Response and adaptation to the accumulation and distribution of photosynthetic product in peanut under salt stress

To clarify the response and adaptability of peanut under salt stress,Huayu 25 was used as the material,and non-salt stress(CK),0.15% salt stress(S1),and 0.3% salt stress(S2) were applied as three treatments.The study analysed the effects of salt stress on photosynthetic characteristics,photosynthetic substances accumulation and distribution as well as the ecological adaptability of peanuts.The results showed that net photosynthetic rate(Pn),SPAD value,leaf area,and peanut yield were reduced under salt stress.Pn in CK was 13.71 and 28.72% higher than that in S1 and S2 at the 50 th day after planting,respectively.At the same growth period,the SPAD value among treatments was ranked as follows: CK>S1>S2.The 100-pod mass,100-kernel mass,kernel rate to pod,and pod mass per plant were reduced under salt stress,and the trend was CK>S1>S2.The distribution proportion of dry matter in different organs of peanut plant was changed to adapt to such stress.Roots under salt stress intensively distributed in a 0-40 cm soil layer for salt resistance.Dry mass proportion in stems and pods increased during the vegetative stage and early period of reproductive stage,respectively.The maximum growth rates of the pod volume,pod dry weight,and seed kernel dry weight all declined,and the pod and kernel volume at harvest were reduced,improving the seed plumpness under salt stress.This finding could be useful in growing peanut in saline soil.

Ecological Adaptability of Introduced Bamboo Species

To enrich ornamental bamboo species in south Henan, 22 ornamental bamboo species were introduced from Anji County, Zhejiang Province, and quadrat survey was adopted to study the ecological adaptability of the introduced species. The results showed that 14 of the introduced species survived in south Henan, and particularly Phyllostachys vivax f. aureocaulis, Phyllostachys vivax f. huanwen, Phyllostachys aureosulcata f. spectabilis, Bambusa multiplex, Phyllostachys nigra, Pseudosasa amabilis, Pleioblastus maculatus showed good performance in height growth, diameter growth and resistance, so these species are most suitable for the promotion in south Henan.

Endocast Morphological Variation and Its Driving Forces in Scutiger boulengeri

Cranialendocasts canbeusedasareliable proxy for brain size,reflecting the evolutionary and environmental selection pressure of species.Although studies on endocasts in amphibians have increased in recent years,those performed on endocasts of Anura are comparatively rare,especially at the intraspecific level.Here,using a high-altitude endemic toad-Scutiger boulengeri-as a model,through the application of integrative methods(morphology,anatomy,phylogeny,and ecology),we studied intraspecific variations in endocast morphology and explored its driving forces.Three-dimensional reconstruction and the brain-to-endocranial cavity(BEC)index suggested that the endocast of S.boulengeri can reflect brain morphology to a large extent.Elliptic Fourier analysis andprincipal componentanalysis revealedgreat variability in the cranial endocast morphology among individuals,as well as the variation concentrated in the regions of telencephalon and optic tectum.In the species,individuals with large bodies are accompanied by a larger endocast size;the relative endocast sizes have significant cladedifferences but no sexual dimorphism.Additionally,the relative endocast sizes of S.boulengeri were not associated with phylogenetic history and aquatic preference but were positively correlated with altitude and negatively correlated with oxygen content,temperature,and precipitation factors(annual mean temperature,temperature seasonality,annual precipitation,and precipitation seasonality).Thesefindings suggested that high-altitude and extreme environmental conditions acted as important selectiveforces in morphological variation of the cranial endocastof S.boulengeri.

Interspecific differences and ecological correlations between scale number and skin structure in freshwater fishes

Fish skin is mainly composed of the epidermis,dermis,and its derivative scales.There is a wide diversity in scale number in fishes,but the diversity of skin structure lacks systematic histological comparison.This research aimed to improve our understanding of the functional relationship between the scale number and the skin structure in freshwater fishes and to determine which ecological factors affect the scale number and skin structure.First,we presented a method to quantify skin structure in fish and histologically quantified the skin structure of 54 freshwater fishes.Second,we collected the scale number and habitat information of 509 Cyprinidae fishes in China and explored which ecological factors were related to their scale number.Third,common carp and scaleless carp were used as models to study the effects of scale loss on swimming.We found a strong negative correlation between scale thickness and scale number.The main factor affecting the skin structure of fishes was the species’water column position,and the skin of benthic fishes was the most well-developed(thicker skin layers(dermis,epidermis)or more/larger goblet cells and club cells).The scale number was related to two factors,namely,temperature and water column position,and cold,benthic and pelagic adaptation may have contributed to increased scale numbers.Only in benthic fishes,the more well-developed their skin,the more scales.In common carp,scale loss did not affect its swimming performance.In summary,we suggest that there is a rich diversity of skin structure in freshwater fishes,and the scales of fish with well-developed skin tend to degenerate(greater number/smaller size/thinner,or even disappear),but the skin of fish with degenerated scales is not necessarily well developed.

