Direct impacts of recent climate warming on insect populations

Effects of recent climate change have already been detected in many species, and, in particular, in insects. The present paper reviews the key impacts of global warming on insect development and dispersal. The effects of climate change appear to be much more complex than a simple linear response to an average increase in temperature. They can differ between seasons and bioclimatic regions. Earlier flight periods, enhanced winter survival and acceleration of development rates are the major insect responses. Differential response of insects and hosts to warming up might also lead to disruption of their phenological synchrony, but adaptive genetic processes are likely to quickly restore this synchrony. In a number of cases, warming results in removing or relocating the barriers that limit present species' ranges. It is also likely to facilitate the establishment and spread of invasive alien species. Finally, knowledge gaps are identified and future research interests are suggested.     

鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR遗传变异及其对miRNA结合位点的潜在效应

【目的】研究鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR遗传变异/单倍型及其在品种间的分布，并预测这些变异对miRNA结合位点的潜在效应。【方法】根据鸡Lpin1基因组序列（GenBank登录号：NC_006090）设计一对特异性引物，采用PCR直接测序结合克隆测序的方法，进行鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR及其邻近外显子在品种间的遗传变异/单倍型分析。【结果】①从6个品种中发现了8个变异位点，包含两个插入/缺失变异。这些变异均位于鸡Lpin1基因的3′-UTR，3′-UTR的变异频率为17SNPs/kb；②在鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR区域，从固始鸡、卢氏绿壳蛋鸡中分别检测到7个变异位点，未检测到河南斗鸡品种内的变异；③用次要等位基因频率≥5%的6个变异位点（g.11A＞T，g.77C＞G，g.108_109delinsG，g.110_111delinsG，g.270A＞G和g.348G＞T）进行单倍型的构建和分析，从6个品种鸡中共检测到6种单倍型，其中P1和P4单倍型是群体的优势单倍型，频率均大于30%，河南斗鸡仅包含一种单倍型；④g.77C＞G变异可引起多个miRNA结合位点的增加/丢失。【结论】鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR具有丰富的变异，3′-UTR变异位点/单倍型在品种间的分布存在明显的差异。     

Morphological variability of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and brown trout Salmo trutta in different river environments

Abstract – The morphologies of sympatric juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr and brown trout Salmo trutta parr were compared between Irish rivers with contrasting hydraulic environments – a high‐gradient and a low‐gradient tributary from the River Barrow catchment, south‐east Ireland and a high‐gradient river from the Burrishoole catchment, west of Ireland. The two catchments differ markedly in mean annual precipitation (849.0 mm year^?1 and 1370.3 mm year^?1 for the Barrow and Burrishoole catchments, respectively). Parr of both species demonstrated morphological variation between and within catchments. Changes in metrics such as pectoral fin length, body depth and body length between and within catchments suggest that hydraulic forces were a major determinant of morphological variation. Both species from the Burrishoole catchment had relatively larger pectoral fins, longer heads, larger eyes and shallower bodies than conspecifics from the Barrow catchment. In rivers subject to frequent rainfall‐driven high discharges, such as those in the Burrishoole catchment, a more fusiform body and head shape coupled with larger pectoral fins may reduce the energetic cost of maintaining position in the water column, as well as increase stability and manoeuvrability. The larger eyes in both parr species in the Burrishoole catchment could further be a response to the lower visibility of the more turbid and peat‐stained waters or to the reduced prey availability. The results of this study demonstrate that local adaptation to flow conditions can yield morphologically distinct populations and that multiple species can exhibit parallel phenotypic responses to changing environmental conditions.     

Cortical monoterpene variation in natural populations of Pinus sylvestris in Sweden

Cortical oleoresins were obtained from 10 natural populations of Pinus sylvestris L. from different geographical localities. Gas chromatography was used to determine quantities of individual monoterpenes. Considerable variation was found in monoterpene composition among different populations. High proportions of limonene occurred in greater percentages in trees of northern origins, while high sabinene was frequently found in southern trees. Mean proportions of limonene and sabinene in the populations were clinal with latitude. For some monoterpenes, variation coefficients as a measure of variability within populations appeared to be clinal with latitude. 85.4% of the variance in monoterpene composition was found within populations and 14.6 between populations. Discriminant analysis differentiates populations from different geographical localities into different groups. The differences in monoterpene patterns between adjacent populations were statistically nonsignificant. It is recommended that monoterpene composition be used for more general study of genetic variation, geographical distinction between different populations and seed certification purposes.     

Shoot nitrate reductase activities of field‐layer species in different forest types. II

Analysis of in vivo shoot nitrate reductase activity (NRA) of the grass Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. has been proposed as a method of indicating the availability of nitrate in northern temperate forest soils. We report the seasonal variation in NRA and the influence of temperature on the NRA assay. Studies were performed in the field or on natural populations on topsoil monoliths in a greenhouse.

