Coalescence patterns of endemic Tibetan species of stream salamanders (Hynobiidae: Batrachuperus)

Orogenesis of topographically diverse montane regions often drives complex evolutionary histories of species. The extensive biodiversity of the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, which gradually decreases eastwardly, facilitates a comparison of historical patterns. We use coalescence methods to compare species of stream salamanders (Batrachuperus) that occur at high and low elevations. Coalescent simulations reveal that closely related species are likely to have been influenced by different drivers of diversification. Species living in the western high‐elevation region with its northsouth extending mountains appear to have experienced colonization via dispersal followed by isolation and divergence. In contrast, species on the eastern low‐elevation region, which has many discontinuous mountain ranges, appear to have experienced fragmentation, sometimes staged, of wide‐ranging ancestral populations. The two groups of species appear to have been affected differently by glaciation. High‐elevation species, which are more resistant to cooler temperatures, appear to have experienced population declines as recently as the last glaciation (0.016–0.032 Ma). In contrast, salamanders dwelling in the warmer and wetter habitats at low‐elevation environs appear to have been affected less by the relatively recent, milder glaciation, and more so by harsher, extensive glaciations (0.5–0.175 Ma). Thus, elevation, topography and cold tolerance appear to drive evolutionary patterns of diversification and demography even among closely related taxa. The comparison of multiple species in genealogical analyses can lead to an understanding of the evolutionary drivers.     

滇南红河地区现代花粉雨特征及其与气候因子的关系

我国低纬度热带亚热带地区现代花粉雨与气候关系的研究相对缺乏。本研究以滇南红河地区43个水体(湖泊、水库和池塘)的表层沉积物为对象,探讨研究区现代花粉雨与气候因子之间的关系。花粉分析结果表明,木本植物花粉含量高,占优势的是松属、桤木属和壳斗科;次为草本植物,主要为禾本科、菊科和莎草科;花粉谱中蕨类孢子以三缝孢为主,藻类的盘星藻也常见。同时,通过红河地区13个气象观测站1961—2010年月观测数据的线性插值,获得了各水体的现代气候数据(温度包括1月均温、7月均温、春、夏、秋、冬季均温,以及雨季、旱季和年均温;降水包括春、夏、秋和冬季降水量,雨季、旱季和年降水量),并对现代花粉和气候数据进行冗余分析,以揭示影响研究区现代花粉雨的气候因子。冗余分析结果表明,春季、旱季和年降水量及7月、雨季和年均温是控制滇南红河地区现代花粉雨的主要气候因子,温度的增加导致常绿阔叶林占优势,降水减少导致松林占主导。本研究结果能够为滇南红河地区利用化石花粉记录的古气候定量重建提供重要的理论支持。     

西藏高寒草地物种多样性和生产力的环境驱动机制

全球变暖影响物种多样性和生产力及其关系。关于全球和区域的物种多样性与生产力关系已有许多研究,但气候变暖背景下西藏高寒草地物种多样性与生产力的关系及其环境驱动机制研究仍然很少。基于西藏高寒草地实测的35个样点调查数据,利用回归分析、Pearson相关性分析、方差分解和结构方程模型等方法,探究了物种多样性和生产力的关系及其影响机制。研究发现:(1)高寒草地的物种丰富度指数和香农-威纳指数与地上植被净初级生产力(ANPP)呈显著正相关关系,且ANPP对物种丰富度指数的变化更为敏感;(2)物种丰富度指数与经度、土壤有效氮、土壤有效磷、年降水量呈显著正相关;Shannon-Wiener指数与海拔和纬度呈显著负相关,与年均温度呈显著正相关;ANPP与经度、土壤有效氮、年降水量和年均温度呈显著正相关,与海拔、纬度和土壤有效钾呈显著负相关;(3)地理因子、土壤养分和气候因子的交互作用对物种丰富度指数和ANPP的贡献率最大,分别为10.99%和32.91%,地理因子和气候因子的交互作用对Shannon-Wiener指数的贡献率最大,为13.61%;(4)地理因子通过调控土壤养分和气候因子间接影响物种多样性和ANPP,土壤养分和气候因子均直接影响物种多样性和ANPP。研究结果揭示了环境因子对物种多样性和生产力的综合调控机制,为西藏高寒草地生态系统科学应对气候变化提供了依据。     

Palaeoclimatic changes explain Anatolian mountain frog evolution: a test for alternating vicariance and dispersal events

