Scale dependence of vegetation-environment correlations: A case study of a North Carolina piedmont woodland

Abstract. Vegetation and its correlation with environment has been traditionally studied at a single scale of observation. If different ecological processes are dominant at different spatial and temporal scales, the results obtained from such observations will be specific to the single scale of observation employed and will lack generality. Consequently, it is important to assess whether the processes that determine community structure and function are similar at different scales, or whether, how rapidly, and under what circumstances the dominant processes change with scale of observation. Indeed, early work by Greig-Smith and associates (Greig-Smith 1952; Austin & Greig-Smith 1968; see Greig-Smith 1979; Kershaw & Looney 1985; Austin & Nicholls 1988) suggested that plant-plant interactions are typically important at small scales, but that the physical environment dominates at large scales. Using a gridded and mapped 6.6 ha portion of the Duke Forest on the North Carolina piedmont for a case study, we examined the importance of scale in vegetation studies by testing four hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that the correlation between vegetation composition and environment should increase with increasing grain (quadrat) size. Our results support this hypothesis. Second, we hypothesized that the environmental factors most highly correlated with species composition should be similar at all grain sizes within the 6.6-ha study area, and should be among the environmental factors strongly correlated with species composition over the much larger extent of the ca. 3500 ha Duke Forest. Our data are not consistent with either portion of this hypothesis. Third, we hypothesized that at the smaller grain sizes employed in this study (< 256 m²), the composition of the tree canopy should contribute significantly to the vegetation pattern in the under-story. Our results do not support this hypothesis. Finally, we predicted that with increased extent of sampling, the correlation between environment and vegetation should increase. Our data suggest the opposite may be true. This study confirms that results of vegetation analyses can depend greatly on the grain and extent of the samples employed. Whenever possible, sampling should include a variety of grain sizes and a carefully selected sample extent so as to ensure that the results obtained are robust. Application of the methods used here to a variety of vegetation types could lead to a better understanding of whether different ecological processes typically dominate at different spatial scales.     

水资源约束下西北干旱区城市经济发展与城市化阈值

城市化水平阈值是指在水资源硬约束下,在确保经济发展达到一定速度与规模、生态环境建设得到基本保障、并具备足以支撑城市接纳一定数量农民进城转为非农人口的经济能力时,能达到的“农转非”人口占总人口的最大比例。以干旱区河西走廊为例,分析了在水资源约束下城市经济发展总量及其对应的城市化阈值。采用阈值模型计算表明,未来30a在不跨区调水的前提下,河西走廊总需水量的上限阈值为7.81×109m3,其中生态需水、生产需水和生活需水比例调整为13.2:83.5:3.3,总需水量对应的国内生产总值为1.81×1011元,历年平均增长速度最快可达到6.91%,第一、二、三产业结构调整为18.99:47.20:33.81。在总需水量阈值、经济总量、需水结构与产业结构调整优化和经济增长速度不低于7%、农业需水按0.61%的速度退水9.12×108m3、生态需水比例不低于13%等多重条件约束下,求得河西走廊未来30a能够达到的总人口为5.82×106人,城镇非农业人口可达到2.05×106人,城市化水平可达到35.14%,这一水平仅相当于中国2001年的平均城市化水平。在跨区调水1.31×109m3的条件下,城市化水平可望达到47.17%。进而采用总人口人均拥有的GDP、非农业人口人均拥有的第二、三产业增加值、农业人口人均拥有的第一产业增加值3项经济指标对水资源约束下经济发展总量对城市化水平的保障程度进行了验证分析。由于各城市的缺水状况、取水条件、发展性质、发展阶段与经济发展实力与前景等各不相同,致使不同城市之间对应的总需水量、经济总量、经济增长速度和城市化水平等均表现出较大的差异性。     

A global analysis of the determinants of alien geographical range size in birds

Aim Determining the causes of range size variation in the distributions of alien species is important for understanding the spread of invasive species. Factors influencing alien range size have been explored for some species at a regional level, but to date there has been no global analysis of an entire class. Here, we present such an analysis for birds, testing for the effects of introduction event, location and species‐level variables on alien range sizes. Location Global. Methods We used a novel dataset on the global distributions of alien bird species to test for relationships between alien range size and colonization pressure, residence time, extent of the global climatic niche, native range size, body mass and specialization, using a statistical approach based on phylogenetic generalized least squares models. We performed this analysis globally, and for separate biogeographical realms. Results Approximately half of the variation in alien bird range size is explained by colonization pressure in univariate analysis. We identified consistent effects of higher colonization pressure at global and realm levels, as well as support for effects of native range size and residence time. We found less support for effects of body mass, specialization or extent of the global climatic niche on alien range size. Main conclusions Alien bird range sizes are generally small relative to their native range sizes, and many are continuing to expand. Nevertheless, current variation is predictable, most strongly by the event‐level factor of colonization pressure. Whether a species is widespread is a better predictor of alien range size than whether a species could be widespread (estimated by global climatic niche extent), while we also find effects of residence time on alien range size. These relationships may help to identify those alien species that are more likely to spread and hence have greater environmental and economic impacts where they have been introduced.     

