31° South: The physiology of adaptation to arid conditions in a passerine bird

Arid environments provide ideal ground for investigating the mechanisms of adaptive evolution. High temperatures and low water availability are relentless stressors for many endotherms, including birds; yet birds persist in deserts. While physiological adaptation probably involves metabolic phenotypes, the underlying mechanisms (plasticity, genetics) are largely uncharacterized. To explore this, we took an intraspecific approach that focused on a species that is resident over a mesic to arid gradient, the Karoo scrub‐robin (Cercotrichas coryphaeus). Specifically, we integrated environmental (climatic and primary productivity), physiological (metabolic rates: a measure of energy expenditure), genotypic (genetic variation underlying the machinery of energy production) and microbiome (involved in processing food from where energy is retrieved) data, to infer the mechanism of physiological adaptation. We that found the variation in energetic physiology phenotypes and gut microbiome composition are associated with environmental features as well as with variation in genes underlying energy metabolic pathways. Specifically, we identified a small list of candidate adaptive genes, some of them with known ties to relevant physiology phenotypes. Together our results suggest that selective pressures on energetic physiology mediated by genes related to energy homeostasis and possibly microbiota composition may facilitate adaptation to local conditions and provide an explanation to the high avian intraspecific divergence observed in harsh environments.     

The interplay between facilitation and habitat type drives spatial vegetation patterns in global drylands

The spatial configuration of vascular vegetation has been linked to variations in land degradation and ecosystem functioning in drylands. However, most studies on spatial patterns conducted to date have focused on a single or a few study sites within a particular region, specific vegetation types, or in landscapes characterized by a certain type of spatial patterns. Therefore, little is known on the general typology and distribution of plant spatial patterns in drylands worldwide, and on the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors as predictors of their variations across geographical regions and habitat types. We analyzed 115 dryland plant communities from all continents except Antarctica to: 1) investigate the general typology of spatial patterns, and 2) assess the relative importance of biotic (plant cover, frequency of facilitation, soil amelioration, height of the dominant species) and abiotic (aridity, rainfall seasonality and sand content) factors as predictors of spatial patterns (median patch size, shape of patch‐size distribution and regularity) across contrasting habitat types (shrublands and grasslands). Precipitation during the warmest period and sand content were particularly strong predictors of plant spatial patterns in grasslands and shrublands, respectively. Facilitation associated with power‐law like and irregular spatial patterns in both shrublands and grasslands, although it was mediated by different mechanisms (respectively soil ammelioration and percentage of facilitated species). The importance of biotic attributes as predictors of the shape of patch‐size distributions declined with aridity in both habitats, leading to the emergence of more regular patterns under the most arid conditions. Our results expand our knowledge about patch formation in drylands and the habitat‐dependency of their drivers. They also highlight different ways in which facilitation affects ecosystem structure through the formation of plant spatial patterns.     

Structural and Functional Changes in the Leaves of Plants from Steppe Communities as Affected by Aridization of the Eurasian Climate

Morphological and physiological characteristics of leaves from plant species collected in steppe communities in the various climatic zones in Eurasia were compared. The changes in leaf structure correlated with the major climatic factors. The mean thickness of leaves increased with increasing mean temperature of July and decreasing mean precipitation, which corresponded to aridity increase. The increased leaf thickness correlated with an increase in the specific leaf weight. The content of chlorophylls (a + b) in leaves greatly varied with plant habitats, whereas the chlorophyll a/b ratio remained unchanged. The chlorophyll content in leaf tissues had a general tendency to decrease with increasing leaf thickness. The leaf chlorophyll content positively correlated (R ² = 0.77) with the proportion of chlorenchyma in leaf tissues. It is concluded that steppe plants adapt to climate aridization at the structural level by increasing the proportion of protective heterotrophic components of the leaf without changing the functional activity of photosynthetic tissues.     

1989—2019年西北地区干燥度指数时空变化及其对气候因子的响应

基于西北地区143个气象站点的气象数据,采用FAO-56 Penman-Monteith公式计算潜在蒸发量,并结合降水量计算西北地区1989—2019年干燥度指数(AI),采用Mann-Kendall趋势分析、小波分析、偏微分方程等方法来揭示其变化趋势、变化周期和气候因子对AI的贡献率。结果表明: 1989—2019年,西北地区AI整体呈不显著的减小趋势,其中,青海呈显著减小趋势,新疆呈不显著的上升趋势;研究区AI在2010年发生了突变,AI变化存在1个17年的主周期。西北地区AI呈现出由东南部向中部、西北部向中部增加的空间格局。西北地区AI变化的倾向率为-1.267·(10 a)^-1,其中,甘肃、宁夏、陕西、青海和新疆AI变化的倾向率分别为-1.17、-0.41、-0.49、-1.77和-2.73·(10 a)^-1。青海小灶火、新疆库尔勒、阿克苏和吐鲁番地区干旱风险发生的可能性较高。降水量和实际水汽压是影响甘肃、宁夏、青海、陕西AI变化的主要气侯因子,影响新疆AI变化的主要气侯因子为潜在蒸散、太阳辐射和平均气温。     

Origins and patterns of endemic diversity in two specialized lizard lineages from the Australian Monsoonal Tropics (Oedura spp.)

