Description of a new anaerobic thermophilic bacterium,Thermoanaerobacterium butyriciformans sp. nov.

Strain USBA-019^T, an anaerobic and thermophilic strain, was identified as a new member of the genus Thermoanaerobacterium. USBA-019^T cells are gram-positive, strictly anaerobic, thermophilic, chemoorganotrophic, moderately acidophilic, non-motile, endospore-forming, slightly curved, and rod-shaped. Cells measure 0.4 × 3.0–7.0 μm. Optimal growth occurs at 50–55 °C (35–65 °C). Optimum pH is 5.0–5.5 (4.0–8.5). Thiosulfate, elemental sulfur and nitrate were utilized as electron acceptors. Fermentation of glucose, lactose, cellobiose, galactose, arabinose, xylose, starch and xylan primarily produced acetate and butyrate. Xylan, starch and cellobiose produced ethanol and starch, cellobiose, galactose, arabinose and mannose produced lactic acid. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison and genomic relatedness indices show the close relation of USBA-019^T to Thermoanaerobacterium thermostercoris and Thermoanaerobacterium aotearoense (similarity value: 99%). Hybridization of USBA-019^T, Th. thermostercoris DSM22141^T and Th. aotearoense DMS10170^T found DNA–DNA relatedness of 33.2% and 18.2%, respectively. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic evidence, along with low identity at whole genome level, USBA-019^T is a novel species of the genus Thermoanaerobacterium which we propose to name Thermoanaerobacterium butyriciformans sp. nov. The type strain is USBA-019^T (=CMPUJ U-019^T = DSM 101588^T).     

Consistency and variation in kelp holdfast assemblages: Spatial patterns of biodiversity for the major phyla at different taxonomic resolutions

The focus of this study was to measure natural spatial variability in the biodiversity of fauna inhabiting kelp holdfasts in northeastern New Zealand at several spatial scales: from meters up to hundreds of kilometers. We wished to test the hypothesis that multivariate variation and biodiversity would vary significantly at different spatial scales in different ways for the major phyla in the holdfast community (Arthropoda, Annelida, Mollusca and Bryozoa). Biodiversity was considered in terms of richness, total abundance, structural composition (as measured by the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity measure) and taxonomic breadth for each major phylum and for the assemblage as a whole. We also examined the effect of taxonomic resolution on multivariate patterns. Species richness and total abundance increased with increases in holdfast volume. Multivariate variation was greatest at the smallest spatial scale for all phyla, but different phyla showed different patterns of multivariate variation at different spatial scales. Variations among locations at the largest spatial scale were primarily due to differences in the composition and richness of bryozoans and molluscs. Location effects became less and less distinct with decreases in taxonomic resolution. There were very few significant differences in richness or abundance for holdfasts of a given volume, taxonomic breadth did not vary significantly across locations, nor did the proportional abundances of phyla. These consistencies across large spatial scales in the absence of environmental impacts and results from other studies suggest that holdfast communities in New Zealand systems would provide a useful model assemblage against which future impacts may be detected as changes in proportions of component phyla. In addition, high variability detected at small and large scales at the species level, especially for bryozoans and molluscs, suggest that these communities may also provide unique opportunities for studying and understanding sources and functions of marine biodiversity.     

Exploring taxonomic filtering in urban environments

Question: Several mechanisms have been proposed that control the spatio‐temporal pattern of species coexistence. Among others, the species pool hypothesis states that the large‐scale species pool is an important factor in controlling small‐scale species richness through filtering of species that can persist within a species assemblage on the basis of their tolerance of the abiotic environment. Because of the process of environmental filtering, co‐occurring species that experience similar environmental conditions are likely to be more taxonomically similar than ecologically distant species. This is because, due to the conservatism of many species traits during evolutionary diversification, the ability of species to colonize the same ecological space is thought to depend at least partially on their taxonomic similarity. The question for this study is: Under the assumption of trait conservatism, does environmental filtering lead to nonrandom species assemblages with respect to their taxonomic structure? Methods: The significance of taxonomic filtering in regulating species coexistence is tested using data from 15 local species assemblages from the urban flora of Rome (Italy). To find out whether the taxonomic structure of the selected’ local’ species assemblages was significantly different from random, we used a Monte Carlo simulation in which for each local species assemblage, the actual taxonomic diversity was compared to the taxonomic diversity of 1000 virtual species lists of the same size extracted at random from a larger ‘regional’ species pool. Results: We found that in most cases the local species assemblages have a higher degree of taxonomic similarity than would be expected by chance showing a phenomenon of ‘species condensation’ in a small number of higher‐level taxa. Conclusions: Our observations support the species pool hypothesis and imply that environmental filtering is an important mechanism in shaping the taxonomic structure of species assemblages. Therefore, the incorporation of taxonomic diversity into landscape and community ecology may be beneficial for a better understanding of the processes that regulate species coexistence.     

