The paleobiogeographical significance of the Silurian and Devonian trilobites of Japan

Six major groups of trilobites from the Silurian and Devonian of Japan are evaluated for their paleobiogeographical signature. Silurian illaenids and scutelluids show four generic‐level and at least two species‐level links with the Australian segment of the Gondwana paleocontinent; encrinurids also indicate two generic‐level links with Australia and also the South China paleocontinent; whilst Devonian phacopids, and possibly proetids, suggest at least two generic‐level links with the North China paleocontinent. These different patterns may reflect the fragmentary biostratigraphical record of Japanese trilobites, but they also appear to reflect paleoenvironmental parameters associated with lithofacies, and paleoecology. Thus, Japanese assemblages of proetids and phacopids occurring in deep‐water clastic lithofacies have counterparts in similar settings in North China, and Japanese scutelluids and illaenids are strongly associated with shallow marine carbonate lithofacies that are similar to those of their occurrences in Australia. Japanese encrinurids occur in carbonate rocks indicative of shallow marine settings in the Kurosegawa Terrane, and they demonstrate a consistent paleobiogeographical affinity with Australia and South China. Larval ecology cannot be directly assessed for Japanese trilobite groups. However, proetids have consistently been shown to have planktonic protaspides, whereas illaenids, scutelluids, and encrinurids have benthic protaspides. Planktonic protaspides would have a greater propensity for distribution in ocean currents than benthic ones, and therefore may be of more limited paleobiogeographical utility. The combined data from the six different groups indicates that the complex paleobiogeographical patterns of the Japanese trilobite assemblages need to be interpreted with caution, and similarity of taxa does not necessarily denote paleogeographical proximity to other regions.     

全球前寒武纪基底构造格局与古大陆再造问题

全球前寒武纪基底构造格架与构造单元的划分是古大陆再造和泛大陆拼合的重要基础.本文整理了基底构造单元的级别体系, 以晋宁期和印支期为准, 提出了一级构造域、二级陆台及地区和三级陆核、地块等3级划分.分出了5个一级、14个二级和若干个三级单元, 并予以系统编号, 以便查询和增修.认为超大陆是泛大陆的组成部分, 现在重点研究的罗迪尼亚超大陆已经涉及全球, 进入了泛大陆-850的研究范围.论证了中国3个陆台和华夏地区在新元古代晋宁期的位置关系, 认为它们相距不远, 并部分相互碰撞, 构成亚洲中轴(大华夏)构造域.讨论了罗迪尼亚的流行模式及SWEAT连接问题.指出新元古代Chuaria Tawuia宏观藻组合在东亚和北美西部的分布, 认为大华夏构造域应作为一个松散的整体与劳伦古大陆相邻, 并概略讨论了泛大陆-850的再造格局特征.提出了经过改进的泛大陆-250在中二叠世(280257 Ma)的再造模式, 讨论了古植物和海生动物生物地理分区在古大陆再造中的意义.      

