Growth performance of larval and juvenile manila clam (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ruditapes philippinarum</Emphasis>) from divergently selected individuals of a full-sib family

In this study, the method of divergent selection was employed to test the larval and juvenile growth performance within a full-sib family of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum. The 10% largest and 10% smallest clam individuals (on the basis of shell length) of a full-sib family were selected as parents for the fast and slow growing lines, respectively. The difference in shell length was significant among the three lines (fast, control, and slow) tested. The sequence of shell length were fast line > control line > slow line. The responses to selection, realized heritability, and genetic gain were 0.06%–0.81%, 0.04%–0.47% and 0.58%–18.89% in the fast direction, respectively; and were 0.14%–1.27%, 0.08%–0.73%, and 0.31%–49.03% in the slow direction, respectively. The results suggested that there was a large portion of additive genetic variance affecting the growth in the full-sib family. Selection in the fast direction within the full-sib family would greatly improve the growth of R. philippinarum.     

Temporal and spatial variations in extreme temperatures in the Qilian Mountains-Hexi Corridor over the period 1960-2013

Based on daily maximum and minimum temperatures at 18 meteorological stations in the Qilian Mountains and Hexi Corridor between 1960 and 2013, temporal and spatial variations in extreme temperatures were analysed using linear trends, ten-point moving averages and the Mann-Kendall test. The results are as follows: The trends in the majority of the extreme temperature indices were statistically significant, and the changes in the extreme temperatures were more obvious than the changes in the extreme values. The trends were different for each season, and the changes in rates and intensities in summer and autumn were larger than those in spring and winter. Unlike the cold indices, the magnitudes and trends of the changes in the warm indices were larger and more significant in the Hexi Corridor than in the Qilian Mountains. Abrupt changes were detected in the majority of the extreme temperature indices, and the extreme cold indices usually occurred earlier than the changes in the extreme warm indices. The abrupt changes in the extreme temperatures in winter were the earliest among the four seasons, indicating that these temperature changes were the most sensitive to global climate change. The timing of the abrupt changes in certain indices was consistent throughout the study area, but the changes in the cold indices in the Hexi Corridor occurred approximately four years before those in the Qilian Mountains. Similarly, the changes in the warm indices in the western Hexi Corridor preceded those of the other regions.     

Loss of preferred habitat and pollen limitation threatens reproduction in a rare mountain <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paeonia delavayi</Emphasis>

Paeonia delavayi is a wild tree peony species endemic to high-altitude regions in southwestern China. Recent agricultural land expansion, however, not only causes its dwindling population size, but also poses a severe threat to its long-term persistence. Since our knowledge of the reproductive biology of P. delavayi is very limited, and some management misconceptions have further exacerbated the already worrisome situation, the aim of the present study is to provide some scientific evidence regarding habitat preference and breeding system of P. delavayi, and to help correct some management misconceptions. Specifically, morphological traits of P. delavayi populations growing in two different habitats (i.e., the open area versus forest understory), including basal stem diameter, plant height and flower numbers per plant, were measured and compared with each other. A range of floral manipulation experiments was further conducted to study the extent of self-compatibility and pollen limitation. The results showed that P. delavayi preferred the open habitat over forest understory as it generally grew bigger with thicker stems, and produced a higher number of flowers in the former habitat. Therefore, the open habitat should receive immediate priority for conservation action instead of being converted to agricultural land; also, P. delavayi is pollen limited, as evidenced by the fact that experimental flowers receiving supplemental non-self pollen generally displayed elevated seed production than flowers subjected to other treatments (e.g., non-supplemental self pollen, non-supplemental non-self pollen and supplemental self pollen), which is consistent with reported observations that alpine plants are more likely to be pollen-limited than lowland plants. We suggest that human intervention might be necessary to guarantee the long-term persistence of P. delavayi as harsh alpine environment, intense competition for pollinators and different anthropogenic perturbations co-limit its reproductive success.     

