Mechanism on bipolar distribution of Permian brachiopods

By reasearch on geographic distribution, nine genera in bipolar distribution are selected from Permian brachiopods. These taxa originated from middle-high latitude areas in the boreal realm, of which five genera were derived from Late Carboniferous, and other four genera originated from Permian. They were all in bipolar distribution during some different stages in Permian. Specific diversity for each genus was high in the boreal realm, whereas in the Gondwana realm was very low. Perdurability was long in the boreal realm, and short in the Gondwana realm. It was the time when these nine genera came to their maximum diversity that these genera appeared in the Gondwana and formed bipolar distribution; while they also migrated to the low latitude from high latitude. This shows very close relationship between several main cooling events in Permian and the migration of genera from the boreal realm to the Gondwana reahn through the Tethys. Therefore, the cooling events might be the main drive which caused these cold-water-type brachiopods migrated to the Gondwana realm and being bipolar distribution. In this process, the planula tolerance to warm water would be another important factor.     

右江盆地二叠纪末深水相无脊椎动物凉水分子的发现及其地质意义

对右江盆地二叠纪末腕足类和介形虫的全球古地理分布以及其他海相无脊椎动物的组合特征进行了详细研究,发现该盆地多个门类生物和华南其他地区(尤其是扬子海盆)存在明显差异。腕足类和介形虫有一部分为凉水分子或古冷水圈分子,具有冷水与暖水分子混生的特征;放射虫具有远洋生物组合的特征;双壳类含大量土著种。这些特征表明:二叠纪末,右江盆地水体相当深,为半深海-深海环境,水温较凉,适合于凉水分子生存;右江盆地和扬子西缘的古特提斯洋连通,是古特提斯洋伸向华南盆地的边缘盆地。      

Isolation of novel psychrophilic bacteria from Arctic sea ice

The phylogenetic diversity of cuhurable psychrophilic bacteria associated with sea ice from the high latitude regions of Canadian Basin and Chukchi Sea, Arctic, was investigated. A total of 34 psychropilic strains were isolated using three methods of （ Ⅰ ） dilution plating （ at 4 ℃ ）, （ Ⅱ ） bath culturing （ at - 1 ℃ ） and dilution plating, and （ Ⅲ） cold shock （ -20 ℃ for 24 h）, bath culturing and dilution plating under aerobic conditions. Sea-ice samples were exposed to -20 ℃ for 24 h that might reduce the number of common microorganisms and encourage outgrowth of psyehrophilic strains. This process might be able to be introduced to isolation psychrophilic bacteria from other environmental samples in future study. 16S rDNA nearly full-length sequence analysis revealed that psychrophilic strains felled in two phylo- genetic divisions, γ-proteobacteria （in the genera ColweUia,Marinobaeter、Shewanella,Glaciecola,Marinomortas and Pseudoalteromortas ） and Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Baeteroides （ Flavobacterlum and Psyehroflexus）. Fifteen of bacterial isolates quite likely represented novel species （16S rDNA sequence similarity below 98% ）. One of strains （BSi20002） from Canadian Basin showed 100% sequence similarity to that of Marinobacter sp. ANT8277 isolated from the Antarctic Weddell sea ice, suggesting bacteria may have a bipolar distribution at the species level.     

Floristics and soil characteristics of Ohud mountain,AlMadinah AlMunawarah,Western Saudi Arabia

Ohud mountain is one of the main important historic sites in the Arab Peninsula, and it is distinguishable over the rest of the mountains in the region. No extensive floristic survey has been carried out on Ohud mountain because of the rugged topography of this mountain. The current study investigates the floristic diversity and the correspondence of environmental factors of the phytogeographical distribution of plants, based on the floristic analysis of the present region. The research question is about the relationships between the species diversity and the human impacts of populated area at lowlands around Ohud mountain. A total of 59 species belonging to 56 genera and 28 families were recorded. Asteraceae had the highest contribution, about 12% of the total plant species. The analysis of the life forms demonstrated the prevalence of therophytes(68%) followed by chamaephytes(24%), indicating the adaptation of these life forms to hyperarid conditions. The chorological analysis indicated the predominance of the bi-regional taxa over the other phytochoria. Most of the recorded plant species belong to Saharo-Arabian and Sudano-Zambezian(24%) phytochoria. TWINSPAN analysis was performed to detect the indicator species of different vegetation groups and confirmed by detrended correspondence analysis(DCA or DECORANA). It is concluded that species richness and diversity revealed clear variation along the mountain and among the studied sites. Plant species diversity and richness were more pronounced in the intermediate portion of the elevation gradients across the mountain, with a decrease in the high altitudinal belts. The decrease was also recorded at the lower altitudes, where human impacts clearly affected vegetation; leading to a decrease in alpha diversity. In addition, the beta diversity among moderately highlands and lowlands was considerably high indicating the heterogeneous species composition among the studied sites along mountain elevations. The general pattern of vegetation groups distribution is controlled by a number of environmental factors; such as latitude, longitude, elevation, organic matter and some anions and cations. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis(CCA) ordination revealed that the vegetation structure has a strong association with the latitude of the mountain followed by organic matter and Magnesium. It is recommended that the populated area should be subjected to restoration of mountain ecosystem that might be degraded by human activities.     

