Elevational diversity gradients of Tibetan loaches: The relative roles of ecological and evolutionary processes

It is widely believed that species richness patterns (SRPs) are shaped by both ecological and evolutionary processes. However, the relative roles of these processes remain unclear, especially for aquatic organisms. In this study, we integrated ecological and evolutionary measures to tease apart the relative influences of these factors on the SRP of Tibetan loaches along an extensive elevational gradient. We found that the Tibetan loaches displayed a richness pattern that peaked at midelevations. The mean annual temperature (MAT), mid‐domain effect (MDE), and summed age of colonization (SAC, complex of colonization age and colonization frequency) were the main drivers, accounting for 85%, 51%, and 88% of the variations in the SRP, respectively. The three predictors had very high combined effects (MAT‐MDE‐SAC, MAT‐SAC, and MDE‐SAC were 44%, 38%, and 6%, respectively). Our analyses suggested that energy input, time‐for‐speciation, and species dispersal may directly guide the SRP or mediate it by geometric constraints. Conclusively, the SRP of the Tibetan loaches with elevation is the outcome of interactions between biogeographical processes and regional ecological conditions.     

甘肃莲花山蓝马鸡孵卵节律的初步研究

2002～2003年5～6月,应用温度自动监测技术,在甘肃省莲花山自然保护区对蓝马鸡（Crossoptilon auritum）的繁殖及孵卵节律进行了初步研究。蓝马鸡的巢址位于海拔2900—3020m的针阔混交林或灌木林中,蓝马鸡的窝卵数为9．5（n=4）,孵卵期的主要天敌为哺乳类。根据对4个巢的监测,蓝马鸡雌鸟在孵卵期的平均日离巢次数在1．25～4.00次,平均日离巢时间在16.6～46．4min之间。雌鸟的平均在巢率为97.0％（n=3）。根据对4号巢雌鸟孵卵节律连续27d的观测,发现雌鸟在每日离巢2次或3次时,其首次离巢时间要显著早于每日仅离巢1次的时间。     

Breeding ecology of an Old World high-altitude warbler, Phylloscopus affinis

Reproduction of Tickell’s Leaf Warblers Phylloscopus affinis was studied in an alpine valley (29°27′N, 91°40′E, 3,980–5,600 m) in the Lhasa mountains, Tibet, at the upper elevational limit of the species’ breeding range. This species is a summer breeder, and is the only breeding Phylloscopus species in the valley. It nested in all types of shrubby vegetation across the altitudinal range of the valley. Most nests were placed close to the ground (<1 m) in low thorn bushes. Egg-laying dates fell between late May and early July, most within the first 3 weeks after the commencement of breeding. Mean clutch size was 4.0 (3–5) and mean brood size at fledging 3.4 (2–5). Incubation was by the females and lasted 13–14 days, and both parents cared for the young for 14–17 days. Nestlings ready to leave the nest were 13% heavier than the adults. Overall, 76% of nesting attempts produced at least one fledged young. Some aspects of the breeding biology of this high-altitude warbler were compared with those of lower-altitude Phylloscopus species.     

Distribution,species diversity and life-form spectra of plant communities along an altitudinal gradient in the northern slopes of Qilianshan Mountains,Gansu, China

