Plant polyphenols – implications of different sampling,storage and sample processing in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments

Plant polyphenols are involved in important ecosystem processes and may affect nutrient cycling. Previous investigations have demonstrated detrimental effects of suboptimal sample treatment on the quantity of extractable plant polyphenols. We compared leaf polyphenol concentrations of 20 tree species from East China in two sample sets collected under different conditions: (a) according to established protocols and stored more than three years, (b) under conditions optimised for leaf polyphenols. We investigated the variance brought about by suboptimal sample handling as compared to the variance caused by the taxonomic range of species. Family-affiliation explained the largest proportion of variance, whereas sample handling had only minor effects. Reducing the taxonomic range increased the impact of differences in sample handling. Additionally, we showed that the concentrations of leaf polyphenols were phylogenetically more conserved than other leaf traits. Non-metric-multi-dimensional scaling revealed similar ordination patterns for leaf polyphenol concentrations in both sample sets with both ordinations being closely correlated. Finally, we computed separate ordinations including an extended set of leaf traits and found that both analyses led to similar ecological conclusions. Consequently, in studies comprising a wide taxonomic range, the adverse effects of suboptimal sample handling may be overridden by the variation brought about by phylogeny.     

扎龙湿地丹顶鹤巢址空间分布变化及其对环境变化指征

扎龙国家级湿地保护区是我国一级保护鸟类丹顶鹤最重要的集中繁殖栖息地。以扎龙保护区为研究区,利用质心模型和最近邻体模型等方法,模拟1996至2004年间丹顶鹤（Grus japonensis）巢址的空间分布变化,分析这种变化对环境变化的指示作用。结果表明：丹顶鹤种群巢址分布出现向核心区集中的现象,鹤巢平均最近邻体距离大幅减少,巢址的空间分布格局由1996年的均匀分布转变为2004年的成群分布型;丹顶鹤巢址的空间分布变化表明该区环境发生巨大的变化：1996年核心区内栖息资源相对均匀、丰富,而缓冲区和实验区适宜生境呈零星分布格局,此后生境质量经历了由适宜一非适宜,适宜生境空间分布由均匀一斑块化的过程,到2004年各功能区适宜生境数量大幅减少,且核心区内适宜生境斑块化严重。为研究区丹顶鹤种群及其生境的保护和管理提供参考。     

Bibliometric analysis of ecosystem monitoring-related research in Africa: implications for ecological stewardship and scientific collaboration

Regional ecosystem monitoring is a central form of knowledge sharing and collaboration amongst scientists and decision makers on environmental health, land use change, and science-policy development. Despite the proliferation of such research networks on long-term monitoring on many continents, little has been achieved in Africa. This study aims to assess and examine the spatiotemporal trend and categorical patterns in ecosystem monitoring-related research in Africa for the benefits of conserving biodiversity and sustaining natural resource sectors for well-being and livelihood security, environmental planning, and ecological stewardship. A systematic review was conducted using bibliometric tools. Based on a set of search terms and peer-reviewed publications retrieved from various ecosystem monitoring networks and journal databases, further analysis was conducted using social network approaches, mapping tools, and content analysis. About 1442 scientific publications on ecosystem monitoring and related research were documented from 1987 to 2014 mostly published in English. The number of publication increased progressively since 1992 after the Convention on Biodiversity was signed and this trend peaked till 2008. South African Journal of Science was the most leading journal and Nature the most cited. Internationally coauthored and collaborative articles represented majority of the findings with the United Kingdom at the central position in the research network due to colonial relationships. Regional collaboration amongst countries is limited owing to language barriers and other institutional constraints such as funding and short-term projects. These findings have implication for prioritizing national and regional policies toward biodiversity science and its contribution to human well-being, food security, and global change responses.     

Interpopulational differences in chemical composition and chemosensory recognition of femoral gland secretions of male lizards Podarcis hispanica: implications for sexual isolation in a species complex

Summary. Molecular studies suggest that the Iberian wall lizard, Podarcis hispanica, forms a species complex with several monophyletic types. In Central Spain two of these types are spatially not isolated and may interact. Sex pheromones are important for species recognition and, thus, differences between lizards’ types in chemicals used in intraspecific communication could lead to reproductive isolation. Analyses by GC-MS showed that the femoral gland secretions of adult males of different types were different. Males of one type had twelve exclusive compounds, and proportions of some shared compounds differed. This presumably would reflect selection for the persistency and efficiency of chemical signals in different environments; less volatile compounds and with a higher chemical stability being favoured in the type of lizards inhabiting more humid climatic conditions. Differential tongue-flick rates to scents from femoral secretions indicated that males were able to detect and discriminate between males of different types based on chemical cues alone. In contrast, females detected but did not seem able to discriminate between scents of the two types of males. Thus, multiple factors might be simultaneously acting either against or in favor of speciation, leading, on the one hand, to genetic differences between types, but, on the other hand, probably precluding an effective reproductive isolation in areas where both types of lizards may interact.     

Effects of salinity on soil bacterial and archaeal community in estuarine wetlands and its implications for carbon sequestration: verification in the Yellow River Delta

Soils from two typical tidal salt marshes with varied salinity in the Yellow River Delta wetland were analysed to determine possible effects of salinity on soil carbon sequestration through changes in soil microbiology. The mean soil respiration (SR) of the salt water–fresh water mixing zone (MZ) was 2.89 times higher than that of the coastal zone (CZ) (4.73 and 1.63?μmol?m^?2?s^?1, respectively, p?Pseudomonas sp. and Limnobacter sp. that might have led to its higher dehydrogenase activity and respiratory rates. Additionally, the CZ possessed more Halobacteria and Thaumarchaeota with the ability to fix CO₂ than the MZ. Significantly lower soil salinity in MZ (4.25?g?kg^?1) was suitable for β-Proteobacteria, but detrimental for Halobacteria compared with CZ (7.09?g?kg^?1, p?相似文献   

Variation in composition of predator-attracting allelochemicals emitted by herbivore-infested plants: Relative influence of plant and herbivore

Summary During foraging, natural enemies of herbivores may employ volatile allelochemicals that originate from an interaction of the herbivore and its host plant. The composition of allelochemical blends emitted by herbivore-infested plants is known to be affected by both the herbivore and the plant. Our chemical data add new evidence to the recent notion that the plants are more important than the herbivore in affecting the composition of the volatile blends. Blends emitted by apple leaves infested with spider mites of 2 different species,T. urticae andP. ulmi, differed less in composition (principally quantitative differences for some compounds) than blends emitted by leaves of two apple cultivars infested by the same spider-mite species,T. urticae (many quantitative and a few qualitative differences). Comparison between three plant species — apple, cucumber and Lima bean — reveals even larger differences between volatile blends emitted upon spider-mite damage (many quantitative differences and several qualitative differences).