分离生态变化中的物种相互作用组分

本文用描述群落的最小剩余码的平均码长Ｌ（Ｓ）测度群落总复杂性，用Ｒｅｎｙｉ熵测度非组织复杂性，并将它们之差△（Ｓ）作为组织复杂性或群落结构复杂性的测度，提出了一个测度群落内种间相互作用的指标．以有关生物群落结构组建的理论及约束典型排序和偏典型排序技术；典型对应分析ＣＣＡ和剩余分析ＲＡ为基础，发展一种包括环境，空间格局和物种相互作用三方面因素的植物群落数量分析方法，并在种多度数据的变化中分离出这几个方面的变化．

不同利用方式下内蒙古典型草原群落物种相互关系的年际变化

放牧和刈割作为内蒙古草原主要利用方式,对大针茅群落演替以及建群种更替有着重要影响。以内蒙古典型草原大针茅群落为研究对象,2013—2015年连续3年对放牧和刈割两种利用方式下大针茅群落小尺度格局进行定点观测,其中,2014年气候极端干旱且温度较高;运用Ecosim7.72软件计算C-score和V-ratio来反映群落物种间相互作用关系,并分析相互作用关系的年际变化以及影响因素。结果表明:(1)2013年和2015年温度和降水与该区域年均值比较接近,放牧和刈割两种利用方式下群落植物间相互作用关系均为竞争;(2)2014年为极端干旱和高温的年份,放牧和刈割两种利用方式下群落植物间相互作用的值或方向发生了很大变化,其中,放牧利用加剧植物间的竞争,而刈割利用方式下植物间相互作用为促进。(3)所得结果表明气候波动是影响群落物种间相互作用的主要因素,而在极端年份,利用方式会影响群落物种间相互作用的方向和大小,这不仅为胁迫梯度假说的完善提供了实验数据,而且可为该区域草原的合理利用和保护措施的制定提供理论指导。

Effect of Apis mellifera on community composition of local pollinator bees and their pollination network in Qinling Mountains and surrounding areas

The Qinling Mountains, known for their rich vegetation and diverse pollinating insects, have seen a significant decline in bee species richness and abundance over recent decades, largely due to the introduction and spread of Apis mellifera. This decline has caused cascading effects on the region's community structure and ecosystem stability. To improve the protection of native bees in the natural and agricultural landscape of the Qinling Mountains and its surrounding areas, we investigated 33 sampling sites within three habitats: forest, forest-agriculture ecotones, and farmland. Using a generalized linear mixing model, t-test, and other data analysis methods, we explored the impact of Apis mellifera on local pollinator bee richness, abundance, and the pollination network in different habitats in these regional areas. The results show that(1)Apis mellifera significantly negatively affects the abundance and richness of wild pollinator bees,while Apis cerana abundance is also affected by beekeeping conditions.(2)There are significant negative effects of Apis mellifera on the community structure of pollinator bees in the Qinling Mountains and its surrounding areas: the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Pielou evenness index, and Margalef richness index of bee communities at sites with Apis mellifera influence were significantly lower than those at sites without Apis mellifera influence.(3)The underlying driver of this effect is the monopolization of flowering resources by Apis mellifera. This species tends to visit flowering plants with large nectar sources, which constitute a significant portion of the local plant community. By maintaining a dominant role in the bee-plant pollination network, Apis mellifera competitively displaces native pollinator bees, reducing their access to floral resources. This ultimately leads to a reduction in local bee-plant interactions, decreasing the complexity and stability of the pollination network. These findings highlight the need for targeted conservation efforts to protect native pollinator species and maintain the ecological balance in the Qinling Mountains.

原生演替及其在生态恢复中的应用

演替是生态学研究的最多自然现象之一,原生演替研究由于易发现生态学原理或规律、揭示生物的适应机制而受到更多关注.原生演替研究在植物响应干扰、物种侵入和定居、植被群落组合、养分动态、物种相互作用、演替机制等方面都取得了重要进展,并成为生态恢复重要的理论基础.生态恢复本质上是受管理或受控制的演替过程,遵循科学方法进行的恢复活动能够检验演替原理,为了解演替过程提供新的视角.因此,促进演替和恢复两个领域之间的成果交流将有助于实现各自的目标:理解植被变化和操纵植被变化.

