When is female leadership an advantage? Coordination requirements,team cohesion,and team interaction norms

This study seeks to understand to what extent and in what contexts women leaders may be advantageous for teams. More specifically, this study examines how team leader gender relates to team cohesion, cooperative learning, and participative communication. Furthermore, the study argues that advantages derived from female leadership may be contingent on teams' coordination requirements. I propose that as teams' coordination requirements increase (i.e., with functional diversity, size, and geographic dispersion), teams with women leaders report more cohesion and more cooperative and participative interaction norms than those with men leaders. I aggregated survey responses from the members of 82 teams in 29 organizations at the team level. Findings from hierarchical linear modeling analyses suggest that female leadership is more positively associated with cohesion on larger and more functionally diverse teams and more positively associated with cooperative learning and participative communication on larger and geographically dispersed teams. These results call for more research on boundary conditions on the relationship between leader gender and team outcomes, on the role of relational leadership on complex and diverse teams and, ultimately, on the potential mediating role of cohesion and team interaction norms on the relationship between leader gender and team performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison on bacterial community of rhizosphere and bulk soil of poplar plantation based on pyrosequencing北大核心CSCD

By the 454 pyrosequencing technology, this research compared the bacterial communities in poplar plantation rhizosphere and bulk soil for an accurate understanding of bacterial community colonization in the two soil environments. The species annotation showed that rhizosphere soil contained 145 bacterial genera and bulk soil contained 141 bacterial genera, with 8 common genera shared by both at a relative abundance of more than 4%. The 8 genera in common were Acidobacterium GP1, Acidobacterium GP3, Acidobacterium GP6, Gemmatimonas, Bradyrhizobium, Burkholderia, Streptomyces and Acidobacterium GP4. The relative abundance of the same bacterial community was significantly different between rhizosphere and bulk soil environments. Alpha diversity analysis showed that the bacterial community diversity of rhizosphere soil was higher than that of bulk soil, but the difference was not significant. The results of bacterial communities sorting could reflect the variation of soil bacterial communities from rhizosphere to the bulk and the spatial variation among different sampling points, indicating a contribution of about 21.2% variance of bacterial communities by the effect of rhizosphere. Beta diversity analysis showed great difference between rhizosphere and bulk soil samples in bacterial community composition. There were 15 genera specific to rhizosphere soil and 11 to bulk soil. The abundance of 23 genera, mainly cellulose degrading bacteria and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, changed significantly. Selectivity of root to rhizosphere microorganisms is an important mechanism leading to significant differences in the rhizosphere microbial community composition and structure, which may significantly impact the carbon and nitrogen cycles of the root-soil interface.     

高通量测序技术研究辽河真核浮游藻类的群落结构特征

真核浮游藻类在河流生态系统中发挥着重要生态功能,本研究对辽河水环境样本的18S rRNA基因的V4可变区进行454焦磷酸测序,对获得的OTU代表性序列进行物种注释.比较注释后的生物种类信息与光学显微镜观察结果的异同,并将OTUs的代表性序列与NCBI中真核浮游藻类的18S rRNA基因序列进行系统发育分析,此外研究了真核浮游藻类群落结构特征及其环境影响指标.研究共获得约167 901条18S rRNA基因V4可变区的高质量序列,注释为424个OTUs,涵盖了134种真核浮游藻类OTUs.与光学显微镜鉴别结果类似,高通量测序结果以硅藻门和绿藻门为优势类群,此外检测到轮藻门、隐藻门、定鞭藻门和金藻纲等显微镜观察结果中未有的类群.系统发育分析可在门这一分类阶元对隐藻门和甲藻门聚类,并将隐藻门在属水平进行聚类和区分,甲藻门可以在部分科或属水平聚类和区分.RDA结果显示,氨氮、活性磷和硝态氮是影响真核浮游藻类群落结构特征最重要的环境因子.本研究为认识辽河水环境中真核浮游藻类的多样性、群落结构及其环境影响因子提供了新的视角,同时也预示着高通量测序技术在辽河流域浮游植物监测和水环境质量指示中的应用潜力.     