Osmoregulation in Six Sympatric Fiddler Crabs (genus Uca) from the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract. As problems in taxonomy and systematic relationships among the Uca species are resolved, a definition of how each fiddler crab species partitions and utilizes habitat resources is needed. To this end, the osmoregulatory capabilities were studied in six species of fiddler crabs from the western Gulf of Mexico. Specimens were placed in 50  ml of artificial seawater ranging in osmolality from 50 to 3450  mOsm (2 to 109  ‰) for five days. Survivorship was recorded for each species. Uca rapax, U. panacea and U. subcylindrica are hardy from 200 to 3200  mOsm (6 to 101  ‰). Uca spinicarpa and U. minax survive only below 1400  mOsm (44  ‰). U. longisignalis is intermediate, with limited survival above 2500  mOsm (79  ‰). Hemolymph osmolality was determined for crabs surviving the osmotic regimen. Uca panacea, U. subcylindrica and U. rapax are equivalent in their regulation between 50 and 3200  mOsm (2 – 101  ‰). Uca longisignalis lost its ability to control hemolymph osmolality above 2200  mOsm (69  ‰). On the other hand , U. spinicarpa and U. minax become less effective hyporegulators in media above 1200 (38  ‰) and 1500  mOsm (47  ‰), respectively. Only U. longisignalis appears to exhibit clear differences in osmoregulatory capacity between populations. Population data for U. panacea and laboratory experiments with U. subcylindrica also support the notion of capacitative acclimation in Uca . These physiological capabilities correlate well with the known habitat characteristics for each fiddler crab species in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Unfairly Structured Cities . Blair Badcock Religion and Rural Revolt . Janos M. Bak and Gerhard Benecke The Industrial Geography of Canada . Anthony Blackbourn and Robert G. Putnam The Cuban-American Experience, Culture, Images, and Perspectives. Thomas D. Boswell and James R. Curtis Quaternary Paleoclimatology . R. S. Bradley Development and Crisis in Brazil, 1930–1983 . Luiz Bresser Pereiras Centres of Origin in Biogeography . John C. Briggs Analytical Urban Geography . Martin Cadwallader Geomorphology . Richard J. Chorley , Stanley A. Schumm, and David E. Sugden South Africa: The Impact of Past Geographies . A. J. Christopher The Geography of Underdevelopment. A Critical Survey . D. K. Forbes Health Care in Developing Countries . Wilbert M. Gesler Place to Grow Old: The Meaning of Environment in Old Age . Stephen M. Golant The Emerging Marine Economy of the Pacific . Chennat Gopalakrishnan An Introduction to Agricultural Geography . David B. Grigg The Soviet Union: A Geographical Study . G. Melvyn Howe Geographical Aspects of Health: Essays in Honour of Andrew Learmonth . N. D. Mc Glashan and J. R. Blunden Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation . Tom L. Mc Knight Mountain Experience. The Psychology and Sociology of Adventure. Richard G. Mitchell Jr . Systematic and Regional Biogeography. Stanley A. Morain The Economic Transformation of American Cities. T. J. Noyelle and T. M. Stanback , Jr . Normal Accidents: Living With High-Risk Technologies. Charles Perrow Vanishing Farmland: A Legal Solution for the States. Sarah E. Redfield Applied Methods of Regional Analysis: The Spatial Dimensions of Development Policy. Dennis A. Rondinelli Urbanization in Romania. A Geography of Social and Economic Change Since Independence. Per Ronnas Statistical Techniques in Geographical Analysis. Gareth Shaw and Dennis Wheeler The Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design. Anne Whiston Spirn Political Geography: Recent Advances and Future Directions. Peter Taylor and John House Geographia y Medio Ambiente. Manuel Valenzuela -Rubío Nãgara and Commandery: Origins of the Southeast Asian Urban Traditions. Paul Wheatley The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Community. Mark Wise Geography and Gender. Women and Geography Study Group of the IBG Technological Hazards. D. J. Zeigler , J. H. Johnson , S. D. Brunn     

古生代psammichnitids(砂迹类)的行为习性演化及其生物古地理迁移*

Psammichnites和Dictyodora为古生代海相环境典型的弯曲带状遗迹,是由具有虹吸器官的生物所形成的遗迹化石,一般被归入到psammichnitids。通过文献资料调研和样品分析,对古生代Psammichnites和Dictyodora的形态功能对比和时空分布特征进行研究。结果表明: (1)Psammichnites通常具有短、浅的凹槽; 随着时间的推移,Dictyodora的壁高却逐渐增大。(2)Psammichnites主要分布于正常浅海环境; Dictyodora大都分布于深海环境,也有个别类型分布于浅海环境。(3)Psammichnites的种级多样性在石炭纪浅海环境呈快速增加,属于晚期辐射类型,但Psammichnites gigas广泛分布于寒武纪早期,具有很好的地层指示意义; Dictyodora的种级多样性在奥陶纪快速增加,属于早期辐射类型。(4)寒武纪—奥陶纪,Psammichnites和Dictyodora主要分布于南半球中高纬度的Iapetus和Rheic大洋,其中Laurussia大陆的形成以及Iapetus和Rheic大洋的闭合对其古地理分布具有显著影响; 自石炭纪开始,Psammichnites和Dictyodora均向新的空白生态位进行迁移,反映出造迹生物对于新生态位的适应和迁移均受环境变迁的强烈影响; 二叠纪之后,Psammichnites和Dictyodora在地层中没有发现,可能暗示它们的造迹生物均在二叠纪末生物大灭绝事件中遭受了毁灭性打击。上述对Psammichnites和Dictyodora行为习性演化特征及其生物古地理迁移特征的系统总结和归纳,可为从精细和精深角度深入解读遗迹化石所反映的遗迹类群的演化生态学和生物古地理迁移特征提供新资料和新认识。     

The cultural context of forest degradation in adjacent Purépechan communities, Michoacán, Mexico