An estimation of internal soliton forces on a pile in the ocean

Internal soliton forces on oil-platform piles in the ocean are estimated with the Morison Formula. Different from sur- face wave forces, which change only in magnitude along a pile, internal soliton forces can be distributed over the entire pile in the water and they change not only in magnitude but also in direction with depth. Our calculations show that the maximum total force caused by a soliton with its associated current of 2.1 m s-1 is nearly equal to the maximum total force exerted by a surface wave with a wavelength of 300 m and a wave-height of 18 m. The total internal soliton force is large enough to affect the operations of marine oil platforms and other facilities. Therefore, the influence of internal solitons should not be neglected in the design of oil platforms.     

Current and thermohaline characteristics of the Arabian Sea during January 1998

Based on a ship survey during January 1998, the characteristics of the flow, the thermohaline properties and the volume transport of the Arabian Sea are discussed. A strong westward flow exists between 10.5?N and 11?N, part of which turns to the south as the Somali current near the coast at about 10?N and the rest turns north. At the passage between the African continent and the So- cotra Island, the northern branch separates into two flows: the left one enters the passage and the right one flows eastward along the southern slope of the island. Off the island the flow separates once more, most of it meandering northeast and a small fraction flow- ing southeast. Volume transport calculation suggests that the tidal transport is one or two orders of magnitude smaller than the total transport in this region and it becomes more important near the coast. The average velocity of the flow in the upper layer (0-150 m) is about 20 cm s-1, with a maximum of 53 cm s-1 appearing east of the Socotra Island, and the subsurface layer (200-800 m) has an aver- age velocity of 8.6 cm s-1; the velocity becomes smaller at greater depths. The depth of the seasonal thermocline is about 100 m, above which there is a layer with well mixed temperature and dissolved oxygen. High-salinity and oxygen-rich water appears near the surface of the northern Arabian Sea; a salinity maximum and oxygen minimum at 100 m depth along 8?N testifies the subduction of surface water from the northern Arabian Sea. Waters from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf also influence the salinity of the area.     

Spatial Autocorrelation and Localization of Urban Development

A nonlinear analysis of urban evolution is made by using of spatial autocorrelation theory. A first-order nonlinear autoregression model based on Clark’s negative exponential model is proposed to show urban population density. The new method and model are applied to Hangzhou City, China, as an example. The average distance of population activities, the auto-correlation coefficient of urban population density, and the auto-regressive function values all show trends of gradual increase from 1964 to 2000, but there always is a sharp first-order cutoff in the partial auto- correlations. These results indicate that urban development is a process of localization. The discovery of urban locality is significant to improve the cellular-automata-based urban simulation of modeling spatial complexity.     

Macroalgae in a spring stream in Shanxi Province： composition and relation to physical and chemical variables

Fourteen stream segments were investigated throughout the Xin’an Spring in Shanxi Province, China in 2004. The variation ranges in stream size, current velocity, discharge, dissolved oxygen, and specific conductance were large. Twenty-two macroalgae species were found in the stream. Major divisions in terms of species numbers were Chlorophyta (59.1%), Cyanophyta (22.8%), Xanthophyta (9.1%), Rhodophyta (4.5%) and Charophyta (4.5%). The most widespread species, Cladophora rivularis (50.0%), also Oedogonium sp. (42.9%) and Spirogyra sp. (42.9%) were well represented throughout the stream, whereas another 10 species were found in only one sampling site. Total percentage cover varied from <1% to 90%. Red algae Batrachospermum acuatum and the charophytes Chara vulgaris have the highest percentage cover. Among the parameters analyzed, the stream width, specific conductance and dissolved oxygen were the ones that more closely related to the species number and percentage cover of macroalgal communities. The species number of each site was negatively correlated with dissolved oxygen content. The total percentage cover of the macroalgae was negatively correlated with the stream width and the specific conductance.     