Aim

Savanna biomes cover around 20% of land surfaces, yet the origins and processes that have shaped their biodiversity remain understudied. Here, we assess the timing of diversification and how patterns of genetic diversity vary along an aridity gradient in specialized saxicoline gecko clades (Oedura spp.) from the tropical savannas of northern Australia.

Location

Australian Monsoonal Tropics (AMT), Kimberley region (Western Australia).

Methods

We compiled mitochondrial and nuclear data for two Kimberley endemic lizard clades (Oedura filicipoda/murrumanu and O. gracilis), and allied non‐Kimberley taxa (O. marmorata complex). Species delimitation methods were used to identify evolutionary lineages, Maximum‐likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic methods were employed to assess relationships and diversification timeframes, and rainfall data and range sizes were tested for correlations.

Results

Phylogenetic analyses of cryptic or recently discovered lineage diversity revealed late‐Miocene to early‐Pliocene crown ages. Microendemism and diversity were highest in high‐rainfall regions, while the most widespread lineages occurred in the central and south‐east Kimberley, and showed evidence of introgression with parapatric lineages.

Main conclusions

The initial diversification in both clades was broadly concordant with global climatic events linked to the expansion of savanna biomes in the lateMiocene. Higher endemism in mesic and refugial areas suggests long histories of localized persistence, while wider distributions and evidence of introgression suggest a dynamic history at the arid‐monsoonal interface.     

KIRA指标的拓展及其在中国植被与气候关系研究中的应用

根据Kira以月平均气温5℃为界的热量指数和干湿度指数概念,提出了以月平均气温10℃为界的生物热量指数,包括生物温暖指数(BWI)和生物寒冷指数(BCI),并修正其干湿度指数为生物干湿度指数(BK).利用中国689个标准气象台站的资料,分析我国主要植被类型分布与热量因子和干湿度因子的关系,得出两者之间较好的相关性,生物温暖指数、寒冷指数和干湿度指数的散点图较好地表现了中国各植被类型与气候指标的关系和格局.以10℃为界的生物温暖指数不仅对我国森林植被的地理分布和温度气候带的划分具有较好的指示作用,而且对西南部高山、亚高山地区的植被与气候关系指示性较强;生物寒冷指数则对亚热带和热带的指示性很好,能够较好区分亚热带南部及热带地区;由热量指数和降水量综合得出的生物干湿度指数,对中国西北部干旱、半干旱区以至全国的植被分布与水分、热量因子的关系分析有较好的应用价值.     

Pleistocene refugia in an arid landscape: analysis of a widely distributed Australian passerine

While many studies have documented the effect that glacial cycles have had on northern hemisphere species, few have attempted to study the associated effect of aridification at low latitudes in the southern hemisphere. We investigated the past effects that cyclic aridification may have had on the population structure and history of a widespread endemic Australian bird species, the Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen). One thousand one hundred and sixty-six samples from across its native range were analysed for mitochondrial control region sequence variation and variation at six microsatellite loci. Analysis of mitochondrial control region sequence data indicated monophyletic clades that were geographically congruent with an eastern and western region. The contemporary distribution of east and west clades is nonoverlapping but in close proximity. Populations were estimated to have diverged in the Pleistocene around 36,000 years ago. The putative Carpentarian and Nullarbor arid barriers appear to be associated with the divergence between east and west mainland populations. Nested clade analysis indicated a signature of range expansion in the eastern region suggesting movement possibly inland and northward subsequent to the last period of aridity. The island population of Tasmania was of very recent origin, possibly since sea levels rose 16,000 years ago. Given the east-west structure, there was no congruence between morphology and recent history of this species indicating a lack of support for morphological taxa. Overall mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite variation suggest that increasing aridity and Pleistocene refugia played a role in structuring populations of the Australian magpie; however, the dispersal ability and generalist habitat requirements may have facilitated the movement of magpies into an almost contiguous modern distribution across the continent. This study supports the idea that Pleistocene aridification played an important role in structuring intraspecific variation in low latitudinal southern hemisphere avian species.