此外,该地现尚存清康熙和乾隆年间的禁止捕鱼和砍伐林木的刻碑,说明它是中国境内有保护生物多样性优良传统的地区之一。     

武陵山希蚱属一新种（直翅目：蚱科）

报道了中国武陵山地区蚱科,希蚱属Xistrella Bolivar一新种:湖南希蚱Xistrella hunanensis Wang新种,并附中国希蚱属分种检索表。模式标本保存在中国科学院昆明动物研究所。