Biogeography, Substrate Preference, and Feeding Types of North Adriatic Intertidal Collembola

Abstract. A survey of North Adriatic intertidal Collembola is given, including the first records of Friesea acuminata, Archisotoma interstitialis, Entomobrya dollfusi , and Pseudosinella hauseri. Granulometric and biococnological analyses of culittoral loose sediments allowed determination of the animals' substrate preference. The limitation to cuhaline habitats is tested by comparison with mixohaline shores nearby. Life-form typology is applied to elucidate the largely unknown relations of intertidal Collembola to the sediment surface or superficial strata. The different modes of nutrition are distinguished by mouthparts and by gut content analyses.     

Plant functional types and climate along a precipitation gradient in temperate grasslands, north-east China and south-east Mongolia

Using data from three field surveys along a precipitation gradient of temperate grasslands in north-east China (the Northeast China Transect, NECT) and south-east Mongolia, the spatial distribution of six plant functional types (PFTs): C₃ species, C₄ species, grasses, shrubs, forbs and succulents and their relationships with climate were analysed. The spatial distribution of different PFTs varies in different regions and in different grassland types of the study area. The species richness in each PFT also has different relationships with climate (significantly or not). Generally, the number of C₃ species, C₄ species, grasses and forbs have positive relationships with precipitation and aridity. Shrubs have negative relationship with precipitation and aridity. Succulents were found to have no relationship with precipitation and aridity. Shrubs, grasses and forbs have stronger relationships with precipitation than C₃ and C₄ species. The relationships between C₃ species, forbs and aridity are more significant than with precipitation. On a regional basis, the combined effect of precipitation and temperature, the aridity, is more significantly correlated with the distribution of C₃ species and forbs, which are more dominant in the study area, than with C₄ species, grasses and succulents.     

Winter distribution of diatom assemblages along the coastline of R. O. Korea in 2010

Diatoms are a globally successful and eukaryotic photosynthetic organism with an ornamented silica external wall. The relationship between their valve morphology and habitat means that diatoms can be used as bioindicators to characterize the aquatic environment. To estimate the differential distribution and diversity of diatom assemblages along the coastal line, we collected phytoplankton samples from 114 coastal sites of waters of R. O. Korea. We applied the unweighted pair-group technique usin...