吉林省石炭——二叠纪生物地理区的划分

吉林省石炭二叠纪生物地理区的划分是一个复杂的问题。从生物门类剖析，植物和海生动物，海生动物中的底Ｑｉ者和营飘乳生活者，由于对生态环境反映的敏感程度不一，以及古海底对它们的影响效果亦不相同，故常表现出生物地理属性不一的现象。从时间深化探究，因板块和中间地块的漂移，旋转，拼贴以及全球     

生态地理学概念界定及其经典案例分析

对生态地理学的概念进行了详细讨论和辨析,并将它与相近学科如生物地理学、生态地理区划、宏生态学等进行了比较分析,界定了生态地理学的概念。研究认为：生态地理学是生态学和地理学的交叉学科,是研究生态系统各组分关系和生态过程的地理空间分布格局或/和时间演变规律及其与地理环境耦合机制的学科。生态地理学的目的是揭示不同环境梯度下或不同时间尺度上生态系统各组分关系和生态过程的普适性规律及其成因。同时,结合国内外野外实验平台介绍,在全球变化等研究领域列举了经典案例进行分析：① 全球不同气候带森林凋落物分解和碳汇功能的研究;② 中国不同陆地生态系统碳通量和碳汇功能研究;③ 中国东北样带和南北样带陆地生态系统的脆弱性与适应性研究;④ 中国北方草地样带尺度的生态系统生态学研究。主要目的是在辨析生态地理学概念的基础上指出未来发展方向,推动生态地理学的发展。     

Vegetation and environmental conditions in the Doñana Natural Park coastal area (SW Iberia) at the beginning of the last glacial cycle

Detailed reconstructions of the vegetation of Iberia during the last glacial inception are rare due to the limited number of terrestrial sites recording this period. Active retreat of El Asperillo cliff, located on the Atlantic coast of southwestern Iberia, has exposed a fossil organic level dating back to one of the early stades of the last glacial cycle. Pollen and macrofossil analyses from this site show that the Doñana area was covered mainly by steppic vegetation; temperate trees survived the coldest periods, albeit in reduced numbers. Mediterranean taxa are extremely reduced, in contrast with other dry areas of southern Iberia over this time span. This vegetation suggests cold and arid climatic conditions, in accordance with paleoclimatic reconstructions based on several Atlantic marine cores.     

Isolation of 12 microsatellite markers following a pyrosequencing procedure and cross-priming in two invasive cryptic species, Alexandrium catenella (group IV) and A. tamarense (group III) (Dinophyceae)

Alexandrium catenella (group IV) and Alexandrium tamarense (group III) (Dinophyceae) are two cryptic invasive phytoplankton species belonging to the A. tamarense species complex. Their worldwide spread is favored by the human activities, transportation and climate change. In order to describe their diversity in the Mediterranean Sea and understand their settlements and maintenances in this area, new microsatellite markers were developed based on Thau lagoon (France) samples of A. catenella and A. tamarense strains. In this study twelve new microsatellite markers are proposed. Five of these microsatellite markers show amplifications on A. tamarense and ten on A. catenella. Three of these 12 microsatellite markers allowed amplifications on both cryptic species. Finally, the haplotypic diversity ranged from 0.000 to 0.791 and 0.000 to 0.942 for A. catenella and A. tamarense respectively.     

Molecular and distribution data on the poorly known,elusive, cave mysid Harmelinella mariannae (Crustacea: Mysida)

Mediterranean underwater marine caves harbour abundant populations of several species of mysids that are increasingly used as biological models in ecological and evolutionary studies. One exception is the species Harmelinella mariannae, described in 1989 and then hardly ever again reported in the literature. We here provide the first data on the distribution of this poorly known taxon that, contrary to expectations for a rare brooding cave dweller, we now report from Madeira Island in the nearby Atlantic, to the easternmost parts of the Mediterranean. Brief behavioural observations are added, particularly its atypical solitary habits and its feeding behaviour as a high trophic level carnivore. Molecular characterization of the different specimens captured provided three sorts of information. Mitochondrial COI and 16S haplotypes suggest different colonization waves in the Mediterranean, with one group in the Eastern Basin, two in the Marseille region in the NW part of this sea, and another group with a very wide extension from Madeira to Liguria and Malta. Mitochondrial data also support that one of the groups in Marseille might have diverged as a cryptic species of Harmelinella. 18S rRNA gene displays a single common sequence to all specimens from the four groups, and seems to confirm the original proposed placement of this taxon within the subfamily Heteromysinae, not Leptomysinae.     

