外来植物大花老鸭嘴在迁入地的传粉机制和繁殖策略

外来植物在迁入地的生存和繁殖策略,是入侵生物学研究的热门话题之一。开展入侵植物的繁殖策略研究,有助于深入了解入侵生物在迁入地的生存繁衍机制,对入侵植物在可控范围内的适当使用具有重要的指导意义。通过野外传粉昆虫观测、光学和电镜扫描观测和人工控制授粉等方法,对外来植物大花老鸦嘴（Thunbergia grandiflora）在广州和深圳的4个居群的开花物候、花部结构、花粉活力、传粉昆虫及其行为等传粉生物学特征进行了研究。结果表明：大花老鸦嘴的单花花期为1 d,上午10：00时花粉活力最高,长雄蕊花粉活力可达73.92%,短雄蕊花粉活力可达71.54%,随后花粉活力逐渐下降。主要传粉者为扁柄木蜂（Xylocopa latipes）,开花当天访花高峰期的9：00—10：00,单花访花频率可达5 h-1以上,之后开始逐渐减少,14：00之后未观测到扁柄木蜂访花,18：00后仅剩蚂蚁等体型较小的昆虫长期栖息于花序或花蕾。控制授粉实验结果显示,无论是人工异株授粉、自花授粉,还是自然授粉,结果率均为0,4个居群均未见结实。光学显微镜下子房发育完整;电镜扫描观测结果显示其花粉在柱头上能萌发,但花粉管不能延伸到子房位置。目前在园林栽培的大花老鸭嘴均以块根或茎为繁殖体培育苗木,虽然这些植株均能开出鲜艳的花朵,花粉传递者也充足,但未见任何结果现象。因此,初步推测本次研究区域内的大花老鸭嘴种群可能来自相同或相近的无性系,故不同居群间异株授粉的不结果现象可能为“自交不亲和”,或“染色体多倍化”所致。     

加拿大一枝黄花有性生殖特征研究

加拿大一枝黄花Solidago canadensis L.是分布于我国的危害性最为严重的入侵种之一,它既可以通过有性生殖又可以通过无性生殖进行繁殖.对加拿大一枝黄花有性生殖的相关特征,如花序和小花的生物学特性、结实率和传粉方式等进行了研究.结果表明,加拿大一枝黄花的性系统为雌全性系统,每花序总花数为(15.16±1.67)个,缘花/盘花值为3.07±0.64.对成熟果实透明后进行的结实率统计表明,其结实率较低.套纱布网袋后的结实率极显著低于开放性授粉的,表明其花序是需要昆虫传粉的类型.加拿大一枝黄花的花序结构特征和开放式样显示出有利于增加异交的特点.尽管其结实率相对较低,但整个植株结实量大,仍需要防止其通过有性生殖产生的种子进行远距离的扩散和在新分布地区建立种群. 花有性生殖的相关特征,如花序和小花的生物学特性、结实率和传粉方式等进行了研究.结果表明,加拿大一枝黄花的性系统为雌全性系统,每花序总花数为(15.16±1.67)个,缘花/盘花值为3.07±0.64.对成熟果实透明后进行的结实率统计表明,其结实率较低.套纱布网袋后的结实率极显著低于开放性授粉的,表明其花序是需要昆虫传粉的类型.加拿大一枝黄花的花序结 特征和开放式样显示出有利于增加异交的特点.尽管其结实率相对较低,但整个植株结实量大,仍需要防止其通过有性生殖产生的种子进行远距离的扩散和在新分布地区建立种群. 花有性生殖的相关特征,如花序和小花的生物学     

中国部分自然保护区生物物种数量与面积之间关系的研究

分析了中国部分自然保护区面积与生物物种(动物和植物)之间的关系;其次讨论了动物与植物以及动物与动物物种数量间的关系.结果表明,我国部分自然保护区的面积多数偏小,鸟类、哺乳类、种子植物、爬行类、昆虫和两栖类等与其面积的相关关系依次减弱;其植物种数与鸟类种数的作用影响最大、关系最密切;两栖类与各类动物之间以及鸟类与各类动物之间的物种数目呈显著的相关关系;两栖类与昆虫类为负作用影响;鸟类与两栖类和爬行类以及哺乳类与两栖类为最大的正作用影响.     