We studied the distribution pattern, species diversity and life-formspectra of plant communities along an altitudinal gradient in the mid-sectionofthe northern slopes of Qilianshan Mountains by means of multivariate analyses.Two data sets (167 species × 75 plots, 10 environmental variables ×75 plots), originated from the fieldworks in 1998–1999, were subjected toTWINSPAN and DCCA, resulting in 8 major plant communities: 1)Asterothamnus centraliasiaticus–Halogetonarachnoideus desert grassland on azonal substrates from 1450 to 1600m and 2) zonal Reaumuria soogorica desertgrassland on gravels from 1470 to 1900 m; 3) Stipaprzewalskii–Stipa purpurea montane grassland from 2200 to 2900m; 4) Polygonum viviparum alpine grasslandfrom 2900 to 3700 m; 5) Caraganastenophylla–Ajaniafruticulosa dry-warm shrubland from 2350 to 2800 m; 6)Sabina przewalskii mid-wet warm forest from 2700 to 3300m; 7) Picea crassifolia cold coniferousforestfrom 2450 to 3200 m; 8) Caragana jubatawet-cold alpine shrubland from 3100 to 3700 m. Species diversityand species richness of both grasslands and forests peaked at the intermediateportion of the elevational gradient. Evenness might be strongly influenced byeither biotic or abiotic factors at a local scale, while seems quiteindependentof an elevational gradient at landscape scales. Beta-diversity decreased from1500 to 3700 m, indicating that species turnover declined withincreased elevation. Both richness of life-form and total species richness in agiven altitudinal belt (gamma-diversity) peaked at intermediate elevations,while relative species richness of different life-form varied differently alongthe altitudinal gradient.     

陕西黄龙山林区褐马鸡春季夜栖地选择

2006年4～6月,在陕西黄龙山林区,对褐马鸡(Crossoptilon mantchuricum)春季夜栖地的选择进行了研究.共记录到22个夜栖地,以夜栖树为中心做一个10 m×10 m样方,测定夜栖地海拔、坡向、坡度、坡位、地貌特征、夜栖树高度和胸径、乔木层盖度、乔木的数量、灌木层盖度、草本盖度、水源距离、人为干扰距离、林缘距离、栖枝高度和栖位上盖度等参数;通过9条样带测定54个随机样方,除栖枝高度和栖位上盖度外,指标相同.结果表明,褐马鸡春季夜栖地多偏向以坡度较大、山坡和山脊、接近水源、远离林边、人为干扰距离较远、乔木盖度和密度较大、栖树胸径较大、灌木层盖度和草本层盖度较小为主要特征的地方.主成分分析表明,前5个特征值的累积贡献率达到72.746%,可以较好地反映褐马鸡春季夜栖地生境特征.根据载荷系数绝对值大小,将褐马鸡春季夜栖地生境选择影响因子分别命名为地形和林下植被因子、气象因子、稳定性因子和水因子.影响褐马鸡夜栖地选择的关键因素是安全、舒适和栖息地转换的方便程度.     

The youngest split in sympatric schizothoracine fish (Cyprinidae) is shaped by ecological adaptations in a Tibetan Plateau glacier lake

Although new empirical evidence shows that sympatric speciation has occurred in some species, there are few indisputable model organisms for this process of speciation. The two subspecies ( Gymnocypris eckloni eckloni and G . e . scoliostomus ) of the schizothoracine Gymnocypris fish species complex from a small glacier lake in the Tibetan Plateau, Lake Sunmcuo, fit several of the key characteristics of the sympatric speciation model. We used combined mitochondrial control region sequences and the cytochrome b gene (1894 bp) to address the phylogenetics and population genetics of 232 specimens of G . e . eckloni and G . e . scoliostomus , as well as all of its closely related sister species. We found that: (i) a total of four old lineages were uncovered in the widespread G . e . eckloni , of which only one was shown to be shared with all G . e . scoliostomus individuals and (ii) the new subspecies ( G . e . scoliostomus ) evolved in Lake Sunmcuo from the ancestral G . e . eckloni population within approximately 0.057 Ma. These two taxa of the species complex are morphologically distinct, and reproductive isolation is further suggested. Ecological disruptive selection based on morphological traits (e.g. mouth cleft characters) and food utilization may be a mechanism of incipient speciation of two sympatric populations within Lake Sunmcuo. This study provides the first genetic evidence for sympatric speciation in the schizothoracine fish.     

