Threats to at-risk salmonids of the Canadian Rocky Mountain region

Trout and charr, members of the salmonid family, have high conservation value but are also susceptible to anthropogenic threats in part due to the specificity of their habitat requirements. Understanding historical and future threats facing these species is necessary to promote their recovery. Of freshwater trout and charr in the Canadian Rocky Mountain region, westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus; a charr species) and Athabasca rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are of conservation concern. And indeed, range contractions and declining populations are evident throughout much of their ranges. Range contraction was most evident in the southern Alberta designatable unit (DU) of westslope cutthroat trout. Diminished populations were also evident in the downstream watersheds of the Alberta bull trout range, and throughout the Athabasca rainbow trout range. We assessed historical and future threats to evaluate the relative importance of individual threats to each DU and compare their impact among species. Individual threats fall into the broad categories of angling, non-native species and genes, habitat loss and alteration, and climate change. Severity of each threat varies by DU and reflects the interaction between species’ biology and the location of the DU. Severity of threats facing each DU has changed over time, reflecting extirpation of native populations, changes in management and industry best practices, expansion of non-native species and progressing climate change. The overall threat impact for each DU indicates a high probability of substantial and continuing declines and calls for immediate action.     

菜心重要农艺性状与SSR分子标记的关联分析

菜心是华南地区的主要蔬菜,利用分子标记辅助育种发掘出与重要农艺性状相关的分子,不仅可以加速优良品种的选育进程,还可以定向地优化目标性状,培育出高产优质的菜心品种。本研究选用148份来自宁夏银川和广东南沙田间种植的菜心种质材料,采集株高、株质量、薹高、薹质量和薹粗5个重要农艺性状的数据;利用SSR标记对其进行基因分型,开展农艺性状及SSR标记的关联性分析。结果表明,在供试的菜心材料中,147个SSR标记共检测到252个变异位点,引物多态信息含量(PIC)为0.0526~0.5222,平均值为0.3793;群体结构分析将供试的菜心品种分为2个类群;银川和南沙两地菜心品种在农艺性状和SSR标记的关联分析中发现,有6个位点与相同性状存在仍显著关联(P<0.01)。这些标记能为菜心的分子辅助选择育种提供参考。     

瓜类褪绿黄化病毒及其系统进化分析

【目的】检测新疆南疆7个县/市瓜类褪绿黄化病毒(Cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus, CCYV),进行系统发育分析,为新疆南疆CCYV预警和防控提供参考。【方法】于2019年,从中国新疆南疆7个县/市采集带有黄化特征的51份甜瓜叶片样品,RT-PCR进行CCYV的检测,进行特异性片段的克隆、测序和系统发育分析。【结果】中国新疆巴楚县、阿克苏市、莎车县、伽师县、疏勒县、疏附县均未检测到CCYV,而洛浦县的13份样本中,8份检出为CCYV阳性,检出率为61.53%,洛浦县CCYV特异性片段克隆测序获得了685 bp的核酸序列,与GenBank中的CCYV分离物外壳蛋白(Coat protein, CP)的一致性达到100%。所得序列与中国新疆(吐鲁番)、中国其他省、苏丹、日本、塞浦路斯、黎巴嫩的CP基因聚在I组(Group),沙特阿拉伯的分离物聚在Ⅱ组,伊朗的分离物聚在Ⅲ组。【结论】CCYV在中国新疆南疆洛浦县甜瓜产区发生,与中国新疆吐鲁番、中国其他省及周围国家的CCYV分离物亲缘关系很近,且群体遗传变异很小。     

岩溶流域典型农业区水体氢氧同位素的空间异质性及形成机制

分别于平水期和枯水期采集了花溪河流域典型农业区地表水和地下水样品。利用氢氧同位素示踪技术,结合土地利用类型对研究区不同水体的补给来源、季节变化及主要影响过程进行了分析,并对不同水体氢氧同位素值进行了空间插值分析,同时对其形成机制进行了分析,阐明了不同土地利用类型影响下的主要水文过程。结果表明:(1)研究区不同水体的主要补给来源为当地大气降水,月亮湖水库受蒸发作用影响明显,地表水和地下水的δD和δ~(18)O整体上呈现平水期高于枯水期的特征。(2)地下水的δD和δ~(18)O在枯水期与平水期均呈现明显的空间分异性特征,西部水田/水库集中区富集,东部旱地集中区贫化,土地利用对研究区环境水文过程影响明显。该研究结果有助于了解不同土地利用方式下地表水对地下水的影响,为流域管理提供科学依据。     

