Changes in the relationship between species richness and belowground biomass among grassland types and along environmental gradients in Xinjiang,Northwest China

The association between biodiversity and belowground biomass (BGB) remains a central debate in ecology. In this study, we compared the variations in species richness (SR) and BGB as well as their interaction in the top (0-20 cm), middle (20-50 cm) and deep (50-100 cm) soil depths among 8 grassland types (lowland meadow, temperate desert, temperate desert steppe, temperate steppe desert, temperate steppe, temperate meadow steppe, mountain meadow and alpine steppe) and along environmental gradients (elevation, energy condition (annual mean temperature (AMT) and potential evapotranspiration (PET)), and mean annual precipitation (MAP)) based on a 2011-2013 survey of 379 sites in Xinjiang, Northwest China. The SR and BGB varied among the grassland types. The alpine steppe had a medium level of SR but the highest BGB in the top soil depth, whereas the lowland meadow had the lowest SR but the highest BGB in the middle and deep soil depths. The SR and BGB in the different soil depths were tightly associated with elevation, MAP and energy condition; however, the particular forms of trends in SR and BGB depended on environmental factors and soil depths. The relationship between SR and BGB was unimodal in the top soil depth, but SR was positively related with BGB in the middle soil depth. Although elevation, MAP, energy condition and SR had significant effects on BGB, the variations in BGB in the top soil depth were mostly determined by elevation, and those in the middle and deep soil depths were mainly affected by energy condition. These findings highlight the importance of environmental factors in the regulations of SR and BGB as well as their interaction in the grasslands in Xinjiang.     

A critical sites network for freshwater biodiversity in the Lake Victoria Basin

The Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) is known for its high levels of species richness and endemism. Freshwater ecosystems within this region are highly threatened, putting both biodiversity and human livelihoods at risk. Protected areas (PAs) should provide the foundation for conservation actions to tackle threats but currently poorly represent freshwater species. To address this issue, systematic conservation planning (Marxan) was used to identify networks of sites within the LVB for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, based on existing Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and PAs, and with minimal cost in terms of area and human impact. Networks were identified separately for threatened species and/or those endemic to the LVB, and those susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Here, these were combined to present an overall sites network for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity. Site‐level recommendations are provided as a scientific basis for the development and expansion of the existing network.     

Using acoustic telemetry and snorkel surveys to study diel activity and seasonal migration of round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in an estuary of the Western Baltic Sea

In just two decades, round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas) has dispersed throughout most of the Baltic and the North American Great Lakes. It thrives in shallow sheltered areas, where it is impacting native fauna. In Denmark, researchers, governmental institutions and fishers have joined in an effort to establish a sustainable round goby fishery. To do so, basic information about the movement of round goby is essential, so the movements of 50 round gobies were tracked using acoustic telemetry. The results revealed that activity took place mainly at night and seasonal migrations were common. The most frequent migration behaviour observed was a seaward return migration during winter, which was further confirmed by a snorkel survey. Tracking data also revealed riverine upstream dispersal. The results demonstrate that the round goby can be mapped using telemetry, and it is suggested that fishing for round goby may improve efficiency by targeting seasonal migration corridors.     

Effects of genetically modified and non‐genetically modified soybeans with different heat treatments on growth and health of Cyprinidae species with different feeding habits

An 8‐week growth trial was conducted to investigate the effects of non‐genetically modified (nGM) soybean (Youchun 06‐1) and genetically modified (GM) soybean (Roundup Ready^®) with and without a heat treatment on the growth and health of three Cyprinidae species with different feeding habits (grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idellus, gibel carp Carassius auratus gibelio, and black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus; body weight: 283.0 ± 2.0 g, 60.5 ± 0.7 g, and 261.4 ± 3.1 g). Five diets (FM, nGMS, hnGMS, GMS, and hGMS) were made with fishmeal and full‐fat soybean (Youchun 06‐1, heat‐treated Youchun 06‐1, Roundup Ready^®, and heat‐treated Roundup Ready^®). The FM diet contained fishmeal as the sole protein source. The experimental diets contained full‐fat soybean meal as 60% of dietary protein. Both temperature (60, 80, 100, and 120°C) and duration (1 and 2 hr) of heating influenced trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) and protein solubility of nGM soybean and GM soybean. The TIA in GM soybean was higher than that in nGM soybean. After heating at 120°C for 2 hr, each amino acid of soybean treatment showed a slight decline. Neither source of soybean nor heat treatment affected the growth performance, feed utilization, chemical composition of the whole fish body and muscle, and lipase or amylase activity of the three Cyprinidae species (p > 0.05). Heat treatment of soybean meal slightly increased the plasma antioxidant capacity of the three fish and plasma cholecystokinin of black carp and grass carp. The unheated soybean treatment adversely affected the height and density of black carp intestinal villi, and all the soybean treatments caused disruption of the grass carp intestinal epithelium.     

