黄土高原多年生草本根部导水策略空间异质性特征

根据多年生草本根部导管解剖结构特征,分析了黄土高原两个气候区草本物种导水结构特征及导水策略对干旱气候条件的适应性特征。结果表明,黄土高原半干旱区(年降雨量小于400 mm)草本物种平均年龄较大(7年),理论导管直径(33μm)、导管面积(680μm²)和导水效率(1.56 kg m^-1 MPa^-1 s^-1)数值较高,而导管数量(65个)和导管分量(6.2%)数值较低;黄土高原半湿润区(年降雨量大于400 mm)草本物种平均年龄较小(5年),理论导管直径(27μm)、导管面积(550μm²)和导水效率(1.12 kg m^-1 MPa^-1 s^-1)数值较低,而导管数量(85个)和导管分量(7.5%)数值较高。黄土高原半干旱区草本物种的导管直径较大、单位面积内的导管数量较少,因而导水效率较高,在干旱胁迫条件下趋向于采取效率优先的导水策略;黄土高原半湿润区草本物种的导管直径较小、单位面积内的导管数量较多,因而导水效率较低...     

First summer growth predetermined in anadromous and resident brook charr

Early growth of wild, anadromous and non-anadromous (resident) brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis was compared under controlled laboratory conditions. Offspring were collected as they emerged from natural redds in the Miramichi River, New Brunswick, Canada. Anadromous offspring were initially longer and heavier than residents. Anadromous offspring had lower specific growth rates during their first 2 months post-emergence, but surpassed residents by the third month. Consequently, anadromous offspring remained larger at the end of 3 months and it is concluded that they had a predetermined, maternal and genetic advantage related to body size, rather than an environmentally determined advantage during their first summer of growth. Other studies hypothesize that juvenile development affects life-history strategy adopted as adults, which suggests anadromy in this population may be, at least in part, predetermined by maternal and genetic effects.     

Cleaning behavior is riskier and less profitable than an alternative strategy for a facultative cleaner fish

Cleaning symbioses on coral reefs involve small cleaner fish or shrimps picking ectoparasites from the exterior surfaces of larger client organisms. These mutualisms are thought to evolve in part because the cleaner receives a reliable source of profitable prey items and immunity from predation. However, the benefits of cleaning behavior have never been measured relative to those of alternative, non-cleaning strategies. This study examined these costs and benefits in the sharknose goby, Elacatinus evelynae, a facultative cleaner fish, at the Caribbean island of St. Croix. Sharknose gobies are found on coral heads, where they maintain cleaning stations, and on basket sponges, where they spend little time cleaning and feed predominantly on nonparasitic copepods. For immature gobies that are not allocating energy to reproduction, hindcast otolith growth rates (a reliable proxy for somatic growth) were significantly higher for non-cleaning sponge-dwellers than for coral-dwellers. Furthermore, tagging large, competitively dominant gobies on sponges and corals revealed that mortality rates were higher for coral-dwelling gobies. These unexpected results provide further evidence that cleaning mutualisms are context dependent: far from being a uniformly profitable life history strategy, cleaning may be a suboptimal choice at some times and places.     

Conservation prospects for threatened Vietnamese tree species: results from a demographic study

Given that changes in population size are slow, information on future prospects of long-lived tree species is necessarily obtained from demographic models. We studied six threatened tree species in four Vietnamese protected areas: the broad-leaved Annamocarya sinensis, Manglietia fordiana and Parashorea chinensis, and the coniferous Calocedrus macrolepis, Dacrydium elatum and Pinus kwangtungensis. With data from a 2-year field study on recruitment, growth and survival, we constructed matrix models for each species. All species showed continuous regeneration, as indicated by annual seedling recruitment and inverse J-shaped population structures. To evaluate the future prospects of our study species, we calculated three parameters: (1) asymptotic growth rates (λ) from matrix models indicated significant population declines of 2–3%/year for two species; (2) population trajectories for 50–100 years showed slight population declines (0–3%/year) for five species; and (3) the reproductive period required for an adult tree to replace itself was excessive for three of the six species, suggesting that these species presently have insufficient recruitment. Overall agreement of the three parameters was low, showing that reliance on just one parameter is risky. Combining the three parameters we concluded that prospects are good for Dacrydium and Parashorea, worrisome for Annamocarya, Manglietia and Pinus, and intermediate for Calocedrus. We argue that conservation should involve strict protection of (pre-)adult trees, as their survival is crucial for population maintenance in all species (high elasticity). For species with poor demographic prospects, active intervention is required to improve seedling and tree growth, enrich populations with seedlings from controlled germination, and restore habitat. Finally, our study suggests that these conservation measures apply to long-lived trees in general, given that their demography is highly similar. Such measures should be taken before populations decline below critical levels, as long-lived species will respond slowly to management. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The life-history of Cheilodactylus rubrolabiatus from south-western Australia and comparison of biological characteristics of the Cheilodactylidae and Latridae: support for an amalgamation of families

