Ecology of beach wrack in northern New England with special reference to Orchestia platensis

The northern New England beach wrack community with special reference to the cosmopolitan amphipod crustacean, Orchestia platensis, was examined at estuarine and open coastal habitats. Beach wrack was dominated by the plant genera Ascophyllum, Zostera, Spartina and Chondrus, and was most abundant during spring and late summer. Animal community numbers, biomass and frequency in fresh to moderately decomposed wrack were dominated by O. platensis throughout the year at all habitats; oligochaetes and Collembola were also important. The abundance of O. platensis showed high spatial and temporal variability, with low abundance generally associated with decreased amounts of wrack during colder months. An exception was the winter presence of the species at one estuarine habitat, in patchy aggregations within gravel-cobble refuges. The abundance of O. platensis averaged 1280 (0.04 m²)⁻¹, with a maximum of 7040 (0.04 m²)⁻¹. The life cycle of O. platensis is bivoltine, with summer-hatched young reaching maturity within 1 month. Laboratory studies indicate females with up to 4 broods (30 days)⁻¹, averaging 18 eggs brood⁻¹.Orchestia platensis is omnivorous, eating fresh plant tissue, live oligochaetes, Limulus eggs and diatom ‘fuzz’. The rate of laboratory consumption of algae and Zostera was 0.05 mg plant mg⁻¹ wet body weight day⁻¹. Presumptive predators of O. platensis are juvenile green crab, Carcinus maenus, and the earwig. Anisolabis maritima. The mobility, aggregation and aggressiveness of O. platensis assist the species in establishing and maintaining populations in the rigorous wrack habitat. The general competitive superiority of O. platensis over its congener, O. gammarella, and the co-occurrence of these species on both eastern and western Atlantic shores is discussed.     

广西崇左三合巨猿大洞早更新世小哺乳动物群

最近在广西崇左三合大洞发现了步氏巨猿和似人似猿共生的新层位,与之伴生的有52种小哺乳动物,占三合大洞巨猿动物群总数的62%,其中苏门答腊兔（Nesolagus）是东南亚地区首次发现的化石。小哺乳动物群以南方早更新世常见的偏皮氏毛耳飞鼠（Belomys parapearsoni）、中间猪尾鼠（Typhlomys intermedius）、拟低冠竹鼠（Rhizomys brachyrhizomyoides）、硕豪猪（Hystrix magna）、先社鼠（Niviventer preconfucianus）、拟爱氏巨鼠（Leopoldamysedwardioidesi）等为代表,根据小哺乳动物群性质和与其他动物群对比以及磁性地层年代测定,表明其时代应是早更新世中期（约距今120¹60万年前）。该动物群由树鼩、扁颅蝠、小彩蝠、飞松鼠、笔尾树鼠、猪尾鼠等几乎是旧大陆热带-亚热带森林型动物组成,缺少北方类型,基本上属于热带森林动物群,这表明了当时的自然景观为温暖湿润的热带雨林环境。三合大洞小哺乳动物群是广西地区的首次发现,对华南早更新世巨猿动物群详细划分,探讨步氏巨猿演化和早期人类环境背景等目前科学界关注的问题具有重要的意义。     

Taxonomical and Biogeochemical Investigation of Elements in Holocene Mollusk Shells in the South and Southwestern Marmara Basin,Turkey

Concentrations of some heavy metals and trace elements such as Cr, Ga, Ni, Zn, Mo, Cu, Pb, Yb, Y, Nb, Ti, Sr, Ba, Mn, Sc, Co, V, Zr, Fe, Al, W, Se, Bi, Sb, As, Cd in recent mollusk shells and factors affecting their distribution and deposits collected from various depths in the southern and southwestern parts of the Marmara Sea are investigated. The distribution of the elements in the shells is categorized into four groups. Of these, concentrations of 12 elements （As, Bi, Cd, Co, Ga, Mo, Nb, Sb, Se, Sc, W and Yb） are below zero [（0.053-0.79）×10^-6]; concentrations of seven elements （Cr, Ni, Pb, V, Y, Zr and Cu） are （1.0-6.0）×10^-6; concentrations of four elements （Ti, Mn, Ba and Zn） are 10- 20×10^-6; and concentrations of five elements （Si, Al, Fe, Mg and Sr） are （47.44-268.11）×10^-6. The taxonomic characteristics of the 29 elements were studied separately in mollusk shells such as Chamalea gallina （Linn6）, Pitar rudis （Poli）, Nassarius reticulatus （Linn6）, Venerupis senescens （Coocconi）, Mytilus galloprovincialis （Lamarck）, Mytilaster lineatus （Gemelin in Linne） and Chlamys glabra. It was found that, in mollusk taxonomy, the elements have unique values. In other words, element concentrations in various mollusk shells depend mainly on the taxonomic characteristics of mollusks. In various bionomic environments different element distributions of the same species are attributed to the different geochemical characters of the each environment. Data obtained in this study indicate that the organisms are the most active and deterministic factors of the environment.     