Application of quantitative PCR method in detection of Lymphocystis disease virus China （LCDV-cn） in Japanese flounder （Paralichthys olivaceus）

Lymphocystis disease causes serious economic losses in the fish farming industry. The causative agent of the disease is Lymphocystis disease virus China (LCDV-cn), which has a wide range of hosts. Based on competitive quantitative PCR technology, we established a method to quantify the LCDV-cn in tissue. Results demonstrate that the average amount of LCDV-cn in the peripheral blood of infected flounder with evident tumors is about 106virions/ml while the average amount in those flounder with no evident tumor but cultured with the flounder with evident tumor is about 104virions/ml. No virus was found in the negative samples of flounder.     

Transformation of Carbon and Nitrogen by Earthworms in the Decomposition Processes of Broad-leaved Litters

Earthworms are the important constituents in the decayed food web and the main ecological conditioners in the process of decomposition and nutrient mineralization. The transformation of organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) in the broad-leaved litters ingested by earthworms was researched by means of a laboratory experiment. Experimental samples were collected from broad-leaved Korea Pine mixed forest in Liangshui National Natural Reserve (47°10′50″N, 128°53′20″E) in the northeastern Xiao Hinggan Mountains of Northeast China. The contents of organic C and total N in earthworms, leaf litters and earthworm faeces were analyzed. Results show that the organic C content was in the fol- lowing order: leaf litters>faeces>earthworms, while total N content was contrary to that of the organic C. The organic C contents in the different leaf litters were in the following order: Tilia amurensis>Betula costata>Acer mono, whereas the total N contents in the different leaf litters were: Betula costata>Tilia amurensis>Acer mono. The contents of organic C and total N in the faeces from the different leaf litters were almost consistent with the contents of the leaf litters. After the leaf litters were ingested by earthworms, the organic C, which was transformed to increase earthworms' weights, ac- counted for 3.90%-13.31% of the total ingestion by earthworms, while that in the earthworm faeces accounted for 6.14%-13.70%. The transformed organic C through the other metabolism (e.g., respiration) of earthworms accounted for 75.04%-89.92%. The ingested organic C by earthworms was mostly used for metabolic activities. The N ingested by earthworms was less than organic C. It is estimated that 37.08% of total N was transformed to increase the earthworm's weight, 19.97% into earthworm faeces and 47.86% for the consumption of the earthworm's activities. The earthworms not only increased the content of organic C and total N in the soil, but also decreased the values of C/N in the soil and leaf litters. Earthworms play a major role in the leaf litters' decomposition and transformation.     

EVIDENCE FOR ABRUPT CLIMATIC CHANGES ONNORTHWESTERN MARGIN OF EAST ASIAN MONSOON REGION DURING LAST DEGLACIATION

Based on investigations of the Zhongwei Nanshan aeolian section situated in the southeastern margin of Tengger Dcsert, carbon-14 and TL (thermoluminescence) dating results and paleoclimatic proxies such as magnetic susceptibility and grain size, we inferred that the northwestern margin of East Asian monsoon region experienced abrupt climatic changes during the last deglaciation. Six oscillation events were identified: Oldest Dryas, Belling, Older Dryas, AllerФd, lntra-AllerФd Cold Period (1ACP) and Younger Dryas (YD). The summer monsoon was weaker during Oldest Dryas and Younger Dryas when the winter monsoon was stronger. However, during the B/A (BФlling/AllerФd) period, the summer monsoon strengthened, reflected by magnetic susceptibility, when the winter monsoon also became strong, which is different from the paleoclimatic pattern established in the East Asian monsoon region. Furthermore,the summer monsoon was nearly in phase with the climate changes inferred from the oxygen isotopic records of Greenland ice cores. It could be speculated that the variations of the sea ice cover in the high latitudes of the North Hemisphere affected the high pressure of Asian continent and the changes of the winter monsoon inland. On the other hand,the sea ice cover variations might have indirectly caused the occurrence of ENSO events that has tightly been related to the summer monsoon in northwest margin of East Asian monsoon region.