Cladocera and free-living Copepoda from the Fouta Djalon and adjacent mountain areas in West Africa

Thirty-two species of Cladocera and 27 species of free-living copepods were identified in a series of samples collected in 25 localities in and around the Fouta Djalon mountains, West Africa. Beside great richness in numbers of species, the nature of the fauna is noteworthy: at least 20% of the Cladocera and 50% of the copepods are endemic to West Africa. Possible palaeoclimatological reasons for this are discussed. The cladoceran genus Streblocerus is recorded from Africa for the first time. It is an element of northern origin in the fauna of West Africa. More examples of this kind are documented among the Copepoda Cyclopoida and Harpacticoida, but the bulk of the fauna is evidently of tropical origin. In particular, great adaptive radiation is occurring in the local representatives of the genus Tropocyclops. Three new species of Parastenocaris are described; they are the first representatives of this genus found in West Africa.     

海洋自然保护区生态保护补偿机制

在提炼生态保护补偿概念内涵的基础上,综合考虑政策目标、海洋环境自然属性、自然保护区区域特殊性以及我国制度环境,明确了海洋自然保护区生态保护补偿的思路;根据相关法律法规,结合生态系统服务分析,对海洋自然保护区生态保护补偿机制的主体、客体和补偿标准进行了讨论。研究结果表明,海洋自然保护区生态保护补偿应该以持续的生态效益供给为目标,以正外部性内部化为基本原理;海洋自然保护区生态保护补偿的主体是国家,由相关政府部门代表国家履行补偿责任;补偿客体为保护区周边居民和保护区管理机构,对周边居民的补偿标准以其为保护区牺牲的生态效益价值来确定,对管理机构的补偿标准以其使保护区增加的生态效益价值来确定。在构建补偿机制框架后,探讨了保护区运营资金支持和补偿标准公信力等问题,为后续的研究实践提供参考与借鉴。     

Molecular Phylogeny Reveals the Past Transoceanic Voyages of Drywood Termites (Isoptera,Kalotermitidae)

Termites are major decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems and the second most diverse lineage of social insects. The Kalotermitidae form the second-largest termite family and are distributed across tropical and subtropical ecosystems, where they typically live in small colonies confined to single wood items inhabited by individuals with no foraging abilities. How the Kalotermitidae have acquired their global distribution patterns remains unresolved. Similarly, it is unclear whether foraging is ancestral to Kalotermitidae or was secondarily acquired in a few species. These questions can be addressed in a phylogenetic framework. We inferred time-calibrated phylogenetic trees of Kalotermitidae using mitochondrial genomes of ∼120 species, about 27% of kalotermitid diversity, including representatives of 21 of the 23 kalotermitid genera. Our mitochondrial genome phylogenetic trees were corroborated by phylogenies inferred from nuclear ultraconserved elements derived from a subset of 28 species. We found that extant kalotermitids shared a common ancestor 84 Ma (75–93 Ma 95% highest posterior density), indicating that a few disjunctions among early-diverging kalotermitid lineages may predate Gondwana breakup. However, most of the ∼40 disjunctions among biogeographic realms were dated at <50 Ma, indicating that transoceanic dispersals, and more recently human-mediated dispersals, have been the major drivers of the global distribution of Kalotermitidae. Our phylogeny also revealed that the capacity to forage is often found in early-diverging kalotermitid lineages, implying the ancestors of Kalotermitidae were able to forage among multiple wood pieces. Our phylogenetic estimates provide a platform for critical taxonomic revision and future comparative analyses of Kalotermitidae.     

Origin,diversity, and biogeography of Antarctic scale worms (Polychaeta: Polynoidae): a wide‐scale barcoding approach

