Effects of differing coverage of moss‐dominated soil crusts on hydrological processes and implications for disturbance in the Mu Us Sandland,China

To study the effects of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on hydrological processes and their implications for disturbance in the Mu Us Sandland, the water infiltration, evaporation and soil moisture of high coverage (100% BSCs), middle coverage (40% BSCs) and low coverage (0% BSCs, bare sand) of moss‐dominated crusts were conducted in this study, respectively. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the main effects of moss‐dominated crusts in the Mu Us Sandland on the infiltration of rainwater were to reduce the infiltration depths and to retain the limited rainwater in shallow soil; (2) moss‐dominated crusts have no significant effects on daily evaporation when the volumetric water content at 4 cm depth in 100% BSCs (VWC4) was over 24.7%, on enhanced daily evaporation when the VWC4 ranged from 6.5% to 24.7% and on reduced daily evaporation when the VWC4 was less than 6.5%; and (3) decreasing the coverage of moss‐dominated crusts (from 100% to 40%) did not significantly change its effects on infiltration, evaporation and soil moisture. Our results demonstrated that for the growth and regeneration of shrubs, which were dominated by Artemisia ordosica in the Mu Us Sandland, high coverage of moss‐dominated crusts has negative effects on hydrological processes, and these negative effects could not be significantly reduced by decreasing the coverage of moss‐dominated crusts from 100% to 40%. Therefore, for the sustained and healthy development of shrub communities in the Mu Us Sandland, it is necessary to take appropriate measures for the well‐developed BSCs in the sites with high vegetation coverage in the rainy season. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative study of As,Cd, Cu,Cr, Mg,Mn, Ni,Pb and Zn concentrations between sediment and water from estuary and port

The contents of As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn have been determined in sediment and water samples from Valle de las Garzas estuary and Port Manzanillo (Colima, Mexico) using ICP-AES. The concentrations of these elements were used for a comparative study to determine the distribution of heavy metals and to evaluate which elements reflect natural or anthropogenic backgrounds. For this purpose, seven sampling points were selected: Four of them correspond to the lagoon, and three were situated in the port. Statistical analysis of the mineral content was assessed. Initially, data comparison was assessed by statistical tests for each variable. Principal component analysis was then applied considering the influence of all variables at the same time by obtaining the distribution of samples according to their scores in the principal component space. In this way, four studies were carried out: (1) study of sediments collected during the dry season; (2) study of sediments collected during the rainy season; (3) comparative study between sediments from rainy and dry season; and (4) study of water composition collected during rainy season. From the results of the performed analyses, it can be concluded that metals distribution pattern reflected natural and anthropogenic backgrounds (e.g., sediments from the lagoon, situated at the beginning of the rain channel, presented high contents of Zn and Cu, perhaps related to anthropogenic activities or the influence of igneous sediments).     

Soil and vegetation seasonal changes in the grazing Andean Mountain grasslands

Andean grasslands ecosystems are fragile environments with rigorous climatologic conditions and low and variable food for the grazing. The Apolobamba area is located in the Bolivian Andean Mountains. Its high grasslands provide a natural habitat for wild and domestic camelids such as vicuna（Vicugna vicugna） and alpaca（Lama pacos）. The botanical diversity plays an essential role in maintaining vital ecosystem functions. The objectives of this research were to determine the seasonal changes in soil properties, to study the vegetation changes during the wet and dry seasons and the influence of soil properties and camelid densities on the vegetation in the Apolobamba grasslands. Four zones with different vicuna populations were selected to be studied. The following soil parameters were determined： total organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable cations, pH and texture. The vegetation season changes were studied through botanical identification, above-ground biomass, plant cover and species richness. Results showed that some soil properties such as C/N ratio, CEC, silt and clay percentages kept stable against the seasonal changes. Generally, soil nutrients were relatively higher during the dry season in the surface and subsurface. The results did not point out the predominant vegetation growth during the wet season. The seasonal vegetation growth depended on each species. Thegood soil fertility corresponded to the highest plant cover. Soil fertility presented no influence on the above-ground biomass of the collected species. The negative influence of camelid grazing on soil properties could not be assessed. However, overgrazing could affect some plant species. Therefore, protection is needed in order to preserve the biodiversity in the Andean mountain grasslands.     

Effects of temperature and salinity on survival,growth and DNA methylation of juvenile Pacific abalone,Haliotis discus hannai Ino

Temperature and salinity are two of the most potent abiotic factors infl uencing marine mollusks.In this study,we investigated the individual and combined ef fects of temperature and salinity on the survival and growth of juvenile Pacifi c abalone,Haliotis discus hannai Ino,and also examined the DNA methylation alteration that may underpin the phenotypic variation of abalone exposed to dif ferent rearing conditions.The single-factor data showed that the suitable ranges of temperature and salinity were 16–28°C at a constant salinity of 32,and 24–40 at a constant temperature of 20°C,respectively.The two-factor data indicated that both survival and growth were signifi cantly af fected by temperature,salinity and their interaction.The optimal temperature-salinity combination for juveniles was 23–25°C and 30–36.To explore environment-induced DNA methylation alteration,the methylation-sensitive amplifi ed polymorphism(MSAP)technique was used to analyze the genomic methylation profi les of abalone reared in optimal and adverse conditions.Neither temperature nor salinity induced evident changes in the global methylation level,but 67 and 63 dif ferentially methylated loci were identifi ed in temperature and salinity treatments,respectively.The between-group eigen analysis also showed that both temperature and salinity could induce epigenetic dif ferentiation in H.discus hannai Ino.The results of our study provide optimal rearing conditions for juvenile H.discus hannai Ino,and represent the fi rst step toward revealing the epigenetic regulatory mechanism of abalone in response to thermal and salt stresses.     

