No obvious genetic erosion,but evident relict status at the westernmost range edge of the Pontic‐Pannonian steppe plant Linum flavum L. (Linaceae) in Central Europe

We investigate patterns of genetic variation along an east–west transect of Central European populations of Linum flavum and interpret the Quaternary history of its peripheral populations, especially those at the westernmost isolated range edge, discussing their migrations and possible relict status. We defined our peripheral transect across three study regions from Central Hungary, eastern Austria to southwestern Germany. Using AFLP fingerprinting and cpDNA sequence variation (rpL16 intron, atpI‐H), we analyzed 267 and 95 individuals, respectively, representing each study region by four populations. Hierarchical AMOVA (AFLPs) indicated significant variation among study regions (12% of total variance) and moderate differentiation between populations (10%). Population differentiation was high at the westernmost range edge (11.5%, Germany), but also in the east (13.4%, Hungary), compared to the Austrian study region (8.6%). Correspondingly, AFLP diversity was highest in the center of the study transect in eastern Austria. CpDNA haplotypes support a pattern of regional structuring with the strongest separation of the westernmost range edge, and some haplotype sharing among Austrian and Hungarian individuals. Equilibrating nucleotide versus haplotype diversity patterns, the highly diverse populations at the Pannonian range edge (Austria) indicate long‐term persistence, while Central Pannonian populations are obviously effected by recent bottlenecks. Intermediate nucleotide, but high haplotype diversity within the westernmost exclave (Swabian Alb), is indicative of a founder bottleneck during its pre‐LGM or early postglacial migration history, followed by sufficient time to accumulate cpDNA variation. The not obviously reduced genetic diversity and distinctiveness of L. flavum at the westernmost range edge suggest a long‐term persistence (relict status) of populations in this region, where the species has survived probably even the Würm glaciation in extra‐Mediterranean refugia. This genetic relict variation represents an important part of the overall genetic diversity found in the western periphery of this steppe plant and highlights the high conservation priority of respective gene pools.     

Comparative landscape genetics of two frugivorous bats in a biological corridor undergoing agricultural intensification

Agricultural intensification in tropical landscapes poses a new threat to the ability of biological corridors to maintain functional connectivity for native species. We use a landscape genetics approach to evaluate impacts of expanding pineapple plantations on two widespread and abundant frugivorous bats in a biological corridor in Costa Rica. We hypothesize that the larger, more mobile Artibeus jamaicensis will be less impacted by pineapple than the smaller Carollia castanea. In 2012 and 2013, we sampled 735 bats in 26 remnant forest patches surrounded by different proportions of forest, pasture, crops and pineapple. We used 10 microsatellite loci for A. jamaicensis and 16 microsatellite loci for C. castanea to estimate genetic diversity and gene flow. Canonical correspondence analyses indicate that land cover type surrounding patches has no impact on genetic diversity of A. jamaicensis. However, for C. castanea, both percentage forest and pineapple surrounding patches explained a significant proportion of the variation in genetic diversity. Least‐cost transect analyses (LCTA) and pairwise G″st suggest that for A. jamaicensis, pineapple is more permeable to gene flow than expected, while as expected, forest is the most permeable land cover for gene flow of C. castanea. For both species, LCTA indicate that development may play a role in inhibiting gene flow. The current study answers the call for landscape genetic research focused on tropical and agricultural landscapes, highlights the value of comparative landscape genetics in biological corridor design and management and is one of the few studies of biological corridors in any ecosystem to implement a genetic approach to test corridor efficacy.     

红外相机技术与其他几种森林鸟类多样性调查方法的比较

为了探讨红外相机技术、网捕法、固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法对森林鸟类多样性调查的有效性和实用性, 我们于2011-2016年, 用这几种方法调查了广东南岭国家级自然保护区和车八岭国家级自然保护区的鸟类多样性。在南岭, 固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录鸟类222种, 网捕鸟类43种, 红外相机拍到鸟类47种; 其中1种鸟仅网捕到, 6种鸟仅被红外相机拍到, 164种鸟仅被固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录到。在车八岭, 固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录鸟类109种, 网捕鸟类42种, 红外相机拍到鸟类27种, 其中9种鸟仅网捕到, 3种鸟仅被红外相机拍到, 97种鸟仅被固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法记录到。随着鸟类的体重、体长、翅长和跗蹠增加, 网捕到的鸟类个体数量减少, 鸟类身体大小与网捕到的鸟类数量呈显著负相关; 而红外相机拍到的鸟类数量随鸟类的身体大小增大而增加, 并且呈显著的正相关。本文的结果显示, 网捕法和红外相机技术针对不同类群的鸟类调查效力不同, 但都是固定距离样线法和固定半径样点法的有效补充。建议今后开展森林鸟类多样性调查与监测时, 尽量采用多种研究方法相结合, 以求达到最优的效果。     