The D' measure of overall gametic disequilibrium between pairs of multiallelic loci

Abstract The D ' coefficient is one of the most commonly used measures of the extent of gametic disequilibrium between multiallelic loci. It has been suggested that the range of the D ' measure of overall disequilibrium between pairs of multiallelic loci depends on allele frequencies, except under some very restricted conditions. Nevertheless, the problem of dependence of the range of D ' has not been characterized under a wide set of possible polymorphisms. Evaluation of the utility of D ' as a measure of the strength of overall disequilibrium between all possible pairs of alleles at two multiallelic loci requires better knowledge of its range than is currently available. In this work, the conditions of polymorphism under which the range of D ' is frequency independent are given. It is found that the range of D ' is more often independent of allelic frequencies than is commonly thought. Furthermore, the range of D ' undergoes only small fluctuations as a function of the polymorphisms at the loci. Numerical cases and microsatellite data from humans are used for illustration. These observations indicate that the D ' coefficient is a useful tool for the estimation and comparison of the extent of overall disequilibrium across pairs of multiallelic loci.     

The spatial scaling of beta diversity

Beta diversity is an important concept used to describe turnover in species composition across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and it underpins much of conservation theory and practice. Although substantial progress has been made in the mathematical and terminological treatment of different measures of beta diversity, there has been little conceptual synthesis of potential scale dependence of beta diversity with increasing spatial grain and geographic extent of sampling. Here, we evaluate different conceptual approaches to the spatial scaling of beta diversity, interpreted from ‘fixed’ and ‘varying’ perspectives of spatial grain and extent. We argue that a ‘sliding window’ perspective, in which spatial grain and extent covary, is an informative way to conceptualize community differentiation across scales. This concept more realistically reflects the varying empirical approaches that researchers adopt in field sampling and the varying scales of landscape perception by different organisms. Scale dependence in beta diversity has broad implications for emerging fields in ecology and biogeography, such as the integration of fine‐resolution ecogenomic data with large‐scale macroecological studies, as well as for guiding appropriate management responses to threats to biodiversity operating at different spatial scales.     

The extent of parental genotypic divergence determines maximal heterosis by increasing fertility in inter-subspecific hybrids of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The magnitude of heterosis in F₁ hybrids is related not only to the performance of parents per se but also to the genetic diversity between two parents. The extent of genotypic divergence between hybrid rice parents was investigated at the molecular level, using two subsets of rice materials: a subset of doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from an Indica × Japonica cross (Gui630/02428) and another subset of Indica or Japonica lines representative of a broad spectrum of the Asian cultivated rice gene pool, including landraces, primitive cultivars, historically important cultivars, modern elite cultivars, super rice and parents of superior hybrids. 57 entries deliberately selected from the 81-DH lines (in total) were testcrossed to two widely used rice lines in China, photoperiod-sensitive genic male sterile (PGMS) N422s and thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) Peiai64s. Results of the two sets of test-cross F₁ populations showed congruently that parental genotypic divergence has a relatively low impact on heterosis for the two yield components, i.e., panicle number and 1000-grain weight, but it has a great bearing on fertility parameters, i.e., filled grains per plant and seedset. Heterosis for grain yield in the two test-cross populations exhibited a sharp maximum when the proportion of Japonica alleles in the male parent was between 50 and 60%, so was the heterosis for fertility parameters correspondingly. Thus fertility parameters were the most sensitive and important factors which were influenced by the extent of parental genotypic divergence. Moreover, our results showed that parents with moderate extent of genotypic divergence played an important role in the use of inter-subspecific rice heterosis.     

Symposium introduction: The importance of scale in ecology

Abstract Conceptual issues about scale, both spatial and temporal, have had considerable influence on the way in which ecologists view populations, communities and ecosystems. Scale includes two aspects: the extent over which a community or ecosystem is studied, and the resolution or ‘grain’ at which measurements or experiments are conducted. We illustrate the influence of extent and grain on perceptions of ecological patterns and processes, derived from fundamental measurements, field experiments and theory and modelling. These concepts provide background for a series of subsequent papers that were presented at a symposium on spatial and temporal scaling in freshwater systems. These papers conclude that multi-scale measurements and experiments plus novel methodologies for analysing large-scale surveys and manipulations should be priorities for future research in freshwater systems.