Morphological disparity of ammonoids and the mark of Permian mass extinctions

The taxonomic diversity of ammonoids, in terms of the number of taxa preserved, provides an incomplete picture of the extinction pattern during the Permian because of a strongly biased fossil record. The analysis of morphological disparity (the variety of shell shapes) is a powerful complementary tool for testing hypotheses about the selectivity of extinction and permits the recognition of three distinct patterns. First, a trend of decreasing disparity, ranging for about 30 million years, led to a minimum disparity immediately before the Permian-Triassic boundary. Second, the strongly selective Capitanian crisis fits a model of background extinction driven by standard environmental changes. Third, the end-Permian mass extinction operated as a random, nonselective sorting of morphologies, which is consistent with a catastrophic cause.     

Stellar luminosity variations and global warming

Recent studies indicate that variation in the sun's luminosity is less than that observed in many other stars of similar magnetic activity. Current findings also indicate that in more active stars, the attenuation by faculae of sunspot luminosity modulation is less effective than in the sun at present. The sun could thus become photometrically more variable (and dimmer) if its magnetic activity exceeded present levels. But the levels of solar activity required for this to occur are not observed in carbon-14 and beryllium-10 records over the past several millennia, which indicates that such an increase in amplitude of surface magnetism-driven variations in solar luminosity is unlikely in the present epoch.     

Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and marine biota

Infectious diseases can cause rapid population declines or species extinctions. Many pathogens of terrestrial and marine taxa are sensitive to temperature, rainfall, and humidity, creating synergisms that could affect biodiversity. Climate warming can increase pathogen development and survival rates, disease transmission, and host susceptibility. Although most host-parasite systems are predicted to experience more frequent or severe disease impacts with warming, a subset of pathogens might decline with warming, releasing hosts from disease. Recently, changes in El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation events have had a detectable influence on marine and terrestrial pathogens, including coral diseases, oyster pathogens, crop pathogens, Rift Valley fever, and human cholera. To improve our ability to predict epidemics in wild populations, it will be necessary to separate the independent and interactive effects of multiple climate drivers on disease impact.     

Assessing the causes of late Pleistocene extinctions on the continents

One of the great debates about extinction is whether humans or climatic change caused the demise of the Pleistocene megafauna. Evidence from paleontology, climatology, archaeology, and ecology now supports the idea that humans contributed to extinction on some continents, but human hunting was not solely responsible for the pattern of extinction everywhere. Instead, evidence suggests that the intersection of human impacts with pronounced climatic change drove the precise timing and geography of extinction in the Northern Hemisphere. The story from the Southern Hemisphere is still unfolding. New evidence from Australia supports the view that humans helped cause extinctions there, but the correlation with climate is weak or contested. Firmer chronologies, more realistic ecological models, and regional paleoecological insights still are needed to understand details of the worldwide extinction pattern and the population dynamics of the species involved.     

Grassland vegetation changes and nocturnal global warming

Global minimum temperatures (TMIN) are increasing faster than maximum temperatures, but the ecological consequences of this are largely unexplored. Long-term data sets from the shortgrass steppe were used to identify correlations between TMIN and several vegetation variables. This ecosystem is potentially sensitive to increases in TMIN. Most notably, increased spring TMIN was correlated with decreased net primary production by the dominant C4 grass (Bouteloua gracilis) and with increased abundance and production by exotic and native C3 forbs. Reductions in B. gracilis may make this system more vulnerable to invasion by exotic species and less tolerant of drought and grazing.     

Microtektites and mass extinctions: evidence for a late devonian asteroid impact

Glass spherules, similar to microtektites, have been found near the Frasnian-Famennian boundary (F/F) (Upper Devonian) at Senzeilles, Belgium, contemporaneous with one of the largest marine mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic. These spherules exhibit a wide range of compositions and display teardrop, dumbbell, and compound morphologies analogous to microtektites. In addition, they lack crystallites, have few or no vesicles, and have a low content of volatile material. These characteristics are supportive of an impact origin. The Siljan Ring (Sweden) and Charlevoix structure (Quebec,Canada) are candidate craters of this age. The presence of microtektites near the F/F boundary supports the hypothesis that an impact caused the Upper Devonian worldwide benthic mass extinctions.     

长沙市区马尾松人工林生态系统碳储量及其空间分布

\t\t\t\t\t目的\t\t\t\t\t通过对帽儿山不同红松人工林凋落物的分析测定,研究不同红松人工林凋落物含量、组成以及凋落物碳密度的动态规律和特点,为其区域尺度上森林碳储量的估测和碳汇林业的开展提供科学和理论依据。\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t方法\t\t\t\t\t运用凋落物筐收集法对帽儿山地区红松人工纯林、白桦—红松人工混交林和蒙古栎—红松人工混交林的凋落物进行研究。\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t结果\t\t\t\t\t不同林型凋落物组成不同,凋落物含量和凋落物碳密度随着林龄的增长也逐渐增加,3种林型42年林龄凋落物含量和碳密度均明显大于20年;不同林型的人工林凋落物碳密度差异显著,20年人工林凋落物碳密度表现为：白桦—红松林 [0.751 t/(hm²·a)] >蒙古栎—红松林 [0.721 t/(hm ²·a)] >红松纯林 [0.688 t/(hm ²·a)](P<0.05);42年生人工林凋落物碳密度依次为：蒙古栎—红松林 [2.995 t/(hm²·a)] >白桦—红松林 [2.779 t/(hm ²·a)] >红松纯林 [2.007 t/(hm ²·a)](P<0.05)。\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t结论\t\t\t\t\t不同林型的红松人工林凋落物碳密度差异显著,混交林明显大于纯林;林分凋落物碳密度随着林龄的增长而增加。\t\t\t\t