Biogeographic characteristics of Zhesi brachiopod fauna and reconstruction of tectonopaleogeography of Jiamusi-Mongolia Block

The Kungurian-Capitanian ( Permian) Zhesi branchiopod fauna is mainly composed of cold-water typed taxa with high diversity and abundance. This fauna is similar with the coeval brachiopod faunas from Timan-Pechora,Svalbard,and Queen Elizabeth Islands of the Boreal Realm,with no real"warm-water"species. Zhesi brachiopod fauna is a cold-water fauna and should be assigned to the Boreal Realm. Considering the paleogeographic characteristics of this fauna and the basic rationale of paleobiogeographic provinces being controlled by latitude-temperate,and that the above areas were located at 50°N 70°N in the global paleoclimate reconstruction map compiled by Boucot et al. ,the paleo-latitude of the southern margin of Jiamusi-Mongolia Block,where developed the Zhesi brachiopod fauna,is suggested ranging from 40°N to 60°N. Zhesi brachiopod fauna is an endemic fauna,containing more than 75% endemic species and self-grouped as a biogeographic province,termed Inner Mongolia Province. These characteristics indicate that this area was closed or semiclosed at that time. On the Jiamusi-Mongolia Block,the Herlen-Jiamusi Old-land as an obvious "continental barrier"hindered the northward migration of the Zhesi brachiopod fauna and the immigration of brachiopod species from other areas. The Tarim plate has collided with the Kazakhstan plate and the western part of South Tianshan-Beishan-Xar Moron Ocean has been closed. At the same time,the western margin of Jiamusi-Mongolia Block was joined with the Tarim plate. The Xar Moron Ocean in south of Jiamusi-Mongolia Block was wide enough and the ocean temperature rose gradually southward,so that it is not suitable for the cold-water brachiopods to survive and thrive on the northern margin of the North China plate. Thus,the ocean with large width and high temperature formed another natural barrier for the southward migration of the cold-water brachiopods.     

Fossil biotas from Pakistan with focus on dinosaur distributions and discussion on paleobiogeographic evolution of Indo-Pak Peninsula

Recent geological and paleontological exploration in the Indus basin of Pakistan allowed the discover-ies of numerous remains of non-marine reptiles (titanosaurian sauropod,abelisaurian and noasaurian theropod dinosaurs),and marine reptiles (crocodiles),flying reptiles (pterosaurs),marine and non-marine mammals, fishes,invertebrates,and plants,especially Pakistan is relatively rich in footprints/trackways in the Mesozoic. These vertebrates of Indo-Pakistan are very significant for paleobiogeographic study due to the present-day con-nection of this continent with Asia in Northern Hemisphere,whereas during past (Jurassic and pre-Jurassic)it was connected to the Gondwana.The Mesozoic vertebrates show close affinities with Gondwanan landmasses. The Cenozoic vertebrates show Eurasian affinity and migrated from Indo-Pak subcontinent to Eurasia or vice ver-sa via Paleo Indus River systems along Western Indus Suture,after long journey of about 6 000 km the first col-lision of Indo-Pak subcontinent with Asia occurred at terminal Cretaceous.     

