Sensitivity of three grassland communities to simulated extreme temperature and rainfall events

Three grassland communities in New Zealand with differing climates and proportions of C3 and C4 species were subjected to one‐off extreme heating (eight hours at 52.5°C) and rainfall (the equivalent of 100 mm) events. A novel experimental technique using portable computer‐controlled chambers simulated the extreme heating events. The productive, moist C3/C4 community was the most sensitive to the extreme events in terms of short‐term community composition compared with a dry C3/C4 community or an exclusively C3 community. An extreme heating event caused the greatest change to plant community species abundance by favouring the expansion of C4 species relative to C3 species, shifting C4 species abundance from 43% up to 84% at the productive, moist site. This was observed both in the presence and absence of added water. In the absence of C4 species, heating reduced community productivity by over 60%. The short‐term shifts in the abundance of C3 and C4 species in response to the single extreme climatic events did not have persistent effects on community structure or on soil nitrogen one year later. There was no consistent relationship between diversity and stability of biomass production of these plant communities, and species functional identity was the most effective explanation for the observed shifts in biomass production. The presence of C4 species resulted in an increased stability of productivity after extreme climatic events, but resulted in greater overall shifts in community composition. The presence of C4 species may buffer grassland community productivity against an increased frequency of extreme heating events associated with future global climate change.     

KELMPSP:基于核极限学习机的假尿苷修饰位点识别

假尿苷(ψ)是RNA序列中的一种化学修饰,其在基因转录过程中,由酶的催化作用而形成。它是目前所发现为数最多的一种RNA修饰,并且在正常行使生物学功能方面扮演着重要角色。因此,假尿苷修饰位点的识别是一个非常重要的研究领域。随着RNA序列数据的急速增长,基于机器学习识别假尿苷位点的方法相继提出,但其识别精度有待提高。因此,本文提出了一个新的融合核苷酸化学性质、核苷酸浓度和位置特异性的单核苷酸、双核苷酸、三核苷酸偏好特征的序列编码方式,并基于此编码方式和核极限学习机（Kernel Extreme Learning Machine, KELM）算法,构建了一个新的假尿苷位点预测器,该预测器被称为“KELMPSP”。通过Jackknife测试和独立数据集测试表明,KELMPSP明显优于现有的假尿苷位点预测器。KELMPSP可以通过网站：http://39.10577.161:8890/KELMPSP进行使用。     

Nitrogen‐dependent recovery of subarctic tundra vegetation after simulation of extreme winter warming damage to Empetrum hermaphroditum

Vast areas of (sub)arctic tundra are dominated by the ericoid dwarf shrub Empetrum hermaphroditum. Recent experimental and observational data have shown that Empetrum can be damaged heavily by recurrent extreme winter warming. In addition, summer warming leads to increased soil N availability in tundra ecosystems. In a 7‐year experiment, I investigated the recovery of subarctic Empetrum‐dominated tundra vegetation using a factorial combination of various degrees of aboveground Empetrum removal (simulating the damaging effects of extreme winter warming) and N addition (simulating one of the effects of summer warming). After 7 years no new species had established in the plots. The growth of planted Betula nana seedlings was stimulated by Empetrum removal and reduced by N addition. This Empetrum‐dominated tundra ecosystem was resilient against severe disturbances. Only when Empetrum was 100% removed did it fail to recover, and only in combination with high N supply the subordinate species (notably Eriophorum vaginatum and Rubus chamaemorus, a graminoid and a forb) could benefit. In the 50% removal treatment Empetrum recovered in 7 years when no N was supplied and the cover of the subordinate species did not change. However, when N was added Empetrum recovered faster (in 4 years) and the subordinates decreased. When Empetrum was not removed and N was added, Empetrum even increased in abundance at the expense of the subordinate species. Thus, profound changes in tundra ecosystems can only be expected when Empetrum is very heavily damaged as a result of recurrent extreme winter warming and when soil N availability is increased as a result of summer warming. These changes in species composition upon extreme disturbance events may lead to a wide variety of ecosystem feedbacks and cascade processes as this tundra system is relatively species‐poor, and can be hypothesized to have low functional redundancy.     

A study of Quercus pollen in the Derby area, UK

The major allergenic pollen prevalent in the Derby air in May is Quercus pollen which has been monitored volumetrically from 1970–1997. Quercus pollen levels in Derby are increasing, showing an established long term trend, with 1995 being an exceptionally high year. There is now an earlier start date and a longer seasonal duration. The mean Quercus diurnal periodicity for 1991–1997 shows a peak at 15.00 hours.A detailed study of the 1990–1997 seasons established that a maximum temperature of 20 °C or above, at the usual time of flowering, occasions the start of the Quercus pollen season. Average May temperature and drought in the previous June and July are important factors in determining Quercus pollen totals. Predictions for the forthcoming seasons were produced which compared favourably with the actual pollen totals.     

