POPULATION AND CONSERVATION OF BLACK CRESTED GIBBONS ( Hylobates concolor jingdongensis ) IN WULIANG NATURE RESERVE,JINGDONG,YUNNAN

Population estimates of black crested gibbons in Wuliang Nature Reserve,Jingdong,Yunnan,China,with two techniques,average group density total area and average home rang forest coverage,produced quite similar results.The population was estimated around 115 groups in the Reserve.The paper also discussed the conservation problems of the Reserve.At present,the main threat to the gibbons is habitat fragmentation and population isolation.Thus,it is urgent to prohibit hunting and protect the habitat and forest corridors or habitat bridges.

Methods Comparison for Microsatellite Marker Development:Different Isolation Methods,Different Yield Efficiency

Microsatellite markers have become one kind of the most important molecular tools used in various researches. A large number of microsatellite markers are required for the whole genome survey in the fields of molecular ecology,quantitative genetics and genomics. Therefore,it is extremely necessary to select several versatile,low-cost,efficient and time-and labor-saving methods to develop a large panel of microsatellite markers. In this study,we used Zhikong scallop(Chlamys farreri) as the target species to compare the efficiency of the five methods derived from three strategies for microsatellite marker development. The results showed that the strategy of constructing small insert genomic DNA library resulted in poor efficiency,while the microsatellite-enriched strategy highly improved the isolation efficiency. Although the mining public database strategy is time-and cost-saving,it is difficult to obtain a large number of microsatellite markers,mainly due to the limited sequence data of non-model species deposited in public databases. Based on the results in this study,we recommend two methods,microsatellite-enriched library construction method and FIASCO-colony hybridization method,for large-scale microsatellite marker development. Both methods were derived from the microsatellite-enriched strategy. The experimental results obtained from Zhikong scallop also provide the reference for microsatellite marker development in other species with large genomes.

Shifts in chemical and microbiological properties belowground of invader Ageratina adenophora along an altitudinal gradient

Tropical mountain ecosystems are usually colonized by numerous invasive plant species and represent an ideal‘natural laboratory’to study the effects of altitude on plant invasion.The aim of this study was to investigate the soil chemical and microbiological properties along an altitudinal gradient on a mountain colonized by the invader Ageratina adenophora.Rhizosphere soil of A.adenophora was collected over an altitudinal gradient(1400–2400 m)in Ailao Shan,China.We determined soil organic carbon(C),nutrient contents,enzyme activities,bacterial community composition as well as C and nitrogen(N)contents of the plant roots.Ecoenzymatic stoichiometric indices were calculated to estimate the relative C,N or P limitations of the microbial community.There was a significant effect of altitude on soil organic C in the rhizosphere,and a turning point in these measured variables was detected at an altitude of 2000 m.At low elevations,the rapid growth of invasive plants depleted the deficient phosphorus(P)in tropical soils,leading to microbial P limitation;at high elevations,microbes invested more energy to obtain C from resistant litter,leading to microbial C limitation.Bacterial beta diversity and soil pH contributed most to the altitudinal differences in ecoenzymatic stoichiometry,and Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla that determined the nutrient uptake status of microorganisms.These results demonstrate how microbial nutrient acquisition belowground of A.adenophora along an altitudinal gradient,which could contribute to further knowledge about the effects of altitude on biological invasion.