Holarctic biodiversity has been influenced by climatic fluctuations since the Pliocene. Asia Minor was one of the major corridors for postglacial invasions in the Palearctic. Today this area is characterized by an extraordinarily rich fauna with close affiliation to European, Asian and Indo-African biota. However, exact scenarios of range expansion and contraction are lacking. Using a phylogeographical approach we (i). identify monophyletic lineages among Anatolian mountain frogs and (ii). derive a spatio-temporal hypothesis for the invasion process in Anatolia. We sequenced 540 bp of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene from 40 populations of mountain frogs from Anatolia, the Elburz Mountains and the Caucasus. Our samples comprise all known species and subspecies: Rana macrocnemis macrocnemis, R. m. tavasensis, R. m. pseudodalmatina, R. camerani and R. holtzi. They include the type localities of four of these taxa. We used a nested clade analysis (NCA) to infer historical and recurrent events that account for the observed geographical distribution of haplotypes. None of the extant species is monophyletic. Based on a molecular clock calibration using homologous sequences of Western Palearctic water frogs of the same genus, we estimated that a basic radiation into three lineages c. 2 Mya was followed by several dispersal and fragmentation events. The geographical distribution of resident and widespread haplotypes allows us to infer and date scenarios of range expansion and fragmentation that are aligned with dramatic climatic oscillations that have occurred during the last 600000 years. Consequently, Pliocene and Pleistocene climatic oscillations triggered the evolution of Anatolian mountain frogs through an interplay of vicariance and dispersal events.     

Predictions of potential geographical distribution of Sinopodophyllum hexandrum under climate change

桃儿七(Sinopodophyllum hexandrum)为小檗科多年生草本植物, 是我国濒危传统藏药, 预测气候变化对该物种分布范围的影响对于其保护和资源可持续利用具有重要意义。该文利用获得的桃儿七136个地理分布记录和21个气候环境图层, 通过MaxEnt模型分析桃儿七在我国西部七省的潜在地理分布, 并基于该模型预测政府间气候变化专门委员会(IPCC)发布的SRES-A1B、SRES-A2和SRES-B1气候情景下21世纪20、50和80年代桃儿七分布范围。结果表明: 最热季平均温度、年降水量、温度季节性变动系数和等温性是影响桃儿七分布的主要气候因子; 在当前气候条件下, 桃儿七适宜的生境面积占研究区总面积的11.71%, 主要集中在青藏高原东缘的四川、甘肃、青海境内次生植被丰富、地形复杂的高海拔地区, 低适宜生境与不适宜生境分别占研究区总面积的15.86%与72.43%。由模型预测可知, 在SRES-A1B、SRES-A2和SRES-B1三种情景下, 桃儿七在研究区低适宜生境的数量相对变化较小, 在适宜生境先大幅减少后又缓慢增加。研究结果同时表明, 在未来气候变化条件下, 桃儿七的适宜生境平均海拔将逐渐升高, 范围以及几何重心极有可能先向北移, 然后再向西延伸至青藏高原内部较高海拔的山区。     

Spatial variation in the climatic predictors of species compositional turnover and endemism

Previous research focusing on broad‐scale or geographically invariant species‐environment dependencies suggest that temperature‐related variables explain more of the variation in reptile distributions than precipitation. However, species–environment relationships may exhibit considerable spatial variation contingent upon the geographic nuances that vary between locations. Broad‐scale, geographically invariant analyses may mask this local variation and their findings may not generalize to different locations at local scales. We assess how reptile–climatic relationships change with varying spatial scale, location, and direction. Since the spatial distributions of diversity and endemism hotspots differ for other species groups, we also assess whether reptile species turnover and endemism hotspots are influenced differently by climatic predictors. Using New Zealand reptiles as an example, the variation in species turnover, endemism and turnover in climatic variables was measured using directional moving window analyses, rotated through 360°. Correlations between the species turnover, endemism and climatic turnover results generated by each rotation of the moving window were analysed using multivariate generalized linear models applied at national, regional, and local scales. At national‐scale, temperature turnover consistently exhibited the greatest influence on species turnover and endemism, but model predictive capacity was low (typically r² = 0.05, P < 0.001). At regional scales the relative influence of temperature and precipitation turnover varied between regions, although model predictive capacity was also generally low. Climatic turnover was considerably more predictive of species turnover and endemism at local scales (e.g., r² = 0.65, P < 0.001). While temperature turnover had the greatest effect in one locale (the northern North Island), there was substantial variation in the relative influence of temperature and precipitation predictors in the remaining four locales. Species turnover and endemism hotspots often occurred in different locations. Climatic predictors had a smaller influence on endemism. Our results caution against assuming that variability in temperature will always be most predictive of reptile biodiversity across different spatial scales, locations and directions. The influence of climatic turnover on the species turnover and endemism of other taxa may exhibit similar patterns of spatial variation. Such intricate variation might be discerned more readily if studies at broad scales are complemented by geographically variant, local‐scale analyses.     