Isolation and characterization of bioactive fungi from shark Carcharodon carcharias' gill with biopharmaceutical prospects

Until recently,little was known about the fungi found in shark gills and their biomedicinal potential. In this article,we described the isolation,bioactivity,diversity,and secondary metabolites of bioactive fungi from the gill of a shark(Carcharodon carcharias). A total of 115 isolates were obtained and grown in 12 culture media. Fifty-eight of these isolates demonstrated significant activity in four antimicrobial,pesticidal,and cytotoxic bioassay models. Four randomly selected bioactive isolates inhibited human cancer cell proliferation during re-screening. These active isolates were segregated into 6 genera using the internal transcribed spacer-large subunit(ITS-LSU) rDNA-sequence BLAST comparison. Four genera,Penicillium,Aspergillus,Mucor,and Chaetomium were the dominant taxa. A phylogenic tree illustrated their intergenera and intragenera genetic diversity. HPLC-DAD-HRMS analysis and subsequent database searching revealed that nine representative strains produced diverse bioactive compound profiles. These results detail the broad range of bioactive fungi found in a shark's gills,revealing their biopharmaceutical potential. To the best of our knowledge,this is the first study characterizing shark gill fungi and their bioactivity.     

Middle and Late Permian palynoflora in Tianshan Township,southeast of Bogda Mountain,Xinjiang, China

The Permian is one of the most important periods during which the vegetative earth witnessed the transition from icehouse to greenhouse climate and the global environment changes. Organisms on the planet en-countered great challenge and the demise of swamp caused the extinction of arborescent lycopods and the rising of Mesophytic plants accomplished the floral transition from the Paleophytic to Mesophytic vegetation. In order to depict the climatic changes and floral succession in the middle and high latitudes of the North Hemisphere, palynological investigation was engaged, and 40 samples collected from the uppermost of Taerlang Formation, Hongyanchi Formation and Quanzijie Formation in the Tianshan Town, Turpan-Hami Basin, eastern Xinjiang, China. The result shows that the palynoflora in the studied area is composed of 50 species of 33 genera, domi-nated by disaccites and striatiti gymnosperm pollen, and characterized by diverse Protohaploxypinus, Hamia-pollenites, Alisporites and Klausipollenites. It is quite similar to those Middle and Late Permian palynological as-semblages reported in the Dalongkou section and other localities in southern margin of Junggar Basin, and aged at Middle and Late Permian. The diversity of typical Angara and sub-Angara pollen, such as Falcisporites, Alisporites, Protohaploxypinus, Vittatina, Lunatisporites, Hamiapollenites, etc. indicates that the studied palyno-flora belonged to the sub-Angara phytoprovince, while the presence of Lueckisporites virkkiae implied Euramerica pollen intruded northward sometimes. The paleoclimate of the studied area might be warm and humid with fluc-tuated dry seasons during the late Guadalupian and early Lopingian time.     

Contribution of Mass Elevation Effect to the Altitudinal Distribution of Global Treelines

Alpine treeline, as a prominent ecological boundary between forested mountain slopes and alpine meadow/shrub, is highly complex in altitudinal distribution and sensitive to warming climate. Great efforts have been made to explore their distribution patterns and ecological mechanisms that determine these patterns for more than 100 years, and quite a number of geographical and ecophysiological models have been developed to correlate treeline altitude with latitude or a latitude related temperature. However,on a global scale, all of these models have great difficulties to accurately predict treeline elevation due to the extreme diversity of treeline site conditions.One of the major reasons is that "mass elevation effect"(MEE) has not been quantified globally and related with global treeline elevations although it has been observed and its effect on treeline elevations in the Eurasian continent and Northern Hemisphere recognized. In this study, we collected and compiled a total of 594 treeline sites all over the world from literatures, and explored how MEE affects globaltreeline elevation by developing a ternary linear regression model with intra-mountain base elevation(IMBE, as a proxy of MEE), latitude and continentality as independent variables. The results indicated that IMBE, latitude and continentality together could explain 92% of global treeline elevation variability, and that IMBE contributes the most(52.2%), latitude the second(40%) and continentality the least(7.8%) to the altitudinal distribution of global treelines. In the Northern Hemisphere, the three factors’ contributions amount to 50.4%, 45.9% and 3.7% respectively; in the south hemisphere, their contributions are 38.3%, 53%, and 8.7%, respectively. This indicates that MEE, virtually the heating effect of macro-landforms, is actually the most significant factor for the altitudinal distribution of treelines across the globe, and that latitude is relatively more significant for treeline elevation in the Southern Hemisphere probably due to fewer macro-landforms there.     

