Distribution and diversity of leaf-cutting ants in Northeastern Argentina: species most associated with forest plantations

Abstract

Leaf-cutting ants (LCA) are considered one of the main herbivores and one of the most destructive pest insects of the Neotropics. Northeastern Argentina harbors the greatest species richness of these ants and in turn comprises the highest surface with forest plantations. Our aim was to establish which species of leaf-cutting ants are most commonly associated with forest plantations by analyzing their geographic distribution using published and unpublished species occurrence data. Also, estimate their potential areas of distribution along a latitudinal gradient that entirely encompasses northeastern Argentina using Ecological Niche Modeling. Only seven of the 20 species recorded were strongly associated with productive systems along the gradient, but only 2–3 species in each region could be considered high-risk species for forest plantations. High-risk species composition shows a turnover between regions. Our models show the potential distribution areas where LCA could become more abundant and dominant, and possibly causing a detrimental effect on the forest plantations in the studied region. We find that ecological niche models are useful tools to assess the environmental suitability of important LCA.     

Predicting the potential geographic distribution of Bactrocera bryoniae and Bactrocera neohumeralis(Diptera: Tephritidae) in China using MaxEnt ecological niche modeling

Bactrocera bryoniae and Bactrocera neohumeralis are highly destructive and major biosecurity/quarantine pests of fruit and vegetable in the tropical and subtropical regions in the South Pacific and Australia. Although these pests have not established in China, precautions must be taken due to their highly destructive nature. Thus, we predicted the potential geographic distribution of B. bryoniae and B. neohumeralis across the world and in particular China by ecological niche modeling of the Maximum Entropy(Max Ent) model with the occurrence records of these two species. Bactrocera bryoniae and B. neohumeralis exhibit similar potential geographic distribution ranges across the world and in China, and each species was predicted to be able to distribute to over 20% of the globe. Globally, the potential geographic distribution ranges for these two fruit fly species included southern Asia, the central and the southeast coast of Africa, southern North America, northern and central South America, and Australia. While within China, most of the southern Yangtze River area was found suitable for these species. Notably, southern China was considered to have the highest risk of B. bryoniae and B. neohumeralis invasions. Our study identifies the regions at high risk for potential establishment of B. bryoniae and B. neohumeralis in the world and in particular China, and informs the development of inspection and biosecurity/quarantine measures to prevent and control their invasions.     

凤凰县刺楸天然种群主要物种的生态位特征

以湖南省凤凰县刺楸(Kalopanax septemlobus)天然种群分布相对集中的9个样地作为资源位,按重要值总和排序确定主要植物种,应用Levins、Shannon–Wiener、Pianka和Schoener公式分析群落乔木层和灌木层总计29个主要植物种的生态位。结果表明:在乔木层中,刺楸的重要值总和最高(1.345),杉木、柞木、刺楸的生态位宽度较大;乔木层多数种对间的生态位重叠程度较高,对环境需求存在较高的相似性,高重叠种对的相似度为69.23%,高相似种对的相似度为52.75%;刺楸和其他物种的生态位重叠与其他物种的生态位宽度呈正相关;灌木层种间生态位分化不明显,在资源不足时极易产生竞争;生态位宽度值与生态位重叠值、生态位相似比例值关系复杂;刺楸生态位宽度较宽,当资源不足时,刺楸在竞争中不占优势,其种群更新会受到其他物种的影响。     

Tree-ring response of Larix chinensis on regional climate and sea-surface temperature variations in alpine timberline in the Qinling Mountains

Tree-ring width chronologies of Larix chinensis were developed from the northern and southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province,and climatic factors affecting the tree-ring widths of L.chinensis were examined.Correlation analysis showed that similar correlations between tree-ring width chronologies and climatic factors demonstrated that radial growth responded to climate change on both slopes.The radial growth of L.chinensis was mainly limited by temperature,especially the growing season.In contrast,both chronologies were negatively correlated with precipitation in May of the previous year and April of the current year.Spatial climate-correlation analyses with gridded land-surface climate data revealed that our tree-ring width chronologies contained a strong regional temperature signal over much of northcentral and eastern China.Spatial correlation with seasurface temperature fields highlights the influence of the Pacific Ocean,Indian Ocean,and North Atlantic Ocean.Wavelet coherence analysis indicated the existence of some decadal and interannual cycles in the two tree-ring width chronologies.This may suggest the influences of El Nin˜o-Southern Oscillation and solar activity on tree growth in the Qinling Mountains.These findings will help us understand the growth response of L.chinensis to climate change in the Qinling region,and they provide critical information for future climate reconstructions based on this species in semi-humid regions.     

Ecological and landscape effects on genetic distance in an assemblage of headwater fishes

Environmental divergence along hierarchically structured longitudinal gradients may constitute barriers to gene flow in river networks for headwater specialised species. While known, this phenomenon has not been well studied, especially with regard to degree of headwater specialisation. We examined six headwater species that differ in habitat specialisation to assess whether patterns of differentiation vary according to geographic or environmental distance. We also identified regional environmental or anthropogenically induced fragmentation effects by comparing within‐drainage patterns of genetic distance across replicate watersheds. We used a comparative modelling framework to determine whether isolation by distance or isolation by resistance of large river habitats was a better predictor of genetic distance across species. The influence of reservoir presence and regional network characteristics that may influence the hydrology and size of large river habitats were also assessed. Resistance effects from large rivers were closely related to headwater specialisation, with increased specialisation leading to increased resistance and loss of drainagewide population connectivity. These results affirm that dendritic networks naturally fragment headwater specialised species. Further isolation from anthropogenic fragmentation was detected in two of the six drainages, indicating interactions with system‐specific conditions. Landscape variables related to the hydrology of large rivers also affected genetic distance in predicted ways, supporting the importance of large rivers in genetically structuring headwater species in drainage networks.     

