Physiological advantages may contribute to successful invasion of the exotic Cyprinus carpio into the Xingyun Lake, China

Feeding and growth traits of Cyprinus carpio and Cyprinus pellegrini (both at age-0) were compared in three experiment, in an attempt to analyze potential causes for the displacement of the native C. pellegrini in the Xingyun Lake, Yuxi, Yunan, China. Experiment I was conducted in water which fluctuated between 15 and 20 degrees C. Experiment II and III were conducted in a laboratory and water temperature was maintained between 20 degrees C and 25 degrees C, respectively. Three common trends were noted for all three experiments: (1) feeding rate of C. carpio was lower than that of C. pellegrini, and this difference was found to be significant in experiment I; (2) growth rate of C. carpio was higher than C. pellegrini, and the difference was found to be significant in experiment II; (3) food conversion efficiency and energy retention efficiency for C. carpio were higher than those of C. pellegrini, and significant differences were noted in experiment I and II. Since the growth period for fish in the Xingyun Lake generally occurs when water temperatures are between 15 and 25 degrees C, it can be suggested that C. carpio has advantages over C. pellegrini in growth and food utilization efficiency, and lower food consumption than C. pellegrini. These physiological traits of C. carpio might allow this species to be more resistant to food shortage and predation, and may be partially responsible for the displacement of C. pellegrini by C. carpio.

The distribution and economic losses of alien species invasion to China

Invasive alien species have become one of the most serious environmental issues in the world. Data of taxon, origin, pathway, and environmental impacts of invasive alien microorganisms, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles, fish, birds, mammals, herbs, trees, and, marine organisms in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems of China were analyzed during 2001 and 2003, based on literature retrieval and field survey. There were 283 invasive alien species in China, and the number of species of invasive alien microorganisms, aquatic plants, terrestrial plants, aquatic invertebrates, terrestrial invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles, fish, and mammals were 19, 18, 170, 25, 33, 3, 10, and 5, respectively. The proportion of invasive alien species originated from America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania were 55.1, 21.7, 9.9, 8.1, and 0.6%, respectively. Methods for estimation of direct economic losses to agriculture, forestry, stockbreeding, fishery, road and water transportation, storage, water conservancy, environment and public facilities, and human health were established. Methods for estimation of indirect economic losses caused by invasive alien species to service functions of forest ecosystems, agricultural ecosystems, grassland ecosystems, and wetland ecosystems were also established. The total economic losses caused by invasive alien species to China were to the time of USD 14.45 billion, with direct and indirect economic losses accounting for 16.59% and 83.41% of total economic losses, respectively.

The status and causes of alien species invasion in China

Data of classification, origin, pathway and environmental impacts of invasive alien micro-organisms, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles, fish, birds, mammals, weeds, trees, and marine organisms in terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems of China, were analyzed, based on literature retrieval, field survey and consultation. Some 283 invasive alien species were recorded in China, including 19 invasive alien micro-organisms, 18 aquatic plants, 170 terrestrial plants, 25 aquatic invertebrates, 33 terrestrial invertebrates, 3 amphibians and reptiles, 10 fish, and 5 mammals. Of the invasive alien species, 55.1% originated from North and South America, 21.7% from Europe, 9.9% from Asia, 8.1% from Africa and 0.6% from Oceania. Many institutions and individuals in China lack adequate knowledge of ecological and environmental consequences caused by invasive alien species, with some ignorance of the dangerous invasion in the introduction of alien species. For instance, 50.0% of invasive alien plants were intentionally introduced as pasture, feedingstuff, ornamental plants, textile plants, medicinal plants, vegetables, or lawn plants, 25% of alien invasive animals were intentionally introduced for cultivation, ornament, or biological control, In addition, more efforts are being made in the introduction of alien species, and little attention is paid on the management of introduced alien species, which may cause their escape into natural environment and potential threats to the environment. There were also gaps in quarantine system in China. All microorganisms were unintentionally introduced, through timber, seedling, flowerpot, or soil; 76.3% of alien invasive animals invaded through commodity or transportation facility because of the failure of quarantine. Therefore, quarantine measures should be strictly implemented; and meanwhile the intentional introduction of alien species should be strictly managed and a system of risk assessment should be implemented.

Present status and changes of the phytoplankton community after invasion of Neosalanx taihuensis since 1982 in a deep oligotrophic plateau lake, Lake Fuxian in the subtropical China

Phytoplankton assemblages in the subtrophical oligotrophic Lake Fuxian, the second deepest lake in China, were investigated monthly from September 2002 to August 2003. A total of 113 species belonging to seven phyla were identified, among them, a filamentous green alga, Mougeotia sp., dominated almost throughout the study period and comprised most of the total phytoplankton biomass. Mougeotia sp. has made a substantial development during the past decades: it was absent in 1957, only occasionally present in 1983, increased substantially in 1993, and became predominant in 2002-2003. It is likely that natural invasion of the Taihu Lake noodlefish (Neosalanx taihuensis) has led to a change of dominant herbivorous zooplankton from small to large calanoid, which has increased grazing pressure on small edible algae, and thus has indirectly favored the development of the inedible filamentous Mougeotia sp.

