Morphological and molecular diagnoses of Polydora brevipalpa Zachs,1933(Annelida: Spionidae) from the shellfish along the coast of China

Shell-boring species Polydora brevipalpa Zachs, 1933 is redescribed based on morphological observations and molecular approach for future unambiguous identification. Genetic distance analyses showed that the interspecific polydorid variation(16.7%–25.6%) was at least 15 times higher than the intraspecific one(0.2%–0.9%) based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(CO1) gene sequences of polydorids. However, 18 S rDNA variation pattern demonstrated a rather narrow barcoding gap, with the interspecific polydorid variation(0.5%–5.6%) being very close to the intraspecific one(0.0%–0.4%). As such, the CO1 gene exhibited better DNA barcode for identification of polydorids than the 18 S rDNA gene because of the su ciently large barcoding gaps. Analysis of molecular variance results based on CO1 gene sequences showed that most variations in sequences(97.79%) lay within groups of adult worms and egg capsules rather than between them. This indicated that egg capsules from Crassostrea gigas(Thunberg,1793) in Ningbo and Nantong were related to the adult worms from Patinopecten yessoensis(Jay, 1857) in Dalian, and both of them belonged to P. brevipalpa. This result was further supported by parsimony network analysis, which showed that egg capsules collected from dif ferent localities and adult worms shared a single haplotype. This study was the first to report both P. brevipalpa infestation on C. gigas and to utilise the known CO1 sequences of the adult polydorids to validate morphologically unidentified egg capsules or early larvae. P. brevipalpa was most possibly brought to Chinese waters through transportation of Pa. yessoensis brood stock from Japan.     

Growth inhibition and oxidative stress in two species of marine diatoms exposed to 1-phenylethanol

1-phenylethanol(1-PEA)is a flavor extensively used in the production of co smetics,beverages,and food.The release of 1-PEA into coastal environments has aroused great concern.However,its potential effects on marine organisms are still unknown.In order to provide a better understanding of the ecological risks of 1-PEA in marine environments,this study determined the toxic effects of 1-PEA on two marine diatoms(Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Skeletonema costatum).The diatoms were grown in culture medium containing different concentrations of 1-PEA for 96 h.The contents of chlorophyll a,chlorophyll c,glutathione(GSH),malondialdehyde(MDA),and the activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT)and glutathione peroxidase(GPx),were measured at the end of the exposure period.1-PEA was shown to significantly inhibit the growth of diatoms,with 96-h EC_(50) values of 257.14 mg/L and 126.46 mg/L in P.tricornutum and S.costatum,respectively.In P.tricornutum,the levels of SOD,CAT,GPx,GSH,and MDA were stimulated only when 1-PEA concentrations were close to or greater than the 96-h EC_(50)value.However,in S.costatum,the activities of SOD and CAT,and the syntheses of two chlorophylls were inhibited even at an exposure concentration below the 96-h EC_(50) value.Taken together,these findings indicate a potential ecological risk by discharging 1-PEA into coastal areas and its species-specific toxic effects on marine organisms.     

Fish Assemblage Responses to a Low-head Dam Removal in the Lancang River

Dam removal is becoming an effective approach for aquatic biodiversity restoration in damming river in order to balance the aquatic ecosystem conservation with large-scale cascade damming. However, the effects of dam removal on fish communities in Asian mountainous rivers, which are dominated by Cypriniformes fishes, are still not well known. To determine whether dam removal on a mountainous river benefit restoration of fish diversity, we investigated the response of fish assemblage to dam removal using a before-after-control-impact design in two tributaries of the Lancang River(dam removal river: the Jidu River, and control river: the Fengdian River). Fish surveys were conducted one year prior to dam removal(2012) and three years(2013–2015) following dam removal. We observed rapidly and notably spatio-temporal changes in fish biodiversity metrics and assemblage structure, occurring in the Jidu River within the first year after dam removal. Overall, fish species richness, density and Shannon-Wiener diversity all increased immediately in above-and below-dam sites, and maintained a stable level in subsequent years, compared to unchanged situation in the control river. All sites in the Jidu River experienced shifts in fish composition after dam removal, with the greatest temporal changes occurred in sites below-and above-the former dam, resulting in a temporal homogenization tendency in the dam removed river. These findings suggest that dam removal can benefit the recovery of habitat conditions and fish community in Asian mountainous rivers, but the results should be further evaluated when apply to other dammed rivers since the dam age, fluvial geomorphology and situation of source populations could all affect the responses of fish assemblages.     

