An ESS for the Height of a Plant Population, or an Optimal Height for an Individual?—Rethinking Game-Theoretic Models for Plant Height

Plants only interact with neighbors over restricted distances, so local conditions are of great significance for plants. It is therefore important to consider spatial structure and neighborhood effects if we are to understand plants' strategies. We constructed a spatially-explicit, game theory model to explore optimal height growth at the individual-level. In the model, there is no ESS for height growth at the population level, because there is an “instantaneous” optimal height growth strategy for the individual plant that changes depending on the local light environment. The optimal strategy is plasticity in response to local conditions. Game-theoretic models for plant phenotypic traits should move from “mean-field approximations” towards explicit modeling of local interactions.     

Molecular cloning and functional expression of a sodium bicarbonate cotransporter from guinea-pig parotid glands

We recently found that the concentration of HCO3- in guinea-pig saliva is very similar to that of human saliva; however, the entity that regulates HCO3- transport has not yet been fully characterized. In order to investigate the mechanism of HCO3- transport, we identified, cloned, and characterized a sodium bicarbonate (Na(+)/HCO3- cotransporter found in guinea-pig parotid glands (gpNBC1). The gpNBC1 gene encodes a 1079-amino acid protein that has 95% and 96% homology with human and mouse parotid NBC1, respectively. Oocytes expressing gpNBC1 were exposed to HCO3- or Na(+)-free solutions, which resulted in a marked change in membrane potentials (V(m)), suggesting that gpNBC1 is electrogenic. Likewise, a gpNBC1-mediated pH recovery was observed in gpNBC1 transfected human hepatoma cells; however, in the presence of 4, 4-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2-disulfonic acid, a specific NBC1 inhibitor, such changes in V(m) and pH(i) were not observed. Together, the data show that the cloned guinea-pig gene is a functional, as well as sequence homologue of human NBC1.     

Generation of cell lines with tetracycline-regulated autophagy and a role for autophagy in controlling cell size

Autophagy is an intracellular bulk degradation system. We established mouse fibroblast lines coupling the Tet-off system with an Atg5(-/-) mouse embryonic fibroblast line to artificially regulate autophagic ability. In the presence of doxycycline (Dox), Atg5 expression was completely suppressed and these cells were autophagy-defective. After removal of Dox, autophagic ability was restored within 6h. Very low levels of Atg5 could induce an autophagy competent state. We applied this novel system to examine the contribution of autophagy to controlling cell size. Cell size reduction in response to starvation was significantly inhibited in cells unable to undergo autophagy. The generated cell lines will be useful reagents for future mechanistic studies into the regulation and physiologic significance of autophagy.     

Changing Estuaries, Changing Views

During the design and the execution of the Delta project, carried out after the storm flood of 1953 in the SW Netherlands, the importance of the long-term effects of morphological and ecological developments driven by tides and currents, have been underestimated. Due to these processes the height of the dams will have to be increased for centuries to come, because the land behind the levees cannot grow in elevation anymore with the rising of the sea. Maintenance of the civil-engineering structures, and mitigating their unpredictable impacts on ecosystems, involve very high recurrent costs. The chance of flooding is reduced, but the potential damage after a storm flood is enlarged: seawalls and dykes provide a false sense of safety against flooding. Changes in the role of agricultural use in the European context, offer an opportunity to abandon arable fields and to retrocede them to the sea in order to absorb tidal energy and to allow the land to rise concomitant with the sea. A cost-benefit analysis of this approach should assess the direct and indirect economic values, as well as the non-use (intrinsic) values, whereby public engagement in management questions, facilitates decision-making processes. Reversible and resilient economic measures within the limits of the natural processes are preferable. A future, speculative perspective is an urbanised landscape, where people and investments are located in safe places, e.g. on floating, or sea-encircled artificial dwelling-mounds, surrounded by a landscape that is ruled by the forces of nature. New approaches such as developed in the Westerschelde offer flexible solutions to flooding problems, and are worth a broader evaluation. A worldwide platform of experts should be organised to study the future management of estuaries and deltas, and to develop and exchange new ideas and techniques.     