Recent changes in the cultural and forest landscapes of the Meseta Purépecha in Michoacán, Mexico as a result of forest degradation underscore the complexity of forest change processes in the tropical highlands of Latin America. Differences in community perception and forest structure and composition between the furniture-making and lumber-producing towns of Pichátaro and Sevina, Purépechan indigenous communities located amidst pine forests on Michoacán's volcanic plateau illustrate the dynamics of this process. We base our comparisons on interviews and field measures of forest structure. Our results show dramatic changes in the forests and cultural landscapes of both communities during the past decade. Following high regional timber exports during the early 1990s, Sevina shifted from a self-sufficient to a timber importation community. By comparison, communal forests and individual parcels in Pichátaro continue to provide wood for approximately 300 wood shops. Field data and forest stand maps confirm the perception of forest degradation in both communities. While Pichátaro has maintained a larger and more diverse forest base to date, stand structure data indicate selective harvesting has led to a shift in dominance toward the less economically desirable pine species and oak. Deforestation and degradation of Sevina and Pichátaro's community forests are symptomatic of both the Meseta Purépecha and Mexico in general. Current forest conditions in both communities justify local, regional, and national concerns regarding declining biodiversity and sustainable economies.     

Biogeography of the genusArtemia (Crustacea,Branchiopoda, Anostraca) in Spain

This is an updated study on the biogeographic distribution of the populations of the genusArtemia (Branchiopoda, Anostraca) in Spain, with special focus on populations inhabiting salt lagoons and inland salterns. The populations recorded (40) belong to the bisexual speciesA. tunisiana and to the asexual groupA. parthenogenetica (diploid and tetraploid strains). They usually appear in three different hypersaline ecosystems: solar salterns and lagoons filled with sea water, solar salterns and lagoons containing brines of diluted mineral salts, and lagoons filled with athalassic (endorheic) brines. The brines in salinas are chemically characterized by high Cl^– concentrations, especially in inland salinas, whose brine sources are geologically associated with evaporitic formations developed in the Triassic and Lower Liassic of eastern Spain. Brines in athalassic lagoons, geologically associated with Mesozoic and Cenozoic periods, show higher levels of sulfate (up to 40–50%) as well as Mg²⁺. From a geographical point of view, bisexual and diploid asexual populations are mainly found in coastal and inland salinas or lagoons below 40° N, while asexual tetraploid populations are found in inland salinas and athalassic lagoons above that latitude. These populations have been biologically characterized by the morphology of their adults through multivariate analysis.     

Diversity of faunal assemblages associated with ribbed mussel beds along the South American coast: relative roles of biogeography and bioengineering

Benthic organisms are among the most diverse and abundant in the marine realm, and some species are a key factor in studies related to bioengineering. However, their importance has not been well noted in biogeographic studies. Macrofaunal assemblages associated with subtidal beds of the ribbed mussel (Aulacomya atra) along South America were studied to assess the relationship between their diversity patterns and the proposed biogeographic provinces in the Southeastern Pacific and Southwestern Atlantic Oceans. Samples from ribbed mussel beds were obtained from 10 sites distributed from the Peruvian coast (17°S) to the Argentinean coast (41°S). The sampling included eight beds in the Pacific and two in the Atlantic and the collections were carried out using five 0.04 m² quadrants per site. Faunal assemblages were assessed through classification analyses using binary and log‐transformed abundance data. Variation in the size and density of mussels, and in the species richness, abundance and structure of their faunal assemblages were tested using a permutational multivariate analysis of variance. Faunal assemblages showed a north–south latitudinal gradient along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Binary and abundance data showed a difference in the resulting clustering arrangement of Pacific sites between 40°S and 44°S, indicating a pattern of continuity in the species distribution associated with biological substrates. At a regional scale, the distribution of species along the South American coast matched the general provincial pattern shown by prior studies, which show two biogeographic units on the Pacific coast separated by an intermediate (probably transitional) zone and a single province on the Atlantic coast extending up to Northern Argentina. Biological substrates such as ribbed mussel beds play an important ecological role by making a similar habitat type available on a large scale for a variety of invertebrate species. Despite such habitat homogeneity, however, the associated fauna exhibit marked distribution breaks, suggesting strong constraints on dispersal. This therefore suggests that macrofaunal assemblages could possibly be used as biogeographic indicators.     

历史生物地理学的理论和方法

历史生物地理学的理论主要是扩散和隔离分化的理论。到目前为止 ,形成了扩散学派、种系发生学派、泛生物地理学派和分支生物地理学派。除了扩散学派外 ,其它学派都有一些可操作的、规范的分析程序和方法。文中对它们进行了简要的介绍和述评。作为南半球环太平洋分布的、且研究较多的植物例子 ,也简要介绍了南山毛榉属的研究进展。