Examining the Relationship Between Spatial Configurations of Urban Impervious Surfaces and Land Surface Temperature

The urban heat island(UHI) effect has significant effects on the quality of life and public health. Numerous studies have addressed the relationship between UHI and the increase in urban impervious surface area(ISA), but few of them have considered the impact of the spatial configuration of ISA on UHI. Land surface temperature(LST) may be affected not only by urban land cover, but also by neighboring land cover. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of the abundance and spatial association of ISAs on LST. Taking Harbin City, China as an example, the impact of ISA spatial association on LST measurements was examined. The abundance of ISAs and the LST measurements were derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper(TM) imagery of 2000 and 2010, and the spatial association patterns of ISAs were calculated using the local Moran’s I index. The impacts of ISA abundance and spatial association on LST were examined using correlation analysis. The results suggested that LST has significant positive associations with both ISA abundance and the Moran’s I index of ISAs, indicating that both the abundance and spatial clustering of ISAs contribute to elevated values of LST. It was also found that LST is positively associated with clustering of high-ISA-percentage areas(i.e.,>50%) and negatively associated with clustering of low-ISA-percentage areas(i.e.,<25%). The results suggest that, in addition to the abundance of ISAs,their spatial association has a significant effect on UHIs.     

Examining the sensitivity of spatial scale in cellular automata Markov chain simulation of land use change

Understanding the spatial scale sensitivity of cellular automata is crucial for improving the accuracy of land use change simulation. We propose a framework based on a response surface method to comprehensively explore spatial scale sensitivity of the cellular automata Markov chain (CA-Markov) model, and present a hybrid evaluation model for expressing simulation accuracy that merges the strengths of the Kappa coefficient and of Contagion index. Three Landsat-Thematic Mapper remote sensing images of Wuhan in 1987, 1996, and 2005 were used to extract land use information. The results demonstrate that the spatial scale sensitivity of the CA-Markov model resulting from individual components and their combinations are both worthy of attention. The utility of our proposed hybrid evaluation model and response surface method to investigate the sensitivity has proven to be more accurate than the single Kappa coefficient method and more efficient than traditional methods. The findings also show that the CA-Markov model is more sensitive to neighborhood size than to cell size or neighborhood type considering individual component effects. Particularly, the bilateral and trilateral interactions between neighborhood and cell size result in a more remarkable scale effect than that of a single cell size.     

荒漠生态质量科学框架:概念、指标、监测及评估（英文）

荒漠生态系统是地球上最大的陆地生态系统,全球四分之一的人口生活在这一区域。清晰地定义荒漠生态系统生态质量,制定反映生态质量优劣的关键监测指标,集成"星–空–地"一体化监测技术、构建综合评价模型可为干旱区生态质量监测、促进区域可持续发展提供技术支撑。荒漠生态质量是指一定时空范围内荒漠生态系统要素、结构和功能的综合特征。该研究通过集成卫星、无人机和地面传感器网络的"星–空–地"一体化监测技术,在区域和站点两个尺度上对荒漠生态系统的生态要素、生物多样性和生态功能进行连续监测,通过标准化生态质量指标数值、厘定其阈值范围,构造判断矩阵建立生态质量综合评价模型,评价荒漠生态系统质量状况。本论文阐明了构建荒漠生态质量动态综合监测技术规范与评价方法的概念框架,为实现我国荒漠生态系统生态质量综合监测、科学诊断和定量评估提供理论基础。     

The Scientific Conceptual Framework for Ecological Quality of the Dryland Ecosystem: Concepts,Indicators, Monitoring and Assessment

The dryland ecosystem is the dominant component of the global terrestrial ecosystem since arid regions occupy 45% of the earth’s land area and feed 38% of the world's population. The stability and sustainable development of the dryland ecosystem are critical for achieving the millennium development goal (MDG) in the arid and semiarid areas. However, there is still no scientific guideline for measuring and conserving the health and productivity of dryland ecosystems. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop the scientific conceptual framework of defining, monitoring and evaluating the ecological quality of dryland ecosystems. The ecological quality of dryland ecosystems is represented by a system of comprehensive indicators that are each extracted from the ecological elements, and structural and functional indices of the ecosystem. These indicators can be monitored by integrating satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles with ground-based sensor networks at the scale of either observational sites or regional scales. Finally, the ecological quality can be evaluated by evaluation models based on the normalized index values and their thresholds. This paper presents a conceptual framework for monitoring and evaluating the ecological quality of drylands, which provides a way of advancing the monitoring, diagnosis, and evaluation of the ecological quality of the dryland ecosystems.     