濒危红树植物红榄李开花生物学特征及繁育系统

为了解红树植物红榄李[Lumnitzera littorea(Jack.)Voigt]濒危的生殖生物学原因,结合野外观测,综合运用杂交指数、花粉-胚珠比、花粉活力和柱头可授性观测、人工授粉以及套袋实验等方法,对红榄李的开花生物学和繁育系统进行研究.结果表明:红榄李群体花期从1月底到8月底.单花开放过程可分为萌动、初展、盛开、凋落4个阶段.单花花期约为(12.60±0.80)d,单花序花期约持续(29.70±1.00)d,单株花期约为(115.20±6.00)d.单株平均开花数量为(9.60±0.03)万朵,单株平均开花振幅为(83.47±1.50)朵/d);红榄李的杂交指数为4,花粉胚珠比为21 649.08.实验发现红榄李繁育系统为兼性异交,传粉过程需要传粉者;红榄李的花粉生活力低于10%,花粉活力可维持至散粉后的第4天.但散粉2 d后,柱头可授性显著下降,花粉的高活力期与柱头可授期有1-2 d的重叠;在自然状况下,红榄李结果率较高但同时空胚率也高.人工辅助异株异花授粉对提高结果率和降低空胚率有明显作用.综上,红榄李"花期分散"的开花模式,花粉生活力低,自然状态下传粉效率低、胚败育严重和花果期虫害严重是导致其濒危的主要原因.     

贡嘎山高低海拔上优势杨柳科植物性别比例与繁殖特性北大核心CSCD

雌雄异株植物的性比问题一直是进化生物学的研究热点之一.为揭示杨柳科植物不同性比格局的内在机理,从繁殖投入、种群密度和传粉效率等方面对贡嘎山两个海拔高度（2 000和2 600 m）上冬瓜杨和川滇柳的性别比例与繁殖投入进行对比研究.结果显示：（1）低海拔下冬瓜杨和川滇柳雄雌性比（M/F）接近1：1平衡;而在高海拔区域出现性比失衡,即杨树偏雄（M/F=2.36,P=0.008）,而柳树偏雌（M/F=0.62,P=0.033）.（2）冬瓜杨和川滇柳种群密度随海拔升高均明显下降,但川滇柳密度显著高于冬瓜杨,柱头接收花粉数量亦显著高于冬瓜杨.（3）枝条水平上,杨柳的总繁殖结构生物量（花序干重＋种子干重）在两个海拔上都为雌株高于雄株;相对繁殖投入在低海拔时雌株高于雄株,高海拔上冬瓜杨雌株高于雄株,而川滇柳由于叶片的补偿生长,包括更高的叶片生物量投入和光合能力,导致相对繁殖投入雌雄间无显著差异.冬瓜杨雌株繁殖投入显著高于雄株,雌株对高海拔更敏感,因而高海拔时偏雄性.川滇柳的繁殖投入在海拔间无差异,加之传粉效率较高,可能容易产生花粉管竞争,从而偏雌性.本研究发现较之低海拔,贡嘎山上杨柳科植物在高海拔上叶与繁殖结构生物量权衡关系改变容易导致性比失衡,未来需在分子水平上,结合性别决定基因、性染色体和表观遗传学等进一步深入研究.     