The Antarctic marine environment hosts diversified and highly endemic benthos owing to its unique geologic and climatic history. Current warming trends have increased the urgency of understanding Antarctic species history to predict how environmental changes will impact ecosystem functioning. Antarctic benthic lineages have traditionally been examined under three hypotheses: (1) high endemism and local radiation, (2) emergence of deep‐sea taxa through thermohaline circulation, and (3) species migrations across the Polar Front. In this study, we investigated which hypotheses best describe benthic invertebrate origins by examining Antarctic scale worms (Polynoidae). We amassed 691 polynoid sequences from the Southern Ocean and neighboring areas: the Kerguelen and Tierra del Fuego (South America) archipelagos, the Indian Ocean, and waters around New Zealand. We performed phylogenetic reconstructions to identify lineages across geographic regions, aided by mitochondrial markers cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (Cox1) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S). Additionally, we produced haplotype networks at the species scale to examine genetic diversity, biogeographic separations, and past demography. The Cox1 dataset provided the most illuminating insights into the evolution of polynoids, with a total of 36 lineages identified. Eunoe sp. was present at Tierra del Fuego and Kerguelen, in favor of the latter acting as a migration crossroads. Harmothoe fuligineum, widespread around the Antarctic continent, was also present but isolated at Kerguelen, possibly resulting from historical freeze–thaw cycles. The genus Polyeunoa appears to have diversified prior to colonizing the continent, leading to the co‐occurrence of at least three cryptic species around the Southern and Indian Oceans. Analyses identified that nearly all populations are presently expanding following a bottleneck event, possibly caused by habitat reduction from the last glacial episodes. Findings support multiple origins for contemporary Antarctic polynoids, and some species investigated here provide information on ancestral scenarios of (re)colonization. First, it is apparent that species collected from the Antarctic continent are endemic, as the absence of closely related species in the Kerguelen and Tierra del Fuego datasets for most lineages argues in favor of Hypothesis 1 of local origin. Next, Eunoe sp. and H. fuligineum, however, support the possibility of Kerguelen and other sub‐Antarctic islands acting as a crossroads for larvae of some species, in support of Hypothesis 3. Finally, the genus Polyeunoa, conversely, is found at depths greater than 150 m and may have a deep origin, in line with Hypothesis 2. These “non endemic” groups, nevertheless, have a distribution that is either north or south of the Antarctic Polar Front, indicating that there is still a barrier to dispersal, even in the deep sea.     

不同地理株中肋骨条藻生长特性及RAPD多态性

通过对不同地理株骨条藻形态和亚显微结构的观察和描述 ,鉴定为中肋骨条藻 ,但发现在刺长、细胞间隙、细胞链形态、链上细胞数 ,色素体个数方面存在差别 ;通过不同 N∶ P营养盐实验 ,结果表明 ,在 N∶ P为 16∶ 1时 ,东海株和胶州湾株中肋骨条藻均得到最大生长率 ,分别为 1.6 6 d1 和 1.5 3d- 1 ,东海株中肋骨条藻最大生长率要高于胶州湾株中肋骨条藻 ,这表明在不同的海域环境条件下 ,中肋骨条藻的生长均有各自地域性特征。应用 RAPD技术对两地理株中肋骨条藻进行鉴别 ,以其全 DNA为模板进行 RAPD扩增 ,两不同地理株的中肋骨条藻表现不同的 DNA多态性 ,同样以各自的小亚基片段为模板进行的 RAPD扩增条带也表现出差异性。实验结果表明 ,两株中肋骨条藻应为种下的不同变种或亚种     

海洋可持续发展目标与海洋和滨海生态系统管理

海洋和海岸带可以为人类提供多种生态系统服务,保护与持续利用海洋资源以促进海洋和海岸带可持续发展已被正式纳入联合国可持续发展目标。实施海洋可持续发展目标面临几大挑战,包括如何减小陆基人类活动的影响、加强海岸带的综合管理、提高海洋资源效率、适应气候变化和提高沿海居民的人类福祉等。为应对这些挑战,需要将海洋和海岸带融合为一个大型生态系统,利用基于生态系统的管理方法,综合考虑各个部门和多种胁迫因素的累积影响,通过建立综合的海洋观测体系,合理划分海洋功能区,按照海洋环境承载力限制陆基人类活动,合理配置并有效利用海洋资源,提升海洋和海岸带生态系统的整体服务功能,从而进一步推进实施海洋可持续发展目标。     

Extensive gaps and biases in our knowledge of a well‐known fauna: implications for integrating biological traits into macroecology