北京松山自然保护区主要树种冠幅预测模型研究

冠幅作为林业研究的关键因子，开展冠幅的研究对于精准林业发展具有重要意义。为了更好地利用冠幅对树木其他因子进行预测，选取了北京市松山自然保护区油松、白蜡、蒙古栎等14个常见树种作为研究对象，基于6种回归方程，借助样地实测数据分别建立每个树种的胸径 冠幅和树高 冠幅模型，并针对每个树种筛选出的最优方程进行了精度检验。结果表明，研建的14个树种的模型具有较好的拟合精度，决定系数R2绝大多数都大于0.5，其中，核桃的胸径 冠幅模型最高，R2=0.951，树高-冠幅模型R2=0.887，蒙古栎树高-冠幅模型最低，R2=0.506，也超过了0.5。所建模型的精度评价指标具有一定的统计学意义，对北京市松山地区大面积林分参数的预测预估有重要的参考价值。     

苦瓜种子大小和单粒质量的遗传分析

以苦瓜自交系K7-359(P_1)和K7-422(P_2)分别作为母本和父本,通过杂交获得F_1,F_1自交获得F_2群体,采用主基因+多基因混合遗传模型分析苦瓜种子长度、宽度和单粒质量的遗传规律。结果表明,苦瓜种子长度和单粒质量的遗传均符合加性-显性-上位性多基因遗传模型(C-0模型),多基因遗传率分别为84.91%和76.55%,说明对苦瓜种子长度和单粒质量的选择宜在高世代进行;苦瓜种子宽度的遗传符合1对加性-显性主基因+加性-显性-上位性多基因模型(D-0模型),主基因和多基因遗传率分别为79.30%和3.86%,主基因遗传效应主要以加性效应为主,说明对种子宽度的改良可以采用组合育种的策略,且适宜在早期世代进行选择。     

种植方式对水稻产量及根系性状的影响

2011—2012年在湖南长沙以超级杂交稻Y两优1号、杂交稻汕优63和常规稻黄华占为材料的大田定位试验,比较了垄作梯式栽培技术(两种垄规格)和垄厢栽培技术(3种厢规格)对水稻产量和根系性状的影响。与平作栽培(T0)相比,窄垄作梯式栽培(T1)和垄厢栽培(T3)均可提高水稻产量,其中以T1的产量最高,比T0平均增产22.2%(17.1%～27.2%),其次T3平均增产10.4%(5.8%～15.0%),但随着垄宽或厢宽的增加,产量增幅逐渐下降。较高的穗数和每穗粒数、良好的根系特性(根系氧化力、根表面吸收面积、根系孔隙度)以及齐穗后干物质积累量大是上述两种栽培技术增产的重要原因。同时,根解剖结构表明垄作梯式栽培的根皮层减小、中柱和导管面积增大,增强了水分吸收能力。     

全膜双垄沟双幅覆膜覆土联合作业机设计与试验

为进一步提升全膜双垄沟覆膜种床机械化耕整作业效果与作业效率,基于全膜双垄沟种床双幅覆膜覆土农艺技术栽培模式,设计全膜双垄沟双幅覆膜覆土联合作业机,实现了全膜双垄沟种床构建过程中的旋耕、起垄、施肥、双幅覆膜覆土及镇压的一体化作业。在设定联合作业机传动系统的前提下,对样机关键部件进行设计与选型,确定其旋耕刀组、排肥装置、提土-种床覆土装置的工作参数与功耗,同时解析了刮板式提土装置、水平双向螺旋输土装置作业过程,得到满足双幅覆膜种床各部位覆土的必要条件。应用离散单元法对提土-种床覆土装置"提土-输土-覆土"动态作业过程进行数值模拟,分析了各工作环节输土、覆土特性,对影响覆土作业效果的相关因素进行了探讨。田间试验结果表明,当全膜双垄沟双幅覆膜覆土联合作业机前进速度为1. 10 m/s时,采光面地膜机械破损程度为39. 8 mm/m~2、种床膜边覆土宽度合格率为94. 5%、大垄垄体中心覆土宽度合格率为91. 6%、种床覆土厚度合格率为97. 5%、种床起垄高度合格率为93. 2%,试验指标均符合国家与行业标准要求,试验结果满足设计和实际作业要求,田间试验工况与仿真结果基本一致。     

Effects of different variable sets on the potential distribution of fish species in the Amazon Basin

Estimating species’ potential distribution is one of the main objectives of macroecology, especially when sampling biases can affect knowledge on how environmental variables affect species distribution. Ecological niche models estimate species’ environmental niches from different variables and their occurrences. Using the presence-only data from eight Amazonian fish species, which inhabit rivers and streams, we aimed to (a) explore the effect of different sets variables on the spatial distributions of target species and (b) evaluate the predictive responses of MaxEnt to sets of variables with different degrees of complexity. MaxEnt has high flexibility in relation to the input data and its performance is influenced by a moderate number of adjustable parameters, allowing for high precision results when balancing underestimation and overestimation errors. We used environmental predictors in MaxEnt the principal components of climatic, topographic and edaphic variables as inputs. The combination of topographic and edaphic variables produced more precise and spatially restricted distribution ranges for all species when compared to those generated with climatic variables. All models reached high AUC values, especially for stream species. Modelled range sizes were broader for the river species, suggesting different tolerance thresholds and habitat preferences when compared to stream species. The complexity of the different variables sets did not affect MaxEnt's prediction capacity. However, for stream species, MaxEnt showed a greater predictive power. This work increases the knowledge with regards to the influence of different environmental predictors on the spatial patterns of the distribution of Amazonian fish.