物种间不确定性相互关系分析：一种基于非参数估计的变系数模型

物种间相互作用的研究通常假定物种间相互作用具有某种固定的模式,因此线性或者非线性参数回归模型(如指数分布或者logistic模型)被广泛用来描述物种间的相互作用.然而,这些模型假定了相互作用关系物种之间具有特定响应函数,而这个假设可能并不适用于真正的生物群落,如物种间相互作用关系随不同环境变化的混沌系统.为了用一个更精确的方法来描述这种关系,我们以榕树-榕小蜂为模式系统,建立了一个变系数分析模型进行物种间相互关系的分析.在这个模型中,用非参数估计方法分析物种间相关系数如何随其他变量(函数)的变化而变化.当其他因素对相关系数的影响效应可以用一个指定的参数模型来描述时,新方法就会转化为传统的参数相关分析.对于经验数据的分析,新方法更具有普遍性和灵活性,其与传统方法不同之处在于我们可以研究物种间的相互作用是否会随着某些因素变化而变化,或者找出维持或改变物种间的相互作用其他关联因素.这种方法在理论研究和应用研究(如流行病学和群落管理)领域都有着重要的应用价值.

Behavioral interactions between a coexisting rodent Micaelamys namaquensis and macroscelid Elephantulus myurus

A number of mechanisms are known to influence coexistence in small mammal communities. However, the role ofbehavioral interactions in promoting species coexistence is under-represented in the literature. We studied the behavioral interactionsof two coexisting small mammals, the Namaqua rock mouse Micaelamys namaquensis (Rodentia) and the Rock sengi Elephantulusmyurus (Macroscelidae), which have high dietary and microhabitat overlap. Using wild-caught individuals, intra- andinterspecific dyadic encounters were staged in tanks on a neutral rocky outcrop. Interspecific dyads displayed significantly moreactive avoidance behavior. There was no support for the prediction that the larger, more specialist species, E. myurus, is behaviorallydominant over M. namaquensis. Intraspecific encounters of E. myurus showed significantly more passive avoidance andamicable behavior, whereas the behavior of M. namaquensis did not differ between intra- and inter-specific encounters, both ofwhich were characterized by low levels of aggression and amicability. Thus, due to the lack of aggression, direct competition appearsweak and instead mutual avoidance may reduce or minimize interspecific interactions, potentially promoting coexistence.

Interactions between Soil Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Plant Species Abundance: A Case Study in the Karst Mountains of Longhushan Nature Reserve, Southwest China

The ability to manage and restore plant communities in the face of human-induced landscape change may rely on our ability to predict how species respond to environmental variables.Understanding this response requires examining factors or their interactions that have influence on plant and resource availability.Our objective was to analyze the relationships between changes in plant abundance and the interaction among environmental habitat factors including soil, geological(rock type), and other environmental variables in the Longhushan karst mountains ecosystem.Species density and dominance were examined using ANOVA, ANCOVA,and Generalized Linear Models to establish the single or combined effects of these groups of factors.The results showed that trends in abundance were mainly affected by rock type(related to the percentage content of dolomite and calcite), soil characteristics in association with topography.Both plant indices were higher in dolomite dominated areas and varied positively with moisture, and elevation, but negatively with organic matter, while density also increased with slope degree.The results demonstrate that significant variations in species abundance was produced with the combination of variables from soil, geological, andenvironmental factors, suggesting their interaction influence on plants.We postulate that spatial variations in plant abundance in karst ecosystem depends on the carbonate rock type in addition to water and nutrient availability which are mainly controlled by topography and other factors such as soil texture and temperature.The study suggests that in karst areas carbonate rock type, in addition to local environmental variables, should be taken into account when analyzing the factors that have impact on plant communities.