Comparisons of static, quasi-static and dynamic 3D porous media scale network models for two-phase immiscible flow in porous media

A dynamic 3D pore-scale network model is formulated for investigating the effect of interfacial tension and oil-water viscosity during chemical flooding. The model takes into account both viscous and capillary forces in analyzing the impact of chemical properties on flow behavior or displacement configuration, while the static model with conventional invasion percolation algorithm incorporates the capillary pressure only. From comparisons of simulation results from these models. it indicates that the static pore scale network model can be used successfully when the capillary number is low. With the capillary increases due to the enhancement of water viscosity or decrease of interfacial tension, only the quasi-static and dynamic model can give insight into the displacement mechanisms.

我国严重威胁性外来入侵植物入侵与扩散历史过程重建及其潜在分布区的预测

外来生物入侵已经在世界范围内造成严重的危害，它不仅导致生物多样性的减少和丧失而且威胁着全球的生态环境和经济发展。入侵种在入侵区域的种群扩散是入侵种带来风险的最根本问题，也是其造成危害的重要原因。研究入侵物种的扩散规律可以了解其在入侵地的入侵状况和扩散趋势，这对制定合理的控制措施具有重要意义。本研究选取14种在我国具有较强威胁性的外来入侵植物，通过对其入侵历史动态的分析，判断其在我国的入侵与扩散阶段，进而预测其在我国的潜在分布区。这14种外来植物为紫茎泽兰（Ageratina adenophora）、土荆芥 （Chenopodium ambrosioides.）、喜旱莲子草（Alternanthera philoxeroides）、反枝苋（Amaranthus retroflexus）、刺苋（Amaranthus spinosus）、皱果苋（Amaranthus viridis）、北美独行菜（Lepidium virginicum）、藿香蓟（Ageratum conyzoides）、钻形紫菀（Aster subulatus）、小蓬草（Conyza canadensis）、一年蓬（Erigeron annuus）、牛膝菊（Galinsoga paviflora）、飞机草（Eupatorium odorata）和北美商陆（Phytolacca americana）。 　　紫茎泽兰最早于20世纪40年代入侵我国，经过1940—1960年长达20年的时滞期，紫茎泽兰开始在云南及其临近的省份如四川、贵州和广西迅速扩散。其中，紫茎泽兰在南亚热带和中亚热带气候条件下的扩散速度为20公里/年，而在垂直地带性北亚热带地区的扩散速度为6.8公里/年。紫茎泽兰仍没有入侵到垂直地带性暖温带地区。尽管1990年后，紫茎泽兰在云南基本停止扩散，但其在邻近省（市）的快速传播表明紫茎泽兰在我国仍处在扩散阶段，还没有达到饱和阶段。生态位模型预测结果和紫茎泽兰在已经入侵地区扩散的地理生态式样基本相符。我国南部及中南部地区的气候条件十分适合紫茎泽兰生长。而在华中地区，由于环境条件不太适宜，其扩散速度会相对较慢。我国北部和西北部的气候条件完全不适合紫茎泽兰生存。因此，我国南部和中南部广大未入侵地区将会受到紫茎泽兰入侵和快速扩散的严重威胁，对此应该立即采取紧急措施。 　　自从紫茎泽兰于1978年首次入侵四川省以来，已经在四川、重庆和湖北大面积扩散。紫茎泽兰在此新近入侵区域主要沿河流、公路、铁路扩散。其中沿安宁河、108国道和成昆铁路向北扩散的平均速度为19公里/年，而沿金沙江－长江向东北扩散的平均速度为33公里/年。特别是2000年以后，紫茎泽兰沿金沙江－长江的扩散速度达到了88公里/年。紫茎泽兰得以如此迅速扩散是其本身生物学特性和当地地理生态特点多种因素之间一系列耦合关系共同作用的结果。人类活动和1998年金沙江－长江特大洪水也促进了紫茎泽兰在该地区的扩散。另一方面，紫茎泽兰在新近入侵地区的垂直分布范围说明随海拔高度上升所引起的垂直地带性气候变冷是紫茎泽兰入侵和扩散的自然限制条件。 　　此外，通过对其余13种外来入侵植物入侵历史过程重建发现，除了牛膝菊、反枝苋和皱果苋最早入侵地位于内陆地区以外，其余10种外来入侵植物的最早入侵地都位于我国的东部、南部沿海和西南边境地区。这13种外来植物通常不是通过单一途径传入，而是通过两种或多种途径传入不同的地点。相应地，入侵后也呈现不同的扩散模式。这13种外来植物在我国大体上包括5种入侵和扩散式样即1）从南部沿海和西南边境分别向内陆扩散，如霍香蓟、飞机草，北美商陆;2）从东部沿海向内陆扩散，例如钻形紫菀，小蓬草、北美独行菜和喜旱莲子草;3）从东部沿海、南部沿海和西南边境分别向内陆扩散，如刺苋;4）从南部沿海向内陆扩散，如土荆芥;5）从最早入侵的内陆地区向周边地区扩散，如反枝苋、牛膝菊和皱果苋。分布区动态分析显示当前这13种外来入侵植物在我国都还处在扩散阶段，而且有些外来植物还处在快速扩散阶段，如飞机草。 　　在上述研究基础上，我们对这13种外来入侵植物开展了生态位模型适生区预测和比较分析。并且结合其扩散动态和当前分布现状，我们对其潜在的分布区及扩散趋势进行了系统分析和预测。飞机草、土荆芥、霍香蓟、牛膝菊和北美商陆，这5种外来植物的现有分布区明显小于其在我国的适生区，因此它们在我国的潜在分布区很广，应给予足够的重视。喜旱莲子草、反枝苋、皱果苋、北美独行菜、一年蓬、钻行紫菀和北美商陆在我国的入侵范围与其适生区域之间基本重合，但在其入侵范围内仍存在大面积的未入侵区域。这些未入侵地区通常被已入侵区域所包围，因此也应当给予足够的重视。刺苋和小蓬草在我国的潜在的分布区相对较小，这些植物已经基本上完全入侵了其适生区。因此，这些植物在我国向临近区域继续扩散的可能性不大。 　　