气候变化情景下流苏香竹潜在分布区预测

流苏香竹（Chimonocalamus fimbriatus）是云南特有珍稀竹种，主要分布于云南西南部。文章以野外调查获取的流苏香竹分布信息为主，运用最大熵模型（MaxEnt）同时结合地理信息系统（ArcGIS），基于19个气候因子，预测其在当前及未来气候变化情景下的潜在分布区。结果表明：当前流苏香竹的高适生区和中适生区主要分布于德宏州、保山市和临沧市等地，除迪庆州、丽江市和昭通市外，云南其他区域均有低适生区零星分布。在未来2050s和2070s的2个时间段，基于2种不同共享社会经济路径（SSP1-2.6和SSP5-8.5），流苏香竹的高适生区面积呈减少的趋势，尤其是SSP5-8.5路径下，高适生区面积仅为当前的12.51%（2050s）和18.63%（2070s）；中、低适生区在SSP1-2.6路径下，显著扩张（2050s）或略微扩张（2070s），在SSP5-8.5路径下，则大幅收缩。流苏香竹野外实际分布区及其潜在分布区均以斑块状为主，可能与云南特殊的地形、地貌有关。影响流苏香竹分布的主导气候因子为最湿月份降水量、最暖月份最高温度、最干季度降水量和平均气温日较差。流苏香竹对气候变化比较敏感，根据其野外分布状况，建议以就地保护为主、迁地保护为辅，在其潜在适生区内适当引种栽培。     

墨脱县农田土壤养分现状与分布特征

本研究利用2017年墨脱县农田测土配方项目土壤调查数据,运用地统计学方法研究了墨脱县耕层土壤有机质(SOM)、碱解氮(AN)、速效磷(AP)和速效钾(AK)养分含量现状及分布特征,以期为墨脱县耕地土壤科学合理施肥提供理论依据。结果表明:当前墨脱全县土壤SOM、AN、AP和AK平均含量为89.18 g/kg、201.25 mg/kg、11.23 mg/kg、313.17 mg/kg;90%的土壤样本有机质含量处于丰富水平;83%的土壤样本碱解氮含量处于丰富、稍丰等级;84%的土壤样本速效磷含量在中等及中等以下肥力水平;46%的土壤样本速效钾含量处于中等及以下水平。从空间分布来看,土壤SOM、AK总体上呈现西高东低,AN含量由北至南呈升高趋势,土壤AP整体上没有明显的空间变化规律。墨脱县耕地土壤养分整体表现为有机质含量丰富,氮素养分较丰富,磷素养分缺乏现象普遍,钾素养分部分区域缺乏。为提升墨脱县耕地土壤肥力水平,各乡镇应该因地制宜进行土壤培肥。     

Large‐scale patterns of fish diversity and assemblage structure in the longest tropical river in Asia

Although the Mekong River is one of the world's 35 biodiversity hot spots, the large‐scale patterns of fish diversity and assemblage structure remain poorly addressed. This study aimed to investigate the fish distribution patterns in the Lower Mekong River (LMR) and to identify their environmental determinants. Daily fish catch data (i.e. from December 2000 to November 2001) at 38 sites distributed along the LMR were related to 15 physicochemical and 19 climatic variables. As a result, four different clusters were defined according to the similarity in assemblage composition and 80 indicator species were identified. While fish species richness was highest in the Mekong delta and lowest in the upper part of the LMR, the diversity index was highest in the middle part of the LMR and lowest in the delta. We found that fish assemblages changed along the environmental gradients and that the main drivers affecting the fish assemblage structure were the seasonal variation of temperature, precipitation, dissolved oxygen, pH and total phosphorus. Specifically, upstream assemblages were characterised by cyprinids and Pangasius catfish, well suited to low temperature, high dissolved oxygen and high pH. Fish assemblages in the delta were dominated by perch‐like fish and clupeids, more tolerant to high temperatures, and high levels of nutrients (nitrates and total phosphorus) and salinity. Overall, the patterns were consistent between seasons. Our study contributes to establishing the first holistic fish community study in the LMR.     

