Transgenic cotton was modified to express a gene derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） to combat agriculturally important Lepidopteran pests. Elevated CO2 is expected to further alter the chemical c...Transgenic cotton was modified to express a gene derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） to combat agriculturally important Lepidopteran pests. Elevated CO2 is expected to further alter the chemical composition of the plant, and this change may affect the role soil fauna plays in decomposition of Bt plants. A 3 months litterbag field study, consisting of four treatments using leaves from Bt cotton and near-isolines of non-Bt cotton grown under ambient and elevated CO2 levels, was conducted to investigate the abundance and community structure of soil Collembola that developed on the decaying leaf material. A total of 4,884 collembolans, including 13 genera of five families, were extracted in the present study. These results suggest that collembolan distribution was relatively uniform among the Bt cotton, elevated concentration of CO2 and control treatments, except for a significant difference in the densities of Onychiurus and Folsomides. No significant effects were detected in the decomposition rate between the two cotton varieties and two CO2 treatments. These findings indicated that transgenic Bt cotton plants and elevated CO2 do not have any adverse effect on the soil collembolans through the decomposition way in soil ecosystem.展开更多
As a National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China, the Key Processes, Mechanism and Ecological Consequences of Jellyfish Bloom in China Coastal Waters led by Prof. SUN
Ecological and evolutionary studies on spiders have been featured prominently throughout the contemporary behavio- ral syndromes movement. Here we review the behavioral syndromes literature devoted to spiders, and ide...Ecological and evolutionary studies on spiders have been featured prominently throughout the contemporary behavio- ral syndromes movement. Here we review the behavioral syndromes literature devoted to spiders, and identify some ways in which behavioral syndromes can impact the function of spiders in ecological communities. We further highlight three general themes within the behavioral syndromes literature for which spiders have served as front running model systems： （1） how trait correlations beget performance trade-offs, （2） the influence that behavioral trait variants have on interspecific interactions and （3） mechanisms that aid in maintaining behavioral variation within-and among-populations. Research on behavioral syndromes con-tinues to grow at an impressive rate, and we feel the success of behavioral syndromes studies in spiders bodes well for their con-tinued prominence.展开更多
The ecotone, the spatial transition zone between two vegetation communities, is claimed to have more species than the adjoining communities. However, empirical studies do not always confirm higher richness at the ecot...The ecotone, the spatial transition zone between two vegetation communities, is claimed to have more species than the adjoining communities. However, empirical studies do not always confirm higher richness at the ecotone. The ecotone position and structure are dynamic over time and space and it is driven by the changes in climate, land use or their interaction. In this context, we assessed the forest- grassland ecotone of temperate mountains in central Nepal by i） comparing species composition and richness across the ecotone, ii） analyzing if the forestgrassland ecotone is shifting towards the grassland center by colonizing them with trees, and iii） discussing the consequence of changed disturbance regime in the dynamics of this ecotone and the surrounding grasslands. We analyzed vegetation data sampled from belt transects laid across the forest- grassland ecotone in semi-natural grassland patches. Vegetation data consisting of species richness and composition, and size structure and regeneration of the two most dominant tree species, namely Rhododendron arboreum and Abies spectabilis, from the transects, were used to analyze the trend of the forest-grassland ecotone. Forest and grasslands were different in terms of floristic composition and diversity. Vascular plant speciesrichness linearly increased while moving from forest interior to grassland center. Spatial pattern of tree size structure and regeneration infers that forest boundary is advancing towards the grasslands at the expense of the grassland area, and tree establishment in the grasslands is part of a suceessional process. Temporally, tree establishment in grasslands started following the gradual decline in disturbance. We argue that local processes in terms of changed land use may best explain the phenomenon of ecotone shift and consequent forest expansion in these grasslands. We underpin the need for further research on the mechanism, rate and spatial extent of ecotone shift by using advaneed tools to understand the process indepth.展开更多
文摘Transgenic cotton was modified to express a gene derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis （Bt） to combat agriculturally important Lepidopteran pests. Elevated CO2 is expected to further alter the chemical composition of the plant, and this change may affect the role soil fauna plays in decomposition of Bt plants. A 3 months litterbag field study, consisting of four treatments using leaves from Bt cotton and near-isolines of non-Bt cotton grown under ambient and elevated CO2 levels, was conducted to investigate the abundance and community structure of soil Collembola that developed on the decaying leaf material. A total of 4,884 collembolans, including 13 genera of five families, were extracted in the present study. These results suggest that collembolan distribution was relatively uniform among the Bt cotton, elevated concentration of CO2 and control treatments, except for a significant difference in the densities of Onychiurus and Folsomides. No significant effects were detected in the decomposition rate between the two cotton varieties and two CO2 treatments. These findings indicated that transgenic Bt cotton plants and elevated CO2 do not have any adverse effect on the soil collembolans through the decomposition way in soil ecosystem.
文摘As a National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China, the Key Processes, Mechanism and Ecological Consequences of Jellyfish Bloom in China Coastal Waters led by Prof. SUN
文摘Ecological and evolutionary studies on spiders have been featured prominently throughout the contemporary behavio- ral syndromes movement. Here we review the behavioral syndromes literature devoted to spiders, and identify some ways in which behavioral syndromes can impact the function of spiders in ecological communities. We further highlight three general themes within the behavioral syndromes literature for which spiders have served as front running model systems： （1） how trait correlations beget performance trade-offs, （2） the influence that behavioral trait variants have on interspecific interactions and （3） mechanisms that aid in maintaining behavioral variation within-and among-populations. Research on behavioral syndromes con-tinues to grow at an impressive rate, and we feel the success of behavioral syndromes studies in spiders bodes well for their con-tinued prominence.
基金financial support from the NOrad's Program for MAsters Studies (NOMA) at Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepalfunded by the Norwegian Research Council (190153/V10)Grolle Olsens Legat
文摘The ecotone, the spatial transition zone between two vegetation communities, is claimed to have more species than the adjoining communities. However, empirical studies do not always confirm higher richness at the ecotone. The ecotone position and structure are dynamic over time and space and it is driven by the changes in climate, land use or their interaction. In this context, we assessed the forest- grassland ecotone of temperate mountains in central Nepal by i） comparing species composition and richness across the ecotone, ii） analyzing if the forestgrassland ecotone is shifting towards the grassland center by colonizing them with trees, and iii） discussing the consequence of changed disturbance regime in the dynamics of this ecotone and the surrounding grasslands. We analyzed vegetation data sampled from belt transects laid across the forest- grassland ecotone in semi-natural grassland patches. Vegetation data consisting of species richness and composition, and size structure and regeneration of the two most dominant tree species, namely Rhododendron arboreum and Abies spectabilis, from the transects, were used to analyze the trend of the forest-grassland ecotone. Forest and grasslands were different in terms of floristic composition and diversity. Vascular plant speciesrichness linearly increased while moving from forest interior to grassland center. Spatial pattern of tree size structure and regeneration infers that forest boundary is advancing towards the grasslands at the expense of the grassland area, and tree establishment in the grasslands is part of a suceessional process. Temporally, tree establishment in grasslands started following the gradual decline in disturbance. We argue that local processes in terms of changed land use may best explain the phenomenon of ecotone shift and consequent forest expansion in these grasslands. We underpin the need for further research on the mechanism, rate and spatial extent of ecotone shift by using advaneed tools to understand the process indepth.
