The end of the adaptive landscape metaphor?

The concepts of adaptive/fitness landscapes and adaptive peaks are a central part of much of contemporary evolutionary biology; the concepts are introduced in introductory texts, developed in more detail in graduate-level treatments, and are used extensively in papers published in the major journals in the field. The appeal of visualizing the process of evolution in terms of the movement of populations on such landscapes is very strong; as one becomes familiar with the metaphor, one often develops the feeling that it is possible to gain deep insights into evolution by thinking about the movement of populations on landscapes consisting of adaptive valleys and peaks. But, since Wright first introduced the metaphor in 1932, the metaphor has been the subject of persistent confusion, from equivocation over just what the features of the landscape are meant to represent to how we ought to expect the landscapes to look. Recent advances—conceptual, empirical, and computational—have pointed towards the inadequacy and indeed incoherence of the landscapes as usually pictured. I argue that attempts to reform the metaphor are misguided; it is time to give up the pictorial metaphor of the landscape entirely and rely instead on the results of formal modeling, however difficult such results are to understand in ‘intuitive’ terms.

基于GIS的视觉景观影响定量评价方法理论与实践

在人地关系日益紧张的今天,一些可能产生视觉景观不良影响的项目不得不建设于自然保护区、历史文化遗迹等视觉景观敏感区内或附近,为避免建设项目对自然、历史、文化、旅游资源产生不必要的损失或造成难以弥补的遗憾,视觉景观环境影响评价就显得尤为重要.视觉景观环境影响评价在中国尚处于探索阶段,相关的研究多数集中在理论综述和定性的评价.以某建设项目对明十三陵景区的景观影响评价为例,对如何运用GIS空间分析功能,开展视觉景观环境影响定量评价研究展开探讨.     

Ab initio simulation of a 57-residue protein in explicit solvent reproduces the native conformation in the lowest free-energy cluster

An enhanced conformational sampling method, multicanonical molecular dynamics (McMD), was applied to the ab intio folding of the 57-residue first repeat of human glutamyl- prolyl-tRNA synthetase (EPRS-R1) in explicit solvent. The simulation started from a fully extended structure of EPRS-R1 and did not utilize prior structural knowledge. A canonical ensemble, which is a conformational ensemble thermodynamically probable at an arbitrary temperature, was constructed by reweighting the sampled structures. Conformational clusters were obtained from the canonical ensemble at 300 K, and the largest cluster (i.e., the lowest free-energy cluster), which contained 34% of the structures in the ensemble, was characterized by the highest similarity to the NMR structure relative to all alternative clusters. This lowest free-energy cluster included native-like structures composed of two anti-parallel α-helices. The canonical ensemble at 300 K also showed that a short Gly-containing segment, which adopts an α-helix in the native structure, has a tendency to be structurally disordered. Atomic-level analyses demonstrated clearly that inter-residue hydrophobic interactions drive the helix formation of the Gly-containing segment, and that increasing the hydrophobic contacts accompanies exclusion of water molecules from the vicinity of this segment. This study has shown, for the first time, that the free-energy landscape of a structurally well-ordered protein of about 60 residues is obtainable with an all atom model in explicit water without prior structural knowledge.     

Effects of grazing and topography on long-term vegetation changes in a Mediterranean ecosystem in Israel

The dynamics of Mediterranean vegetation over 28 years was studied in the Northern Galilee Mountains, Israel, in order to identify and quantify the major factors affecting it at the landscape scale. Image analysis of historical and current aerial photographs was used to produce high resolution digital vegetation maps (pixel size = 30 cm) for an area of 4 km² in the Galilee Mountains, northern Israel. GIS tools were used to produce corresponding maps of grazing regime, topographic indices and other relevant environmental factors. The effects of those factors were quantified using a multiple regression analyses. Major changes in the vegetation occurred during the period studied (1964–1992); tree cover increased from 2% in 1964 to 41% in 1992, while herbaceous vegetation cover decreased from 56% in 1964 to 24% in 1992. Grazing, topography and initial vegetation cover were found to significantly affect present vegetation patterns. Both cattle grazing and goat grazing reduced the rate of increase in tree cover, yet even intensive grazing did not halt the process. Grazing affected also the woody-herbaceous vegetation dynamics, reducing the expansion of woody vegetation. Slope, aspect, and the interaction term between these two factors, significantly affected vegetation pattern. Altogether, 56% and 72% of the variability in herbaceous and tree cover, respectively, was explained by the regression models. This study indicates that spatially explicit Mediterranean vegetation dynamics can be predicted with fair accuracy using few biologically important environmental variables.     

Genetic differentiation in relation to marine landscape in a broadcast-spawning bivalve mollusc (Placopecten magellanicus)

Marine bivalves are sessile or sedentary as adults but have planktonic larvae which can potentially disperse over large distances. Consequently larval transport is expected to play a prominent role in facilitating gene flow and determining population structure. The sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) is a dioecious species with high fecundity, broadcast spawning and a c. 30-day planktonic larval stage, yet it forms discrete populations or 'beds' which have significantly different dynamics and characteristics. We analysed variation at six microsatellite loci in 12 locations throughout the geographic range of the species from Newfoundland, Canada, to New Jersey, USA. Significant differentiation was present and the maximum pairwise theta value, between one of the Newfoundland samples in the north and a sample from the southern portion of the range, was high at 0.061. Other proximate pairs of samples had no detectable genetic differentiation. Mantel tests indicated a significant isolation by distance, but only when one of the populations was excluded. A landscape genetic approach was used to detect areas of low gene flow using a joint analysis of spatial and genetic information. The two major putative barriers inferred by Monmonier's algorithm were then used to define regions for an analysis of molecular variance (amova). That analysis showed a significant but low percentage (1.2%) of the variation to be partitioned among regions, negligible variation among populations within regions, and the majority of the variance distributed between individuals within populations. Prominent currents were concordant with the demarcation of the regions, while a novel approach of using particle tracking software to mimic scallop larval dispersal was employed to interpret within-region genetic patterns.     

