Unraveling the macroevolution of horseshoe bats(Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae: Rhinolophus)

Unraveling the diversification mechanisms of organisms is a fundamental and important macroevolutionary question regarding the diversity,ecological niche, and morphological divergence of life. However, many studies have only explored diversification mechanisms via isolated factors. Here,based on comparative phylogenetic analysis, we performed a macroevolutionary examination of horseshoe bats(Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae:Rhinolophus), to reveal the inter-relationships among diversification, intrinsic/extrinsic factors, and climatic ecological niche characteristics. Results showed a general slowing trajectory during diversification, with two dispersal events from Asia into Southeast Asia and Africa playing key roles in shaping regional heterogeneous diversity. Morphospace expansions of the investigated traits(e.g., body size,echolocation, and climate niche) revealed a decoupled pattern between diversification trajectory and trait divergence, suggesting that other factors(e.g., biotic interactions) potentially played a key role in recent diversification. Based on ancestral traits and pathway analyses, most Rhinolophus lineages belonging to the same region overlapped with each other geographically and were positively associated with the diversification rate, implying a competitive prelude to speciation. Overall, our study showed that multiple approaches need to be integrated to address diversification history. Rather than a single factor, the joint effects of multiple factors(biogeography, environmental drivers, and competition) are responsible for the current diversity patterns in horseshoe bats, and a corresponding multifaceted strategy is recommended to study these patterns in the future.

φ-pH diagrams and kinetics of V_(2)O_(3) prepared by solution-phase hydrogen reduction

Solution-phase hydrogen reduction(Sp HR)was introduced into V_(2)O_(3)preparation to overcome disadvantages of traditional reduction roasting,which include a long process,high energy consumption,and generation of pollution.The research mainly focuses onφ-pH diagrams and kinetics of SpHR.Thermodynamic analysis ofφ-pH diagrams for the V-H_(2)O system demonstrates that V_(2)O_(3)preparation via Sp HR requires a high temperature,a high vanadium concentration,and sufficient hydrogen in acidic solution.Kinetic analyses show that the activation energy of V_(2)O_(3)preparation via SpHR is 38.0679 k J/mol,indicating that the reduction is controlled by a combination of interfacial chemical reaction and internal diffusion.Effects of H;partial pressure(slope K=0.05246)on the reaction rate is not as significant as the vanadium concentration(K=1.58872).V_(2)O_(3)crystals with a purity of 99.59%and a vanadium precipitation rate of 99.83%were obtained under the following conditions:pH=5-6,c(V_(2)O_(3))=0.5 mol/L,p(H;)=4 MPa,m(PdCl;)=10 mg,T=250℃,and t=2.5 h.