An Elevated Perspective: Dyke-Related Fracture Networks Analysed with Uav Photogrammetry

An abundance of data from seismic and geodetic monitoring has provided new insight into dyke propagation and emplacement mechanisms.These studies show that faulting and fracturing is part of the magma

Distribution Patterns of Synechococcus Indicated Their Environmental Constraints and Related Geochemical Processes in the Yellow Sea

Synechococcus is a widely distributed photosynthetic pico-phytoplankton,which contributes mainly to carbon fixation and maintains the stability of the marine ecosystem.To investigate its distribution patterns in the Yellow Sea,seawater samples were collected during September 2018.Results of flow cytometry analysis showed that the Synechococcus abundance ranged from 6.36×10^(2) to 4.51×10^(4) cells mL^(−1),which correlated with salinity(P<0.01)and temperature(P<0.05).At deeper off-shore sites,Synecho-coccus showed high abundance at the subsurface thermo-halocline,which was in accordance with chlorophyll a(Chl a)content along the vertical column.Based on the high-throughput sequencing data of rpoC1(partial gene encoding RNA polymerase),two Synechococcus subclusters,S5.1 and S5.2,were found to coexist in the studied area.Several clades of S5.1,including Clades I,II,and III,were the dominant components,accounting for 6.63%,26.11%,and 45.5%of the total genus,respectively.Redundancy analysis(RDA)showed that nitrite was the main environmental factor that explained the genus composition among samples.Fur-thermore,co-occurrence network revealed that the main phyla that coexisted with Synechococcus were Proteobacteria,Bacteroidetes,Actinobacteria,Planctomycetes,and Verrucomicrobia,which were involved in the carbon(C),nitrogen(N),sulfur(S),and manga-nese(Mn)cycles.Overall,Synechococcus exhibited biogeographic distribution correlated with temperature-salinity and nitrite in the Yellow Sea,and their geochemical function showed diverse but should be further verified in the future.

Eukaryotic microbial distribution pattern and its potential effects on fisheries in the fish reserves of Qiantang River in breeding season

To examine the eukaryotic biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems in the Qiantang River,China,eukaryotic microbes in the river were investigated using 18S rRNA gene sequencing during the breeding season(July to August 2018).Four distinct distribution patterns(1.Jiande;2.Tonglu and Fuyang;3.Jiubao;4.Yanguan)of the microbial community and their potential effects on fishery activities were observed.Results show lower abundances of Dinophyta and Fungi and higher abundances of Cryptophyta and Chlorophyta in Tonglu and Fuyang than those in the other three sections.In addition,the reserves(Tonglu and Fuyang)destabilized the original eukaryotic microbial co-occurrence network.Among all the environmental factors measured,nitrogen(nitrite,nitrate,ammonium),water temperature and total chlorophyll a acted as major driving factors that controlled the eukaryotic microbial distribution.Furthermore,the existence of some algae(e.g.,Chrysophyceae,Cryptophytes,and Chlorophyceae)and fungi(e.g.,Rhizophydium)in Tonglu and Fuyang was beneficial to juvenile fish growth and water quality,although some detrimental species(e.g.,Aphanomyces)needed attention.This study provides further insights into the sustainable protection and utilization of rivers.

Hierarchical networks of food exchange in the black garden ant Lasius niger

In most eusocial insects,the division of labor results in relatively few individuals foraging for the entire colony.Thus,the survival of the colony depends on its efficiency in meeting the nutritional needs of all its members.Here,we characterize the network topology of a eusocial insect to understand the role and centrality of each caste in this network during the process of food dissemination.We constructed trophallaxis networks from 34 food-exchange experiments in black garden ants(Lasius niger).We tested the influence of brood and colony size on(i)global indices at the network level(i.e.,efficiency,resilience,centralization,and modularity)and(ii)individual values(i.e.,degree,strength,betweenness,and the clustering coefficient).Network resilience,the ratio between global efficiency and centralization,was stable with colony size but increased in the presence of broods,presumably in response to the nutritional needs of larvae.Individual metrics highlighted the major role of foragers in food dissemination.In addition,a hierarchical clustering analysis suggested that some domestics acted as intermediaries between foragers and other domestics.Networks appeared to be hierarchical rather than random or centralized exclusively around foragers.Finally,our results suggested that networks emerging from social insect interactions can improve group performance and thus colony fitness.

Plant and fungal species interactions differ between aboveground and belowground habitats in mountain forests of eastern China

Plant and fungal species interactions drive many essential ecosystem properties and processes;however,how these interactions differ between aboveground and belowground habitats remains unclear at large spatial scales.Here,we surveyed 494 pairwise fungal communities in leaves and soils by Illumina sequencing,which were associated with 55 woody plant species across more than 2,000-km span of mountain forests in eastern China.The relative contributions of plant,climate,soil and space to the variation of fungal communities were assessed,and the plant-fungus network topologies were inferred.Plant phylogeny was the strongest predictor for fungal community composition in leaves,accounting for 19.1%of the variation.In soils,plant phylogeny,climatic factors and soil properties explained 9.2%,9.0%and 8.7%of the variation in soil fungal community,respectively.The plant-fungus networks in leaves exhibited significantly higher specialization,modularity and robustness(resistance to node loss),but less complicated topology(e.g.,significantly lower linkage density and mean number of links)than those in soils.In addition,host/fungus preference combinations and key species,such as hubs and connectors,in bipartite networks differed strikingly between aboveground and belowground samples.The findings provide novel insights into cross-kingdom(plant-fungus)species co-occurrence at large spatial scales.The data further suggest that community shifts of trees due to climate change or human activities will impair aboveground and belowground forest fungal diversity in different ways.