三江源区不同建植年代人工草地群落演替与土壤养分变化

研究了了三源区不同建植期人工修复草地在不同演替阶段毒杂草[主要是甘肃马先蒿(Pedicularis kansuensis)]的入侵规律、数量特征,植物群落物种组成、生物苗和草地质最以及土壤养分、微生物活性的变化规律.结果表明,不同建植期人工修复草地植物群落的种类组成、植物功能群组成和群落数量特征存在显著差异.随着演替时间的推移,人工草地群落盖度、高度、物种数、生物最和多样性指数均表现出"V"字型变化规律,杂类草--甘肃马先蒿的数量特征变化尤为明显,在4 a的人工草地群落中开始局部入侵,在5～6 a的人工草地群落中大面积入侵,其入侵速度、入侵面积达到高峰期.土壤的含水量、容重、土壤中有机质、氮素和磷素在演替过程(7 a、9 a草地)中逐渐降低,到一定时期又逐步增加;随着演替的进行,不同建植期人工草地的土壤微牛物生物量碳和酶活性均呈"V"字型,变化.对于退化生态系统的恢复首先是植被恢复,其次是土壤肥力的恢复.土壤有机质等养分的积累、微生物活性的改善不仅能使土壤-植物复合系统的功能得以恢复,同时也能促进物种多样性的形成,有利于人工草地群落稳定性的提高.在试验区尽管植被恢复演替进行得比较缓慢,但从土壤发展的角度看,仍属进展演替.所以,在退化高寒草甸的恢复过程中,若降低和有效控制外界的干扰(如围栏封育),可为退化草地恢复提供繁殖体与土壤环境,实现人工草地逐步向恢复(正向)演替进行.图3表6参34     

高职院校流动学生党员管理现状与思考

近年来高职院校流动学生党员的数量越来越多,流动的范围越来越广,流动的频率越来越快.流动学生党员管理的突出问题是思想认识、组织管理、制度落实和组织观念等四个"不到位".主要原因是认识存在偏差、组织设置滞后、关心帮助不够和党员素质偏低.对于流动学生党员管理的思考:加强流动学生党员管理领导,健全流动学生党员管理制度,创建流动学生党员管理网络,开展流动学生党员管理活动,创新流动学生党员管理方法.     

大熊猫迁居碧峰峡新生境的适应能力研究

2003年10月至2005年10月,对21只圈养于四川卧龙和3只圈养于蜂桶寨自然保护区的大熊猫迁居到雅安碧峰峡全新生境,并以散放养方式保护的大熊猫种群的适应能力进行了研究.环境年平均气温为13.9℃±7.5℃,夏季(6～8月)较炎热(22.3℃±3.8℃),冬季(12～2月)较寒冷(4.8℃±3.9℃);动物对竹子取食秋季最少(5.9kg±1.3kg),冬季最多(8.1kg±2.0kg),5月为次高峰期(8.0kg±1.5kg),喜食竹类为刺竹→苦竹→水竹;动物平均日活动时间6.5h,活动节律和时间与卧龙比较有极显著的改变(P<0.01,N=24);动物对环境、食物等的改变有较强的适应能力,约需3～6mo;但完全适应自然气候等因素的改变则需1a;疾病的发生频率依次为:消化道疾病、皮肤病、蛔虫感染、呼吸道疾病、脑血管疾病等;除气候湿热、土壤粘结、日照偏少、风雨雷电较多等自然因素外,动物在生理、行为、采食、排泄、抗病力及生长发育等各方面基本正常.图4表2参22     

滆湖后生浮游动物群落结构研究

为了解滆湖浮游动物群落现状,于2009年5月至2010年3月对滆湖后生浮游动物群落结构特征和物种多样性进行调查.结果显示,滆湖后生浮游动物为100种,轮虫25属52种,枝角类12属21种,桡足类14属27种.后生浮游动物优势种主要有萼花臂尾轮虫(Brachionus calyciflorus)、角突臂尾轮虫(Brachionus angularis)、针簇多肢轮虫(Polyarthra trigla)、桡足幼体(copepodid)和长额象鼻潘(Bosmina longirostris).后生浮游动物年均密度为1572 L-1,轮虫数量占后生浮游动物总数的98.7％,后生浮游动物密度以春季为最大.后生浮游动物年均生物量为2.34 mg·L-1,生物量以夏季为最大,枝角类生物量与桡足类密度间呈极显著正相关(r=0.516,P＜0.01),轮虫生物量与桡足类生物量间呈显著负相关(r=-0.517,P＜0.05).滆湖后生浮游动物的密度和生物量随季节变化明显,各季节密度由大到小依次为春季、夏季、秋季和冬季,生物量由大到小依次为夏季、春季、秋季和冬季;后生浮游动物Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Margalef丰富度指数和Pielou均匀度指数值表明滆湖水体处于轻-中污染状态.     