4种荒漠植物种子出苗和幼苗生长对沙埋深度的响应

通过室内试验测定了黑果枸杞、沙冬青、沙蒿、霸王4种荒漠植物的种子生理特征以及沙埋深度（0、1、2、3、4、5 cm）对4种荒漠植物种子出苗及幼苗生长的影响。结果表明，体积较大的沙冬青和霸王种子萌发率与其重量、含水量、形状及活性间存在正相关关系；体积较小的黑果枸杞、沙蒿萌发率与种子重量、含水量、形状之间为正相关关系，与种子活性负相关。随着沙埋深度增加，4种植物种子出苗率下降、首次出苗时间延迟，茎高、绝对株高和根长及根冠比总体呈先增大后减小的趋势；幼苗生长方面，黑果枸杞和沙蒿分别适宜于1～2、0～1 cm的浅层沙埋，均在沙埋深度5 cm时种子几乎不萌发；沙冬青、霸王则适宜于3～4 cm较深层沙埋，在沙埋0 cm时均不萌发。此外，在荒漠区采用这4种植物进行植被恢复时，除考虑种子自身性状外，还应充分考虑当地的沙埋、降雨等条件，以提高出苗率、增大幼苗定植率。     

Micropropagation of Prunus scoparia,a Suitable Rootstock for Almond under Drought Conditions

Prunus scoparia is a wild deciduous shrub, usually living on dry calcareous soils of the rocky mountains and has been used as a grafting rootstock for domesticated almonds to provide drought resistance. In the current study, micropropagation ability of P. scoparia was investigated using cytokinin and auxin. Uniform nodal shoot pieces (3–5 cm in length) of seedlings were used as explants. The explants were disinfected with 10% sodium hypochlorite solution. For adventitious shoot induction and proliferation, Murashige and Skoog (MS) media containing 7.00 g/l agar and 30.00 g/l sucrose containing five concentrations of benzyl adenine (BA) (0.00, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, and 4.00 mg/1) and also containing six concentrations of Thidiazuron (TDZ) (0.00, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, 5.00, and 7.00 mg/1) were compared. For rooting, in vitro shoots (2–3 cm) were transferred into ½ MS medium supplemented with 30 g/l sucrose, 7.50 g/l agar, and different concentrations of IBA (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 mg/l) and NAA (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 mg/l). Based on the results obtained for shoot proliferation, only 2.00 and 4.00 mg/l BA and 2.00 mg/l TDZ concentrations generated shoots, while other treatments did not show shoot proliferation. Among the three treatments that generated shoots, the best results for shoot number, leaf number, and leaf color quality were observed in media containing 2.00 mg/l TDZ. Based on the results obtained for rooting, the effect of IBA concentrations on the rooting percentage, root number, and root length was significant. Among IBA concentrations, only 0.50 mg/l IBA induced rooting, while there was no rooting in the media containing other IBA concentrations. None of the NAA concentrations showed rooting. In conclusion, MS culture medium supplemented with 2.00 mg/l TDZ and ½ MS culture medium supplemented with 0.50 mg/l IBA are suggested for in vitro shoot proliferation and rooting of P. scoparia, respectively. The results presented herein could be used for in vitro selection and micropropagation of P. scoparia.     