The induced in vivo NRA as measured at 28°C was higher in plants grown at lower than at higher temperatures within the range 4–20°C, although the induction was faster at higher temperatures. When the assay was performed at various temperatures, enzyme activity was much lower at lower temperatures. The accumulation of organic nitrogen in shoots showed that reduction actually increased with temperature. Transfer of monoliths from high to low temperature led to an increase of in vivo NRA within a day, whereas the decline caused by the reverse began after six days. Variations in temperature accounted for between 0 and 80% of the seasonal variation in NRA in the field, depending on the influence of the variability in nitrate supply.

Maximally induced NRA after application of nitrate was mostly higher in a clearfelling than in a closed forest. In the forest, there was a close correlation between current and maximally induced NRA. One interpretation of this result is that low availability of nitrogen may have been a cause of the lower maximally induced NRA there. This is supported by results from other studies.

We conclude that variations in temperature and availability of nitrogen, particularly nitrate, are largely responsible for seasonal variations in NRA. The influence of temperature can be adjusted for.     

Prediction of daily reference evapotranspiration by a multiple regression method based on weather forecast data

Prediction of daily reference evapotranspiration (ET ₀) is the basis of real-time irrigation scheduling. A multiple regression method for ET ₀ prediction based on its seasonal variation pattern and public weather forecast data was presented for application in East China. The forecasted maximum temperature (T _max), minimum temperature (T _min) and weather condition index (WCI) were adopted to calculate the correction coefficient by multilinear regression under five time-division regimes (10 days, monthly, seasonal, semi-annual and annual). The multiple regression method was tested for its feasibility for ET ₀ prediction using forecasted weather data as the input, and the monthly regime was selected as the most suitable. Average absolute error (AAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) were 0.395 and 0.522 mm d^?1, respectively. ET ₀ prediction errors increased linearly with the increase in temperature prediction error. A temperature error within 3 K is likely to result in acceptable ET ₀ predictions, with AAE and average absolute relative error (AARE) <0.142 mm d^?1 and 5.8%, respectively. However, one rank error in WCI results in a much larger error in ET ₀ prediction due to the high sensitivity of the correction coefficient to WCI and the large relative error in WCI caused by one rank deviation. Improving the accuracy of weather forecasts, especially for WCI prediction, is helpful in obtaining better estimations of ET ₀ based on public weather data.     

小麦幼胚愈伤组织辐照后代的遗传变异分析

以３个普通小麦品种为材料，用＾６０Ｃｏγ射线辐照小麦幼胚愈伤组织，在ＭＲ１、ＭＲ２代中才观察到广泛变异，其后代在育性、株高、抽穗期、千粒重、株型、蛋白质含量等方面者发生了明显变异，这些变异较单纯用组织培养得到的无性系的后代的变异频率更大，变异范围也更为广泛，并且从ＭＲ２中得到了几个有较高利用价值的变异株系。     

Random amplified polymorphic DNA markers reveal low genetic variation and a single dominant genotype in Eichhornia crassipes populations throughout China

Genetic variation within and between 34 populations of Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) in China was surveyed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. A total of 1009 individuals were analysed, for which 12 RAPD primers amplified 69 reproducible bands, with 22 (32%) being polymorphic. The percentage of polymorphic loci (p) within a population ranged from 4.4% to 17.4%, and the mean Nei's gene diversity (H_e) was 0.046 ± 0.0145, indicating a low genetic diversity of E. crassipes in China. Each population contained at least four RAPD phenotypes (genotypes), and the same particular genotype was invariably dominant in all the populations sampled. The mean proportion of distinguishable genotypes was 0.29. Analysis of molecular variance revealed a large proportion of genetic variation (83.9%) residing within populations and a slightly larger proportion (88.1%) within localities, indicating a low genetic differentiation of E. crassipes populations, both locally and regionally. Human-mediated dispersal, vigorous clonal growth, and a generally low level of sexual reproduction were thought to be responsible for such a pattern of genetic structure.     

Genetic diversity of Pueraria lobata (kudzu) and closely related taxa as revealed by inter-simple sequence repeat analysis

Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is a noxious weed infesting some areas of the USA. Knowledge of its genetic variation in both native and invasive areas can lead to effective biological control measures. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) variations were studied in P. lobata and its four closely related congeneric species (P. edulis, P. montana, P. phaseoloides and P. thomsoni). ISSR results allowed a clear separation of these five species. For P. lobata, 108 plants from China and USA were analysed. The samples from the US were genetically closer to Chinese P. lobata populations than to other congeneric populations. High genetic differentiation was found for P. lobata, P. montana and P. thomsoni in Chinese samples. High genetic diversity and low population differentiation was found in P. lobata samples of the US. This supports the hypothesis of multiple introductions into the USA from different sources in Japan or China, followed by subsequent gene exchange and recombination.     

应用CPV林间防治越冬代马尾松毛虫试验

应用CPV林间进行越冬代马尾松毛虫防治试验,结果表明不同剂量CPV与1/100000的20%氰戊菊酯乳油复配能显著提高CPV的林间杀虫效果。林间以CPV2.4×106~1.5×105多角体/ml与1/100000的20%氰戊菊酯乳油复配防治越冬代马尾松毛虫为宜,13天幼虫死亡率可达85%以上。