Effects of Humic Acid and Bread Yeast on Growth and Yield of Eggplant （Solanum melongena L.）

This study was carried out at the vegetable research field, College of Agriculture, University of Duhok, during the growing season of 2009 using the eggplant local cultivar. And a factorial Randomized complete block design （F-RCBD）. The experiment consisted of two factors, the first was inoculations with and without humic acid, and the second factor was three levels of dry bread yeast （0.5, 10 gm/L）. The results revealed that the growth was significantly increased in term of plant height, branches number%, total chlorophyll and mineral content in leaves （N.P.K） and the yield in term of fruit number/plant, fruit weight （gm）, plant yield （gm/plant）, total yield （ton/hectare）, fruit length and fruit diameter. The interaction between humic acid and bread yeast was highly improved the growth and yield traits.

Aggregation Behaviors of a Two-Species System with Lose-Lose Interactions

We propose an aggregation evolution model of two-species （A- and B-species） aggregates to study the prevalent aggregation phenomena in social and economic systems. In this model, A- and B-species aggregates perform self-exchange-driven growths with the exchange rate kernels K（k, l） = Kkl and L（k, l） = Lkl, respectively, and the two species aggregates perform self-birth processes with the rate kernels J1（k） = J1 k and J2（ k ） = J2k, and meanwhile the interaction between the aggregates of different species A and B causes a lose-lose scheme with the rate kernel H（k,l） = Hkl. Based on the mean-field theory, we investigated the evolution behaviors of the two species aggregates to study the competitions among above three aggregate evolution schemes on the distinct initial monomer concentrations A0 and B0 of the two species. The results show that the evolution behaviors of A- and B-species are crucially dominated by the competition between the two self-birth processes, and the initial monomer concentrations Ao and Bo play important roles, while the lose-lose scheme play important roles in some special cases.

最大熵原理及其在生态学研究中的应用

最大熵原理(the principle of maximum entropy)起源于信息论和统计力学,是基于有限的已知信息对未知分布进行无偏推断的一种数学方法。这一方法在很多领域都有成功应用,但只是近几年才被应用到生态学研究中,并且还存在很多争论。我们从基本概念和方法出发,用掷骰子的例子阐明了最大熵原理的概念,并提出运用最大熵原理解决问题需要遵从的步骤。最大熵原理在生态学中的应用主要包括以下方面:(1)用群落水平功能性状的平均值作为约束条件来预测群落物种相对多度的模型;(2)基于气候、海拔、植被等环境因子构建物种地理分布的生态位模型;(3)对物种多度分布、种-面积关系等宏生态学格局的推断;(4)对物种相互作用的推断;(5)对食物网度分布的研究等等。最后我们综合分析了最大熵原理在生态学应用中所存在的争议,包括相应模型的有效性、可靠性等方面,介绍了一些对最大熵原理预测能力及其局限性的检验结果,强调了生态学家应用最大熵原理需要注意的问题,比如先验分布的选择、约束条件的设置等等。在物种相互作用、宏生态学格局等方面对最大熵原理更广泛的讨论与应用可能会给生态学带来新的发展机会。

生物多样性理论最新进展

生物多样性是生态系统复杂性的重要特征,理解多样性的形成和维持机制一直是理论生态学研究的核心议题。本文从三方面概述了生物多样性理论的最新进展。一是物种共存和群落构建,总结了现代共存理论和基于过程的群落构建理论的新进展。二是物种相互作用,综述了利用经验数据推断物种相互作用关系和强度的最新方法。三是生态-进化动态,介绍了生态-进化模型的一般框架及其在生物多样性研究中的应用。最后对生物多样性理论的发展趋势做了展望,特别是多尺度整合理论和全球变化下的预测理论。