Soil Respiration Dynamics and Influencing Factors in Typical Steppe of Inner Mongolia under Long-term Nitrogen Addition

We investigated soil respiration (Rs) dynamics and influencing factors under different nitrogen (N) addition levels (0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 g m^-2 yr^-1) on typical grassland plots in Inner Mongolia. We measured soil respiration, temperature, moisture and nutrients. We found that N addition did not change dynamic characteristics of Rs; daily and seasonal dynamics followed a single peak curve. N addition reduced Rs during the growing season. Rs under N2, N4, N8, N16 and N32 treatments decreased by 24.00%, 21.93%, 23.49%, 30.78% and 28.20% in the growing season, respectively, compared to the N0 treatment. However, Rs in the non-growing season was not different across treatments. Rs was significantly positively correlated with soil temperature and moisture and these two factors accounted for 72%-97% and 74%-82% of variation in Rs, respectively. The soil respiration temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀) was between 2.27 and 4.16 and N addition reduced Q₁₀ except in the N8 treatment.     

海洋有害藻华研究进展

浮游植物不仅是食物链的基础环节,也在生物地球化学循环中起着重要作用。然而,某些种类在一定条件下会过度增殖富集形成有害藻华(因造成水色变为红、绿、褐、金等颜色,所以俗称为赤潮、绿潮、褐潮、金潮等),结果严重影响当地经济、海洋生态系统、全球生物地球化学循环甚至人类健康。近年来,随着水体富营养化、全球气候变化等现象加剧,有害藻华(Harmful Algal Bloom,HAB)的暴发规模和频次呈逐年增加趋势,且相关研究已成为环境生态学领域的热点。本文主要以典型海洋HAB生物为线索,从物种分布、生物监测、主要影响因素、分子机制及防治等方面概述了近十年HAB的主要研究进展,总结了现有研究的优点和不足,并对未来HAB研究做了相关展望。近十年的研究进展主要体现在:(1)不断有新的HAB物种被发现或鉴定,HAB藻类系统分类也不断被更新;(2)鉴定、检测方法包括DNA分析、生物传感器研发应用等有较大改进;(3)藻类毒素生物合成通路的研究有一定进展;(4)在HAB生态学与海洋学研究持续发展的基础上,分子机制及现代组学发展较迅速。然而, HAB发生的关键环境诱因和生物学(特别是生化与分子)机制仍然不是很清楚,缺乏一个可用来预测HAB暴发的关键因子。笔者认为,一方面是因为HAB的复杂性、种类及生态系统的特异性,另一方面是研究缺乏系统性与完整性。因此未来有必要加强对每一个重要的HAB原因种开展系统、持续的研究,类似于生物科学领域里的模式种研究,并且有必要开展综合性的研究,如实验室单种培养、中尺度模拟及现场生态研究相结合,整合现代组学、传统生理生态学和现场实时连续观测等技术。     

基于SLAF-seq技术的黑棘鲷微卫星标记开发及其在鲷科鱼类中的通用性研究

黑棘鲷(Acanthopagrusschlegelii)是广泛分布于西北太平洋的暖温性中下层经济鱼类,也是我国沿海重要的海洋捕捞鱼类和增养殖对象。然而,目前有关黑棘鲷的微卫星标记研究报道较少,难以对其种质资源状况作出精确评估。本研究采用SLAF-seq技术测序共获得22489个二至六碱基重复的黑棘鲷微卫星序列,短重复序列(二、三碱基)占总微卫星序列的90.8%,长重复序列(四至六碱基)占有9.2%。经过157对随机合成引物的多态性筛选,开发出49个高多态性的黑棘鲷微卫星标记,其中短重复序列位点有25个,长重复序列位点有24个。每个位点的等位基因数(Na)为2—20(均值为8.3),观测杂合度(Ho)和期望杂合度(He)分别为0.097—0.938和0.122—0.922(均值分别为0.663和0.701),多态信息含量(PIC)为0.118—0.897(均值为0.655)。经Bonferroni校正后,有47个位点符合哈迪-温伯格平衡(HWE),各位点间未检测到连锁不平衡现象,仅2个位点偏离HWE。结果表明,所开发的大部分微卫星标记具有高多态性,蕴含的遗传信息含量较为丰富,能够为黑棘鲷的种群遗传资源评估提供数量充足、类型多样的有效分子标记。跨物种扩增结果显示,有43个黑棘鲷微卫星标记可在9种鲷科鱼类中成功扩增,其中28个标记在太平洋棘鲷(Acanthopagruspacificus)、黄鳍棘鲷(Acanthopagruslatus)和澳洲棘鲷(Acanthopagrusaustralis)中具有较好的通用性,2个标记在平鲷(Rhabdosargussarba)、蓝点赤鲷(Pagruscaeruleostictus)、真赤鲷(Pagrusmajor)、二长棘犁齿鲷(Evynnis cardinalis)及黄牙鲷(Dentex hypselosomus)中具有通用性。这些通用性标记可为阐明鲷科属、种间的系统进化关系和棘鲷属鱼类的群体遗传学分析提供新的标记来源和研究角度。