Tidal geomorphology affects phytoplankton at the transition from forested streams to tidal rivers

1. Coastal rivers can have long tidally influenced reaches that are affected by tides but do not contain saline water. These tidal freshwater reaches have steep geomorphic gradients where the river transitions from narrow, heavily shaded streams to wide, unshaded channels. The influence of these gradients on river ecosystem production is poorly understood. 2. We characterised gradients in irradiance, geomorphology, water clarity and chlorophyll a along 9‐ to 16‐km tidal freshwater reaches of the Newport and White Oak Rivers in North Carolina, USA, and examined the effect of nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton growth in the Newport River. Underwater irradiance was modelled at 2–4 week intervals along both rivers using measurements of the above‐canopy irradiance, canopy cover, water column light attenuation (K_d) and water depth. Suspended material (TSS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chlorophyll a were sampled at 2‐week interval at five sites on the Newport River and on four dates at four sites on the White Oak River over the course of one year. 3. Phytoplankton nutrient limitation was assessed at three locations along the tidal gradient. River water was collected during March, April, June and October, and incubated in 10‐L plastic outdoor containers under ambient water temperature and sunlight. Additions of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus served as treatments; growth rate during the 4 days of incubation was calculated from the change in chlorophyll a concentration over time. 4. Canopy cover decreased from more than 90% to <10% over the length of both tidal freshwater rivers. Water column irradiance and phytoplankton biomass increased as tree canopy cover decreased and channel width increased. Channel width exceeded predictions for non‐tidal rivers by threefold because of tidal influence. TSS and DOC decreased significantly along the length of the Newport River, but no significant gradients were observed in the White Oak River. K_d did not vary along the tidal gradient of either river. 5. Mesocosm experiments indicated that inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus enhanced the growth of phytoplankton advected from the non‐tidal river into the tidal freshwater river during spring and summer. Phytoplankton in the tidal freshwater reach were generally not nutrient limited. 6. Tidal hydrology (in the absence of saltwater) directly affected the morphology of the channel and indirectly affected biological growth and production. The significant increase in river width, irradiance and phytoplankton biomass distinguished these tidal freshwater ecosystems from their upstream (non‐tidal fluvial) counterparts, while the strong influence of riparian shading distinguished them from the saline estuaries downstream. Future development of ecosystem and biogeochemical models for tidal freshwater rivers will benefit from the linkages between geomorphology and biological processes identified here.     

Constraints on Salt Marsh Development Following Managed Coastal Realignment: Dispersal Limitation or Environmental Tolerance?

Salt marshes restored through managed coastal realignment (MR) often develop slowly and show persistent differences in vegetation from natural marshes. Development might be constrained by the availability of propagules or poor suitability of the abiotic environment for their establishment. To distinguish between these factors, we compared vegetation colonization and environmental conditions at a salt marsh created by MR at Brancaster, Norfolk, UK, with five reference marshes, varying in age from 30 to circa 6,000 years. After 5 years, plant communities of the MR site remained different from those in mature reference marshes. In contrast, the communities of the youngest reference marsh were not significantly different from mature reference marshes. At the MR site, abundance of perennial and later‐successional species was low and large areas remained unvegetated. These differences are unlikely to be due to dispersal limitation, because 76% of the species from the local species pool colonized the site within 5 years. Although the annuals Salicornia europaea and Suaeda maritima were abundant by year 2, they were not ubiquitous until the end of the study. Tidal elevations of the MR site were suitable for vegetation development, but soil redox potentials were lower than that at the reference sites. Reducing conditions in the MR site appear to be the major cause of vegetation differences from the reference marshes, as they are associated with an abundance of bare ground and a small range of vegetation clusters. Measures to avoid low sediment redox potentials may have a great benefit in some salt marsh restoration projects.     