Ecologic and taxonomic diversification in the Mesozoic brackish-water bivalve faunas in Japan, with emphasis on infaunalization of heterodonts

Mesozoic brackish-water bivalve faunas in Japan diversified in three steps: at the beginning of the Early Jurassic, Early and Late Cretaceous. The Hettangian Niranohama Fauna in northeastern Honshu represents the establishment of a heterodont-dominated brackish-water fauna that persisted until the early Late Cretaceous. No similar composition is known from the Triassic. The infauna consists mostly of non-siphonate and some short-siphonate heterodonts, while the epifauna is represented by diverse pteriomorphian families. In the Early Cretaceous Tetori Group in central Honshu, the long-siphonate heterodonts Tetoria (Corbiculidae) and the semi-infaunal soft-bottom oyster Crassostrea appeared. The evolutionary diversification of the latter, known as the most important element of modern brackish-water faunas, may thus originate at that time. In the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of the Goshoura and Mifune Groups in west Kyushu, several euryhaline deep-burrowing heterodont families, such as Veneridae and Tellinidae, further diversified in the brackish and marine environments. The Late Cretaceous is characterized by massive shell biolithic beds in which large Crassostrea species are common, a feature common for Cenozoic brackish-water faunas. The long-term changes in the composition of the brackish-water faunas in Japan represents thus an evolutionary record, irrespective of the severe physiological and environmental conditions imposed on the highly conservative nature of the fauna.     

藏北安多地区侏罗纪菊石动物群及其古地理意义

藏北安多地区新发现2套以黑色页岩、深灰色钙质泥岩和泥灰岩为主的舍菊石化石的侏罗纪地层，它们与羌塘地区广泛分布的雁石坪群无论在化石组合或沉积特征方面都明显不同．岗尼乡剖面地层中产太阳菊石科的菊石，主要有Sonninia，Dorsetensia，Witchellia等。、这套地层是双湖地区色哇组的东延部分，时代确定为中侏罗世早中巴柔期114道班剖面中羌姆勒曲组的菊石化石大多归属于Virgatosphinctinae科，计有Aulacosphinctes、Virgatosphinctes等，均为上侏罗统菊石化石的典型分子，产出层位应归于提塘阶中、上部。藏北安多-改则以北一线的侏罗系深水黑色岩系虽不十分连续，但从有化石证据的土阿辛阶到巴柔阶再到提塘阶都有零星出露，它们同属一个沉积相区。侏罗纪时羌塘南部可能存在一套大陆边缘型沉积地层，因此有必要对该区的构造属性和演化历史重新进行解释。     

Paleocene deep-water sediments and radiolarian faunas: Implications for evolution of Yarlung-Zangbo foreland basin, southern Tibet

Only a few Paleocene radiolarian assemblages have been reported, while the Early Paleocene zonal schemes remain poorly delineated. The Early Paleocene on-land radiolarians were described in the Hidaka melange belt of Japan and the North Island of New Zeal…     

中国东北区古生代生物地层学几个问题

作者对东北区古生代地层中，几个人们关注的生物地层学问题，诸如麻山动物群、清河镇动物群等，作了比较客观的评价，可供今后的研究工作参考。     

黔中三叠纪地层研究新进展

通过对黔中地区区域地质调查，在二叠系—三叠系过渡层中发现了一系列的韵律层，并通过岩性岩相、矿物学、地球化学和地层古生物学研究，认为过渡层中韵律层是远源火山碎屑重力流沉积产物，并据古生物、沉积学、地层学研究将过渡层归属于三叠系。原安顺组下部“大汪段”之上、下发现大量牙形刺化石，根据岩性及古生物特征，将“大汪段”归入大冶组。黔中—黔南中三叠统陆源碎屑体系的物源来自江南古陆；菊石、双壳类化石层是浊流作用形成的事件沉积层。     

哺乳动物群指示的气候旋回——以周口店早更新世哺乳动物群为例

文章根据对周口店地区四个哺乳动物群的分析，讨论了该区早更新世气候及生态环境的变迁。第１８地点显示了约１．９０ＭａＢ．Ｐ．的干凉气候和森林—草原植被。第１２地点指示了１．７０ＭａＢ．Ｐ．的湿热气候和茂密森林生态环境。东洞则记录了１．２０ＭａＢ．Ｐ．的干冷气候和草原景观。到第９地点时（约１．００～０．９０ＭａＢ．Ｐ．），气候炎热，森林和草原植被同时发育     

Geochemistry of ophiolite cherts from the Qinling orogenic belt and implications for their tectonic settings

Since the 1980s, one of the important progresses in the study of the Qinling orogenic belt is marked by findings of numerous ophiolite zones[1—4]. On the basis of the former orogenic models of the Paleozoic colli-sional orogeny[1,5,6] and the Mesozoic collision[7—9], another orogenic evolution model from the Paleozoic subduction-collision along the Shangdan suture to the Mesozoic final collision orogeny along the Mianle suture[3,10], including the relicts of the Jining orogeny, has been pr…