Not putting all their eggs in one basket: bet‐hedging despite extraordinary annual reproductive output of desert tortoises

Bet‐hedging theory makes the counter‐intuitive prediction that, if juvenile survival is low and unpredictable, organisms should consistently reduce short‐term reproductive output to minimize the risk of reproductive failure in the long‐term. We investigated the long‐term reproductive output of an Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) population and conformance to a bet‐hedging strategy of reproduction in an unpredictable but comparatively productive environment. Most females reproduced every year, even during periods of low precipitation and poor germination of food plants, and the mean percentage of reproducing females did not differ significantly on an annual basis. Although mean annual egg production (clutch size × clutch frequency) differed significantly among years, mean clutch size and mean clutch frequency remained relatively constant. During an El Niño year, mean annual egg production and mean annual clutch frequency were the highest ever reported for this species. Annual egg production was positively influenced by maternal body size but clutch size and clutch frequency were not. Our long‐term results confirm earlier conclusions based on short‐term research that desert tortoises have a bet‐hedging strategy of producing small clutches almost every year. The risk of long‐term reproductive failure is minimized in unpredictable environments, both through time by annually producing multiple small clutches over a long reproductive lifespan, even in years of low resource availability, and through space by depositing multiple annual clutches in different locations. The extraordinary annual reproductive output of this population appears to be the result of a typically high but unpredictable biomass of annual food plants at the site relative to tortoise habitat in dryer regions. Under the comparatively productive but unpredictable conditions, tortoises conform to predictions of a bet‐hedging strategy of reproduction with relatively small but consistent clutch sizes. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 115 , 399–410.     

宁夏引黄灌区秸秆还田对麦田土壤硝态氮淋失的影响

以宁夏引黄灌区为例,探索秸秆还田条件下冬小麦土壤硝态氮淋失规律。试验设置常规施肥(CK)、常规施肥条件下施用4500kg/hm2(T1,半量还田)和9000 kg/hm2(T2,全量还田)秸秆3个处理。利用树脂芯法吸附10、20、30、60cm和90cm土层的硝态氮流失量。结果表明:硝态氮(纯N)淋失量6.26—12.85 kg/hm2,是冬小麦施用化肥氮量的2.78%—5.71%。与对照CK相比,T1和T2在10cm土层减少0.09%和3.97%;20cm土层减少8.51%和9.81%;30cm土层减少2.25%和10.34%;60cm土层减少23.85%和13.08%;90cm土层减少27.65%和20.73%。10cm和20cm土层,处理与对照以及处理之间均未到显著性差异(P0.05);30cm处理,T1与CK以及T1与T2未达到显著性差异,但T2与CK达到显著性差异表明全量还田效果最好;60cm土层,处理与对照、以及处理之间均达到显著性差异;90cm土层,处理与对照之间达到显著性差异,处理之间未达到显著性差异。硝态氮淋失主要发生在冬小麦返青至灌浆期间,占全生育期淋失量的52.95%—67.79%。T1、T2冬小麦产量增产率分别为10.11%与11.51%。可见,稻秆还田能够减少灌区土壤硝态氮淋失量。     

高温胁迫对华北地区冬小麦灌浆及产量的影响

冬小麦灌浆期高温是制约我国北方冬小麦产量的一个重要气候因素,随着全球气候变暖,日趋频繁的极端温度事件可能引起该地区冬小麦产量的大幅波动。为了明确冬小麦灌浆期异常高温对冬小麦产量的影响程度,在河北固城生态与农业气象试验站自然大田条件下,采用自由空气红外辐射增温技术,开展了冬小麦灌浆中后期短期高温处理模拟试验。结果表明,灌浆中后期短期高温胁迫致使冬小麦灌浆速率下降及灌浆持续时间缩短从而使粒重降低,在消除了影响粒重的其它因素的作用后,短期高温处理期间的午间平均冠层气温与粒重之间存在显著的负线性相关关系。高温对冬小麦产量的威胁程度由高温强度及其持续时间两个因素决定。结合了高温强度及其持续时间综合作用的高温有效度时被证明是一个能全面反映灌浆中后期高温胁迫影响的特征量。     

川西亚高山-高山森林土壤养分动态及其对季节性冻融的响应

为深入了解川西亚高山-高山森林冬季生态学过程,于2008年11月—2009年10月,在土壤冻结初期、冻结期和融化期及植被生长季节,研究了不同海拔(3582 m、3298 m和3023 m)岷江冷杉林土壤养分动态及其对季节性冻融的响应。3个海拔森林土壤冬季具有较高养分含量,且随土壤冻融过程不断变化。土壤有机层可溶性碳和氮、铵态氮、硝态氮含量在冻结初期显著增加后快速降低,并随融化过程迅速增加后再次降低,而土壤可溶性碳和氮、硝态氮含量在冻结期变化不明显,铵态氮显著增加。矿质土壤层可溶性碳和氮、铵态氮含量也在冻结初期显著增加后降低,而土壤可溶性氮、铵态氮和硝态氮在冻结期显著增加,并在融化期经历一个明显的含量高峰。海拔和土层的交互作用显著影响土壤可溶性碳和硝态氮含量,土壤养分含量与土壤温度的相关性随海拔差异而不同。这表明季节性冻融期是土壤生态过程的重要时期,土壤冻融格局显著影响川西亚高山-高山森林土壤养分动态。     

