Classification and ordination of plant communities along an altitudinal gradient on the Presidential Range,New Hampshire,USA

An analysis of vegetation along an altitudinal gradient on the Presidential Range, New Hampshire, USA, using the Braun–Blanquet approach followed by multivariate data analysis is presented. Twelve main plant communities have been distinguished. Floristic information is presented in twelve tables and one appendix. The relationships of the communities to complex environmental gradients are analyzed using Correspondence Analysis. Floristic composition and community structure are controlled primarily by the altitudinal gradient (temperature, precipitation), and by mesotopographic conditions (snow accumulation, exposure and cryoturbation, slope position, and soil moisture).     

Yaks and sheep trigger different changes in the grasshopper assemblages of the Qilian Mountains via differentially altering plant assemblages

1. The Qilian Mountains represent one of the key livestock‐raising grasslands in China. The two main herbivore species raised in this area – yaks and sheep – are of critical economical value. Grasshoppers compete with these animals for available nutrients, creating multifaceted relationships between livestock, grasshoppers and plants. A clear understanding of such relationships is lacking and is urgently needed to guide conservation efforts. 2. This study aims to document the effects of yak and sheep grazing on grasshopper assemblages and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of such effects. 3. It is shown here that yaks and sheep impact grasshopper assemblages differently. Grasshopper assemblages exhibited lower density, biodiversity, richness, and evenness of distribution in yak‐grazed pastures than in grazing‐free grasslands. Sheep‐grazed pastures exhibited a dramatically divergent picture, with elevated density, biodiversity and richness, and a slightly decreased evenness of distribution. Grasshoppers were generally larger in grazed pastures than in grazing‐free grasslands, especially in yak‐grazed plots. 4. The present study suggests that differences between yak and sheep pastures in plant assemblage structure and plant traits are probably the underlying forces driving the differences in grasshopper assemblage structure and grasshopper traits, respectively. 5. The study shows that the grasshopper habitat indicator species differ between yak and sheep pastures, raising the possibility that such indicators can be used to monitor grassland usage and degradation in the Qilian Mountains. 6. These results provide novel insights into the dynamic interactions of common domesticated herbivore species, grasshoppers and plants in Qilian Mountains, which augment current knowledge and may ultimately lead to better conservation practices.     

SOME REMARKS ON CHENJIAWO FAUNA──On the First Appearance of Peking Man Fauna

I.CORRELATIONBETWEENL0ESSSECTI0NAND0XYGENIS0TOPESTAGESIntheYuanloessarea,manyscientiststhinkthatthesedimentsarecontinuousandtheclimaticrecordsareperfect.Thisdoesnotappeartobeaccurate.Sedimentationwasdiscontinuousinmanysections.Forexample,manyscientistsarguethatS2corresp0ndstooxygenisot0peStage7(Liu,l985,KuklaandAn,l989;Dingetal.,l990).lnfact,S2includesthreelayersfS2SSl,S2LLlandS2SS2.Dingetal.(l990)reportedthatthereisathickunitofloessbetweenS2SSlandS2SS2intheBaicao…     

Palaeocommunity Dynamics and Behavioral Analysis of Conichnus: Bhuj Formation (Lower Cretaceous),Kachchh-India

A palaeocommunity of large Conichnus conicus, a conical, cone-in-cone shaped burrow, created by sea anemones, occurs in medium-grained, crossbedded, well-sorted sandstone in the middle part of the Cretaceous Guneri Member of the Bhuj Formation in India. The trace fossil Conichnus is considered to be a common element of the Skolithos ichnofacies and is interpreted to reflect equilibrium movement in response to substrate aggradation. In the present study, three different varieties of Conichnus conicus are distinguished based on morphology and internal fabric. Community dynamics and burrowing behavior are revealed by inter-burrow relationships, burrow initiation levels and sedimentology. Three types of behavior are envisaged: retrusive equilibrium, protrusive equilibrium response, and escape behavior. Palaeocommunity dynamics show that the tracemakers consisted of only adult organisms that initiated burrows during neap tides and are adapted to feed effectively during weak flow conditions. The occurrence of Conichnus palaeocommunity in the Guneri Member indicates the tidal conditions in a fully marine setting. Results presented herein may aid in the understanding of palaeocommunity dynamics in other shallow marine sequences.     

A preliminary note on the intestinal parasites of wild chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains,Tanzania

Feces of wild chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains, Tanzania, were inspected for intestinal parasites under a compound microscope. Eggs or larvae ofOesophagostomum, Strongyloides, Trichuris, Prosthenorchis, andBertiella were found. Intestinal nematodes significantly increased in the mid-rainy season. This finding supports (or, at least, is not in conflict with) the hypothesis thatAspilia leaves which are occasionally swallowed by chimpanzees may function as a vermicide, since ingestion of such leaves also increases significantly in the mid-rainy season.     

山西永济白草坪组具刺疑源类的发现及其地质意义

该文着重报道了山西永济白草坪组(一般认为系中元古界上部相当于蓟县系的层位),以具刺疑源类为主的微化石群,计有4类6属15种,其中包括1新属,4新种,1新组合,1亲近种,2未定种,新属是具细网状纹饰的复杂具刺疑源类Shuiyousphaeridium Yan gen.nov.,4新种是Shuiyousphaeridium membraniferum Yan sp.nov.,Dictyosphaera incrassate Yan sp.nov.,Foliomorpha stipuliferaYan sp.nov.,Manicosiphoninema shuiyouense Yan sp.nov.。本微化石群以球形疑源类为主体,以具刺疑源类的大量发育为特征,并伴生有推测是绿藻和褐藻的化石,其组合面貌与蓟县上前寒武系各组皆有明显区别,具有更高的进化程度,从生物地层标志推测白草坪组所在的汝阳群应归入震旦系。白草坪组具刺疑源类可能是横裂甲藻的原始分子,它在地层对比和藻类进化方面皆具有重要意义。     

尼泊尔克里雅(Churia)群之比奈科拉(Binai Khola)组下段轮藻化石的发现及其意义

该文研究的轮藻化石采自尼泊尔中西部阿龙科拉地区的比奈科拉组下段。轮藻化石有Nitellopsis (Tectochara)globula(Madler)Grambast et Soulie-Marsche,Chara molassica Straub,C.gigantofusiformis(Yang),Rantzieniella binaiensis sp.nov.,Gyrogona arungensis sp.nov.和Lychnotharnnuspseudoodea(Berger)Soulie-Marsche等,此轮藻化石植物群属新第三纪,可能为中新世晚期。克里雅群轮藻的研究将增添南亚新第三纪地质生态研究的内容。     

湖南邵东中泥盆统棋梓桥组层孔虫生物群及其生态环境

湖南中部泥盆纪地层和生物礁相当发育。湖南邵东中泥盆世棋梓桥期的泥质石灰岩中层孔虫广泛分布,本文共描述邵东廉桥马鞍山棋梓桥期层孔虫12属18种,其中Stromatopora wenshanensis为一新名,代替1982年根据一个云南标本定名为Stromatopora irregularis的种名。 马鞍山礁是—发育在海底平台上的厚度稍有变化的层状礁,马鞍山礁的沉积相变化过程,是由近岸浅海到展状礁普遍发育的开阔台地,再到封闭或半封闭的泻湖或潮坪环境。生物组合和沉积物也随沉积环境的变化而发生相应的变化。