Ecotypes or phenotypic plasticity—The aquatic and terrestrial forms of Helosciadium repens (Apiaceae)

• Morphological and ecological differences of two forms of Helosciadium repens are known and described in the literature: aquatic and terrestrial. However, their taxonomic status is currently unknown. The question whether they are genotypically adapted to specific environmental conditions or are those differences a result of phenotypic plasticity is addressed in this study.
• SSR and ISSR data were used to uncover genotypic differences. Data from drought stress experiments (system water content and relative water content of leaves) were used to evaluate the response to water as an environmental factor. The stomatal index of both forms grown under different water treatments was analyzed.
• The principal component analysis of the ISSR data revealed no clustering that would correspond with ecotypes. The diversity parameters of the SSR data showed no significant differences. The aquatic populations showed a tendency toward heterozygosity, while the terrestrial ones showed a bias toward homozygosity. Both forms responded similarly to the changes in water availability, with newly produced leaves after drought stress that were better adapted to repeated drought stress. Stomatal indices were higher in plants from aquatic habitats, but these differences disappeared when the plants were grown in soil.
• The observed responses indicate that the differences between forms are due to phenotypic plasticity.

     

Local adaptation,genetic divergence,and experimental selection in a foundation grass across the US Great Plains’ climate gradient

Many prior studies have uncovered evidence for local adaptation using reciprocal transplant experiments. However, these studies are rarely conducted for a long enough time to observe succession and competitive dynamics in a community context, limiting inferences for long‐lived species. Furthermore, the genetic basis of local adaptation and genetic associations with climate has rarely been identified. Here, we report on a long‐term (6‐year) experiment conducted under natural conditions focused on Andropogon gerardii, the dominant grass of the North American Great Plains tallgrass ecosystem. We focus on this foundation grass that comprises 80% of tallgrass prairie biomass and is widely used in 20,000 km² of restoration. Specifically, we asked the following questions: (a) Whether ecotypes are locally adapted to regional climate in realistic ecological communities. (b) Does adaptive genetic variation underpin divergent phenotypes across the climate gradient? (c) Is there evidence of local adaptation if the plants are exposed to competition among ecotypes in mixed ecotype plots? Finally, (d) are local adaptation and genetic divergence related to climate? Reciprocal gardens were planted with 3 regional ecotypes (originating from dry, mesic, wet climate sources) of Andropogon gerardii across a precipitation gradient (500–1,200 mm/year) in the US Great Plains. We demonstrate local adaptation and differentiation of ecotypes in wet and dry environments. Surprisingly, the apparent generalist mesic ecotype performed comparably under all rainfall conditions. Ecotype performance was underpinned by differences in neutral diversity and candidate genes corroborating strong differences among ecotypes. Ecotype differentiation was related to climate, primarily rainfall. Without long‐term studies, wrong conclusions would have been reached based on the first two years. Further, restoring prairies with climate‐matched ecotypes is critical to future ecology, conservation, and sustainability under climate change.     

南麂列岛海洋自然保护区浮游动物的物种组成及其多样性

南麂列岛海洋自然保护区是我国首批五个海洋类自然保护区之一。作者根据2004年5月至2005年2月南麂列岛海域的4个季节的调查数据,分析了该区域浮游动物的种类组成、优势种类、生态类群与物种多样性等特征参数的季节变化。调查结果表明,共鉴定出浮游动物69种,隶属于6门12个类群,其中桡足类最多,占39.1%;可划分为5种生态类群,暖水性广布类群和暖温带近海类群为两种主要生态类群;出现优势种类15种,主要有中华哲水蚤(Calanussinicus)、精致真刺水蚤(Euchaetaconcinna)和肥胖箭虫(Sagittaenflata)等。多样性分析显示,除冬季外,其他三个季节Shannon-Wiener指数(H′)值均大于2,且秋季最高,达3.29。相关性分析表明,种类数与水温的正相关性非常显著。与1990年调查结果相比,春季和秋季种类类群及种类数有所减少,这与调查时水温变化有关。研究分析认为,种类组成的季节变化主要受到江浙沿岸流和台湾暖流的影响。     

不同生态型芦苇叶片蛋白质双向电泳系统的筛选和优化

通过优化组合植物蛋白质提取方法及与之匹配的蛋白质裂解液,采用改进的O’Farrel双向电泳系统,以自然生境野生芦苇叶片为材料,筛选出一种适合纤维含量高、革质化明显的4种不同生态型芦苇（水生芦苇、轻度盐化草甸芦苇、重度盐化草甸芦苇、沙丘芦苇）叶片蛋白质分析的双向电泳系统,即以饱和酚－醋酸铵／甲醇沉淀法提取叶片蛋白质样品,经裂解液[8mol／L尿素,2mol／L硫脲,4％CHAPS,65mmol／LDTT,2％Ampholine（pH3．5～10：pH5～8=1：4）]裂解后按80μg上样,银染后获得背景清晰、蛋白质分辨率较高的双向电泳图谱．该系统用于水稻等植物叶片蛋白质双向电泳分析,同样获得较好的电泳图谱和分辨率。     

PHENOLOGICAL ISOLATION,GENE FLOW AND DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES AMONG LOW- AND HIGH-ELEVATION POPULATIONS OF EUPHILOTES ENOPTES (LEPIDOPTERA: LYCAENIDAE)