培养条件下双酚A对稻田土壤微生物群落特征的影响

双酚A(bisphenol A,BPA)作为人工合成的典型环境激素分布极为广泛,然而不同浓度和土壤通气条件下BPA对土壤微生物群落(细菌、真菌)特征的影响鲜见报道.本文采用荧光定量PCR(fluorescence quantitative PCR)技术、聚合酶链式反应-变性梯度凝胶电泳(polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis,DGGE)相结合的方法研究不同BPA浓度(0、0.25、0.50、1.00、2.00 mg·kg-1)和土壤通气条件(有氧和厌氧)对稻田土壤微生物群落特征的影响。结果表明,土壤通气条件一致情况下(有氧条件或者厌氧条件下),不同BPA浓度添加下微生物丰度指数差异显著,而微生物均匀度指数、香农维纳多样性指数及丰富度指数差异不显著;BPA浓度为0.50 mg·kg-1时,微生物基因丰度在厌氧条件下达到最大值,而在有氧条件下微生物基因丰度却达到最小值;双因素方差分析表明:BPA浓度、土壤通气条件及其交互作用对细菌基因丰度影响差异显著,而只有土壤通气条件对真菌基因丰度影响差异显著.结果表明相对于微生物多样性指数,丰度指数能更加灵敏地指示土壤微生物多样性的变化,BPA浓度为0.50 mg·kg-1时是影响土壤微生物基因丰度变化的一个临界值,相对于真菌基因丰度指数而言,细菌基因丰度指数对BPA添加浓度及土壤通气条件响应更加灵敏.     

基于高通量测序的流化床生物滤器细菌群落结构分析

为了解流化床生物滤器内部细菌群落组成及其净水机制,通过高通量测序方法,研究了不同时期滤器中表层和底层滤料的细菌群落结构,分析了滤器不同床层的营养盐变化情况及水处理性能.结果表明,滤器的硝化作用主要发生于床层下部,表层对其的贡献率不显著.稳定工况下,流化床生物滤器对NH_4~+-N、TN、BOD_5和SS的去除率达到(68.3±2.24)%、(49.54±3.56)%、(60.35±4.98)%和(45.21±2.11)%,对氨氮的去除负荷达到(343.28±75.5)g·(m~3·d)~(-1),其硝化性能优于常规生物滤器.试验共筛选31个门,490个细菌属,其生物多样性显著高于常规生物滤器.自清洗装置的启停对滤器中不同区域载体表面细菌的多样性没有影响,对各样品的优势菌群略有影响.在滤器稳定运行时,表层区域的优势细菌基本维持不变,主要包括厌氧绳菌科、黄杆菌科、红杆菌科、硝化螺菌属、暖绳菌科.而底层区域的优势细菌随着时间的推移有所变化,主要包括硝化螺菌属、微丝菌属、Muricauda、Defluviimonas、红杆菌科.     

Current Near‐to‐Nature Forest Management Effects on Functional Trait Composition of Saproxylic Beetles in Beech Forests

With the aim of wood production with negligible negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem processes, a silvicultural practice of selective logging with natural regeneration has been implemented in European beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) during the last decades. Despite this near‐to‐nature strategy, species richness of various taxa is lower in these forests than in unmanaged forests. To develop guidelines to minimize the fundamental weaknesses in the current practice, we linked functional traits of saproxylic beetle species to ecosystem characteristics. We used continental‐scale data from 8 European countries and regional‐scale data from a large forest in southern Germany and forest‐stand variables that represented a gradient of intensity of forest use to evaluate the effect of current near‐to‐nature management strategies on the functional diversity of saproxylic beetles. Forest‐stand variables did not have a statistically significant effect on overall functional diversity, but they did significantly affect community mean and diversity of single functional traits. As the amount of dead wood increased the composition of assemblages shifted toward dominance of larger species and species preferring dead wood of large diameter and in advanced stages of decay. The mean amount of dead wood across plots in which most species occurred was from 20 to 60 m³/ha. Species occurring in plots with mean dead wood >60 m³/ha were consistently those inhabiting dead wood of large diameter and in advanced stages of decay. On the basis of our results, to make current wood‐production practices in beech forests throughout Europe more conservation oriented (i.e., promoting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning), we recommend increasing the amount of dead wood to >20 m³/ha; not removing dead wood of large diameter (50 cm) and allowing more dead wood in advanced stages of decomposition to develop; and designating strict forest reserves, with their exceptionally high amounts of dead wood, that would serve as refuges for and sources of saproxylic habitat specialists. Efectos Actuales del Manejo Casi Natural de Bosques sobre la Composición de Atributos Funcionales de Escarabajos Saproxílicos en Bosques de Haya     