模拟增温对长白山北坡垂直样带森林土壤有机碳稳定碳同位素的影响

分析了长白山北坡垂直样带3种典型原始森林地表凋落物及不同粒径土壤组分中有机质的δ¹³C值,并将在岳桦林样地(EB,海拔1996 m)采集的20 cm土柱分别置换到云冷杉林(SF,海拔1350 m)和阔叶红松林(PB,海拔740 m),云冷杉林样地采集的土柱置换到阔叶红松林中,进行为期1年的野外模拟增温试验.结果表明：3种林型土壤的δ¹³C值均显著高于凋落物的δ¹³C值,凋落物和土壤有机质中的δ¹³C值由地表凋落物向土壤下层逐渐增加,而土壤粒径中有机质的δ¹³C值随粒径减小而增大.3种林型中,凋落物δ¹³C值变化趋势为云冷杉林(-28.3‰)>阔叶红松林(-29.0‰)>岳桦林(-29.6‰),而土壤有机质的δ¹³C值变化趋势为岳桦林(-25.5‰)>阔叶红松林(-25.8‰)>云冷杉林(-26.2‰).在土壤温度增加0.7 ℃～2.9 ℃条件下,土壤及其各粒级的δ¹³C值均呈下降趋势,而且<2 μm粘粒和2～63 μm粉粒δ¹³C值的降幅(0.48‰和0.47‰)高于>63 μm砂粒δ¹³C值的降幅(0.33‰).未来气候变暖可能对储藏在细小颗粒中年龄较长的有机碳带来较大的影响.     

Responses of vegetation structure and primary production of a forest transect in eastern China to global change

Aim A regional model of vegetation dynamics was enhanced to include biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen and was then applied to a forest transect in east China (FTEC) in order to investigate the responses of the transect to possible global change. Location Eastern China. Methods Biomass and nitrogen concentration of green and nongreen portions of vegetation, moisture contents of three soil layers, and total and available soil nitrogen are included as state variables in the enhanced model. The model was parameterized and validated against field observations of biomass, productivity, plant and soil nitrogen concentration, nitrogen uptake, a vegetation index derived from satellite remote sensing and digital maps of vegetation and soil distributions along a forest transect in eastern China (FTEC). The model was applied to FTEC in order to investigate the responsive characteristics of the ecosystems to global climatic change. Scenarios of climate change under doubled CO₂ produced by seven general circulation models (GCM) were used to drive the model. Results The simulations indicated that the model is capable of simulating accurately potential vegetation distribution and net primary productivity under contemporary climatic conditions. The simulations for GCM‐projected future climate scenarios with doubled atmospheric CO₂ concentration predicted that broadleaf forests would increase, but conifer forests, shrubs and grasses would decrease; and that deciduous forests would have the largest relative increase, but evergreen shrubs would have the largest decrease. Conclusions The overall effects of doubling CO₂ and climatic changes on FTEC were to produce an increased net primary productivity (NPP) at equilibrium for all seven GCM scenarios. The inclusion of nitrogen dynamics in the model imposes more constraint on the responses of FTEC to climatic change than the previous version of the model without nitrogen dynamics. Temperature exerts a stronger control on NPP than precipitation, as indicated by the negative correlations between NPP and temperature. The southern portion of FTEC, at latitudes less than 33 °N, show much larger increases in annual NPP than in the north. However, the predicted range of NPP increases is much larger in the north than in the south.     

Biases associated with the use of underwater visual census techniques to quantify the density and size-structure of fish populations

Estimates of reef fish densities made by divers visually censusing 5 m wide strip transects were compared with capture-resight estimates calculated independently using data on the resighting frequencies of fish marked with colour-coded tags. The difference in density estimates between methods varied between species but with patterns consistent at the three eastern Tasmanian sites studied. Densities of the two most abundant species, the wrasses Notolabrus tetricus and Notolabrus fucicola, showed good agreement between methods. By contrast, populations of the two monacanthids Meuschenia australis and Meuschenia freycineti were underestimated by an order of magnitude in strip transects relative to capture-resight, while populations of the open-water latrid Latridopsis forsteri were overestimated.For all common fish species observed in strip transects, variation in density estimates between divers was extremely low compared to variation between sites and between months. Variation in density estimates between different days within a week and between 50 m blocks located 50 m apart was also negligible; however, residual error associated with variation by a single diver within a block and day was high. Biases associated with changing detectability of fishes in open versus densely vegetated habitats were assessed by algal removal experiments, and were found to be negligible or non-significantly low for five of the six species examined. The exceptional species—N. tetricus—exhibited a 70% rise in fish sighted by diver following algal clearance despite trapping data indicating no increase in fish numbers.Diver estimates of fish length were on average 7% greater than measured lengths. Divers possessed a clear tendency to make increasingly inaccurate size estimates as fish length deviated in either direction from 300 mm. Lengths of 175-mm animals were underestimated by ≈20% and 400-mm fishes were overestimated by ≈10%. These changes in diver bias with fish size were largely independent of fish species, site and diver. The precision of size estimates, as indicated by the standard deviation of bias, also varied with fish size, with values varying from ≈13% at 200 mm fish length to ≈8% at 400 mm length. The decline in precision at small body size largely reflected size intervals used by divers to bin data. Divers appear capable of making more precise size estimates than the 25-mm interval used at small fish sizes.     