Populations of the specialist herbivore, Euphilotes enoptes (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), along three elevational transects in the mountains of central Washington state, differed markedly in the phenology of adult flight. In spite of this apparent limitation to gene flow, six allozyme loci revealed substantial gene exchange among populations along these gradients. The elevational difference, and thus the phenological difference, between populations has not influenced the extent of gene flow between them. Because the direct exchange of genes between low- and high-elevation populations is very unlikely, gene flow between them has probably occurred in a stepwise fashion via intermediate populations. It is hypothesized that such gene flow has been biased in an uphill direction due to the combined effects of source size and oviposition behavior. Adult emergence times of populations in the same region are positively correlated with elevation in a nonlinear fashion, consistent with the hypothesis that gene flow from low-elevation populations has been swamping selection at higher altitudes.     

Ecotype and geographical variation in carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values in western North Pacific killer whales (Orcinus orca)

Killer whales are top predators in marine trophic chains, and therefore their feeding preferences can substantially affect the abundance of species on the lower trophic levels. Killer whales are known to feed on many different types of prey from small fish to large whales, but a given killer whale population usually focuses on a specific type of prey. Stable isotope analysis is widely used to study whale diets, because direct observations are often impossible. Killer whale feeding habits in the western North Pacific are poorly studied, and the large-scale stable isotope analysis provides a unique opportunity to gain insights into the trophic links of this top predator. In this study, we compare the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N stable isotope values from killer whale skin samples obtained in different areas of the western North Pacific from fish-eating (R-type) and mammal-eating (T-type) killer whale ecotypes. The effect of ecotype was highly significant: both carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values were lower in R-type whales than in T-type whales. The geographical variation also affected killer whale stable isotope values due to both the differences in killer whale diet and the variation in baseline stable isotope values across the study areas.     

Growth response of altitudinal ecotypes of mountain birch to temperature and fertilisation

High- and low-altitude ecotypes of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) showed clear differences in their responses to various experimental conditions, including two temperature regimes and four fertilisation rates. There was, however, no simple way to characterise the elevational ecotypes in terms of relative growth rate, nitrogen (N) productivity, or root N uptake rate. The leaf N concentration was generally higher in the high-altitude seedlings than in the low-altitude seedlings. At low temperature, high-altitude mountain birch maintained a relatively high growth rate by combining high root N uptake rate and high leaf N concentration with high N productivity. An increase in temperature and/or fertiliser rate resulted in a marginal increase in N productivity in the high-altitude seedlings but resulted in a strong increase in N productivity in the low-altitude seedlings. In parallel, increased temperature resulted in a pronounced decrease in leaf N concentration only in the low-altitude seedlings. Our results suggest that the weak growth response to increased temperature in high-altitude mountain birch is functionally related to high leaf N concentration. The high leaf N concentration of high-altitude mountain birch is genetically determined and has an adaptive value in a cold environment. This suggests that there is a trade-off between high N productivity at low temperature and a strong response of N productivity to temperature. Received: 21 March 1998 / Accepted: 1 December 1998     

A study of trophic niche partitioning between larval populations of reproductively isolated whitefish (Coregonus sp.) ecotypes

The abundance, spatio-temporal distribution, and feeding of larvae were compared from two reproductively isolated dwarf and normal ecotypes of whitefish ( Coregonus sp.) to test the hypothesis that larval ecotypes should reduce competition by using different resources. Contrary to a priori expectations, trophic niche partitioning between larval populations was much less pronounced than previously reported for the adult stages of fish ecotypes, presumably due to the lack of competition acting at this stage, and related to non-limiting food resources. Because this study was conducted in a single year and a single lake, we cannot however, strictly rule out the possibility that resource-based competition and resulting niche partitioning may occur at the larval stage in these species complexes. Nevertheless, this suggests for the first time, that resource-based selection at the larval stage may be relatively unimportant compared to that occurring at older life-history stages in driving the divergence and the development of reproductive isolation in sympatric fish ecotypes.     

Genetic structure among morphotypes of the endangered Brazilian palm Euterpe edulis Mart (Arecaceae)

Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae) Mart has high ecological and economic importance providing food resources for more than 58 species of birds and 20 species of mammals, including humans. E. edulis is the second most exploited nontimber product from Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Due to overexploitation and destruction of habitats, E. edulis is threatened by extinction. Euterpe edulis populations have large morphological variations, with individuals having green, red, or yellow leaf sheath. However, no study has related phenotypic distinctions between populations and their levels of genetic structure. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the diversity and genetic structure of different E. edulis morphotypes. We sampled 250 adult individuals in eight populations with the different morphotypes. Using 14 microsatellite markers, we access genetic diversity through population genetic parameters calculated in the GenAlex program and the diveRsity package in R. We used the Wilcoxon test to verify population bottlenecks and the genetic distance of Nei and Bayesian analysis for genetic clusters. The eight populations showed low allele richness, low observed heterozygosity, and high inbreeding values (f). In addition, six of the eight populations experienced genetic bottlenecks, which would partly explain the low genetic diversity in populations. Cluster analysis identified two clusters (K = 2), with green morphotype genetically distinguishing from yellow and red morphotypes. Thus, we show, for the first time, a strong genetic structure among E. edulis morphotypes even for geographically close populations.