Using Self-referencing Interlaced Submatrices to Determine the Number of Chemical Species in a Mixture

Determining the number of chemical species is the first step in analyses of a chemical or biological system. A novel method is proposed to address this issue by taking advantage of frequency differences between chemical information and noise. Two interlaced submatrices were obtained by downsampling an original data spectra matrix in an interlacing manner. The two interlaced submatrices contained similar chemical information but different noise levels. The number of relevant chemical species was determined through pairwise comparisons of principal components obtained by principal component analysis of the two interlaced submatrices. The proposed method, referred to as SRISM, uses two self-referencing interlaced submatrices to make the determination. SRISM was able to selectively distinguish relevant chemical species from various types of interference factors such as signal overlapping, minor components and noise in simulated datasets. Its performance was further validated using experimental datasets that contained high-levels of instrument aberrations, signal overlapping and collinearity. SRISM was also applied to infrared spectral data obtained from atmospheric monitoring. It has great potential for overcoming various types of interference factor. This method is mathematically rigorous, computationally efficient, and readily automated.

Seasonal waterbird population changes in Lashihai Lake in northwest Yunnan, China

We studied the waterbird population at Lashihai Lake, Yunnan Province, China, which is a Ramsar Site(Wetland of International Importance), to determine seasonal variation in the species composition and size of the waterbird population. The study was conducted at five selected spots along Lashihai Lake at the same time each week from August 2011 to September 2013. In total, 62 waterbird species were recorded, of which 38.71%, 35.48%, 16.13%, and 9.68% were winter migrants, passage visitors, residents, and summer migrants, respectively. We found important seasonal changes in waterbird species composition and population size. Waterbird species richness was highest from September to the following April, with the total species numbers peaking in December. Total individual numbers peaked twice from late November to early December and mid-to-late February. However, waterbird species and individual numbers were comparatively lower from May to August. The change in species composition was determined by the arrival and departure dynamics of winter migrants and passage visitors. Winter migrants primarily caused the periodic changes in population size. Of concern,species and overall waterbird numbers seemed to be lower than the numbers in historical records. The decline of waterbird numbers implies that environmental changes caused by the implementation of the dam upstream of Lashihai Lake may have had adverse effects on this waterbird population. This study confirms the existence of major seasonal changes in species composition and size of the waterbird population at Lashihai Lake. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that this wetland is of high conservation importance for waterbirds using the Central Asian–Indian and Asian–Pacific migratory routes.

Characteristics of Soil Seed Banks of Typical Plant Communities in Hilly Area of Funiu Mountain

[Objectives]The purpose was to investigate the characteristics of soil seed bank of typical plant communities in hilly area of Funiu Mountain.[Methods]The seed density,number of species and species composition of the soil seed bank of typical plant communities such as Themeda japonica,Imperata cylindrica,Vitex negundo,Quercus acutissima,Robinia pseudoacacia,Platycladus orientalis and Populus canadensis in the surface,top 0-5 and top 5-10 cm soil were studied.[Results]The seed reserves of plant communities at different succession stages were(220.00±95.39)–(2650.00±1064.52)seeds/m2.A total of 48 species were counted in the seed bank,belonging to 45 genera in 22 families.Total 27 species were identified in the above-ground vegetation,belonging to 25 genera in 14 families.In the shallow soil where the seeds gathered,the seed densities of Imperata cylindrica and Themeda japonica were relatively low.The reserves of plant communities with different naturalness degrees were(403.33±64.29)-(2110.00±356.79)seeds/m2.A total of 67 species were counted in the seed bank,belonging to 64 genera in 37 families.A total of 45 species were identified in the above-ground vegetation,belonging to 43 genera in 28 families.In the soil layers of 0-5 and 5-10 cm,the seed density of natural secondary Q.acutissima was higher than those of planted P.canadensis,P.orientalis and R.pseudoacacia.In each soil layer,the species number of natural secondary Q.acutissima forest was slightly smaller than those of planted P.canadensis,P.orientalis and R.pseudoacacia forests.[Conclusions]The seeds in the soil seed bank may not completely come from existing above-ground vegetation.Manual assistance is required for vegetation restoration or reconstruction relying on soil seed bank,to ensure the direction of community succession.

Species diversity of Basidiomycota

Fungi are eukaryotes that play essential roles in ecosystems.Among fungi,Basidiomycota is one of the major phyla with more than 40,000 described species.We review species diversity of Basidiomycota from five groups with different lifestyles or habitats:saprobic in grass/forest litter,wood-decaying,yeast-like,ectomycorrhizal,and plant parasitic.Case studies of Agaricus,Cantharellus,Ganoderma,Gyroporus,Russula,Tricholoma,and groups of lichenicolous yeast-like fungi,rust fungi,and smut fungi are used to determine trends in discovery of biodiversity.In each case study,the number of new species published during 2009–2020 is analysed to determine the rate of discovery.Publication rates differ between taxa and reflect different states of progress for species discovery in different genera.The results showed that lichenicolous yeast-like taxa had the highest publication rate for new species in the past two decades,and it is likely this trend will continue in the next decade.The species discovery rate of plant parasitic basidiomycetes was low in the past ten years,and remained constant in the past 50 years.We also found that the establishment of comprehensive and robust taxonomic systems based on a joint global initiative by mycologists could promote and standardize the recognition of taxa.We estimated that more than 54,000 species of Basidiomycota will be discovered by 2030,and estimate a total of 1.4–4.2 million species of Basidiomycota glob-ally.These numbers illustrate a huge gap between the described and yet unknown diversity in Basidiomycota.