The impact of water-level regulation on littoral macroinvertebrate assemblages in boreal lakes

Regulation of lake water level for power production and flood control is among the major anthropogenic disturbances in boreal aquatic ecosystems. In Finland, over 300 lakes, representing one third of the total inland water area of the country, are artificially regulated. To study the effects of regulation on lake littoral macroinvertebrate communities, samples were taken from upper stony littoral and from lower soft bottom littoral habitats of 11 lakes with different regulation amplitudes (wintertime fall in water level 1.19–6.75 m). Twelve unregulated (wintertime fall in water level 0.11–0.55 m) lakes with otherwise similar characteristics were used as a reference. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling ordinations showed that the composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages was strongly associated with the amplitude of water level regulation. Taxon richness also decreased with increasing intensity of regulation. Freezing and flushing of sediments in late winter are probably the most important factors leading to the impoverished littoral macroinvertebrate fauna. Invertebrates with long life cycle seem to be particularly vulnerable to unnatural water level fluctuation. Our results show that regulation of water level has a major impact on functionally significant lake littoral macroinvertebrates.     

A case study to quantify the value of voucher specimens for invertebrate conservation: ant records in Lower Austria

Ant records for Lower Austria date back to 1802. Since then, the number of presently recognized central European ant species has increased from 34 to 165. Taxonomic changes and former misidentifications have unfortunately made published historical data unreliable. Therefore, in preparing for the publication of the Red List of Ants of Lower Austria, all voucher specimens from the available major collections were redetermined at the species level. This amounted to a total of 18500 pre-1980 specimens, and 42000 post-1980 specimens. Currently, there are 111 ant species recorded for Lower Austria (including three introduced species). Twelve of these are published here for the first time for Lower Austria, six for all Austria, and one of these is a so far unknown species, discovered among historic voucher specimens. Voucher specimens provide information on the pre-1980 situation of 108 (=97% of the known) species and 32% of the surface area of Lower Austria.     

Molecular phylogeny and taxonomic reconsideration of the subfamily Zapodinae (Rodentia: Dipodidae), with an emphasis on Chinese species

Although the subfamily Zapodinae (Rodentia, Dipodidae) contains only five species, the phylogeny and taxonomy of these species are still being disputed. First, whether Eozapus and Napaeozapus should be treated as independent genera or subgenera of Zapus has been argued for a long period. Second, the subspecific genetic differentiation of Chinese jumping mouse (Eozapus setchuanus) has not been studied in detail, neither from morphological nor molecular aspects. In this study, the phylogenetic relationship among all the five species of Zapodinae was reconstructed using DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the nuclear interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein gene. Bayesian inference, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses were conducted. The results showed that two major clades could be recognized within Zapodinae. Eozapus setchuanus, is the species endemic to China, strongly formed a monophyletic clade. In the other clade, genus Zapus received significant support in all analyses to be the sister group of the genus Napaeozapus. By comparing genetic distances among these three genera, we conclude that both Eozapus and Napaeozapus should be considered as valid genera rather than subgenera of Zapus. Furthermore, we observed that the two subspecies of E. setchuanus did not form reciprocally monophyletic groups, thus the traditional taxonomy which divided E. setchuanus into two subspecies based on only one morphological character was questionable.     

Diversity and conservation of Chinese wild begonias

Begonia, one of the most diverse plant taxa and the fifth or sixth largest angiosperm genus, consists of over 1800 accepted species. The number of species recognized within this genus has greatly increased over the past 20 years, rising from 80 to 200 species in China alone. Based on recent field surveys, the number of begonia species in China is predicted to be between 250 and 300. Given the large number of begonia species that still remain to be described, further taxonomical work is urgently required. This is especially true for Chinese Begonia, in which there is a huge diversity of habitat, habit, plant size, leaf type, flower and fruit morphology, and most species are narrowly distributed in isolated habitats that are subject to negative disturbances from climate change, as well as agricultural and industrial activities. Although the conservation status for the majority of species has been evaluated using the standards of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the results don't represent the truth in many species, and also about 11.5% of which are data-absent. In addition, illegal collection and over-harvesting of wild begonias for ornamental or medicinal use has increased due to the rapid development of internet commerce. Far more often than predicted, these species should be categorized as rare and endangered and require immediate protection. Ex situ conservation of Chinese begonias started in 1995 and over 60% of the total species have been so far introduced into cultivation by several major botanical gardens in China. However, only few research institutions, limited funds and human resources have been involved in Begonia conservation; moreover, no project has conducted reintroduction. Therefore, more conservation-based work remains to be done. Improved conservation of Chinese begonias in the future depends on further field survey, an improved understanding of population diversity, and integrative approaches, including in situ and ex situ conservation, seed banking, and plant reintroduction. Speciestargeted conservation zones should be established for endangered species excluded from the existing nature reserves. Additionally, laws pertaining to plant protection should be extended to prevent the illegal collection and transaction of wild plants, particularly for those species with unique habitats and small populations.     

重订羌活属的分类

在野外实地观察和标本整理的基础上,检查了羌活属各个分类群的分类问题,考证了它们的名称。通过性状分析,主要以小总苞片的形状及其相关特征作为属下分类的依据,将卵叶羌活N．oviforme 改隶于宽叶羌活之下作为亚种处理,支持张盍曾在1975年将 N.franchetii 与N.forbesii合并为1种。如此,该属共5种,其中1种含1亚种。描述了两个新组,对属的特征和地理分布作了补充。近年该属新增加2种,因此分种检索表也作了相应的修改。     

亚洲产透骨草属植物的修订

对Phryma leptostachya L．的亚洲产亚种,即ssp. asiatica (Hara) Kitamura作了分类修订,列出了显示两个亚种本质区别的检索表,并提供了ssp.asiatica的详细的地理分布资料。