Metabolic constraints on the body size scaling of extreme population densities

Pest outbreaks, harmful algal blooms and population collapses are extreme events with critical consequences for ecosystems. Therefore, understanding the ecological mechanisms underlying these extreme events is crucial. We evaluated theoretical predictions on the size scaling and variance of extreme population abundance by combining (i) the generalized extreme value (GEV) theory and (ii) the resource-limited metabolic restriction hypothesis for population abundance. Using the phytoplankton data from the L4 station in the English Channel, we showed a negative size scaling of the expected value of maximal density, whose confidence interval included the predicted metabolic scaling (α = −1) supporting theoretical predictions. The role of resources and temperature in the distribution of the size–abundance pattern and residuals was well characterized by the GEV distribution. This comprehensive modelling framework will allow to elucidate community structure and fluctuations and provide unbiased return times estimates, thereby improving the prediction accuracy of the timing of the population outbreaks.     

Genetic basis of natural variation in body pigmentation in Drosophila melanogaster

Body pigmentation in insects and other organisms is typically variable within and between species and is often associated with fitness. Regulatory variants with large effects at bab1, t and e affect variation in abdominal pigmentation in several populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Recently, we performed a genome wide association (GWA) analysis of variation in abdominal pigmentation using the inbred, sequenced lines of the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP). We confirmed the large effects of regulatory variants in bab1, t and e; identified 81 additional candidate genes; and validated 17 candidate genes (out of 28 tested) using RNAi knockdown of gene expression and mutant alleles. However, these analyses are imperfect proxies for the effects of segregating variants. Here, we describe the results of an extreme quantitative trait locus (xQTL) GWA analysis of female body pigmentation in an outbred population derived from light and dark DGRP lines. We replicated the effects on pigmentation of 28 genes implicated by the DGRP GWA study, including bab1, t and e and 7 genes previously validated by RNAi and/or mutant analyses. We also identified many additional loci. The genetic architecture of Drosophila pigmentation is complex, with a few major genes and many other loci with smaller effects.     

Snow damage in a Himalayan forest maintains the dominance of evergreen oaks

Extreme climate events are increasing due to climate change. Heavy snowfall in a Himalayan evergreen oak forest damaged 21% trees and created large treefall gaps. Such occasional events may help define the upper altitudinal boundary of certain species. Oak trees with branches lopped by local communities showed lower damage.     

Weather-Related Indices of Autumn– Winter Dabbling Duck Abundance in Middle North America

ABSTRACT Research on effects of key weather stimuli influencing waterfowl migration during autumn and winter is limited. We investigated relationships between changes in relative abundances of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and other dabbling ducks (Anas spp.) and weather variables at midlatitude locations in North America. We used waterfowl survey data from Missouri Conservation Areas and temperature and snow cover data from the Historical Climatology Network to evaluate competing models to explain changes in relative abundance of ducks in Missouri, USA, during autumn-winter, 1995–2005. We found that a cumulative weather severity index model (CumulativeWSI; calculated as mean daily temp - degrees C + no. of consecutive days with mean temp ≤ 0° C + snow depth + no. of consecutive days with snow cover) had the greatest weight of evidence in explaining changes in relative abundance of ducks. We concluded the CumulativeWSI reflected current and cumulative effects of ambient temperatures on energy expenditure by ducks, and snow cover and wetland icing, on food availability for ducks. The CumulativeWSI may be useful in determining potential changes in autumn-winter distributions of North American waterfowl given different climate change projections and associated changes in habitat conservation needs. Future investigations should address interactions between CumulativeWSI and landscape habitat quality, regional waterfowl populations, hunter harvest, and other anthropogenic influences to increase understanding of waterfowl migration during autumn-winter.     

中国西北地区降水量及极端干旱气候变化特征

采用1960—2011年西北地区111个观测站逐日气象资料,利用FAO Penman-Monteith模型,计算出各气象站的潜在蒸散量,由此计算出各站的湿润指数,并对其进行标准化,统计极端干旱发生频率。对西北全区和不同自然区的降水量及极端干旱发生频率的时空变化特征进行了探讨分析。结果表明:近52年来西北全区年降水量变化倾向率表现出微弱的上升趋势,平均每年上升0.17 mm。由该区年降水量变化的空间差异,可将研究区划分为3个部分:明显增加区、轻度增加区、减少区。西北全区极端干旱发生频率的平均值为3.8月/a,气候变化倾向率总体上表现出明显的下降趋势,平均每年下降0.011月。根据西北地区极端干旱发生频率变化的空间差异,也可将研究区划分为3个部分:明显减少区、轻度减少区、增加区。极端干旱发生频率与降水量和平均气温表现为显著的负相关性,与无雨总日数呈现出显著的正相关性。