塔里木河下游柽柳灌丛地上生物量估测

根据划分的柽柳灌丛大、中、小等级,在塔里木河下游英苏至喀尔达依区段进行地表采样、称重,采用统计相关法对柽柳年龄及地径关系进行分析,构建柽柳直立枝与单丛地上生物量估测模型,对模型精度进行检验,筛选最佳模型,并对模型估测值与实测值进行卡方检验。结果表明:(1)输水后柽柳新萌直立枝地径随年龄增加而增大,但输水前柽柳萌生直立枝的地径随年龄增加未呈现规律性变化。在地下水条件非一致性的干旱荒漠区,柽柳地径大小不能作为判断其年龄的依据。(2)根据柽柳标准枝和灌丛因子实测数据,用一元线性函数、幂函数、指数函数、对数函数4种函数进行柽柳直立枝生物量估测模型拟合结果表明,幂函数w=2.007(d2 h)0.837估测模型最优,其总体估测精度达89.92%。(3)以冠幅面积单变量、冠幅周长与丛高双变量构建的柽柳单丛生物量估测模型的精度分别为78.95%和80.09%。(4)以全收获法实测数据为真值对估测模型进行精度检验,柽柳冠幅面积为自变量模型的估测精度为80.54%,柽柳冠幅周长和丛高估测模型的精度为66.85%。(5)对柽柳单株及单丛生物量模型估测值与实测值进行卡方检验结果表明两者之间无显著差异。研究认为,由于柽柳冠幅在高分辨遥感数据上容易获取,柽柳冠幅面积估测模型在传统生物量估测和遥感生物量估测都具有实用价值。     

刈割对克氏针茅草原群落优势与亚优势植物的影响

基于内蒙古中部克氏针茅草原长期刈割试验,分析了不同留茬高度下克氏针茅草原植物群落中5个优势及亚优势种地上生物量和群落稳定性的变化.结果表明：留茬高度在10 cm以上时对5种植物地上生物量的影响较小.留茬高度为10 cm适于冷蒿生长,而不利于克氏针茅的生长.糙隐子草在留茬高度为2 cm时表现最佳.黄囊苔草对群落的贡献在留茬高度为5 cm时最大,此时其生物量与刈割年限呈正相关.留茬高度为2和15 cm不利于星毛委陵菜生长.植株较高、竞争力强的多年生植物对干扰的耐受能力较强,刈割的留茬高度不低于10 cm时,有益于维持草原生态系统的稳定性.     

气候条件对典型草原牧草生长发育影响浅析

采用兴安盟扎赉特旗2004年～2011年气候生态环境监测站监测的典型草原牧草生长发育及地上生物量等基本资料。典型草原主要牧草种类有贝加尔针茅、野古草、羊草等禾草,伴生中旱生杂草、灌木及半灌木组成,草丛一般高30～50 cm。本文详细分析了当地气候条件对典型草原牧草生长发育及产量的影响。结果表明,典型草原牧草的高度、盖度及地上生物量受温度和降水量影响最明显,其中降水量的影响超过温度的影响。降水量多的年份地上生物量明显增加,而干旱年份地上生物量减少,其最大值一般出现在7月份,并滞后于降水量最大值。     

Height convergence in response to neighbour growth: genotypic differences in the stoloniferous plant Potentilla reptans

Using a new experimental set up, the way in which height growth of stoloniferous plants is adjusted to that of their neighbours, as well as differences between genotypes in their ability to keep up with neighbour height growth were tested. Five Potentilla reptans genotypes inherently differing in petiole length were subjected to three experimental light gradients, involving light intensity and red : far-red ratio. Each plant was placed in a vertically adjustable cylinder of green foil, and the treatments differed in the speed of cylinder height increase and final height. Total weight of plants decreased from the 'Slow' to the 'Fast' treatment, while petiole length increased. Leaves reaching the top of the cylinder stopped petiole elongation, resulting in similar final heights for all genotypes in the 'Slow' treatment. In the 'Fast' treatment only the fastest-growing genotype maintained its position in the top of the cylinder and genotypes differed strongly in final height within the cylinders. Plants adjust their height growth to that of the surrounding vegetation, leading to height convergence in short light gradients that slowly increase. These adjustments and genotypic differences in ability to keep up with fast-growing neighbours can influence the outcome of competition for light.