Cyber-Physical-Social System Between a Humanoid Robot and a Virtual Human Through a Shared Platform for Adaptive Agent Ecology

Two artificial agents(a humanoid robot and a virtual human) are enriched with various similar intelligence,autonomy, functionalities and interaction modalities. The agents are integrated in the form of a cyber-physical-social system(CPSS) through a shared communication platform to create a social ecology. In the ecology, the agents collaborate(assist each other) to perform a real-world task(search for a hidden object)for the benefits of humans. A robot-virtual human bilateral trust model is derived and a real-time trust measurement method is developed. The role of taking initiative in the collaboration is switched between the agents following a finite state machine model triggered by bilateral trust, which results in a mixedinitiative collaboration. A scheme is developed to evaluate the performance of the agents in the ecology through the CPSS.The results show that the robot and the virtual human perform satisfactorily in the collaboration through the CPSS. The results thus prove the effectiveness of the real-world ecology between artificial agents of heterogeneous realities through a shared platform based on trust-triggered mixed-initiatives. The results can help develop adaptive social ecology comprising intelligent agents of heterogeneous realities to assist humans in various tasks through collaboration between the agents in the form of a CPSS.

Response of C:N:P in the plant-soil system and stoichiometric homeostasis of Nitraria tangutorum leaves in the oasis-desert ecotone,Northwest China

Nitraria tangutorum nebkhas are widely distributed in the arid and semi-arid desert areas of China.The formation and development of N.tangutorum nebkhas are the result of the interaction between vegetation and the surrounding environment in the process of community succession.Different successional stages of N.tangutorum nebkhas result in differences in the community structure and composition,thereby strongly affecting the distribution of soil nutrients and ecosystem stability.However,the ecological stoichiometry of N.tangutorum nebkhas in different successional stages remains poorly understood.Understanding the stoichiometric homeostasis of N.tangutorum could provide insights into its adaptability to the arid and semi-arid desert environments.Therefore,we analyzed the stoichiometric characteristics of N.tangutorum in four successional stages,i.e.,rudimental,developing,stabilizing,and degrading stages using a homeostasis model in an oasis-desert ecotone of Northwest China.The results showed that soil organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN),and total phosphorus(TP)contents and their ratios in the 0-100 cm soil depth were significantly lower than the averages at regional and global scales and were weakly influenced by successional stages in the oasis-desert ecotone.TN and TP contents and C:N:P in the soil showed similar trends.Total carbon(TC)and TN contents in leaves were 450.69-481.07 and 19.72-29.35 g/kg,respectively,indicating that leaves of N.tangutorum shrubs had a high storage capacity for C and N.Leaf TC and TN contents and N:P ratio increased from the rudimental stage to the stabilizing stage and then decreased in the degrading stage,while the reverse trend was found for leaf C:N.Leaf TP content decreased from the rudimental stage to the degrading stage and changed significantly in late successional stages.N:P ratio was above the theoretical limit of 14,indicating that the growth of N.tangutorum shrubs was limited by P during successional stages.Leaf N,P,and N:P homeostasis in four successional stages was identified as''strictly homeostasis''.Redundancy analysis(RDA)revealed that soil acidity(pH)and the maximum water holding capacity were the main factors affecting C:N:P stoichiometric characteristics in N.tangutorum leaves.Our study demonstrated that N.tangutorum with a high degree of stoichiometric homeostasis could better cope with the arid desert environment.

Morphological and skeletal comparison and ecological adaptability of Mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi and big-eye Mandarin fish Siniperca kneri

Most of the closely related fish species are similar in appearance,with slight differences.This study evaluated 35 morphological characteristic parameters and the number,shape,and spatial location of bones in the skull and vertebrae of the mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi and big-eye mandarin fish Siniperca kneri.We can understand their ecological adaptability,compare their morphological and skeletal differences,and elucidate the relationship between their phenotypic trait differences and skeletal characteristics.The results were as follows:1.The Student’s t-test results revealed significant differences between S.chuatsi and S.kneri in terms of head depth,head back length,snout length,interorbital distance,distance of the eyes from the oral fissure,and width between the posterior trunk and base of the caudal fin.Principal component and discriminant analysis showed that the main morphological differences between S.chuatsi and S.kneri were in the eye position,head hump and body shape.2.There was no significant difference in the number and shape of the skull and vertebrae between S.chuatsi and S.kneri,but they differed in spatial position.The terminus of the maxilla in S.chuatsi is located at the lower border of the postorbital bone,but at the anterior in S.kneri.The size of head hump is closely related to the spatial location of the splanchnocranium in S.chuatsi and S.kneri.The angles between the caudal vertebrae centrum and each of the following:the neural arch and spine;haemal arch and spine of S.chuatsi are larger than those of S.kneri.In conclusion,the morphological differences between S.chuatsi and S.kneri are closely related to the spatial position of skeleton.These phenotypic differences reflect the ecological adaptation of mandarin fish to different natural environments.

Coprophilous myxomycetes: Recent advances and future research directions

Species of myxomycetes are adapted to different ecological niches and occupy different microhabitats.The majority of species have a wide ecological amplitude and may be found on various kinds of substrata.Some species have narrower ecological niches and are restricted to or mainly found on one special kind of substratum.Coprophilous species grow on dung or on a substratum in close contact with dung.The vast majority of records stem from moist chamber cultures on dung from herbivorous mammals,but several species have also been recorded on droppings from birds.A limited number of species can be regarded as truly coprophilous in that they have predominantly or in some cases only been recorded on dung.Some of these species are known from very few collections and their dependence on dung may therefore be difficult to judge.No correlation is absolute and species regarded as coprophilous may sometimes,although rarely,turn up on other types of substrata.Dung is rich in bacteria and nutrients and is a favourable substratum for myxomycetes.Many species normally inhabiting other habitats are occasionally found on dung,and up to now about 114 species have been reported from this kind of substratum,a number that will continue to grow.At least three species,Licea alexopouli,Kelleromyxa fimicola and Trichia brunnea,have thick-walled spores,a possible adaptation to passing through the intestinal tract of a herbivore before germination can take place.