Cheilodactylus rubrolabiatus collected from the south and lower west coasts of Western Australia were used to investigate the influence of habitat and environmental conditions on the biology of this species. A lack of difference in the growth C. rubrolabiatus from cool south coast and warmer lower west coast waters in Western Australia and the greater maximum ages attained by fish on the latter coast, both run contrary to premises of the metabolic theory of ecology (MTE). Although the greater size (L₅₀) and age (A₅₀) at maturity of C. rubrolabiatus on the south coast is consistent with MTE, this may reflect higher densities of fish on discontinuous shoreline rocky reefs on this coast and thus the need for fish, particularly males, to attain a larger size to successfully defend habitat and mates during spawning. Members of the closely related Cheiodactylidae and Latridae vary in maximum fork length (L_Fmax 280–950 mm) and age (19–97 years) and display a range of growth patterns. While the L₅₀ of cheilodactylid and latrid species increased with increasing asymptotic lengths (L_∞), their maximum ages did not necessary reflect the A₅₀ (i.e., mature early, but live long). The M (natural mortality): k (von Bertalanffy growth parameter) ratios indicate that Cheilodactylus and Nemadactylus species exhibit a type II life-history strategy, typified by initial rapid growth, L₅₀ close to their L_∞ and little or no growth during an extended adult phase. A lack of distinct difference in the biological characteristics of the Cheilodactylidae and latrids may assist in resolving uncertainty regarding the taxonomy of these families.     

Narrow endemic species Bellevalia webbiana shows significant intraspecific variation in tertiary CSR strategy

Insufficient attention has been devoted to inter-population and inter-individual variability of CSR strategy. Hence, we selected Bellevalia webbiana as a case study for answering the following questions: (1) is there a significant intraspecific variability in leaf traits determining a significant intraspecific variability in CSR parameters, even in a narrow endemic species with a relatively homogeneous habitat? (2) If yes, does this provide a significant intraspecific CSR strategy variation? For five populations, we calculated C, S, and R parameters using leaf area, leaf fresh weight, and leaf dry weight for 10 individuals each. We found that Bellevalia webbiana is a “CS” species considering single individuals, populations or the “whole species”. However, our data suggest a significant loss of information if the species is plotted as a single average point, and attest for population-based plasticity, highlighting the applicability of CSR theory at micro-evolutionary scale. When heterogeneity in coefficients of variation (CVs) is higher for the “whole species”, “deviant” populations should be retained as additional points. Hence, we advise to perform CSR analyses on more populations and verify the applicability of a single ternary set to represent the “whole species” using PERMANOVA, complemented by simple CV comparison for each parameter.     

三江源国家公园野生动物保护与管理对策

三江源国家公园是我国首批建立的面积最大的国家公园,也是青藏高原第一个国家公园,对青藏高原乃至我国加快构建以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系具有里程碑式意义。三江源国家公园野生动物多样性水平高且濒危物种占比大,其中兽类和鸟类受威胁比例分别为32.26%和19.90%;具有丰富的国家重点保护物种及青藏高原特有珍稀物种,包括46.77%的中国或青藏高原特有兽类和7.65%的中国特有鸟类,其生物多样性具有全国乃至全球意义的保护价值。本文简要回顾全球野生动物保护研究重要进展和取得的成果,分析三江源野生动物濒危成因,提出了加强三江源国家公园野生动物动态监测、创新栖息地保护技术、建立野生动物迁移廊道及避难所、开展草畜平衡管理、疫源疫病控制、人兽冲突研究和建立野生动物基因资源库等多项野生动物保护和管理对策,为实现三江源国家公园生态环境严格保护、人与自然和谐共生、区域可持续发展战略提供了有益的参考。     