A new lunar absolute control point: established by images from the landing camera on Chang'e-3

The establishment of a lunar control network is one of the core tasks in selenodesy, in which defining an absolute control point on the Moon is the most important step. However, up to now, the number of absolute control points has been very sparse. These absolute control points have mainly been lunar laser ranging retroreflectors, whose geographical location can be observed by observations on Earth and also identified in high resolution lunar satellite images. The Chang'e-3(CE-3) probe successfully landed on the Moon, and its geographical location has been monitored by an observing station on Earth. Since its positional accuracy is expected to reach the meter level, the CE-3 landing site can become a new high precision absolute control point. We use a sequence of images taken from the landing camera, as well as satellite images taken by CE-1 and CE-2, to identify the location of the CE-3 lander. With its geographical location known, the CE-3 landing site can be established as a new absolute control point, which will effectively expand the current area of the lunar absolute control network by 22%, and can greatly facilitate future research in the field of lunar surveying and mapping, as well as selenodesy.     

On the origin of the compact H ii regions around massive stellar clusters

The existence of compact H?ii regions around massive stellar clusters with ages exceeding several Myr challenges our understanding of the physical processes occurring inside such clusters, and their impact on the interstellar medium of the host galaxy. Here, we summarize our recent results dealing with the hydrodynamics of matter ejected by massive stars inside the cluster and show that compact H?ii regions found around some massive clusters may indicate that these are evolving in a bimodal hydrodynamic regime. The latter is characterized by the accumulation of the injected matter in the central, thermally unstable zone, and by the ejection of mass supplied by massive stars in the outer regions of the cluster.     

The search for hot spots associated with the Cygnus X-3 relativistic jet

We report and shortly discuss here the observational work carried out in order to test the possibility that two previously detected radio sources, in the vicinity of the well known microquasar Cygnus X-3, could be hot spot tracers of interaction between its relativistic jet and the interstellar medium (ISM). The motivation behind this search is in part justified considering recent theoretical models of high energy γ-ray emission which strongly rely on the interaction sites of galactic relativistic jets with nearby ISM clouds. The results presented in this paper include an improved radio exploration of the several arc-minute field around Cygnus X-3 using the Very Large Array (VLA), as well as deep near infrared (NIR) imaging with the Calar Alto 3.5 m telescope. We anticipate here that our observations do not appear to support the initial hot spot hypothesis. Instead, the resulting images suggest that the two radio sources, originally believed to be hot spot candidates, are most likely background or foreground objects.     

A systematic cross-search for radio/infrared counterparts of XMM-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Newton</Emphasis> sources

We present a catalog of cross-correlated radio, infrared and X-ray sources using a very restrictive selection criteria with an IDL-based code developed by us. The significance of the observed coincidences was evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations of synthetic sources following a well-tested protocol. We found 3320 coincident radio/X-ray sources with a high statistical significance characterized by the sum of error-weighted coordinate differences. For 997 of them, 2MASS counterparts were found. The percentage of chance coincidences is less than 1%. X-ray hardness ratios of well-known populations of objects were used to provide a crude representation of their X-ray spectrum and to make a preliminary diagnosis of the possible nature of unidentified X-ray sources. The results support the fact that the X-ray sky is largely dominated by Active Galactic Nuclei at high galactic latitudes (|b|≥10°). At low galactic latitudes (|b|≤10°) most of unidentified X-ray sources (∼94%) lie at |b|≤2°. This result suggests that most of the unidentified sources found toward the Milky Way plane are galactic objects. Well-known and unidentified sources were classified in different tables with their corresponding radio/infrared and X-ray properties. These tables are intended as a useful tool for researchers interested in particular identifications.     

加强目标观测,服务防灾减灾

以深入浅出的方式介绍了目标观测的定义、历史、确定目标观测敏感区的方法,以及实施目标观测与防灾减灾的关系;并以欧洲中期天气预报中心目标观测业务化为例,简明地概括了目标观测的实施过程;结合国内目标观测研究现状,对中国目标观测的未来提出了看法。     

Enhanced resistance of Portunus trituberculatus to Vibrio alginolyticus by selective breeding

We established a line (screened) of Portunus trituberculatus by selectively breeding individuals that survived from challenge with Vibrio alginolyticus, and compared the response of screened and unscreened (control) P. trituberculatus challenged with V. alginolyticus. We measured superoxide dismutase, catalase, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and peroxidase activity and the content of hemocyanin in the plasma and phenoloxidase activity in serum. The cumulative survival rate after 24-h challenge with V. alginolyticus was significantly higher in the screened crabs than in the unscreened crabs (P<0.05). T-SOD and PO activity were significantly lower in the screened stock than in the unscreened stock (P<0.05). POD, CAT, and ACP activity and hemocyanin content were significantly higher in the screened stock than in the unscreened stock. Our results suggest that the screened stock was more resistant to infection. Furthermore, the indices we measured may be used to evaluate the health state of P. trituberculatus.