Beaver dams,streamflow complexity,and the distribution of a rare minnow,Lepidomeda copei

Freshwater fishes are threatened globally, and often too little is known about threatened species to effectively guide their conservation. Habitat complexity is linked to fish species diversity and persistence, and degraded streams often lack habitat complexity. Beaver Castor spp., in turn, have been used to restore streams and increase habitat complexity. The northern leatherside chub Lepidomeda copei is a rare, small‐bodied, drift‐feeding minnow that has anecdotally been observed to use complex habitats associated with beaver dams in the western United States. To investigate this anecdote, we conducted fish and habitat surveys, the latter focusing on quantifying habitat complexity, in a sub‐basin of the Upper Snake River Basin in the USA. Complementary generalised linear model and path analyses revealed that northern leatherside chub occurred more often at sites with complex streamflows, and streamflows were more complex when beaver dams were present and pools were deeper. Northern leatherside chubs were also more likely to occur when temperatures were warmer, aquatic macrophytes were abundant and stream channels were narrow and deep. The linkage between chubs, complex streamflows and beaver dams needs to be evaluated more broadly to completely understand its role in the rangewide status of the species. However, it does suggests that increased use of beaver reintroductions and dam analogues for stream restoration could be a boon for the northern leatherside chub, but such efforts should be monitored to determine their effectiveness to help adapt beaver‐based restoration approaches to best benefit the species.     

Mapping the current and future distributions of Onosma species endemic to Iran

Climate change may cause shifts in the natural range of species especially for those that are geographically restricted and/or endemic species. In this study, the spatial distribution of five endemic and threatened species belonging to the genus Onosma (including O. asperrima, O. bisotunensis, O. kotschyi, O. platyphylla, and O. straussii) was investigated under present and future climate change scenarios: RCP2.6 (RCP, representative concentration pathway; optimistic scenario) and RCP8.5 (pessimistic scenario) for the years 2050 and 2080 in Iran. Analysis was conducted using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to provide a basis for the protection and conservation of these species. Seven environmental variables including aspect, depth of soil, silt content, slope, annual precipitation, minimum temperature of the coldest month, and annual temperature range were used as main predictors in this study. The model output for the potential habitat suitability of the studied species showed acceptable performance for all species (i.e., the area under the curve (AUC)>0.800). According to the models generated by MaxEnt, the potential current patterns of the species were consistent with the observed areas of distributions. The projected climate maps under optimistic and pessimistic scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, respectively) of 2050 and 2080 resulted in reductions and expansions as well as positive range changes for all species in comparison to their current predicted distributions. Among all species, O. bisotunensis showed the most significant and highest increase under the pessimistic scenario of 2050 and 2080. Finally, the results of this study revealed that the studied plant species have shown an acute adaptability to environmental changes. The results can provide useful information to managers to apply appropriate strategies for the management and conservation of these valuable Iranian medicinal and threatened plant species in the future.     

Bulk pollen pollination in maize for efficient construction of introgression populations with high genome coverage

Introgression populations consist of a set of introgression lines or families, constructed by continuous backcrossing to the recurrent parent, while carrying a limited number of chromosome segments from a donor parent in their genomes. Increasing the genome coverage is an important aim when constructing introgression population. In this study, we proposed bulk pollen pollination (BPP) method and used it to increase the genome coverage of a maize introgression population. The results showed that the genome coverage of the introgression population constructed using BPP method reached 100% at BC₃ generation, which accorded with the simulation result. The BPP‐based BC₃F_1:2 population could identify most quantitative trait loci (QTL) detected using the F_2:3 population, especially major QTL. Simulation analysis showed that the genome coverage of introgression population increased with the increase of population size and the number of bulked plants, and decreased with the increase of backcross generation. Our results proved the reliability of the BPP‐based introgression population in increasing genome coverage and detecting QTL, and provided references for constructing high‐coverage introgression populations.