Morphometric study of Kalophrynus palmatissimus at two forest reserves in Malaysia

A research study on morphometrics of Kalophrynus palmatissimus (commonly known as Lowland Grainy Frog) at Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve (AHFR), Selangor and Pasoh Forest Reserve (PFR), Negeri Sembilan was carried out from 12 November 2016 to 13 September 2017. The study was to examine data on the morphometric traits of K. palmatissimus at the two forest reserves. 15 morphometric traits of K. palmatissimus that were taken by using vernier calipers. Frog surveys were done by using 15 and 18 nocturnal 400 m transect lines with an interval distance of 20 m at AHFR and PFR, respectively. The GPS coordinates for all frog samples were recorded to ensure the precise geographic location. In addition, five climatic data were recorded. The results showed that most morphometric traits in AHFR (n = 34) and PFR (n = 31) were positively correlated with each other. On the other hand, climatic factor, which was soil pH, had a significant positive influence on most of the morphometric traits (p < .01), except for tympanum diameter and upper eyelid width (p ≥ .05). Meanwhile, the temperature had a significantly negative influence on all morphometric traits (p < .01). General linear model (GLM) analysis showed that snout‐vent length (SVL) influenced most morphometric traits (F ≤ 80.86, p < .01), except for hand length (HAL: F = 0.299, p > .05). Later, it was found that the snout‐vent length of K. palmatissimus at AHFR was slightly larger than at PFR (AHFR: μ = 37.00 mm, SE = 1.16 c.f. PFR: μ = 30.29 mm, SE = 1.07). It showed that there were variations in morphometric traits of K. palmatissimus at AHFR and PFR. From PCA analysis, morphometric traits are grouped into two components for AHFR and PFR, respectively. In AHFR, head length, eye diameter, head width, internarial distance, interorbital distance, forearm length, tibia length, foot length, and thigh length were strongly correlated, while snout length and eye‐nostril distance were strongly correlated. In PFR, eye diameter, head width, internarial distance, interorbital distance, foot length, and thigh length were strongly correlated, though snout length and eye‐nostril distance were strongly correlated, hence, suggested that all morphometric traits grow simultaneously in K. palmatissimus with eye‐nostril distance (EN), and snout length (SL) growing almost simultaneously at AHFR (r = .91) and PFR (r = .97). There is still a lack of available information regarding the distribution and morphometric studies of K. palmatissimus in Malaysia, especially at AHFR and PFR. This study showed 15 different morphometric traits of K. palmatisssimus between AHFR and PFR, with K. palmatissimus at AHFR were found to be slightly larger than at PFR.     

Historical environmental change in Africa drives divergence and admixture of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes: a precursor to successful worldwide colonization?

Increasing globalization has promoted the spread of exotic species, including disease vectors. Understanding the evolutionary processes involved in such colonizations is both of intrinsic biological interest and important to predict and mitigate future disease risks. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is a major vector of dengue, chikungunya and Zika, the worldwide spread of which has been facilitated by Ae. aegypti's adaption to human‐modified environments. Understanding the evolutionary processes involved in this invasion requires characterization of the genetic make‐up of the source population(s). The application of approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) to sequence data from four nuclear and one mitochondrial marker revealed that African populations of Ae. aegypti best fit a demographic model of lineage diversification, historical admixture and recent population structuring. As ancestral Ae. aegypti were dependent on forests, this population history is consistent with the effects of forest fragmentation and expansion driven by Pleistocene climatic change. Alternatively, or additionally, historical human movement across the continent may have facilitated their recent spread and mixing. ABC analysis and haplotype networks support earlier inferences of a single out‐of‐Africa colonization event, while a cline of decreasing genetic diversity indicates that Ae. aegypti moved first from Africa to the Americas and then to Asia. ABC analysis was unable to verify this colonization route, possibly because the genetic signal of admixture obscures the true colonization pathway. By increasing genetic diversity and forming novel allelic combinations, divergence and historical admixture within Africa could have provided the adaptive potential needed for the successful worldwide spread of Ae. aegypti.     

Adaptive and plastic responses of Quercus petraea populations to climate across Europe

How temperate forests will respond to climate change is uncertain; projections range from severe decline to increased growth. We conducted field tests of sessile oak (Quercus petraea), a widespread keystone European forest tree species, including more than 150 000 trees sourced from 116 geographically diverse populations. The tests were planted on 23 field sites in six European countries, in order to expose them to a wide range of climates, including sites reflecting future warmer and drier climates. By assessing tree height and survival, our objectives were twofold: (i) to identify the source of differential population responses to climate (genetic differentiation due to past divergent climatic selection vs. plastic responses to ongoing climate change) and (ii) to explore which climatic variables (temperature or precipitation) trigger the population responses. Tree growth and survival were modeled for contemporary climate and then projected using data from four regional climate models for years 2071–2100, using two greenhouse gas concentration trajectory scenarios each. Overall, results indicated a moderate response of tree height and survival to climate variation, with changes in dryness (either annual or during the growing season) explaining the major part of the response. While, on average, populations exhibited local adaptation, there was significant clinal population differentiation for height growth with winter temperature at the site of origin. The most moderate climate model (HIRHAM5‐EC; rcp4.5) predicted minor decreases in height and survival, while the most extreme model (CCLM4‐GEM2‐ES; rcp8.5) predicted large decreases in survival and growth for southern and southeastern edge populations (Hungary and Turkey). Other nonmarginal populations with continental climates were predicted to be severely and negatively affected (Bercé, France), while populations at the contemporary northern limit (colder and humid maritime regions; Denmark and Norway) will probably not show large changes in growth and survival in response to climate change.