种植密度和施氮水平对小麦吸收利用土壤氮素的影响

2011-2013小麦季,在大田条件下设置2个氮肥水平(180和240kgN· hm-2)和3个种植密度(135、270和405万·hm-2),并将15N-尿素分别标记在20、60和100 cm土层处,研究种植密度-施氮互作对小麦吸收、利用土壤氮素及硝态氮残留量的影响.结果表明:种植密度从135万·hm-2增加至405万·hm-2,小麦在20、60和100 cm土层的15N吸收量分别增加1.86、2.28和2.51 kg·hm-2,地上部氮素积累量和吸收效率分别提高12.6％和12.6％,氮素利用效率降低5.4％;施氮量由240 kg N·hm-2降至180 kg N·hm-2,小麦在20、60 cm土层的15N吸收量分别降低4.11和1.21 kg·hm-2,在100 cm土层的15N吸收量增加1.02 kg·hm-2,地上部氮素积累量平均降低13.5％,氮素吸收效率和利用效率分别提高9.4％和12.2％.施氮180kg N·hm-2+种植密度为405万·hm-2处理与施氮240 kg N·hm-2+种植密度为270或405万·hm-2处理相比,其籽粒产量无显著差异,深层土壤氮素的吸收量显著提高,氮素吸收效率和利用效率分别提高13.4％和11.9％,O～ 200 cm土层的硝态氮积累量及100～ 200 cm土层硝态氮分布比例降低.在适当降低氮肥用量条件下,通过增加种植密度可以促进小麦吸收深层土壤氮素,减少土壤氮素残留,并保持较高的产量水平.     

Increasing hydrologic variability threatens depleted anadromous fish populations

Predicting effects of climate change on species and ecosystems depend on understanding responses to shifts in means (such as trends in global temperatures), but also shifts in climate variability. To evaluate potential responses of anadromous fish populations to an increasingly variable environment, we performed a hierarchical analysis of 21 Chinook salmon populations from the Pacific Northwest, examining support for changes in river flows and flow variability on population growth. More than half of the rivers analyzed have already experienced significant increases in flow variability over the last 60 years, and this study shows that this increase in variability in freshwater flows has a more negative effect than any other climate signal included in our model. Climate change models predict that this region will experience warmer winters and more variable flows, which may limit the ability of these populations to recover.     

冬小麦种植模式对水分利用效率的影响

在同一种植密度下,设3种种植模式,包括25 cm等行距平作、"20+40"大小行平作和"20+40"沟播。研究了冬小麦沟播和平作种植对产量及水分利用效率的影响。结果表明,"20+40"沟播产量显著高于平作;叶片相对含水量(RWC)、水势(Ψw)和叶片水平水分利用效率随生育进程的推进呈整体下降趋势,其中,沟播处理RWC、Ψw和叶片水平水分利用效率的平均值均显著高于等行距和"20+40"平作处理;另外,"20+40"沟播还能明显提高冬小麦田土壤贮水量,减少总耗水量,从而提高水分利用效率。灌水增加了冬小麦产量和叶片相对含水量等各水分指标,降低了水分利用效率,减小了各种植模式间差异。"20+40"沟播在灌水135 mm条件下既保障产量又较等行距节水25%。由此表明,冬小麦"20+40"沟播可改善叶片水分状况,提高水分利用效率,增加作物产量。     

测墒补灌对冬小麦氮素积累与转运及籽粒产量的影响

2007-2009年,在田间条件下,以冬小麦品种济麦22为材料,以0-140 cm土层平均土壤相对含水量为指标设计4个测墒补灌试验处理:W0(土壤相对含水量为播种期80%+拔节期65%+开花期65%)、W1(土壤相对含水量为播种期80%+拔节期70%+开花期70%)、W2(土壤相对含水量为播种期80%+拔节期80%+开花期80%)和W3(土壤相对含水量为播种期90%+拔节期80%+开花期80%),研究不同水分处理对冬小麦氮素积累与转运、籽粒产量、水分利用效率及土壤硝态氮含量的影响。结果表明:(1)成熟期小麦植株氮素积累量为W1处理最高,W3处理次之,W0和W2处理最低,W0和W2处理间无显著差异;氮素向籽粒的分配比例为W2处理显著低于W1处理,W0、W1、W3处理间无显著差异。开花期和成熟期营养器官氮素积累量、营养器官氮素向籽粒中的转移量、成熟期籽粒氮素积累量均为W1>W3>W2>W0,各处理间差异显著。(2)随着小麦生育进程的推进,0-200 cm土层土壤硝态氮含量先降低后回升再降低,在拔节期最低。成熟期W0和W1处理0-200 cm土层土壤硝态氮含量较低,W2和W3处理120-200 cm土层土壤硝态氮含量较高。(3)W0处理小麦氮素吸收效率、利用效率和氮肥偏生产力最低;随灌水量的增加,氮素利用效率呈先升高后降低趋势;W1处理小麦对氮素的吸收效率和利用效率较高,氮肥偏生产力最高。W0处理水分利用效率较高,但籽粒产量最低;灌水处理籽粒产量、灌溉水利用效率和灌溉效益两年度均随测墒补灌量的增加而显著降低。在本试验条件下,综合氮素利用、籽粒产量、灌溉水利用效率及土壤中硝态氮的淋溶,W1是高产节水的最佳灌溉处理,在2007-2008年和2008-2009年度补灌量分别为43.83 mm和13.77 mm。