森林景观变化的地理环境因素整合分析——以伊洛河流域洛宁县为例

运用景观生态学的基本原理,借助于地理信息系统技术,整合分析了地理环境因素对伊洛河流域洛宁县森林景观动态变化的影响。结果显示,应用地理环境因素影响指数可以很好地从整体上分析地理环境因素,如高程、坡度、距离居民点中心的距离、与森林边缘距离等地理环境因子对区域森林景观动态变化的影响。1983和1999年,伊洛河流域洛宁县森林景观在地理环境因素影响指数上的优势分布区间(Pie1)分别为1230和1030,即在中高地理环境因素影响指数分布区间内,且有向低地理环境因素影响指数分布区间略为移动的趋势。森林景观类型保持不变部分、森林景观转化为非森林景观类型部分和非森林景观转化为森林景观类型部分所对应的在地理环境因素影响指数上的优势分布区间(Pie1)分别为1130、18和613。通过建立森林景观动态变化与地理环境因素影响指数的相互关系,表明森林景观动态变化与地理环境因素影响指数(特别是在地理环境因素影响指数的优势分布区间内)有显著相关关系。     

Comparison of Post‐mining Rehabilitation with Reference Ecosystems in Monsoonal Eucalypt Woodlands,Northern Australia

Rehabilitation of post‐mining lands frequently aims to create “self‐sustaining” systems. Where native vegetation is the designated post‐mining land use, it is generally assumed that rehabilitation that is similar to local native ecosystems is more likely to be sustainable. I compared landscape functionality, plant community composition, and vegetation structure in (1) reference sites representing pre‐mining native forest; (2) reference sites representing potential landscape analogues for the post‐mining landscape; and (3) a 23‐year chronosequence of post‐mining rehabilitation on the Weipa bauxite plateau, Cape York Peninsula, Australia. The trends across the post‐mining chronosequence indicate that vegetation growth is rapid in the first 5–8 years, and then slows with mean height approaching an asymptote after approximately 15 years. Landscape function indices showed a response that coincided with vegetation growth. Vegetation composition was significantly different from reference native forest. Most importantly, from the perspective of creating self‐sustaining ecosystems, the contribution of local framework species to vegetation in rehabilitation was significantly lower than in reference native forest. I discuss the results in relation to theoretical models of succession and conclude that without management intervention, differences between post‐mining rehabilitation and native forest are likely to be persistent.     

滦河流域景观格局变化对水沙过程的影响

以滦河流域为研究区域,基于SWAT模型模拟1976—2012年滦河流域的水沙过程,分析2000年京津风沙源治理项目实施前后流域产水产沙时空格局变化;研究1980—2010年流域景观格局变化特征,揭示景观格局变化的水沙响应;应用Spearman相关分析法分析流域景观格局变化对水沙过程的影响。结果表明:与20世纪80年代相比,2010年流域林地和建设用地增加,其他用地类型减小;流域景观集中程度提高、连通性变优、优势斑块显著、形状趋于规则、多样性减少、破碎化程度降低、景观类型向非均衡方向发展;流域年均地表径流减少9mm,产水量增加5.44mm,产沙减小1.59t/hm~2;地表径流减少区域占全流域89.32%,产水量增加区域占76.71%,产沙量减少区域占93.89%;地表径流、产水、产沙与林地面积呈负相关,产水与草地面积呈正相关,地表径流、产沙与农业用地面积呈正相关;地表径流、产水、产沙与景观形状、Shannon′s均匀度、景观分离度呈正相关,与蔓延度、最大斑块指数呈负相关;产水、产沙与斑块密度和Shannon′s多样性指数呈正相关;工程治理后,流域年均径流量与产沙量显著下降,产水产沙高值区显著缩小,产沙关键区域仍需治理。     

基于生态适应性理论的川东民居传统聚落景观分析

以川东地区传统聚落为研究对象,基于现代生态适应性理论,探索了川东传统聚落空间格局的构建方法和驱动因素,以期为传统聚落的生态适应性和空间结构演变提供理论依据。研究表明:传统聚落实质体现了其对自然地理要素及生态系统完整性的适应。在聚落选址方面具体化为山、河、路、池等环境要素,形成理想聚居模式以适应环境。传统聚落营建风水林以弥补原自然环境的不足,这不仅起到了维持生物多样性的作用,且使人和其它生物及环境要素一起构成一个完整的生态系统。在房屋形式的选择上,传统聚落建筑极富地域特色,反映了对自然的尊崇和适应。传统聚落是一种以人类行为为主导,自然环境为依托,资源流动为命脉,社会、文化为经络的人工复合生态系统。经济、文化和制度三者相辅相成构成社会系统的原动力。