藏鸡微卫星文库的构建与微卫星标记筛选

通过磁珠富集法构建了藏鸡基因组微卫星富集文库,分离微卫星序列并对其进行分析.将藏鸡基因组DNA经Sau3AI酶切后纯化回收,连接特定接头.用生物素标记的(CA)12探针与藏鸡基因组酶切回收片段杂交,捕获200～900 bp片段,随后将获得的片段连接到pMD 18-T载体上,转化至JM109中,成功构建藏鸡微卫星富集文库.从1200个转化子中获得了353个阳性克隆,随机挑选53个测序,根据测序结果成功设计了18对藏鸡微卫星引物,最终筛选出6个具有多态性的微卫星标记,其PIC值均大于0.5,同时可以用于研究藏鸡遗传多样性.实验结果表明磁珠富集法能够有效提高分离微卫星标记的效率.     

藏药臭蚤草的一个新的苯丙素苷类成分

为了研究藏药臭蚤草的浩性成分,我们利用各种柱色谱技术,从藏药臭蚤草甲醇提取物的乙酸乙酯萃取相分离到4个化合物,通过1D、2DNMR、MS和HRMS等试验,鉴定为2,4-dihydroxy-6-methyl—ethanone-4-O-β-D—Glc（1）,4-（3’-hydroxypropyl）-2,6-dimethoxyphenol-3’-O-β-D—glcoside（2）,4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol-1-O-β-gleo—side（3）,2-methyl-1,3,6-trihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone-3—O-（6＇-O-Ac）-α—L—Rha-（1→2）-β-D—Gle（4）,其中化合物1—3为苯丙素苷类化合物,化合物4为蒽醌苷。化合物1—4都是首次从该属植物中分离得到,化合物1为新的苯丙素苷类化合物。     

Investigation of bathymetry and water quality of Lake Nam Co, the largest lake on the central Tibetan Plateau, China

Comprehensive field investigations have been conducted four times on Nam Co, central Tibet, from September 2005 to September 2008. Here, we present the preliminary results focusing on the bathymetric survey and water quality measurements. The isobathic map shows that Nam Co is a high-altitude, deep lake where a flat and large basin lies in the central part with a water depth of more than 90 m. Water depth data from the northwestern bank areas of Nam Co provide unquestionable evidence of rising water levels in the last 3 decades because of the formation of two small islands that were still peninsulas in the 1970s. Water quality measurements taken at 19 stations during three summer field campaigns (2006, 2007 and 2008) covering almost all of the lake areas showed that the temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and electric conductivity of surface water are on average 11.43°C, 9.21, 8.90 mg l⁻¹ and 1,851 μS cm⁻¹, respectively. The surface water shows no obvious spatial variability among all the stations. Vertical fluctuations of profiles, however, display some differences in thermocline and related parameters, such as pH and dissolved oxygen. According to the vertical variations of water quality parameters, the water column in relatively deep lake areas of Nam Co could be divided into three layers with distinctly various features: the epilimnion is from the surface to about 18–20 m depth in which the parameters are homogeneous with higher temperature and abundant sunlight; the metalimnion ranged from 20–60 m where a thermocline develops; the deepest layer forms a cold and dark hypolimnion.     

Can mobile sandy land be vegetated in the cold and dry Tibetan Plateau in China?

Desertification has taken place in the overgrazed grassland of the Tibetan Plateau,China,and the area of mobile sandy land has increased in recent decades.The challenging problem about desertification control is how to restore the vegetation of mobile sandy lands caused by severe desertification.Sand drifting is now regarded as the limiting factor of vegetation restoration in such lands.The initial phase of vegetation restoration is plant colonization,but it is often aborted due to sand drifting,and then vegetation restoration fails to proceed.For the sake of revegetation,the first step is to stop sand drifting to ensure plant colonization.In the northeastern Tibetan Plateau,China,feasible approaches have been found through long-term experiments,and the vegetation is being restored satisfactorily with these approaches in experimental sandy lands.The approaches comprise three types:enclosure,mechanical barriers and biological barriers.Different sandy lands require dissimilar combinations of these approaches.Enclosures may be adequate to revegetate inter-dunes or degraded grassland even in cold regions like the Tibetan Plateau,China,but it is deficient for revegetation of the shifting sand dunes unless mechanical and biological barriers are established simultaneously.