The influence of nectar secretion rates on the responses of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) to previously visited flowers

Bumblebees can avoid recently depleted flowers by responding to repellent scent-marks deposited on flower corollas by previous visitors. It has previously been suggested that avoidance of visited flowers for a fixed period would be a poor strategy, since different plant species vary greatly in the rate at which they replenish floral rewards. In this study, we examined the duration of flower repellency after an initial bumblebee visit, using wild bumblebees (Bombus lapidarius, B. pascuorum and B. terrestris) foraging on four different plant species (Lotus corniculatus, Melilotus officinalis, Phacelia tanacetifolia and Symphytum officinale). We constructed a model to predict flower visitation following an initial visit, based on the nectar secretion pattern of the different plant species, the insect visitation rate per flower, and the search and handling times of bumblebees foraging on the plant species in question. The model predicts an optimal duration of flower avoidance which maximises the rate of reward acquisition for all bees. However, this optimum may be open to cheating. For two plant species, the evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) is a shorter duration of flower avoidance than the optimum. We found the duration of flower avoidance was markedly different among flower species and was inversely related to nectar secretion rates. The predicted ESSs for each plant species were close to those observed, suggesting that the key parameters influencing bumblebee behaviour are those included in the model. We discuss how bees may alter the duration of their response to repellent scents, and other factors that affect flower re-visitation.     

Specialized bees fail to develop on non-host pollen: do plants chemically protect their pollen?

Bees require large amounts of pollen for their own reproduction. While several morphological flower traits are known to have evolved to protect plants against excessive pollen harvesting by bees, little is known on how selection to minimize pollen loss acts on the chemical composition of pollen. In this study, we traced the larval development of four solitary bee species, each specialized on a different pollen source, when reared on non-host pollen by transferring unhatched eggs of one species onto the pollen provisions of another species. Pollen diets of Asteraceae and Ranunculus (Ranunculaceae) proved to be inadequate for all bee species tested except those specialized on these plants. Further, pollen of Sinapis (Brassicaceae) and Echium (Boraginaceae) failed to support larval development in one bee species specialized on Campanula (Campanulaceae). Our results strongly suggest that pollen of these four taxonomic groups possess protective properties that hamper digestion and thus challenge the general view of pollen as an easy-to-use protein source for flower visitors.     

Vulnerability of the northern Mongolian steppe to climate change: insights from flower production and phenology

The semiarid, northern Mongolian steppe, which still supports pastoral nomads who have used the steppe for millennia, has experienced an average 1.7 degrees C temperature rise over the past 40 years. Continuing climate change is likely to affect flowering phenology and flower numbers with potentially important consequences for plant community composition, ecosystem services, and herder livelihoods. Over the growing seasons of 2009 and 2010, we examined flowering responses to climate manipulation using open-top passive warming chambers (OTCs) at two locations on a south-facing slope: one on the moister, cooler lower slope and the other on the drier, warmer upper slope, where a watering treatment was added in a factorial design with warming. Canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) revealed that OTCs reduced flower production and delayed peak flowering in graminoids as a whole but only affected forbs on the upper slope, where peak flowering was also delayed. OTCs affected flowering phenology in seven of eight species, which were examined individually, either by altering the time of peak flowering and/or the onset and/or cessation of flowering, as revealed by survival analysis. In 2010, which was the drier year, OTCs reduced flower production in two grasses but increased production in an annual forb found only on the upper slope. The particular effects of OTCs on phenology, and whether they caused an extension or contraction of the flowering season, differed among species, and often depended on year, or slope, or watering treatment; however, a relatively strong pattern emerged for 2010 when four species showed a contraction of the flowering season in OTCs. Watering increased flower production in two species in 2010, but slope location more often affected flowering phenology than did watering. Our results show the importance of taking landscape-scale variation into account in climate change studies and also contrasted with those of several studies set in cold, but wetter systems, where warming often causes greater or accelerated flower production. In cold, water-limited systems like the Mongolian steppe, warming may reduce flower numbers or the length of the flowering season by adding to water stress more than it relieves cold stress.     

