Decision rules for egg recognition are related to functional roles and chemical cues in the queenless ant Dinoponera quadriceps

The capacity to distinguish colony members from strangers is a key component in social life. In social insects, this extends to the brood and involves discrimination of queen eggs. Chemical substances communicate colony affiliation for both adults and brood; thus, in theory, all colony members should be able to recognize fellow nestmates. In this study, we investigate the ability of Dinoponera quadriceps workers to discriminate nestmate and non-nestmate eggs based on cuticular hydrocarbon composition. We analyzed whether cuticular hydrocarbons present on the eggs provide cues of discrimination. The results show that egg recognition in D. quadriceps is related to both age and the functional role of workers. Brood care workers were able to distinguish nestmate from non-nestmate eggs, while callow and forager workers were unable to do so. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

东北自然保护区压力威胁影响因子及趋势

论文运用世界自然保护区委员会(WCPA)和世界自然基金会(WWF)推荐的自然保护区管理快速评估和优先性确定方法(RAPPAM),对东北地区部分自然保护区面临的压力和威胁及其发展趋势进行了调查分析。结果显示,在保护区所面临的14种威胁因子中,火灾、林木砍伐、偷猎、非林木产品采集(NTFP)、旅游、放牧6个因子的影响范围较广、影响程度较高、影响时间较长,是保护区应重点控制的威胁因子。因此,今后的保护区管理应加强对火灾、林木砍伐和非木质林产品采集等因素的监控,同时通过制定相关政策、采取适当措施有效控制并减少保护区生态旅游对保护对象产生的负面影响,提高保护区管理的有效性。     

Plant biomass allocation strategies of the dominant species in an alpine meadow of northwestern Sichuan,China北大核心CSCD

Plant biomass partitioning is an important driver of whole-plant net carbon gain, as biomass allocation could directly affect plant's future growth and reproduction. Alpine meadow in the northwestern Sichuan was impressed by the abundant community structure and species diversity. This study on biomass allocation pattern of different functional types and lifeforms might help understand plant life-history strategy of alpine meadow plants. We investigated 72 dominant herbaceous species for their compartments, biomass, and morphological traits during 2012-2014. These plants were sampled from natural grassland, disturbed grassland, and wintergreen grassland; they belonged to three functional types (grass, sedge, and forb) and two lifeforms (annual and perennial). The scaling relationships between functional traits of these plants were analyzed using Model type II regression method to estimate the parameters of the allometric equations. (1) Biomass allocation proportion of components significantly differed among grasses, sedges, and forbs owing to phylogeny: grasses had the highest stem biomass percentage, sedges had higher root biomass percentage, and forbs had higher leaf biomass percentage, but the scaling relationships were not significantly different, and isometric scaling was noted between biomass components for the three functional types. (2) Moreover, plant lifeforms affected the biomass allocation proportion of components, owing to the shorter or longer turnover rate and investment strategy between annual and perennial species. Annuals allocated more biomass to the stem and reproduction organs, but perennials invested more biomass to the leaves and roots. (3) In addition, plants from different grassland types differed in both biomass and morphology traits. Moreover, forbs from natural grassland and wintergreen grassland had higher leaf and reproductive biomass, but those from disturbed grasslands had higher stem biomass. Our results suggest that the functional type and lifeform decide the inherent scaling relationships between components of plants, but anthropogenic disturbance significantly impacted the quantity of component biomass. This study has important theoretical and practical significance to understand the response of alpine plants to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance as well as to help in the scientific management of alpine meadow. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

深圳市龙岗区平湖镇生态功能区划

在对深圳市龙岗区平湖镇生态环境调查的基础上,根据地域差异、功能趋同、持续发展、环境容载等原则,划分了平湖镇四类生态功能区,并据此提出初步调控导则,为平湖镇未来生态城镇的发展提供理论依据。     

贵州岩溶区生态环境脆弱性类型的初步划分

岩溶地区作为一个特殊的地理环境单元,具有环境承载量低、地表崎岖破碎、植被生长困难、生态环境脆弱的特点。该文以岩溶地貌发育典型、碳酸盐岩出露面积广的贵州省为例,论述了岩溶区生态环境脆弱性类型划分的主要原则,探讨了脆弱性类型划分的指标并进行了量化。在此基础上,用灰色关联度分析确定了各影响因子(指标)的权重,经过综合评判,笔者把贵州岩溶区生态环境脆弱性类型划分为5类:剧烈脆弱区、强度脆弱区、中度脆弱区、轻度脆弱区和潜在脆弱区,并针对各脆弱性类型区的特点,提出了相应的防治对策。      

