Recent divergences and size decreases of eastern gorilla populations

Compared with other African apes, eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) have been little studied genetically. We used analysis of autosomal DNA genotypes obtained from non-invasively collected faecal samples to estimate the evolutionary histories of the two extant mountain gorilla populations and the closely related eastern lowland gorillas. Our results suggest that eastern lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas split beginning some 10 000 years ago, followed 5000 years ago by the split of the two mountain gorilla populations of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the Virungas Massif. All three populations have decreased in effective population size, with particularly substantial 10-fold decreases for the mountain gorillas. These dynamics probably reflect responses to habitat changes resulting from climate fluctuations over the past 20 000 years as well as increasing human influence in this densely populated region in the last several thousand years.     

Effects of experimental warming and nitrogen enrichment on leaf and litter chemistry of a wetland grass,Phragmites australis

As global climate is warming and the nitrogen cycle accelerates, plants are likely to respond not only by shifting community composition, but also by adjusting traits such as tissue chemistry. We subjected a widespread wetland plant, Phragmites australis, to increased nitrate supply and elevated temperature in enclosures that were established in a littoral permanently submerged freshwater marsh. The nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in green leaves ranged from 11.4 to 13.8 mg N and from 1.5 to 2.0 mg P g⁻¹ dry mass. While the N concentration changed little in brown litter, the P concentration decreased to 0.53–0.65 mg P g⁻¹ litter dry mass. Neither experimental warming of the water and sediment surface, nor nitrate enrichment during the growing season affected nitrogen or phosphorus concentrations in green leaves. Concentrations of the two major structural carbon compounds in plant litter, cellulose and lignin, were also unaffected, ranging from 32.1 to 34.2% of dry mass for cellulose and from 16.3 to 17.7% of dry mass for lignin. Warming, however, significantly increased the nitrogen concentration of fully brown leaf litter. Thus, temperature appears to be more important than the supply of dissolved N in the water, especially in affecting leaf litter N concentrations in P. australis, even when only water but not air temperature is increased. This result may have implications for decomposition processes and decomposer food webs, which both depend on the quality of plant litter.     

Simplified song in an island population of the bush warbler Cettia diphone

Song complexity and the repertoire of the bush warbler Cettia diphone were studied in an island and a mainland population in Japan. The song complexity (number of modulations in a song) was lower in the island population than in the mainland one. On the other hand, the repertoire size (number of song types per male) was larger on the island. Founder effect probably does not influence the island song because colonization occurred a very long time ago. Sound transmission properties of the habitat and weak selection pressure for interspecific identification might have influenced the island song, but these cannot elucidate the simpler song on the island. There is a possibility that social conditions affect song complexity in the populations; the highly polygynous mating system of the mainland population yields strong selection pressure toward complex song through acquisition of mates and/or establishment of quality territories. On the other hand, variable songs on the island seem to be affected by cultural mutation. Received: September 3, 1999 / Accepted: December 9, 1999     

试议新型高蛋白植物杂交酸模的开发利用

1　引　言新型高蛋白植物杂交酸模 (以下简称杂交酸模 ) ,最先是由前苏联乌克兰国家科学院中心植物园作物研究所的乌切乌什博士 ,于 2 0世纪 70年代利用天山酸模 (Ｒｕｍｅｘｔｉａｎｓｃｈａｎｉｃｕｓ)为父本及巴天酸模 (Ｒ .ｐｕｔｉｅｎｔｉｕ)为母本 ,通过杂交技术历时 1 0多年而育成的牧草新品种。在国外 ,俄罗斯、乌克兰、荷兰、波兰、英国、法国、德国、西班牙、挪威等欧洲国家 ,以及印度、非洲一些国家都在开展酸模的生产和利用的研究 ,包括生物特性、化学成分、营养价值、栽培技术以及加工利用等 ,并取得某种进展。例如俄罗斯的罗…     

Assessment of aquatic and terrestrial reed (Phragmites australis) stands

A survey of recent publications shows that research on Phragmites australishas oftenapplied character because of the considerableecological and economic significance of the species.The main applications are water treatment, agriculture(food production or weed control) and natureconservation. In Europe, most research on natural reedstands has been motivated by reed die-back and effortstowards protection or restoration. Reed progressionand reed control have been the main concerns in otherparts of the world, and reed progression has alsoreceived increasing attention in Europe. While reeddie-back generally affects aquatic stands, progressioncan occur at both terrestrial and aquatic sites, andit can be desired (e.g. lake shore restoration)or unwanted (e.g. in species-rich fens ormarshes). Therefore, reed stands need to be assessedindividually to decide on management aims andappropriate methods. The varying status of Phragmites australisformed the background of the`European Reed Conference' held in Zürich/Switzerlandin October 1998. The seven contributions published inthis special issue are introduced with particularreference to differences between aquatic andterrestrial reed stands and to approaches used in theirassessment.     