Spatio-temporal variability of periphytic protozoa related to environment in the Niyang River,Tibet, China

The Niyang River, a main tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, is an important and typical plateau river ecosystem in Tibet, China. At present, few studies have focused on its aquatic living resources and river ecology. In this study, the composition, abundance, and diversity of periphytic protozoa were investigated across four seasons from 2008 to 2009 to better understand their spatio-temporal patterns and relationship to the environment. Our investigation shows that periphytic protozoa in the Niyang River contained 15 genera, belonged to Tubulinea, Alveolata, Discosea and Rhizaria, Alveolata possessed most genera, up to nine, with highest share in abundance, exceeding 50%, Difflugia and Glaucoma were dominant genera. Moreover, four diversity indices of periphytic protozoa, including species richness, total abundance, Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou's evenness index, displayed a significant descending trend as the seasons continued, in the order of winter, spring, summer and autumn; with a significant difference existing between winter and summer(or autumn) for Shannon-Wiener diversity index and species richness( P 0.05). Four of these diversity indices also presented a V-shaped pattern between the upper middle course of the Niyang River and the confluence of the Niyang River and Yarlung Zangbo River, with the lowest value occurred in the middle course of the Niyang River. However, no significant variation was found through the Niyang River( P 0.05). In addition, canonical correlation analysis(CCA) shows that the densities of Difflugia, Glaucoma is, Enchelydium, Cyphoderia, and Enchelys correlate with water temperature, alkalinity, hardness, pH, and dissolved oxygen, respectively. Lastly, the relationship between periphytic protozoa diversity and the environmental factors of the Niyang River can be predicted using classification and regression trees(CART) annalysis, which suggests that the total abundance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index would be higher when the elevation is above 3 308 m. On the other hand, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou's evenness index would be lower when pH and ammoniacal nitrogen have lower or higher values. Finally yet importantly, close attention should be paid to periphytic protozoa and its environment to ensure sustainable development of the Niyang River ecosystem.     

Spatio-seasonal patterns of fish diversity,Haizhou Bay,China

Spatial-seasonal patterns in fish diversity in Haizhou Bay were studied based on stratified random surveys conducted in 2011.Principal component analysis was conducted to distinguish different diversity components,and the relationships among 11 diversity indices were explored.Generalized additive models were constructed to examine the environmental effects on diversity indices.Eleven diversity indices were grouped into four components:(1) species numbers and richness,(2) heterogeneous indices,(3) evenness,and(4) taxonomic relatedness.The results show that diversity indices among different components are complementary.Spatial patterns show that fish diversity was higher in coastal areas,which was affected by complex bottom topography and spatial variations of water mass and currents.Seasonal trends could be best explained by the seasonal migration of dominant fish species.Fish diversity generally declined with increasing depth except for taxonomic distinctness,which increased with latitude.In addition,bottom temperature had a significant effect on diversity index of richness.These results indicate that substrate complexity and environmental gradients had important influences on fish diversity patterns,and these factors should be considered in fishery resource management and conservation.Furthermore,diversity in two functional groups(demersal/pelagic fishes) was influenced by different environmental factors.Therefore,the distribution of individual species or new indicators in diversity should be applied to examine spatio-seasonal variations in fish diversity.     

Isolation and characterization of bioactive fungi from shark <Emphasis Type="Italic">Carcharodon carcharias</Emphasis>’ gill with biopharmaceutical prospects

Until recently, little was known about the fungi found in shark gills and their biomedicinal potential. In this article, we described the isolation, bioactivity, diversity, and secondary metabolites of bioactive fungi from the gill of a shark (Carcharodon carcharias). A total of 115 isolates were obtained and grown in 12 culture media. Fifty-eight of these isolates demonstrated significant activity in four antimicrobial, pesticidal, and cytotoxic bioassay models. Four randomly selected bioactive isolates inhibited human cancer cell proliferation during re-screening. These active isolates were segregated into 6 genera using the internal transcribed spacer-large subunit (ITS-LSU) rDNA-sequence BLAST comparison. Four genera, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Mucor, and Chaetomium were the dominant taxa. A phylogenic tree illustrated their intergenera and intragenera genetic diversity. HPLC-DAD-HRMS analysis and subsequent database searching revealed that nine representative strains produced diverse bioactive compound profiles. These results detail the broad range of bioactive fungi found in a shark’s gills, revealing their biopharmaceutical potential. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study characterizing shark gill fungi and their bioactivity.     