Simulating dynamics of managed monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest in south China

The forest succession model FORDYN is developed based on TREEDEV model. TREEDEV is a process-based tree growth model, that calculates tree growth based on carbon and nitrogen balance, and is calculated using on the photo-production of leaves, respiration, nitrogen content of all organisms and that in soil, and other losses due to respiration, litter and renewal of stems, branches, leaves and roots. In the FORDYN model succession is divided into three phases called early, middle and late succession, and the transition between these three succession phases is distinguished by a difference in leaf area index. As a verification of the model we used the characteristics and available data of a monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest in Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve (DHS-BR). The model was validated with natural forest data. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed in which 30 independent variables were varied and analyzed in connection with their influence on 16 dependent variables describing forest conditions. The simulation results describe the changes in total biomass, carbon and nitrogen change in plant–litter–soil system of an undisturbed monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest during succession. We compared these findings with simulation in which different logging management strategies were used. The results show that having a longer logging cycle, delaying the first logging time and a smaller logging fraction the scenario can contribute to a sustainable forest development, while still having a positive economic yield.     

How might we model an ecosystem?

Predicting ecosystem effects is of crucial importance in a world at threat from natural and human-mediated change. Here we propose an ecologically defensible representation of an ecosystem that facilitates predictive modelling. The representation has its roots in the early trophic and energetic theory of ecosystem dynamics and more recent functional ecology and network theory. Using the arable ecosystem of the UK as an example, we show that the representation allows simplification from the many interacting plant and invertebrate species, typically present in arable fields, to a more tractable number of trophic-functional types. Our compound hypothesis is that “trophic-functional types of plants and invertebrates can be used to explain the structure, diversity and dynamics of arable ecosystems”. The trophic-functional types act as containers for individuals, within an individual-based model, sharing similar trophic behaviour and traits of biomass transformation. Biomass, or energy, flows between the types and this allows the key ecological properties of individual abundance and body mass, at each trophic height, to be followed through simulations. Our preliminary simulation results suggest that the model shows great promise. The simulation output for simple ecosystems, populated with realistic parameter values, is consistent with current laboratory observations and provides exciting indications that it could reproduce field scale phenomena. The model also produces output that links the individual, population and community scales, and may be analysed and tested using community, network (food web) and population dynamic theory. We show that we can include management effects, as perturbations to parameter values, for modelling the effects of change and indicating management responses to change. This model will require robust analysis, testing and validation, and we discuss how we will achieve this in the future.     

Creation and preservation of vegetation patterns by grazing

Structural patterns of tall stands (“tussock”) and short stands (“lawn”) are observed in grazed vegetation throughout the world. Such structural vegetation diversity influences plant and animal diversity. A possible mechanism for the creation and preservation of such patterns is a positive feedback between grazing and plant palatability. Although some theoretical studies have addressed this point in a non-spatial setting, the spatial consequences of this feedback mechanism on the stability and spatial characteristics of vegetation structure patterns have not been studied.We addressed this issue by analyzing a spatially explicit individual-based plant-grazer simulation model, based on published empirical relations and the assumption of optimal foraging.In the model, the selection by the grazer of short stands (that have a higher energy content and are more palatable) is affected by traveling costs and the spatial organization of swards. Nevertheless, the most selected biomass in this type of short stands was the optimal biomass predicted by cropping and digestion constraints. As a result of the optimal foraging strategy, the grazers displayed Lévy-flight traveling behavior during the simulations with characteristic exponent μ ≈ 2.Patterns of short and tall stands created by grazing were preserved for at least a decade. Even in seasonal habitat, the spatial organization of the patterns remained relatively constant, despite fluctuations in the area of short stands. Heterogeneity of initial vegetation increased heterogeneity of the grazing-induced pattern, but did not affect its stability.The area of short stands that was preserved by grazing scaled with the herbivore mass to the power 0.4 and with the carrying capacity of the vegetation to the power −0.75.Patterns of tall and short stands can be created and perpetuated by optimally grazing ruminants, irrespective of possible underlying soil patterns. The simulations generate predictions for the stability and spatial characteristics of such structural vegetation patterns.     

关于对水质分析中氨氮、总氮与总磷校准曲线的绘制与计算公式的探讨

本文从不同标液体积下的氨氮含量与校正吸光度、不同标液体积下的浓度与校正吸光度、不同标液体积下的校正吸光度与氨氮含量的一次函数关系中推导相关计算公式,让初学者灵活掌握与运用相关公式。