地下水埋深对灰胡杨叶性状与化学计量学特征的影响

以塔里木荒漠河岸林优势树种灰胡杨为研究对象,分析灰胡杨叶性状与化学计量学特征沿地下水埋深梯度(GWD)的变异格局及其相互关系,以揭示灰胡杨适应极端干旱环境的生态策略。结果表明：(1)不同地下水埋深条件下灰胡杨叶性状和化学计量学特征存在显著差异(P<0.05),叶面积(LA)、叶片含水量(LWC)、叶氮含量(LNC)和叶磷含量(LPC)随GWD增加呈下降趋势,叶干物质含量(LDMC)、叶组织密度(LTD)、叶碳含量(LCC)、碳氮比(C∶N)、碳磷比(C∶P)和氮磷比(N∶P)随GWD增加呈上升趋势;其中C∶P、N∶P、LPC和LA变异系数较大(39.90%、36.09%、30.63%和28.22%),对GWD变化较为敏感。(2)LA与LTD和LDMC, LWC与LTD和LDMC, LNC与C∶N, LPC与LCC、N∶P和C∶P分别呈极显著负相关关系(P<0.01),LA与N∶P和C∶P呈显著负相关(P<0.05);逐步回归分析表明LA、LDMC、LTD、C∶P可作为响应地下水埋深变化的重要指标。(3)C∶N、N∶P、C∶P随GWD增加均呈上升趋势,LCC、LNC和L...     

Polygyny and extrapair fertilizations in eastern red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Parentage of nestling red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus)from an eastern population was determinedusing DNA fingerprintingtechniques. Of 235 nestlings surveyed, 58 had fingerprints excludingthemale, but none excluded the female tending the nest. Data onpairing status during the female's fertilizable period was availablefor 232 offspring; 55 (25%of 1988 nestlings, 23% of 1989 nestlings)of those were sired through extrapair copulations. Of these55 offspring, 33 could be assigned to nearby territory holders;16 of the remaining nestlings may have been sired by nearbymales that were not captured. During both years, 44% of territorialmales had more than one female nesting simultaneously on theirterritory. The number of extrapair fertilizations gained bymales increased significandy with harem size in 1 year. Paternity(die proportion of nesdings on the territory sired by die territoryholder) showed a positive but nonsignificant increase widi haremsize in bodi years. There was no apparent cost in paternityfor males guarding two or more fertilizable females at the sametime. The broods of females that were fertilizable at die sametime anodier female was setding on die same territory tendedto have a greater proportion of extrapair fertilizations (0.37)than did die broods of odier females within harems (0.15). Establishedfertilizable females were chased significantly more by die territoryowner and by extrapair males when a new female was setding.There were no associations between a male's paternity or successat gaining extrapair fertilizations and his age or color-bandcombination. Overall, extrapair fertilizations had litde effecton die relationship between fledgling success and harem sizeand appeared to have a minimal impact on die overall intensityof sexual selection on males.     

Protein regulation mechanism of cold tolerance in Haemaphysalis longicornis

Ticks are external parasitic arthropods that can transmit a variety of pathogens by sucking blood. Low-temperature tolerance is essential for ticks to survive during the cold winter. Exploring the protein regulation mechanism of low-temperature tolerance of Haemaphysalis longicornis could help to explain how ticks survive in winter. In this study, the quantitative proteomics of several tissues of H. longicornis exposed to low temperature were studied by data independent acquisition technology. Totals of 3 699, 3 422, and 1 958 proteins were identified in the salivary gland, midgut, and ovary, respectively. The proteins involved in energy metabolism, cell signal transduction, protein synthesis and repair, and cytoskeleton synthesis changed under low-temperature stress. The comprehensive analysis of the protein regulation of multiple tissues of female ticks exposed to low temperature showed that maintaining cell homeostasis, maintaining cell viability, and enhancing cell tolerance were the most important means for ticks to maintain vital signs under low temperature. The expression of proteins involved in and regulating the above cell activities was the key to the survival of ticks under low temperatures. Through the analysis of a large amount of data, we found that the expression levels of arylamine N-acetyltransferase, inositol polyphosphate multikinase, and dual-specificity phosphatase were up-regulated under low temperature. We speculated that they might have important significance in low-temperature tolerance. Then, we performed RNA interference on the mRNA of these 3 proteins, and the results showed that the ability of female ticks to tolerate low temperatures decreased significantly.