西北旱寒区地理、地形因素与降雨量及平均温度的相关性——以甘肃省为例

地理、地形因素是影响西北旱寒区农业种植结构和生态保育的重要因素之一。以甘肃为例,在遥感和GIS技术支持下,选取该地区122个气象站点的1980、1990、2000年3个年份各月降雨量和平均气温作为数据源,分析了各月降雨量和平均气温与经纬度、海拔、坡向、坡度之间的相关关系。结果表明,降雨量与经度、纬度和海拔3个地理、地形因子相关性较大,与坡度和坡向无显著性相关;降雨量和纬度之间存在普遍的显著性负相关,平均偏相关系数在0.5以上。另外,月平均气温与经度、海拔具有很高的显著性负相关,其中平均气温与海拔之间的偏相关系数达到0.9以上,但与坡度和坡向的相关性不显著。更进一步,分析了3个年度各月的月平均气温与纬度之间的关系,虽然气温和纬度之间存在一定的相关性,但随着年份的变化,温度与纬度具有显著性相关的月份数在减少,并且在存在相关性的月份中,气温同纬度之间的偏相关系数也在逐年减小,纬度对温度的空间分布的影响正逐渐变弱。研究结果支持了中国西北干旱区范围正向东南扩展的结论,并为全球变化下旱区农业生态系统管理提供理论潜力。     

瓜实蝇和南亚果实蝇在我国的分布差异

瓜实蝇Zelugodacus cucurbitae和南亚果实蝇Zelugodacus tau是两种主要以葫芦科植物为寄主的瓜类实蝇,主要分布于我国南部和中部地区。在实际研究中发现南亚果实蝇和瓜实蝇分类地位、寄主范围和生活史相近,但分布区域可能存在差异。因此,采用性诱剂诱集法在全国14个省(自治区)对这两种实蝇的分布进行调查,结果显示南亚果实蝇在我国整个南部地区均有分布,瓜实蝇在我国的分布范围较小,主要分布于北纬25°以南。结合气候数据发现两种实蝇的分布范围基本上和各地年平均气温一致,瓜实蝇主要在年平均温度20℃以上的区域分布,南亚果实蝇则在年平均温度为15℃以上的区域均有分布。这种地理分布的差异可能是两种实蝇对气候环境和寄主植物适应能力不同所致。     

Bryophyte‐cyanobacteria associations as regulators of the northern latitude carbon balance in response to global change

Ecosystems in the far north, including arctic and boreal biomes, are a globally significant pool of carbon (C). Global change is proposed to influence both C uptake and release in these ecosystems, thereby potentially affecting whether they act as C sources or sinks. Bryophytes (i.e., mosses) serve a variety of key functions in these systems, including their association with nitrogen (N₂)‐fixing cyanobacteria, as thermal insulators of the soil, and producers of recalcitrant litter, which have implications for both net primary productivity (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration. While ground‐cover bryophytes typically make up a small proportion of the total biomass in northern systems, their combined physical structure and N₂‐fixing capabilities facilitate a disproportionally large impact on key processes that control ecosystem C and N cycles. As such, the response of bryophyte‐cyanobacteria associations to global change may influence whether and how ecosystem C balances are influenced by global change. Here, we review what is known about their occurrence and N₂‐fixing activity, and how bryophyte systems will respond to several key global change factors. We explore the implications these responses may have in determining how global change influences C balances in high northern latitudes.     

Impact of Perinatal Photoperiod on the Chronotype of 11- to 18-Year-Olds in Northern European Russia

The study investigates the effect of the month of birth and ambient light conditions at birth on sleep length and chronotype among residents of high latitudes. The authors surveyed 1172 persons (609 girls, 563 boys) age 11 to 18 yrs living in five villages and four towns located between 59.5°N and 67.6°N latitude. Survey participation was voluntary and anonymous. Sleep length and chronotype were assessed using the Munich chronotype questionnaire (MCTQ). The study showed the sleep length and chronotype of the children and adolescents depended on sex, age, type of settlement (town/village), and latitude of residence. Latitude exerted a stronger impact on sleep length and chronotype of children and adolescents living in villages than on those of their urban counterparts. Month of birth had no effect on sleep length and chronotype. There was a significant effect of the time of sunrise, sunset, and day length at birth on the chronotype of children and adolescents. A later chronotype was observed in the sample of young persons living above the Arctic Circle who were born during the polar day and polar night. (Author correspondence: borisenkov@physiol.komisc.ru)     

ALTITUDINAL CLINAL VARIATION IN WING SIZE AND SHAPE IN AFRICAN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER: ONE CLINE OR MANY?

Geographical patterns of morphological variation have been useful in addressing hypotheses about environmental adaptation. In particular, latitudinal clines in phenotypes have been studied in a number of Drosophila species. Some environmental conditions along latitudinal clines—for example, temperature—also vary along altitudinal clines, but these have been studied infrequently and it remains unclear whether these environmental factors are similar enough for convergence or parallel evolution. Most clinal studies in Drosophila have dealt exclusively with univariate phenotypes, allowing for the detection of clinal relationships, but not for estimating the directions of covariation between them. We measured variation in wing shape and size in D. melanogaster derived from populations at varying altitudes and latitudes across sub‐Saharan Africa. Geometric morphometrics allows us to compare shape changes associated with latitude and altitude, and manipulating rearing temperature allows us to quantify the extent to which thermal plasticity recapitulates clinal effects. Comparing effect vectors demonstrates that altitude, latitude, and temperature are only partly associated, and that the altitudinal shape effect may differ between Eastern and Western Africa. Our results suggest that selection responsible for these phenotypic clines may be more complex than just thermal adaptation.     

Is Rapoport's rule a recent phenomenon? A deep time perspective on potential causal mechanisms

Macroecology strives to identify ecological patterns on broad spatial and temporal scales. One such pattern, Rapoport''s rule, describes the tendency of species'' latitudinal ranges to increase with increasing latitude. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this rule. Some invoke climate, either through glaciation driving differential extinction of northern species or through increased seasonal variability at higher latitudes causing higher thermal tolerances and subsequently larger ranges. Alternatively, continental tapering or higher interspecific competition at lower latitudes may be responsible. Assessing the incidence of Rapoport''s rule through deep time can help to distinguish between competing explanations. Using fossil occurrence data from the Palaeobiology Database, we test these hypotheses by evaluating mammalian compliance with the rule throughout the Caenozoic of North America. Adherence to Rapoport''s rule primarily coincides with periods of intense cooling and increased seasonality, suggesting that extinctions caused by changing climate may have played an important role in erecting the latitudinal gradients in range sizes seen today.