Maximizing the phylogenetic diversity of seed banks

Ex situ conservation efforts such as those of zoos, botanical gardens, and seed banks will form a vital complement to in situ conservation actions over the coming decades. It is therefore necessary to pay the same attention to the biological diversity represented in ex situ conservation facilities as is often paid to protected‐area networks. Building the phylogenetic diversity of ex situ collections will strengthen our capacity to respond to biodiversity loss. Since 2000, the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership has banked seed from 14% of the world's plant species. We assessed the taxonomic, geographic, and phylogenetic diversity of the Millennium Seed Bank collection of legumes (Leguminosae). We compared the collection with all known legume genera, their known geographic range (at country and regional levels), and a genus‐level phylogeny of the legume family constructed for this study. Over half the phylogenetic diversity of legumes at the genus level was represented in the Millennium Seed Bank. However, pragmatic prioritization of species of economic importance and endangerment has led to the banking of a less‐than‐optimal phylogenetic diversity and prioritization of range‐restricted species risks an underdispersed collection. The current state of the phylogenetic diversity of legumes in the Millennium Seed Bank could be substantially improved through the strategic banking of relatively few additional taxa. Our method draws on tools that are widely applied to in situ conservation planning, and it can be used to evaluate and improve the phylogenetic diversity of ex situ collections. Maximizar la Riqueza Filogenética de los Bancos de Semillas     

金沙江干热河谷区土著花生根瘤菌耐旱性初步研究

在摸拟干旱条件下，对分离自金沙江干热河谷区４５株土著花生根瘤菌进行耐旱性鉴定分析。结果显示，代停工菌株耐旱能力呈现多样性特征，同时，这些供试菌株在模拟干旱条件下的生长模式表现出多样性特征。     

Accommodating consensus and diversity in environmental knowledge production: Achieving closure through typologies in IPBES

How can a diversity of perspectives be accommodated in scientific and political consensus on environmental issues? This paper adopts a science and technology studies (STS) approach to examine how the pursuit of consensus-based knowledge and diverse participation, as seemingly contradictory commitments, have been converted into practice in the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Through a series of negotiations, these commitments have been translated into a set of situated practices that now dominate this expert panel. Consensus has been achieved through the pursuit of closure, in which meetings of expert and administrator groups produce texts, tables and images that stabilise ostensibly collective decisions. Within this framework, diverse perspectives have been accommodated through the production of typologies, such as lists of comparable options, which allow for the coexistence and commensurability of a range of knowledges and experts. However there is a politics to typologies, which requires specific attention to how decisions are made (deliberation), who participates in them (participation), and the extent to which these participants are representative of broader knowledge and policy communities (representation). While the potential of typologies to accommodate consensus and diversity offers the hope of realising ‘unity in diversity’ for both environmental knowledge and policy, recognising the politics of their production is important for more equitable processes of environmental governance.     

Low queen mating frequency in the seed-harvester ant Pogonomyrmex (Ephebomyrmex) pima: implications for the evolution of polyandry

The evolution of polyandry is a central problem in the study of insect mating systems, and both material and genetic benefits have been proposed to offset the presumed costs of multiple mating. Although most eusocial Hymenoptera queens mate with just one or occasionally two males, high levels of polyandry are exhibited by several taxa, including seed-harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex. Previous studies of queen mating frequency in Pogonomyrmex have focused on monogynous (one queen per colony) species in the subgenus Pogonomyrmex. We performed a genetic mother–offspring analysis of mating frequency in Pogonomyrmex (Ephebomyrmex) pima, a queen-dimorphic species with dealate and intermorph queens that differ in colony structure (intermorph colonies contain multiple queens). Our results demonstrate that both dealate and intermorph queens of P. (E.) pima are typically single maters, unlike their congeners analyzed thus far. Polyandry appears to be a derived trait in Pogonomyrmex, but comparative tests between P. (E.) pima queen morphs and across the genus provide no evidence that it evolved as an adaptation to increase genetic diversity within colonies or to obtain more sperm, respectively.