Changes in Tintinnid Assemblages from Subantarctic Zone to Antarctic Zone Along Transect in Amundsen Sea (West Antarctica) in Early Austral Autumn

Tintinnid ciliates are important pelagic microplankton.Most studies previously conducted in the Amundsen Sea have covered a relatively small latitude range and provided minimal information about tintinnid species composition and distribution.The present study was conducted to investigate tintinnid assemblages from the Antarctic zone(AZ)northward through the polar front(PF)to the subantarctic zone(SAZ).A total of 17 tintinnid species belonging to seven genera were collected,and 16 were identified.Results show that nine of the species are endemic to the Southern Ocean and they mainly inhabit the AZ near Antarctic continent with an abundant proportion exceeding 60%of total tintinnid.According to the tintinnid abundance distribution,the species were divided into four groups:Group I includes Acanthostomella norvegica,Codonellopsis glacialis,C.pusilla and Cymatocylis antarctica and mainly occurs in the northern boundary of the PF;Group II includes Cymatocylis convallaria forma calyciformis,an unidentified species,and Amphorellopsis quinquealata and mainly inhabits the PF;Group III includes Salpingella costata,Cymatocylis vanhoeffeni,C.convallaria forma cristallina,C.convallaria forma drygalskii,C.convallaria,Codonellopsis gaussi,and Laackmanniella naviculaefera and mainly occurs in the AZ near the Antarctic continent;and Group IV,which comprises Salpingella sp.and inhabits all zones.The new species of tintinnid(belonging to Group II)primarily inhabit the AZ but also are distributed in the PF,and they have large lorica-oral-diameter(LOD).The distribution ranges of tintinnid assemblages from the AZ to PF were determined,in addition to the different assemblages mixed in the PF.The information provided in this study increases our understanding of tintinnid assemblages from the Antarctic continent in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Antarctic waters.     

Molecular Grouping of Grateloupia Tissues Collected Along Chinese Coast and Microsatellite Diversity Analysis of G. asiatica

Genus Grateloupia is one of the most speciose genera in family Halymeniales. It is also one of the sources for natural materials, food and medicine. With different environments, Grateloupia change their morphological characteristics, making their morphological identification very difficult. In addition, few of the species diversity in this genus has been described before. In this study, phylogenetic analysis based on rbc L gene sequence was employed to group Grateloupia collected from three locations along Chinese coast. The microsatellites were also used to evaluate their genetic diversity. In total, the tissue parts of 6 putative species were collected from G. asiatica, G. livida, G. lanceolate, G. catenata, G. turuturu and G. filicina. In order to evaluate their genetic diversity and then conserve them better, 40 microsatellites available for Grateloupia were used to evaluate their genetic diversity, and 11 microsatellites were found to be applicable to determine the genetic diversity of G. asiatica. It was found that the genetic diversity of G. asiatica around Qingdao was very rich. We suggested that the species of genus Grateloupia should be identified based on rbc L phylogenetic analysis before the diversity evaluation with microsatellites. The microsatellites should be developed for each species of Grateloupia so that their genetic diversity can be evaluated appropriately.     

Brachiopods from China seas

A collection of brachiopods by the Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica (Qingdao), contains eight species from seven genera. Six of the species have been recorded previously from China seas—Lingula adamsi, L. anatina, Discinisca stella, Pelagodiscus atlanticus, Campages mariae, Terebratalia coreanica. Two species (Terebratulina hataiana andFrenulina sanguinolenta) have been described from other parts of the Pacific area. The apparent absence of any endemic species is a noteworthy feature of Chinese in comparison with Japanese faunas.     

New material of Cordaites baodeensis Sun from Lower Permian Shanxi Formation of Baode , Shanx i

Based on the anatomical study of leaf cuticles of Cordaites from the Lower Permian Shanxi Formation in Baode of Shanxi, the author analysed the epidermal characters of Cordaites in this area. On the base of the abundant compressions and laboratory studies, the author complemented some new data of the cuticular characters of the species Cordaites baodeensis Sun for its study of taxonomy. Meanwhile, the author newly discovered a number of sporopollen fossils associated with the mega-plants of Cordaitales, described 9 species of 6 genera. The palynological data can provide a supp lement evidence for defining the age of C. baodeensis and its associated plants to be Early Permian.     