利用系统作图(Systems mapping)研究大肠埃希菌和金黄色葡萄球菌的互作遗传机制

【背景】物种间相互作用是物种进化的重要推动力,然而如何将基因型和表型关联以及确定在物种相互作用过程中起重要作用的基因均面临挑战。【目的】通过系统作图(Systems mapping)得到两种微生物在相互作用过程中起重要作用的SNPs (Single nucleotide polymorphism),以及随着时间的变化,这些SNPs是如何相互联系进而影响大肠埃希菌和金黄色葡萄球菌的相互作用。【方法】分别对45株大肠埃希菌、45株金黄色葡萄球菌进行单独培养和混合共培养,通过实时荧光定量PCR(Real-time quantitative PCR,qPCR)进行绝对定量,得到一定时间内各个菌株的生长量,比较相同菌株在不同培养条件下生长情况,以各个菌株重测序结果为基础,结合系统作图得到在相互作用过程中起重要作用的显著SNPs及其相互联系。【结果】通过系统作图分析,获得具有54对显著SNPs组合的三维曼哈顿图,这些组合中41个显著SNPs来自大肠埃希菌,12个显著SNPs来自金黄色葡萄球菌。在上述SNPs中已有6个SNPs所在的候选基因都可以直接或者间接影响微生物的生长量变化,从而影响两种微生物相互作用方式。它们分别是nhaR(E19056)参与生物膜的形成,rhlE(E832164)与核糖体的组装有关,csiD (E2789300)的表达可以使细胞面对恶劣环境,alk B (E2309274)可以参与DNA的损伤修复,sucA(E759230)和yjjW(E4614704)都参与细胞的代谢过程。【结论】系统作图可以检测到物种在相互作用过程中显著SNPs;物种相互作用过程中不同SNPs遗传效应随着时间变化;细菌的相互作用过程是直接遗传效应、间接遗传效应和上位性效应共同产生的结果。

Phylogenetic constrains on mycorrhizal specificity in eight Dendrobium(Orchidaceae) species

Plant phylogeny constrains orchid mycorrhizal(OrM) fungal community composition in some orchids. Here, we investigated the structures of the OrM fungal communities of eight Dendrobium species in one niche to determine whether similarities in the OrM fungal communities correlated with the phylogeny of the host plants and whether the Dendrobium-OrM fungal interactions are phylogenetically conserved. A phylogeny based on DNA data was constructed for the eight coexisting Dendrobium species,and the OrM fungal communities were characterized by their roots. There were 31 different fungal lineages associated with the eight Dendrobium species. In total, 82.98% of the identified associations belonging to Tulasnellaceae, and a smaller proportion involved members of the unknown Basidiomycota(9.67%). Community analyses revealed that phylogenetically related Dendrobium tended to interact with a similar set of Tulasnellaceae fungi. The interactions between Dendrobium and Tulasnellaceae fungi were significantly influenced by the phylogenetic relationships among the Dendrobium species. Our results provide evidence that the mycorrhizal specificity in the eight coexisting Dendrobium species was phylogenetically conserved.

Responses of biotic interactions of dominant and subordinate species to decadal warming and simulated rotational grazing in Tibetan alpine meadow

Warming increases competition among plant species in alpine communities by ameliorating harsh environmental conditions,such as low temperatures. Grazing, as the main human activity, may mitigate the effect of warming, as previously reported.However, it is critical to refine the effects of warming on biotic interactions among species, for example, by taking the competitive ability of species into consideration. Based on a 10-year warming and grazing experiment in a Tibetan alpine meadow, we evaluated interspecific biotic interactions of dominant and subordinate species, using the approach of interspecific spatial associations. Warming significantly increased competition between subordinate and dominant species as well as among subordinate species, but not among dominant species. Moreover, facilitation of dominant-subordinate species also increased under warming. Simulated rotational grazing had similar effects to warming, with increasing interspecific competition. Our results show that, when studying the effects of warming on biotic interactions among species, it is necessary to characterize different species pairs relative to their competitive ability, and that simulated rotational grazing does not mitigate the effects of warming in the long term. Our results also provide evidence that the spatial pattern of species is a critical mechanism in species coexistence.

