Alternative mating behaviors of the queen polymorphic ant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Temnothorax longispinosus</Emphasis>

Mating behaviors of ants fall into two categories: female calling, in which a female alate releases pheromones that attract males, and male swarming, in which large male aggregations attract females. Female calling is common in species with queens that return to their natal nest to found colonies dependently after mating, while male swarming is common in species with queens that disperse to found independently. In some species that display both founding strategies, a queen-size polymorphism has evolved in which dependent-founding queens are smaller than independent-founding queens. Dependent founding is likely difficult if gynes (virgin queens) are mating in distant swarms. Therefore, a queen may adopt one or the other mating strategy based on its size and founding behavior. We investigated mating behaviors in the queen-polymorphic ant, Temnothorax longispinosus. Observations in laboratory mating arenas indicated that small gynes exhibited significantly lower flight activity than large gynes. Both forms mated in male swarms, and neither form exhibited female calling. The reduced flight activity of the small morph may facilitate returning to the natal nest after mating, provided the mating swarm is located nearby. Therefore, alternative colony-founding behaviors may be possible without the evolution of female-calling behavior; however, the reduced flight activity of small morphs may require that mating swarms are not distant from the natal nest.     

Microorganisms and physico-chemical properties of soils with different slope-protecting vegetation in Daguang Highway北大核心CSCD

In order to investigate the effect of different slope-protecting vegetation on soil restoration in the highways, we collected soils at depths of 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm from areas planted with Amorpha fruticosa, Periploca sepium, and Paederia scandens for 6-7 years in the Daming road section of the Daguang Highway, in October 2016. The physico-chemical properties and microbial community of the soils were then analyzed. The soil microbial community was analyzed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). The correlation between the microbial community and the physico-chemical properties of the soils was determined by redundancy analysis (RDA). The results showed that (1) the physico-chemical properties were the best for soils with Paederia scandens; the nutrient content, water holding capacity, and porosity of the soils with the three types of slope-protecting vegetation were better in the 0-10 cm layer than in the other layers; (2) the contents of soil aggregates (diameter > 5 mm) were the highest in the 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm layers for the soil with Paederia scandens; (3) the dominant bacteria in the 0-10 cm layer and dominant fungi in the 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm layers were higher in the soils with Pe. sepium and Pa. scandens than in the soil with A. fruticosa; and (4) results of RDA showed that the physical properties of the soils were the main factors that influenced the soil microbial community. The physical properties of the soils were sensitive to the change of soil quality. Soil quality can be improved by appropriate management measures, such as burying litter, which can subsequently improve the ecological environment of soils in sloping regions. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

长江中下游湖泊超微型真核藻类遗传多样性研究

用流式分选结合末端限制性片段长度多态性的方法对长江中下游30个湖泊中超微型真核藻类的遗传多样性进行了研究,以了解不同环境条件下超微型真核藻类多样性的分布规律及其影响的主要因子.长江中下游湖泊大都已富营养化,但超微藻的群落组成差异仍然很大,T-RFLP分析共发现197个T-RFs,有45%的T-RFs(89个)仅在不到3个湖泊中检测到,聚类分析中各湖相似度均低于80%.中营养水平湖泊中多样性指数较高,总氮浓度与超微型真核藻类群落结构显著相关(P=0.006),CCA分析中,第一轴与第二轴共解释了10.0%的超微型真核藻类群落组成的变化.本研究表明,湖泊中超微型真核藻类群落组成的环境异质性明显,其多样性与湖泊营养水平密切相关,此外其它非生物因素对其群落组成也可能存在重要影响.     

水质净化生物滤池工艺的微生物群落特征及运行效果研究

为探讨水质净化生物滤池(生物强化滤池和生物活性炭滤池)工艺的微生物群落特征和运行效果,采用Biolog和PCR-SSCP (单链构象多态性)技术分析生物滤池中的微生物群落代谢功能与结构,测定生物滤池进出水NH⁺₄-N、NO^-₂-N、高锰酸盐指数、UV₂₅₄和BDOC等指标,考察其净水效果. 结果表明,原水经过生物滤池后,出水微生物群落代谢活性显著降低,说明生物滤池截留了原水中的活性微生物. 工艺运行6个月后,2个生物强化滤池中微生物群落代谢特征相似,其碳源利用率分别为73.4%和75.5%. 2个生物活性炭滤池中微生物群落代谢特征存在明显差异,颗粒活性炭生物滤池微生物群落碳源利用率79.6%高于柱状活性炭生物滤池的53.8%(p>＜0.01). PCR-SSCP分析表明各生物滤池微生物群落呈多样性,优势菌群基本一致. 研究还发现,生物强化滤池中的填料对微生物群落结构和代谢功能的影响较小,2种生物强化滤池净水能力无统计学差异(p>＞0.05);而生物活性炭滤池的颗粒活性炭填料有利于微生物群落生长繁殖,微生物群落有较强的代谢活性,其滤池对NH⁺₄-N、高锰酸盐指数、BDOC的去除效果优于柱状活性炭生物滤池(p>＜0.05);这也提示生物滤池运行效果与滤池中微生物群落代谢能力有关.     

城市污水处理厂活性污泥中氨氧化菌群落结构研究

为了解析污水处理厂中氨氧化菌(AOB)的群落结构,以及处理工艺、规模等参数对AOB群落结构的影响,采用针对AOB功能基因氨单加氧酶(amoA)的末端限制性片段长度多态性技术(T-RFLP)、克隆测序等方法,研究了北京市6个污水处理厂的9个污水处理系统中AOB的群落结构.T-RFLP指纹图谱表明不同污水处理系统中AOB的群落结构有所不同,主要的末端限制性片段(T-RF)为354、491和291 bp.T-RFLP指纹图谱及聚类分析表明,污水处理工艺对系统中AOB的群落结构影响较小,而处理规模对AOB的群落结构有一定的影响.对功能基因amoA的系统发育分析表明,污水处理系统中优势AOB均为Nitrosomonasspp.,而非Nitrosospiraspp..这可能是Nitrosomonasspp.的最大比增长速率(μmax)较高,使其更容易成为活性污泥系统中的优势AOB.