极小种群野生植物八蕊单室茱萸的种群状况研究

八蕊单室茱萸为云南省特有的极小种群野生植物和濒危物种。通过查阅相关文献并结合访问调查,确定八蕊单室茱萸可能分布的区域,开展种群资源调查。结果显示:八蕊单室茱萸目前仅在普洱市和西双版纳州有10个天然种群,其种群规模已低于最小可存活种群,属极小种群野生植物和濒危物种,亟需开展保护工作。生境破坏和生境片段化是导致八蕊单室茱单室茱萸濒危的人为因素。提出收集种质资源、营建和管护近地保护种群、建立迁地和回归种群等保育建议。     

Effect of Foliar GA3 and ABA Applications on Reactive Oxygen Metabolism in Black Currants (Ribes nigrum L.) During Bud Para-dormancy and Secondary Bud Burst

The secondary bud burst can cause around 10％-20％ yield losses in black currants, an economically important crop in parts of Europe, Asia and North America. The metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been linked to bud dormancy and its early release (secondary bud burst) in several fruit crops. But the relationship between ROS metabolism and the secondary bud burst is still not well understood in black currants. In the present study, two black currant cultivars (Adelinia and Heifeng) with opposing tendency of exhibiting the secondary bud burst were sprayed with abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA3) to either inhibit or induce the secondary bud burst. The results showed that ABA inhibited the secondary bud burst by reducing the contents of ROS (H2O2, O2-?) in buds; decreasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT); and increasing the contents of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and ascorbic acid (AsA). GA3 effectively induced the secondary bud burst by increasing ROS contents; increasing the activities of several antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, POD, CAT, glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and the contents of reduced glutathione (GSH); and decreasing the contents of AsA. The experimental results showed that GA3 treatment increased the content of ROS, accelerated the metabolism of reactive oxygen species, and promoted the second burst of black currants. However, ROS metabolism was at a low level under ABA treatment, and the buds remained dormant. These results suggested that ROS metabolism might play an important role in the two black currants of the secondary bud burst.     

Simulation of future dissolved oxygen distribution in pond culture based on sliding window-temporal convolutional network and trend surface analysis

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a key ecological factor to measure the quality of water in the aquaculture. As the pond water body is affected by the breeding environment, the spatial distribution of DO shows a certain law in the entire pond. Therefore, to simulate the distribution of DO in aquaculture waters and grasp the temporal and spatial variation of DO is the key to achieving precise regulation of DO. For this purpose, this paper proposed a method for simulating the temporal and spatial distribution of DO in pond culture based on a sliding window-temporal convolutional network together with trend surface analysis (SW-TCN-TSA). This paper first utilized SW to construct DO data sets with different prediction durations, and then used the improved TCN model to realize one-dimensional time series prediction for DO at single monitoring point. Based on the prediction results of DO, a TSA method was performed on the predicted values of DO at the extreme moments of all discrete monitoring points, so as to realize the simulation of the temporal and spatial distribution of DO in the pond. Experimental results show that the SW-TCN model has better prediction performance for one-dimensional time series prediction of DO. Compared with traditional deep networks, such as CNN, GRU, LSTM, CNN-GRU and CNN-LSTM, the values of evaluation indicators (MSE, MAE and RMSE) have been greatly improved. In the process of trend surface fitting, all fitting R² of DO at different water depths are higher than 0.9, indicating that the TSA can accurately reflect the temporal and spatial distribution of DO. This method can provide a basis for the prediction and early warning of DO in the three-dimensional space of the pond and has high practicability in aquaculture.     

Examining horizontal and vertical social ties to achieve social–ecological fit in an emerging marine reserve network

1. Most MPA networks are designed only with ecological processes in mind to increase their conservation utility. However, since MPA networks often involve large geographic areas, they also affect and involve multiple actors, institutions, and policy sectors.
2. A key challenge when establishing an effective MPA network is to align the ‘social system’ with the biophysical MPA network (the ‘ecological system’). This challenge is often denoted as ‘social–ecological fit’.
3. Facilitating collaborative social interactions among various actors and stakeholders (social connectivity) is equally as important as accomplishing ecological connectivity. New analytical approaches are required to effectively examine this ‘social’ dimension of fit.
4. An emerging marine reserve network in Jamaica and the recent invasion of Indo‐Pacific lionfish are used as a case study to: (1) examine the extent to which horizontal and vertical social ties bring local and national actors together to collaborate, coordinate, and share knowledge; and (2) assess the extent to which different attributes and features of such multilevel social networks may enhance or inhibit particular aspects of social–ecological fit.
5. Findings suggest that multilevel linkages have played the greatest role in relation to enhancing fit in the marine reserve network in the context of the recent lionfish invasion. However, the long‐term propensity of the multi‐actor and multilevel networks to enhance social–ecological fit is uncertain given the prevalence of weak social ties, lack of a culture of information sharing and collaboration, and limited financial resources.