Early‐life conditions impact juvenile telomere length,but do not predict later life‐history strategies or fitness in a wild vertebrate

Environmental conditions experienced during early life may have long‐lasting effects on later‐life phenotypes and fitness. Individuals experiencing poor early‐life conditions may suffer subsequent fitness constraints. Alternatively, individuals may use a strategic “Predictive Adaptive Response” (PAR), whereby they respond—in terms of physiology or life‐history strategy—to the conditions experienced in early life to maximize later‐life fitness. Particularly, the Future Lifespan Expectation (FLE) PAR hypothesis predicts that when poor early‐life conditions negatively impact an individual''s physiological state, it will accelerate its reproductive schedule to maximize fitness during its shorter predicted life span. We aimed to measure the impact of early‐life conditions and resulting fitness across individual lifetimes to test predictions of the FLE hypothesis in a wild, long‐lived model species. Using a long‐term individual‐based dataset, we investigated how early‐life conditions are linked with subsequent fitness in an isolated population of the Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis. How individuals experience early‐life environmental conditions may vary greatly, so we also tested whether telomere length—shorter telomers are a biomarker of an individual''s exposure to stress—can provide an effective measure of the individual‐specific impact of early‐life conditions. Specifically, under the FLE hypothesis, we would expect shorter telomeres to be associated with accelerated reproduction. Contrary to expectations, shorter juvenile telomere length was not associated with poor early‐life conditions, but instead with better conditions, probably as a result of faster juvenile growth. Furthermore, neither juvenile telomere length, nor other measures of early‐life conditions, were associated with age of first reproduction or the number of offspring produced during early life in either sex. We found no support for the FLE hypothesis. However, for males, poor early‐life body condition was associated with lower first‐year survival and reduced longevity, indicating that poor early‐life conditions pose subsequent fitness constraints. Our results also showed that using juvenile telomere length as a measure of early‐life conditions requires caution, as it is likely to not only reflect environmental stress but also other processes such as growth.     

基于MODIS数据的松嫩平原西部芦苇湿地地上生物量遥感估算

芦苇作为湿地生态系统中重要的群落类型,其地上生物量是衡量湿地生态系统质量的关键指标。应用面向对象的土地覆盖分类技术,基于多季相Landsat8 OLI遥感数据,提取松嫩平原西部芦苇湿地分布信息;依托野外实测芦苇地上生物量数据(AGB)和同期MODIS数据源的NDVI、EVI、RVI、MSAVI和WDVI 5种光谱植被指数,探讨不同光谱植被指数对芦苇AGB的敏感性,进而构建松嫩平原西部芦苇AGB遥感估算最优模型,并进行芦苇AGB遥感反演及空间格局分析。结果表明:2014年松嫩平原西部地区芦苇总面积为1653 km~2,其中扎龙湿地自然保护区内芦苇分布面积最大(1178km~2),占区域芦苇总面积的71.3%;所选取的5种植被指数均与芦苇AGB呈极显著正相关(P0.01),基于EVI构建的指数曲线模型为松嫩平原西部芦苇AGB反演的最优模型(R2=0.55)。研究区芦苇平均AGB为372.1g/m~2,AGB总量为6.14×105t,其中扎龙湿地自然保护区内芦苇AGB总量为4.38×105t;各保护区芦苇平均AGB由大到小依次为:向海保护区(469.7 g/m~2)大布苏保护区(454.1 g/m~2)莫莫格保护区(373.0 g/m~2)扎龙保护区(372.4 g/m~2)查干湖保护区(369.8 g/m~2);松嫩平原西部芦苇AGB总体呈现南高北低的分布格局,将为湿地生态系统管理与保护及芦苇资源的合理利用提供科学依据。     

Increase in protandry over time in a long‐distance migratory bird

Protandry is a widespread life‐history phenomenon describing how males precede females at the site or state of reproduction. In migratory birds, protandry has an important influence on individual fitness, the migratory syndrome, and phenological response to climate change. Despite its significance, accurate analyses on the dynamics of protandry using data sets collected at the breeding site, are lacking. Basing our study on records collected during two time periods, 1979 to 1988 and 2006 to 2016, we aim to investigate protandry dynamics over 38 years in a breeding population of willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus). Change in the timing of arrival was analyzed in males and females, and protandry (number of days between male and female arrival) was investigated both at population level and within breeding pairs. Our results show advancement in the arrival time at the breeding site in both sexes, but male arrival has advanced to a greater extent, leading to an increase in protandry both at the population level and within breeding pairs. We did not observe any change in sex ratio that could explain the protandry increase, but pronounced temperature change has occurred and been reported in the breeding area and along the migratory route. Typically, natural selection opposes too early arrival in males, but given warmer springs, this counteracting force may be relaxing, enabling an increase in protandry. We discuss whether our results suggest that climate change has induced sex‐specific effects, if these could be evolutionary and whether the timing of important life‐history stages such as arrival at the breeding site may change at different rates in males and females following environmental shifts.