Patterns and drivers of avian taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity in China vary across geographical backgrounds and dispersal abilities

Geographical background and dispersal ability may strongly influence assemblage dissimilarity;however,these aspects have generally been overlooked in previous large-scale beta diversity studies.Here,we examined whether the patterns and drivers of taxonomic beta diversity(TBD)and phylogenetic beta diversity(PBD)of breeding birds in China vary across(1)regions on both sides of the Hu Line,which demarcates China’s topographical,climatic,economic,and social patterns,and(2)species with different dispersal ability.TBD and PBD were calculated and partitioned into turnover and nestedness components using a moving window approach.Variables representing climate,habitat heterogeneity,and habitat quality were employed to evaluate the effects of environmental filtering.Spatial distance was considered to assess the impact of dispersal limitation.Variance partitioning analysis was applied to assess the relative roles of these variables.In general,the values of TBD and PBD were high in mountainous areas and were largely determined by environmental filtering.However,different dominant environmental filters on either side of the Hu Line led to divergent beta diversity patterns.Specifically,climate-driven species turnover and habitat heterogeneity-related species nestedness dominated the regions east and west of the line,respectively.Additionally,bird species with stronger dispersal ability were more susceptible to environmental filtering,resulting in more homogeneous assemblages.Our results indicated that regions with distinctive geographical backgrounds may present different ecological factors that lead to divergent assemblage dissimilarity patterns,and dispersal ability determines the response of assemblages to these ecological factors.Identifying a single universal explanation for the observed pattern without considering these aspects may lead to simplistic or incomplete conclusions.Consequently,a comprehensive understanding of large-scale beta diversity patterns and effective planning of conservation strategies necessitate the consideration of both geographical background and species dispersal ability.

Determining the level of extra-pair paternity in yellow-bellied prinias,a socially monogamous passerine

DEAR EDITOR,Previous work based on molecular evidence has shown that most socially monogamous birds follow a genetic polyandrous mating system.However,our knowledge about avian mating systems is heavily biased toward the north temperate zone,with data on tropical birds remaining relatively scarce.This uneven distribution of both phylogenetic and spatial sampling has hampered our understanding and interpretation of results.In this study,we investigated the frequency of extra-pair paternity(EPP)in a tropical population of yellow-bellied prinias(Prinia flaviventris)in Guangxi,southern China.A total of 129 individuals belonging to 24 nests were sampled,among which 12 out of 83 chicks(14.46%)in seven nests were found to be EPP offspring.In nests in which all nestlings were sampled,only five out of 56 chicks were EPP offspring,accounting for an unbiased EPP rate of 8.93%.This rate is below the average rate of EPP in the family Sylviidae.The possible causes of EPP in prinias and the occurrence of EPP in birds with high resource investment and intensive parental care are discussed.This study highlights the value of genome-wide markers in determining relatedness in a wild bird species without a reference genome.

Evaluating the effect of habitat diversity on the speciesarea relationship using land-bridge islands in Thousand Island Lake,China

DEAR EDITOR:The species-area relationship(SAR)describes the phenomenon whereby the number of plant and animal species found in an area of wild habitat is strongly correlated with the size of that area.As one of the few ecological laws,the SAR plays a vital role in the design and assessment of biodiversity protection regions(Lomolino et al,2010;Ladle&Whittaker,2011).Increasing area and habitat promote species richness(Triantis et al,2003)and both these mechanisms

Electrochemiluminescence of Bare Glassy Carbon with Benzoyl Peroxide as the Coreactant in N,N-Dimethylformamide

The electrochemiluminescence(ECL)properties of many carbon materials have been reported with glassy carbon(GC),Pt,Au or indium tin oxide(ITO)as the working electrode(WE).As one type of carbon materials,GC itself can generate ECL signal.Some research groups have already noticed the ECL signal from GC WE and reported the results of GC WE with respect to their luminophores.However,comprehensive analyses of ECL properties of GC WE are rare.Herein,the ECL properties of GC WE in organic electrolyte with benzoyl peroxide as the coreactant are reported.Our results are of great importance to distinguish the true ECL data of luminophores from that of GC.