Midwater fishes collected in the vicinity of the Sub-Polar Front,Mid-North Atlantic Ocean,during ECOMAR pelagic sampling

The ECOMAR project was a multidisciplinary process study conducted in the mid-North Atlantic, coincident hydrodynamically with the Sub-Polar Front (SPF; 48–54°N) and topographically with Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, as part of the Census of Marine Life field project MAR-ECO. Midwater trawling was conducted during the 2007 and 2009 ECOMAR expeditions at 14 stations north and south of the SPF, day and night, in four discrete depth intervals from 0 to 1000 m. A total of 56 species of midwater fishes representing 44 genera and 18 families were collected, several of which are new records for the region and/or were not previously sampled during MAR-ECO sampling. An annotated species list with depth-of-capture data is provided. Three species of the genus Cyclothone (Cyclothone braueri, Cyclothone microdon and Cyclothone pallida) and the myctophid Benthosema glaciale combined to contribute ~88% of all specimens collected. This finding differs from results of previous net-based sampling in the same area, likely due to sampling scheme differences (diel sampling, upper 800 m concentration) and gear selectivity (mesh size, trawl speed). Quantitative data from ECOMAR midwater sampling and the previous 2004 G.O. Sars MAR-ECO expedition are compared. Despite differences in gear between the major MAR-ECO expeditions, abundance estimates of some dominant species were remarkably similar. Data showed that the SPF is an asymmetrical, taxon-specific biogeographic boundary for deep-pelagic fishes in the North Atlantic; the SPF is semi-permeable to some species in one direction, while a strong boundary for species in another direction. Deeper-living fish species did not appear as affected by the SPF as a boundary.     

Spatial patterns of sub-tidal seagrasses and their tissue nutrients in the Torres Strait,northern Australia: Implications for management

The distribution and nutritional profiles of sub-tidal seagrasses from the Torres Strait were surveyed and mapped across an area of 31,000 km². Benthic sediment composition, water depth, seagrass species type and nutrients were sampled at 168 points selected in a stratified representative pattern. Eleven species of seagrass were present at 56 (33.3%) of the sample points. Halophila spinulosa, Halophila ovalis, Cymodocea serrulata and Syringodium isoetifolium were the most common species and these were nutrient profiled. Sub-tidal seagrass distribution (and associated seagrass nutrient concentrations) was generally confined to northern-central and south-western regions of the survey area (<longitude 142.60), where mean water depth was relatively shallow (approximately 13 m below MSL) and where sediments were comprised primarily muddy sand to gravelly sand. Seagrass nitrogen and starch content, the most important nutrients for marine herbivores, were significantly correlated with species and with the plant component (above or below ground). For all seagrass species, the above-ground component (shoots and leaves) possessed greater nitrogen concentrations than the below-ground component (roots and rhizomes), which possessed greater starch concentrations. S. isoetifolium had the highest total nitrogen concentrations (1.40±0.05% DW). However, it also had higher fibre concentrations (38.2±0.68% DW) relative to the other four species. H. ovalis possessed the highest starch concentrations (2.76±0.12% DW) and highest digestibility (83.24±0.66% DW) as well as the lowest fibre (27.2±0.66% DW). The high relative abundance (found at 55% of the sites that had seagrass) and nutrient quality characteristics of H. ovalis make it an important source of energy to marine herbivores that forage sub-tidally in the Torres Strait. There were two regions in Torres Strait (north-central and south-western) where sub-tidal seagrass meadows were prevalent and of relatively higher nutritional value. This spatial and nutritional information can be used by local agencies to manage and to protect the ecological, economic and cultural values of the sub-tidal seagrass ecosystems and associated fisheries of the Torres Strait.     

Spatial patterning of Manta birostris in United States east coast offshore habitat

This study aims to identify patterns in spatial distribution of Manta birostris along American East Coast by analyzing presence data using a suite of geostatistical techniques. Analysis of data from 1979 to 2008 revealed that the spatial patterns exhibited by the M. birostris include a strong clustering zone off the North Carolina from (however, not all years are represented in that range), Virginia and Maryland coast. Their presence is high near the coastal shelf edge and along the edge of the Gulf Stream. The mix of warm water and high chlorophyll concentration throughout the year in the region seem to create an ideal environment for this clustering pattern. However, in seasons with warmer water temperature, manta rays spread further north and inshore, possibly to avoid competition for prey. The results of geographic weighted regression indicate the role of sea surface temperatures on Manta presence or absence off the main current of the Gulf Stream near North Carolina and Virginia. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of M. birostris can assist in further protecting the species especially from dangers of by-catch and habitat degradation.     

The 'Grasses' of the Big Scrub District of North-eastern New South Wales: A sedimentary record of late Holocene grasslands in a subtropical forest landscape

This paper records sedimentary data which indicate that at least part of the Wilsons River floodplain, on the margins of the subtropical rainforest known as the 'Big Scrub', has a long and certainly pre-European history of relative treelessness. Despite a general presumption that this lowland subtropical region was completely forested prior to European settlement, recent historical research has indicated that certain areas were naturally open. While the historical information is clear, the data reported here-a fossil pollen record and one radiocarbon date- reinforces that information for one type of locality, providing an initial indication of time depth.