The need for alternative plant species interaction models

Aims The limitations of classical Lotka–Volterra models for analyzing and interpreting competitive interactions among plant species have become increasingly clear in recent years.Three of the problems that have been identified are(i)the absence of frequency-dependence,which is important for long-term coexistence of species,(ii)the need to take unmeasured(often unmeasurable)variables influencing individual performance into account(e.g.spatial variation in soil nutrients or pathogens)and(iii)the need to separate measurement error from biological variation.Methods We modified the classical Lotka–Volterra competition models to address these limitations.We fitted eight alternative models to pin-point cover data on Festuca ovina and Agrostis capillaris over 3 years in an herbaceous plant community in Denmark.A Bayesian modeling framework was used to ascertain whether the model amendments improve the performance of the models and increase their ability to predict community dynamics and to test hypotheses.Important Findings Inclusion of frequency-dependence and measurement error,but not unmeasured variables,improved model performance greatly.Our results emphasize the importance of comparing alternative models in quantitative studies of plant community dynamics.Only by considering possible alternative models can we identify the forces driving community assembly and change,and improve our ability to predict the behavior of plant communities.

CO_(2)stimulation and response mechanisms vary with light supply in boreal conifers

Aims Black spruce(Picea mariana[Mill.]B.S.P.)and white spruce(Picea glauca[Moench]Voss.)are congeneric species.Both are moderately shade tolerant and widely distributed across North American boreal forests.Methods To understand light effects on their ecophysiological responses to elevated CO_(2),1-year-old seedlings were exposed to 360µmol mol−1 and 720µmol mol−1 CO_(2)at three light conditions(100%,50%and 30%of full light in the greenhouse).Foliar gas exchanges were measured in the mid-and late-growing season.Important Findings Elevated CO_(2)increased net photosynthesis(Pn)and photosynthetic water use efficiency,but it reduced stomatal conductance and transpiration.The stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated CO_(2)was greatest at 50%light and smallest at 100%.Photosynthesis,maximum carboxylation rate(Vcmax)and light-saturated rate of electron transport(Jmax)all decreased with decreasing light.Elevated CO_(2)significantly reduced Vcmax across all light treatments and both species in mid-growing season.However,the effect of elevated CO_(2)became insignificant at 30%light later in the growing season,with the response being greater in black spruce than in white spruce.Elevated CO_(2)also reduced Jmax in white spruce in both measurements while the effect became insignificant at 30%light later in the growing season.However,the effect on black spruce varied with time.Elevated CO_(2)reduced Jmax in black spruce in mid-growing season in all light treatments and the effect became insignificant at 30%light later in the growing season,while it increased Jmax later in the season at 100%and 50%light.These results suggest that both species benefited from elevated CO_(2),and that the responses varied with light supply,such that the response was primarily physiological at 100%and 50%light,while it was primarily morphological at 30%light.

The Facilitation of Restoration by Cushion Plant Androsace tapete in a Degraded Alpine Grassland

The cushion plant Androsace tapete is an endemic species that is widely distributed in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, and also predominant in the alpine grassland that is locally degraded due to overgrazing and other reasons. As an ecosystem engineer cushion plant, its ability to facilitate the restoration of degraded alpine grassland was studied in a degraded alpine grassland at an elevation of 4500 m on the southern slope of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains in Damxung. The species diversity, soil nutrients and water content underneath and outside the cushion plant A. tapete were investigated. The results showed that soil nutrients underneath the A. tapete cushion were significantly increased by about 16%-48% compared to outside the cushion, of which the organic matter and total N were increased by 16.2% and 18.9% respectively, and the soil water content was increased about 12%. The index of species diversity of richness(S), Shannon-Wiener’s H and Simpson’s D all increased with the coverage of cushion plant A. tapete. Our results suggested that this cushion plant can facilitate restoration of the degraded alpine grassland by modifying the local soil environment and increasing the community diversity, so it should be conserved for the restoration of degraded alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Changes in niche differentiation and environmental filtering over a hydric stress gradient