Microbial characteristics of soils on a latitudinal transect in Siberia

Soil microbial properties were studied from localities on a transect along the Yenisei River, Central Siberia. The 1000 km‐long transect, from 56°N to 68°N, passed through tundra, taiga and pine forest characteristic of Northern Russia. Soil microbial properties were characterized by dehydrogenase activity, microbial biomass, composition of microbial community (PLFAs), respiration rates, denitrification and N mineralization rates. Relationships between vegetation, latitude, soil quality (pH, texture), soil organic carbon (SOC) and the microbial properties were examined using multivariate analysis. In addition, the temperature responses of microbial growth (net growth rate) and activity (soil respiration rate) were tested by laboratory experiments. The major conclusions of the study are as follows: 1. Multivariate analysis of the data revealed significant differences in microbial activity. SOC clay content was positively related to clay content. Soil texture and SOC exhibited the dominant effect on soil microbial parameters, while the vegetation and climatic effects (expressed as a function of latitude) were weaker but still significant. The effect of vegetation cover is linked to SOC quality, which can control soil microbial activity. 2. When compared to fine‐textured soils, coarse‐textured soils have (i) proportionally more SOC bound in microbial biomass, which might result in higher susceptibility of SOC transformation to fluctuation of environmental factors, and (ii) low mineralization potential, but with a substantial part of the consumed C being transformed to microbial products. 3. The soil microbial community from the northernmost study region located within the permafrost zone appears to be adapted to cold conditions. As a result, microbial net growth rate became negative when temperature rose above 5 °C and C mineralization then exceeded C accumulation.     

利用遥感植被指数分析中国东部样带农业生态系统的生产力格局

在研究全球变化与陆地生态系统之间的关系方面 ,样带研究被认为是十分重要的手段之一。中国东部从南到北沿热量梯度出现的植被变化特点 ,形成世界上独特完整的以热量梯度驱动的植被连续带 ;加之中国地处世界上最大的“欧亚大陆”最东段 ,具有独特的大陆季风气候 ,样带内农业生态系统的各种变化具有区域代表性和典型性 ,使之成为全球变化研究中不可缺少的部分。目前 ,全球变化的研究范围和内容已经超越了传统生态系统研究所关注的斑块水平 ,要把斑块水平的生态系统研究成果拓展到区域乃至全球的空间尺度上 ,就需要在尺度转换上取得技术和方法…     

关于使用样线法估计种群密度

样线法是在大范围内估计野生动物种群密度的优良方法这一。我们在本文中说明了使用以平均垂直距离作为有效样带宽度来计算种群密度的简单数学公式一般不会得到可靠的效果。即使野外实施方式正确,使用该数学计算式估计出的密度结果也往往过于偏高。因此,我们建议最好合作计算机软件DISTANCE调查野生动物种群密度,并能熟悉样线距离取样法的理论基础。     

西藏羌塘自然保护区与人类活动有关的藏羚、藏野驴和藏原羚密度

1999年,2000年和2002年,在西藏西北部的西藏羌塘自然保护区分别沿三条横跨该自然保护区的长度为750-860km的东西向样线估计了藏羚(Pantholopshodgsoni)、藏野驴(Equuskiang)和藏原羚(Procaprapicticaudata)密度(每平方公里个体数)和遇见率(每平方公里遇见个体数)。在低海拔(4500-4700m)地区,藏羚、藏野驴和藏原羚数量很少,在那些人类活动强度高或中等的地区,藏羚、藏野驴和藏原羚的数量也极少,以致无法估计密度或遇见率。在高海拔(4700-5200m)地区,藏羚和藏野驴数量在那些人类和家畜活动强度低的地区,数量总比那些中等人类活动强度的地区高,尽管藏羚的数量差别比藏野驴小。藏原羚的情形不一样,在人类活动强度低或中等的地区的遇见率相仿。在某种程度上,这种差别可能与这些动物的生境偏好有关。看起来,藏原羚、其次是藏野驴比藏羚更能耐受人类和家畜的活动。注意到这三种动物在人类和家畜活动低的地区的结果方差都大,表明三种动物在有人类和家畜活动低的地区与在那些中等人类和家畜活动地区的分布相反的成群分布。三年中有蹄类动物遇见率的模式都相似,在调查期间有蹄类动物种群没有波动的趋势