Sensori-motor learning and its relevance for task specialization in bumble bees

Individual bees often restrict their visits to only a few species out of the multitude of available plants. This flower constancy is likely caused by limitations of memory for motor patterns, sensory stimuli, or reward levels. Here we test the implications of sensori-motor learning and memory for flower constancy. Artificial “flowers” with two distinct “morphologies” were used, so that in each flower type, a different motor pattern was needed to reach the nectar. As in natural flowers, these morphological types were associated with sensory signals (blue and yellow color stimuli). Bees which learned only a single task were more efficient in several ways than those which had learned two: they made fewer errors, had shorter flower handling times, took shorter times to correct errors, and transitions between flowers were initially more rapid. For bees which had learned two tasks, performance depended strongly on the training schedule: if each task was learned with blocked trials, the memory for the second appeared to interfere with that for the first. Interference affected only the association between flower signal and motor pattern, not the motor pattern itself. This was not the case if bees were trained for both tasks with alternating trials. In that case, bees rapidly learned both tasks, albeit with worse saturation levels than bees which had learned only one. Bees transferred the experience gained on one task to a second task: their initial performance on the second task was better than their initial performance on the first. On the other hand, performance on the second task in the saturation level (in which bees no longer improve their efficiency) was worse than on the first task (negative transfer). In the saturation phase, performance did not directly depend on switch frequency, but on whether the bee had one or two options in memory. Thus, while bees would become proficient at two tasks more quickly if their acquisition phase included switches, such switches had no measurable effect in the saturation phase. The implications of these findings for foraging are discussed using modern learning theory. Received: 4 April 1997 / Accepted after revision: 8 August 1997     

Foraging bumblebees do not rate social information above personal experience

Foraging animals can acquire new information about food sources either individually or socially, but they can also opt to rely on information that they have already acquired, termed “personal information”. Although social information can provide an adaptive shortcut to new resources, recent theory predicts that investing too much time in acquiring new information can be detrimental. Here, we investigate whether foraging bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) strategically prioritize personal information unless there is evidence of environmental change. All bees in our study had personal information that one species of artificial flower was rewarding, and bees in the scent group then experienced social information about an alternative-scented species inside the nest, while a control group did not. On their next foraging bout, bees in both groups overwhelmingly used personal information when deciding where to forage. When bees subsequently learnt that the rewards offered by their preferred species had dwindled, bees that had social information were no quicker to abandon their personal information than control bees, but once they had sampled the alternative flowers, they showed greater commitment to that species than control bees. Thus, we found no evidence that social information is particularly important when personal information fails to produce rewards (a “copy when established behaviour is unproductive” strategy). Instead, bees used social information specifically to complement personal information.     

Flower color influences insect visitation in alpine New Zealand

Despite a long-standing belief that insect pollinators can select for certain flower colors, there are few experimental demonstrations that free-flying insects choose between natural flowers based on color. We investigated responses of insect visitors to experimental manipulations of flower color in the New Zealand alpine. Native syrphid flies (Allograpta and Platycheirus) and solitary bees (Hylaeus and Leioproctus) showed distinct preferences for visiting certain flower species. These responses were determined, in part, by flower color, as insects also responded to experimental manipulations of visible petal color in 7 out of 11 tests with different combinations of flower species and insect type. When preferences were detected, syrphid flies chose yellow over white petals regardless of flower species, whereas Hylaeus chose white over yellow Ourisia glandulosa. In some cases, the strength and direction of color preference depended on the context of other floral traits, in which case the response usually favored the familiar, normal combination of traits. Syrphid flies also visited in response to floral morphological traits but did not show preference based on UV reflectance. The unusually high preponderance of white flowers in the New Zealand alpine is not explained by complete generalization of flower color choice. Instead, the insect visitors show preferences based on color, including colors other than white, along with other floral traits. Furthermore, they can respond in complex ways to combinations of floral cues, suggesting that traits may act in nonadditive ways in determining pollinator visitation.     

