The respiratory environment of the Namib Desert Golden Mole

We measured the partial pressure of oxygen (PO₂) in the interstitial gas surrounding the sand-swimming Namib moleEremitalpa granti namibensis. At a sand temperature of 26 °C, which produced a nearly maximal rate of oxygen consumption, thePO₂near the noses of the animals averaged only 0·9 kPa (6·7 Torr) below the level in the free atmosphere. High oxygen availability was a result of the notably low metabolic rate in the 20 g mammals and the dry, porous and metabolically inactive nature of dune sand. A mathematical model indicated that normal mammals weighing 200 g or more could comfortably exist completely encased in dune sand. We concluded that the moles' small size and low metabolic rate are not adaptations to hypoxia or hypercapnia underground but are probably related to low food availability and the energetic cost of foraging in their desert environment.     

Deriving airborne laser scanning based computational canopy volume for forest biomass and allometry studies

A computational canopy volume (CCV) based on airborne laser scanning (ALS) data is proposed to improve predictions of forest biomass and other related attributes like stem volume and basal area. An approach to derive the CCV based on computational geometry, topological connectivity and numerical optimization was tested with sparse-density, plot-level ALS data acquired from 40 field sample plots of 500–1000 m² located in a boreal forest in Norway. The CCV had a high correspondence with the biomass attributes considered when derived from optimized filtrations, i.e. ordered sets of simplices belonging to the triangulations based on the point data. Coefficients of determination (R²) between the CCV and total above-ground biomass, canopy biomass, stem volume, and basal area were 0.88–0.89, 0.89, 0.83–0.97, and 0.88–0.92, respectively, depending on the applied filtration. The magnitude of the required filtration was found to increase according to an increasing basal area, which indicated a possibility to predict this magnitude by means of ALS-based height and density metrics. A simple prediction model provided CCVs which had R² of 0.77–0.90 with the aforementioned forest attributes. The derived CCVs always produced complementary information and were mainly able to improve the predictions of forest biomass relative to models based on the height and density metrics, yet only by 0–1.9 percentage points in terms of relative root mean squared error. Possibilities to improve the CCVs by a further analysis of topological persistence are discussed.     

人工固沙区一年生植物小画眉草种群异速生长动态研究

通过对沙坡头人工固沙区一年生植物4 a的连续观测,我们得到对于一年生植物来讲水分竞争是个体分异的根本原因,种群中个体间的竞争主要是对有限水分的争夺.随着水分梯度的变化,小画眉草种群从一开始的没有竞争到为有限水分而发生的根系竞争.水分条件的暂时好转,个体又把大量能量用于建造茎杆、枝叶等支持组织,光竞争能力随之加强.发育出较多浅层须根系用于在降雨季节迅速吸收降水是一年生植物非常有利的一个竞争手段.     

斑石鲷早期发育的异速生长模式

为研究斑石鲷(Oplegnathus punctatus)早期发育阶段的生长规律及重要器官的异速生长模式,作者运用实验生态学方法,测定了斑石鲷仔稚幼鱼(0~70日龄)全长和体质量随日龄的变化规律。结果显示,全长、体质量与日龄的关系均符合Cubic函数,随日龄的生长曲线表现为S型。斑石鲷全长和体质量的生长可分为3个阶段,不同阶段的生长率存在显著差异(P0.05)。斑石鲷的头长、眼径、吻长、口裂、体高、尾鳍长等重要外部形态学指标均存在异速生长规律,其生长拐点依次为35日龄(全长20.32 mm)、22日龄(全长13.17 mm)、29日龄(全长16.63 mm)、30日龄(全长15.50 mm)、32日龄(全长19.79 mm)、32日龄(全长19.79 mm)。相对于全长,头长、吻长、口裂在拐点前后由正异速生长变为等速生长;眼径、尾鳍由正异速生长转为负异速生长;而体高在0~70日龄为正异速生长,但拐点之后已明显变缓。研究表明斑石鲷通过异速生长,确保与其基本生存能力相关的功能器官优先发育,以适应复杂多变的生存环境,并相应地提高了仔稚鱼的存活率,对鱼苗培育具有重要的指导意义。     

Carbon pools in an arid shrubland in Chile under natural and afforested conditions

The pattern of carbon (C) allocation among the different pools is an important ecosystem structural feature, which can be modified as a result of changes in environmental conditions that can occur gradually (e.g., climatic change) or abruptly (e.g., management practices). This study quantified the C pools of plant biomass, litter and soil in an arid shrubland in Chile, comparing the natural condition (moderately disturbed by grazing) vs. the afforested condition (two-year-old plantation with Acacia saligna (Labill.) H.L. Wendl.), each represented by a 60 ha plot. To estimate plant biomass, allometric functions were constructed for the four dominant woody species, based on the volume according to their shape, which showed high correlation (R² > 0.73). The soil was the largest C pool in both natural and afforested conditions (89% and 94%, respectively) and was significantly lower in the afforested than natural condition at all five soil depths. The natural condition had in total 36.5 ton (t) C ha⁻¹ compared to 21.1 t C ha⁻¹ in the afforested condition, mainly due to C loss during soil preparation, prior to plantation of A. saligna. These measurements serve as an important baseline to assess long-term effects of afforestation on ecosystem C pools.     

中国中部六省城乡人口异速生长过程分析

分析中国中部的江西、湖南、湖北、河南、安徽和山西6省1949~2007年的城市化进程表明,6个省区的城市化过程大致相同,呈现出"J"型增长态势,实际可以看成"S"型增长的局部形式,说明6省区的城乡人口替代过程基本具备城乡人口异速生长过程的一般规律。由于1977年以前的数据波动较大,城乡人口替代过程表现出很强的复杂性,因此,选取6省区1977年以来的城乡人口异速生长过程进行具体分析,结果显示:6省区城乡人口异速生长过程均可分为正异速生长阶段和乡村人口衰退阶段,转变年份出现在1994~2000年。不同之处在于安徽与河南两省呈现出大致相同的城乡人口替代过程,阶段转变较早;江西省和山西省相似,转变时间较晚;湖南省在转变时呈现出微小的波动;湖北省始终呈现出较强的波动状态。这种结果在理论上验证了城乡人口异速生长过程具有维度不变的性质,在实践上证明了中部六省的城市化进入了乡村人口衰退的质变阶段。     

毛乌素沙地油蒿与杨柴异速生长模式及个体大小的种内竞争调节

通过对油蒿与杨柴种群在不同密度下个体大小与异速生长变化模式的比较研究,初步得出以下结论:①油蒿种群的个体平均大小、高径比平均值及静态异速生长指数均未随着密度的增加而发生明显的变化,其静态异速生长曲线都符合"简单的"异速生长类型。②杨柴种群的个体平均大小随着密度的增加则不断减小,且其自疏指数小于-3/2,这主要是由于种群在高密度时冠层未达到密接的缘故,而且可以将种群内个体的总植冠投影面积和是否达到最大值作为判断冠层密接的标准。③杨柴种群的高径比平均值及静态异速生长指数随着密度的增加也未发生明显变化,其静态异速生长曲线也符合"简单的"异速生长类型,表明杨柴的异速生长特性并未随着光竞争强度的增加而发生变化,这可能是因为杨柴能通过根状茎繁殖产生新枝来寻找更合适的生境从而避免了光竞争。