Aim Ecologists seeking to describe patterns at ever larger scales require compilations of data on the global abundance and distribution of species. Comparable compilations of biological data are needed to elucidate the mechanisms behind these patterns, but have received far less attention. We assess the availability of biological data across an entire assemblage: the well‐documented demersal marine fauna of the United Kingdom. We also test whether data availability for a species depends on its taxonomic group, maximum body size, the number of times it has been recorded in a global biogeographic database, or its commercial and conservation importance. Location Seas of the United Kingdom. Methods We defined a demersal marine fauna of 973 species from 15 phyla and 40 classes using five extensive surveys around the British Isles. We then quantified the availability of data on eight key biological traits (termed biological knowledge) for each species from online databases. Relationships between biological knowledge and our predictors were tested with generalized linear models. Results Full data on eight fundamental biological traits exist for only 9% (n= 88) of the UK demersal marine fauna, and 20% of species completely lack data. Clear trends in our knowledge exist: fish (median biological knowledge score = six traits) are much better known than invertebrates (one trait). Biological knowledge increases with biogeographic knowledge and (to a lesser extent) with body size, and is greater in species that are commercially exploited or of conservation concern. Main conclusions Our analysis reveals deep ignorance of the basic biology of a well‐studied fauna, highlighting the need for far greater efforts to compile biological trait data. Clear biases in our knowledge, relating to how well sampled or ‘important’ species are suggests that caution is required in extrapolating small subsets of biologically well‐known species to ecosystem‐level studies.     

Natural acidification changes the timing and rate of succession,alters community structure,and increases homogeneity in marine biofouling communities

Ocean acidification may have far‐reaching consequences for marine community and ecosystem dynamics, but its full impacts remain poorly understood due to the difficulty of manipulating pCO₂ at the ecosystem level to mimic realistic fluctuations that occur on a number of different timescales. It is especially unclear how quickly communities at various stages of development respond to intermediate‐scale pCO₂ change and, if high pCO₂ is relieved mid‐succession, whether past acidification effects persist, are reversed by alleviation of pCO₂ stress, or are worsened by departures from prior high pCO₂ conditions to which organisms had acclimatized. Here, we used reciprocal transplant experiments along a shallow water volcanic pCO₂ gradient to assess the importance of the timing and duration of high pCO₂ exposure (i.e., discrete events at different stages of successional development vs. continuous exposure) on patterns of colonization and succession in a benthic fouling community. We show that succession at the acidified site was initially delayed (less community change by 8 weeks) but then caught up over the next 4 weeks. These changes in succession led to homogenization of communities maintained in or transplanted to acidified conditions, and altered community structure in ways that reflected both short‐ and longer‐term acidification history. These community shifts are likely a result of interspecific variability in response to increased pCO₂ and changes in species interactions. High pCO₂ altered biofilm development, allowing serpulids to do best at the acidified site by the end of the experiment, although early (pretransplant) negative effects of pCO₂ on recruitment of these worms were still detectable. The ascidians Diplosoma sp. and Botryllus sp. settled later and were more tolerant to acidification. Overall, transient and persistent acidification‐driven changes in the biofouling community, via both past and more recent exposure, could have important implications for ecosystem function and food web dynamics.     

Subjecting the theory of the small‐island effect to Ockham’s razor

Species–area curves from islands and other isolates often differ in shape from sample‐area curves generated from mainlands or sections of isolates (or islands), especially at finer scales. We examine two explanations for this difference: (1) the small‐island effect (SIE), which assumes the species–area curve is composed of two distinctly different curve patterns; and (2) a sigmoid or depressed isolate species–area curve with no break‐points (in arithmetic space). We argue that the application of Ockham’s razor – the principle that the simplest, most economical explanation for a hypothesis should be accepted over less parsimonious alternatives – leads to the conclusion that the latter explanation is preferable. We hold that there is no reason to assume the ecological factors or patterns that affect the shapes of isolate (or island) curves cause two distinctly different patterns. This assumption is not required for the alternative, namely that these factors cause a single (though depressed) isolate species–area curve with no break‐points. We conclude that the theory of the small‐island effect, despite its present standing as an accepted general pattern in nature, should be abandoned.     

Shared patterns of species turnover between seaweeds and seed plants break down at increasing distances from the sea

We tested for correlations in the degree of spatial similarity between algal and terrestrial plants communities along 5500 km of temperate Australian coastline and whether the strength of correlation weakens with increasing distance from the coast. We identified strong correlations between macroalgal and terrestrial plant communities within the first 100 km from shore, where the strength of these marine–terrestrial correlations indeed weakens with increasing distance inland. As such, our results suggest that marine‐driven community homogenization processes decompose with increasing distance from the shore toward inland. We speculate that the proximity to the marine environment produces lower levels of community turnover on land, and this effect decreases progressively farther inland. Our analysis suggests underlying ecological and evolutionary processes that give rise to continental‐scale biogeographic influence from sea to land.