New insights into marine hydrocarbon geological conditions in the South Yellow Sea Basin: evidence from borehole CSDP-2

The South Yellow Sea Basin(SYSB) has multiple sets of proven source rocks and good hydrocarbon prospects,but no industrial oil and gas has been explored at present.To solve this puzzle for petroleum geologists,we systematically investigated the marine hydrocarbon geological conditions based on cores and testing data from borehole CSDP-2,the first exploration well with continuous coring in SYSB.The qualities of source rocks are evaluated in detail according to organic matter abundance,type,and maturity.The reservoir characterization mainly includes porosity,permeability,and reservoir space.Displacement pressure test and stratum thickness are the main foundations for defining the caprocks.Then,the oil-source rock correlation in the Permian and stratum model are analyzed to determine the favorable source-reservoir-caprock assemblages.The results show that three sets of effective source rocks(the Lower Triassic,Upper Permian,and Lower Permian),two sets of tight sandstone re servoirs(the Upper Permian and Lower Silurian-Upper Devonian),and two sets of caprocks(the Lower Triassic and Carboniferous) combine to constitute the hydrocarbon reservoir-forming as se mblages of "lower-ge neration and upper-accumlation" and "self-generation and self-accumlation",thus laying a solid foundation for promising petroleum prospects.The three sets of marine source rocks are characterized by successive generation and expulsion stages,which guarantees multistage hydrocarbon accumulation.Another three sets of continental source rocks distributed across the Middle Jurassic,Upper Cretaceous,and Paleogene depression areas,especially in the Northern Depression,may supplement some hydrocarbons for the Central Uplift through faults and the Indosinian unconformity.The favorable Permian exploration strata have been identified in the Central Uplift of SYSB.First,the Lower Permian and Upper Permian source rocks with high organic matter abundance and high thermal maturity supply sufficient hydrocarbons.Secondly,the interbedding relationship between the source rocks and sandstones in the Upper Permian strata ensures that hydrocarbons have been migrated into the nearby Upper Permian sandstones,reflecting near-source hydrocarbon accumulation.Finally,the good sealing property of the Lower Triassic Qinglong Formation caprocks plays an indispensable role in hydrocarbon preservation of the Permian reservoirs.This conclusion is supported by direct oil shows,gas logging anomalous layers,and hydrocarbon-bearing fluid inclusions.     

海南省三亚海藻资源调查

通过对海南島三亚海藻的分布和种类进行深入调查,采集和整理了标本123号,计35属53种,并分析了三亚的气候和环境条件对海藻的生长与分布的关系,为三亚海藻的开发与利用提供了第一手资料。     

Impact factors identification of spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous plant diversity on five southern islands of Miaodao Archipelago in North China

Herbaceous plants are widely distributed on islands and where they exhibit spatial heterogeneity. Accurately identifying the impact factors that drive spatial heterogeneity can reveal typical island biodiversity patterns. Five southern islands in the Miaodao Archipelago, North China were studied herein. The spatial distribution of herbaceous plant diversity on these islands was analyzed, and the impact factors and their degree of impact on spatial heterogeneity were identified using CCA ordination and ANOVA. The results reveal 114 herbaceous plant species, belonging to 94 genera from 34 families in the 50 plots sampled. The total species numbers on different islands were significantly positively correlated with island area, and the average α diversity was correlated with human activities, while the β diversity among islands was more affected by island area than mutual distances. Spatial heterogeneity within islands indicated that the diversities were generally high in areas with higher altitude, slope, total nitrogen, total carbon, and canopy density, and lower moisture content, pH, total phosphorus, total potassium, and aspect. Among the environmental factors, pH, canopy density, total K, total P, moisture content, altitude, and slope had significant gross effects, but only canopy density exhibited a significant net effect. Terrain affected diversity by restricting plantation, plantation in turn influenced soil properties and the two together affected diversity. Therefore, plantation was ultimately the fundamental driving factor for spatial heterogeneity in herbaceous plant diversity on the five islands.     

Molecular diversity of Enteromorpha from the coast of Yantai: a dual-marker assessment

We collected nine Enteromorpha specimens from the coast of Yantai and evaluated their diversity based on analyses of their ITS （internal transcribed spacer） and 5S rDNA NTS （non-transcribed spacer） sequences. The ITS sequences showed slight nucleotide divergences between Enteromorpha linza and Enteromorpha prolifera. In contrast, multiple highly variable regions were found in the ITS region of Enteromorpha flexuosa. In general, there were more variable sites in the NTS region than in the ITS region in the three species. The variations in 5S rDNA NTS sequences indicated that the molecular diversity of Enteromorpha from the coast of Yantai is very high. However, a phylogenetic tree constructed using 5S rDNA NTS sequence data indicated that genetic differences were not directly related to geographical distribution.