Bridging the generation gap in plants: pollination, parental fecundity, and offspring demography

Despite extensive study of pollination and plant reproduction on the one hand, and of plant demography on the other, we know remarkably little about links between seed production in successive generations, and hence about long-term population consequences of variation in pollination success. We bridged this "generation gap" in Ipomopsis aggregata, a long-lived semelparous wildflower that is pollinator limited, by adding varying densities of seeds to natural populations and following resulting plants through their entire life histories. To determine whether pollen limitation of seed production constrains rate of population growth in this species, we sowed seeds into replicated plots at a density that mimics typical pollination success and spacing of flowering plants in nature, and at twice that density to mimic full pollination. Per capita offspring survival, flower production, and contribution to population increase (lambda) did not decline with sowing density in this experiment, suggesting that typical I. aggregata populations freed from pollen limitation will grow over the short term. In a second experiment we addressed whether density dependence would eventually erase the growth benefits of full pollination, by sowing a 10-fold range of seed densities that falls within extremes estimated for the natural "seed rain" that reaches the soil surface. Per capita survival to flowering and age at flowering were again unaffected by sowing density, but offspring size, per capita flower production, and lambda declined with density. Such density dependence complicates efforts to predict population dynamics over the longer term, because it changes components of the life history (in this case fecundity) as a population grows. A complete understanding of how constraints on seed production affect long-term population growth will hinge on following offspring fates at least through flowering of the first offspring generation, and doing so for a realistic range of population densities.     

Lévy flight patterns are predicted to be an emergent property of a bumblebees’ foraging strategy

Bumblebees forage uninterrupted for long periods of time because they are not distracted by sex or territorial defense and have few predators. This has led to a long running debate about whether bumblebees forage optimally. This debate has been enriched by the possibility that bumblebees foraging within clover patches have flight patterns that can be approximated by Lévy flights. Such flight patterns optimise the success of random searches. Bumblebees foraging within a flower patch tend to approach the nearest flower but then often depart without landing or probing it if it has been visited previously; unvisited flowers are not rejected in this manner. Here, this foraging behaviour has been replicated in numerical simulations. Lévy flight patterns are found to be an inconsequential emergent property of a bumblebees’ foraging behaviour. Lévy flights are predicted to emerge when bees reject at least 99% of previously visited flowers. A foraging bumblebee can certainly empty a clover flower head of nectar in one visit, but lower rates of rejection are observed for many other flowers. These findings suggest that Lévy flight patterns in foraging bumblebees are rare and specific to a few flower species and that if they exist, then they are not part of an innate, evolved optimal searching strategy.     

Density-dependent effects of ants on selection for bumble bee pollination in Polemonium viscosum

Mutualisms are commonly exploited by cheater species that usurp rewards without providing reciprocal benefits. Yet most studies of selection between mutualist partners ignore interactions with third species and consequently overlook the impact of cheaters on evolution in the mutualism. Here, we explicitly investigate how the abundance of nectar-thieving ants (cheaters) influences selection in a pollination mutualism between bumble bees and the alpine skypilot, Polemonium viscosum. As suggested in past work with this species, bumble bees accounted for most of the seed production (78% +/- 6% [mean +/- SE]) in our high tundra study population and, in the absence of ants, exerted strong selection for large flowers. We tested for indirect effects of ant abundance on seed set through bumble bee pollination services (pollen delivery and pollen export) and a direct effect through flower damage. Ants reduced seed set per flower by 20% via flower damage. As ant density increased within experimental patches, the rate of flower damage rose, but pollen delivery and export did not vary significantly, showing that indirect effects of increased cheater abundance on pollinator service are negligible in this system. To address how ants affect selection for plant participation in the pollination mutualism we tested the impact of ant abundance on selection for bumble bee-mediated pollination. Results show that the impact of ants on fitness (seed set) accruing under bumble bee pollination is density dependent in P. viscosum. Selection for bumble bee pollination declined with increasing ant abundance in experimental patches, as predicted if cheaters constrain fitness returns of mutualist partner services. We also examined how ant abundance influences selection on flower size, a key component of plant investment in bumble bee pollination. We predicted that direct effects of ants would constrain bumble bee selection for large flowers. However, selection on flower size was significantly positive over a wide range of ant abundance (20-80% of plants visited by ants daily). Although high cheater abundance reduces the fitness returns of bumble bee pollination, it does not completely eliminate selection for bumble bee attraction in P. viscosum.