Aims Diversity in communities is determined by species’ability to coexist with each other and to overcome environmental stress that may act as an environmental filter.Niche differentiation(ND)results in stronger intra-than interspecific competition and promotes coexistence.Because stress affects interactions,the strength of ND may change along stress gradients.A greater diversity of plant growth forms has been observed in stressful habitats,such as deserts and alpine regions,suggesting greater ND when stress is strong.We tested the hypothesis that niche differences and environmental filters become stronger with stress.Methods In a semiarid grassland in southern Mexico,we sowed six annual species in the field along a hydric stress gradient.Plants were grown alone(without interactions),with conspecific neighbors(intraspecific interactions)or with heterospecific neighbors(interspecific interactions).We analyzed how the ratio of intra-to interspecific competition changed along the gradient to assess how water availability determines the strength of ND.We also determined if hydric stress represented an environmental filter.Important Findings We observed stronger intra-than interspecific competition,especially where hydric stress was greater.Thus,we found ND in at least some portion of the gradient for all but one species.Some species were hindered by stress,but others were favored by it perhaps because it eliminates soil pathogens.Although strong ND was slightly more frequent with stress,our species sample was small and there were exceptions to the general pattern,so further research is needed to establish if this is a widespread phenomenon in nature.

Role of Salix reinii patches in spatio-temporal patterns of cohabitants on a Japanese volcano

Shrub patches often support the colonizers particularly under stressful and/or disturbed environments.The intensities of stresses and disturbances on mountains are often related to an elevation gradient and are decreased by shrub patches(canopy and litter).We aim to clarify these relationships by using shrub patches at different elevations on a volcano.We monitored all shoots in plots established inside and outside of patches of Salix reinii(Salicaceae)and their related environments,such as temperature,light,moisture and chemistry,at three elevations on Mount Koma(1131 m a.s.l.),northern Japan,from early spring in 2005 to summer in 2006.The patch structures were evaluated by area,branch density and litter thickness.The structures of shrub patches did not differ among the elevations.The patches increased the diversity of rare species,by an overall increase in plant species richness.The moisture,nitrogen and phosphate contents in the patches were higher than outside of patches.The effects of shrub patches on the cohabitants were overall positive,although the effects were negative on seedling abundance,shoot survival and flowering.These results suggest that the growth patterns of shrub patches determine the plant community structures and facilitate plant diversity.

Environment-dependent attack rates of cryptic and aposematic butterflies

Many organisms have evolved adaptive coloration that reduces their risk of predation. Cryptic colo- ration reduces the likelihood of detection/recognition by potential predators, while warning or aposematic coloration advertises unprofitability and thereby reduces the likelihood of attack. Although some studies show that aposematic coloration functions better at decreasing attack rate than crypsis, recent work has suggested and demonstrated that crypsis and aposematism are both successful strategies for avoiding predation. Furthermore, the visual environment （e.g., ambient lighting, background） affects the ability for predators to detect prey. We investigated these 2 related hypoth- eses using 2 well-known visually aposematic species of Heliconius butterflies, which occupy differ- ent habitats （open-canopy vs. closed-canopy）, and one palatable, cryptic, generalist species Junonia coenia. We tested if the differently colored butterflies differ in attack rates by placing plasti- cine models of each of the 3 species in 2 different tropical habitats where the butterflies naturally occur： disturbed, open-canopy habitat and forested, closed-canopy habitat. The cryptic model had fewer attacks than one of the aposematic models. Predation rates differed between the 2 habitats, with the open habitat having much higher predation. However, we did not find an interaction between species and habitat type, which is perplexing due to the different aposematic phenotypes naturally occurring in different habitats. Our findings suggest that during the Panamanian dry sea- son avian predation on perched butterflies is not a leading cause in habitat segregation between the 2 aposematic species and demonstrate that cryptically colored animals at rest may be better than aposematic prey at avoiding avian attacks in certain environments.