水生植物凤眼莲的种内基因型差异与入侵模式

原产于亚马逊河流域的水生植物凤眼莲（Eichhornia crassipes）在花部结构上有三种花型（L、M和S），故其配殖系统（mating system）为典型的三型花柱（tristyly）。但在入侵地区，它却常只有M和L两种花型，其中尤以M型占据绝对优势，使有性繁殖水平大为下降。为了解释凤眼莲在入侵过程中，花型频率为何发生变化以及该变化对其在入侵地的适应性进化上有何影响，作者在中国西南的两个居群中连续两年开展了野外生长和人工授粉实验，对比分析水面和泥地两类不同生境中M和L在克隆生长、生物量积累以及有性繁殖水平等方面的异同，并利用RAPD、 ISSR片段比较了具M型和L型花植物个体间的遗传变异水平。对三型花柱这一长期引人注目的遗传模式的分子位点也尝试了连锁片段的克隆和测序。 克隆生长的对比实验发现，在2004年，漂浮生长的M个体平均克隆分株数为25.37，L为21.20，前者显示较强的克隆生长能力（t＝2.252， P< 0.05）;2005年的实验再次证实M（每个个体19.83个分株）比L（每个个体15.53分株）表现出了显著较强的克隆优势（t＝2.631，P<0.001）。M较L多产生克隆约24%。 但在岸边泥地上固着生长时，2004年L个体平均克隆分株为16.20，M 为10.17个分株。L表现出了更强的克隆生长能力（t＝4.788，p<0.001），与漂浮生长状况下的情形恰恰相反，暗示M与L个体可能存在一定的生态位分化。这种分化可能是在入侵过程中形成的，也可能反映了原产地亚马孙流域旱涝交替造成的固着生长与漂浮生长交替发生的种内适应性。 生物量（干重）的对比分析发现，M个体在漂浮生长和固着生长的情况下都比L有着更高的生物量积累（漂浮生长实验：t＝6.173，p<0.005（2004年）;t＝6.99，p<0.001（2005年）。固着生长实验：t＝4.029，p<0.001）。生物量对凤眼莲的竞争和过冬有着一定的作用，因此较大的生物量积累可能是M个体在当地气候和环境中逐渐适应的一个结果。 有性繁殖的实验包括了实验个体的花序数与花朵数、自交与异交人工授粉的结实情况以及种子萌发率等方面的对比分析。结果表明，虽然M和L个体在花序数和花朵数上不存在显著差异，但是M个体在自交和异交的种子产量上比L略高，尤其是自交的种子产量，M显著高于L（M平均每个蒴果的自交种子产量为139.8，L为76.2）。以各100粒种子进行萌发实验，发现两花型之间在种子萌发率上不存在显著差异。对于M而言，其自交种子产量远大于异交种子产量 （139.8 vs. 93.3），且种子萌发率也略大于异交的种子萌发率（自交种子萌发率45.47％，异交种子萌发率 30.73％）。结合以上的实验结果，本文认为M基因型优势的形成可能与M个体与当地环境长期适应导致的生长与繁殖 上的优势有关。M的本地适应性是建立在特定的遗传背景上时，异交反而会破坏这种遗传组合，造成远交衰退。 对40个M和30个L个体进行20个RAPD引物和20个ISSR引物的遗传分析时发现，所有个体在RAPD表型上没有区别，但是在M中出现了3个ISSR表型，在L中出现了2个ISSR表型。本文还尝试利用RAPD技术扫描与三型花柱的遗传位点连锁的DNA片段。在146个RAPD随机引物中，初步发现两个候选片段，一个750bp，另一个2 000bp;已对它们进行了克隆、测序。 这些初步实验表明凤眼莲在我国的入侵可能伴随着基因型的差异表现和居群遗传分化，这种基因型的差异表现对该植物的成功入侵具有作用。其中，花型为M的个体的优势生长解释了该花型在中国分布区内的主导地位。推测该生长优势的遗传基础可能来源于基因组内较高的杂合子水平和在入侵地较长的适应历史，但最终结论尚有待进一步的实验证据。