Bacillus pallidus sp nov., isolated from forest soil

A Gram-positive bacterium, designated strain CW 7(T), was isolated from forest soil in Anhui Province, south-east China. Cells were strictly aerobic, motile with peritrichous flagella and rod-shaped. The strain grew optimally at 30-37 degrees C and pH 7.0-8.0. The major fatty acids of strain CW 7(T) were anteiso-C-15:0, iso-C-15:0 and anteiso-C-17:0. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7. The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 42.3 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain CW 7(T) belonged to a monophyletic cluster within the genus Bacillus and showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of less than 96.5% to recognized species of the genus Bacillus. The results of the polyphasic taxonomic study, including phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic analyses, showed that strain CW 7(T) represents a novel species of the genus Bacillus, for which the name Bacillus pallidus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CW 7(T) (=KCTC 13200(T)=CCTCC AB 207188(T)=LMG 24451(T)).

Game Vertebrate Densities in Hunted and Nonhunted Forest Sites in Manu National Park, Peru

Manu National Park of southern Peru is one of the most renowned protected areas in the world, yet large-bodied vertebrate surveys conducted to date have been restricted to Cocha Cashu Biological Station, a research station covering <0.06 percent of the 1.7Mha park. Manu Park is occupied by >460 settled Matsigenka Amerindians, 300-400 isolated Matsigenka, and several, little-known groups of isolated hunter-gatherers, yet the impact of these native Amazonians on game vertebrate populations within the park remains poorly understood. On the basis of 1495 km of standardized line-transect censuses, we present density and biomass estimates for 23 mammal, bird, and reptile species for seven lowland and upland forest sites in Manu Park, including Cocha Cashu. We compare these estimates between hunted and nonhunted sites within Manu Park, and with other Neotropical forest sites. Manu Park safeguards some of the most species-rich and highest biomass assemblages of arboreal and terrestrial mammals ever recorded in Neotropical forests, most likely because of its direct Andean influence and high levels of soil fertility. Relative to Barro Colorado Island, seed predators and arboreal folivores in Manu are rare, and generalist frugivores specializing on mature fruit pulp are abundant. The impact of such a qualitative shift in the vertebrate community on the dynamics of plant regeneration, and therefore, on our understanding of tropical plant ecology, must be profound. Despite a number of external threats, Manu Park continues to serve as a baseline against which other Neotropical forests can be gauged.

A hierarchical approach coupled with coarse DEM information for improving the efficiency and accuracy of forest mapping over very rugged terrains

Forest mapping over mountainous terrains is difficult because of high relief Although digital elevation models (DEMs) are often useful to improve mapping accuracy, high quality DEMs are seldom available over large areas, especially in developing countries

Degradation of tropical forest in Hainan, China, 1991-2008: Conservation implications for Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus hainanus)

The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is one of the most endangered primates in the world, confined to mature natural forest in Hainan Island, China. We assessed changes in habitat condition on the island between 1991 and 2008, using vegetation maps generated by remote-sensing images. We defined forest suitable for gibbons based on composition, tree size and canopy cover. During the 17-year period, the area of suitable gibbon forest decreased by 540 km(2) (35%) across the whole island, and by 6.3 km(2) (7%) in the locality of the sole remaining gibbon population at Bawangling National Nature Reserve. The forest patches large enough (>1 km(2)) to support a gibbon group decreased from 754 km(2) to 316 km(2) in total area, and from 92 to 64 in number. Suitable natural forest was mainly replaced by plantations below 760 m, or degraded by logging, grazing and planting of pines above 760 m. Meanwhile, forests in former confirmed gibbon areas became more fragmented: mean area of patches decreased by 53%. We mapped the patches of natural forest in good condition which could potentially support gibbons. We recommend a freeze on further expansion of plantations between core patches at Bawangling, Jiaxi-Houmiling and Yinggeling Nature Reserves in accordance with forest protection regulations; establishment of nature reserves in currently unprotected natural forest patches elsewhere in line with the local government's nature reserve expansion policy; and active natural-forest restoration between remaining fragments at Bawangling. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Critically Endangered black crested gibbon Nomascus concolor on Wuliang Mountain, Yunnan, China: the role of forest types in the species' conservation

The Critically Endangered black crested gibbon Nomascus concolor of China, Laos and Vietnam is threatened by deforestation and habitat destruction but there have been no studies of how it uses its forest habitat, probably because of the typically rugged t

New insights into the karyotypic relationships of Chinese muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi), forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) and gayal (Bos frontalis)

To investigate the karyotypic relationships between Chinese muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi), forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) and gayal (Bos frontalis), a complete set of Chinese muntjac chromosome-specific painting probes has been assigned to G-banded chromosomes of these three species. Sixteen autosomal probes (i.e. 6-10, 12-22) of the Chinese muntjac each delineated one pair of conserved segments in the forest musk deer and gayal, respectively. The remaining six autosomal probes (1-5, and 11) each delineated two to five pairs of conserved segments. In total, the 22 autosomal painting probes of Chinese muntjac delineated 33 and 34 conserved chromosomal segments in the genomes of forest musk deer and gayal, respectively. The combined analysis of comparative chromosome painting and G-band comparison reveals that most interspecific homologous segments show a high degree of conservation in G-banding patterns. Eleven chromosome fissions and five chromosome fusions differentiate the karyotypes of Chinese muntjac and forest musk deer; twelve chromosome fissions and six fusions are required to convert the Chinese muntjac karyotype to that of gayal; one chromosome fission and one fusion separate the forest musk deer and gayal. The musk deer has retained a highly conserved karyotype that closely resembles the proposed ancestral pecoran karyotype but shares none of the rearrangements characteristic for the Cervidae and Bovidae. Our results substantiate that chromosomes 1-5 and 11 of Chinese muntjac originated through exclusive centromere-to-telomere fusions of ancestral acrocentric chromosomes. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Sleeping sites of Rhinopithecus bieti at Mt. Fuhe, Yunnan

Data on sleeping site selection were collected for a group of black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti; around 80) at Mt. Fuhe, Yunnan, China (99degrees20'E, 26degrees25'N, about 3,000 m asl) from November 2000 to January 2002. At the site mainly three vegetation types were present in an elevation-ascending order: deciduous broad leaf forest, mixed coniferous and broad leaf forest, and dark coniferous forest. In addition, bamboo forest presented in areas burned in 1958. Sleeping sites (n = 10) were located in the coniferous forest, where trees were the tallest, bottommost branches were the highest, the diameter of crowns was the second largest, and the gradient of the ground was the steepest. Monkeys usually kept quiet during entering and staying at a sleeping site. The site choice and the quietness may be tactics to avoid potential predators. In the coniferous forest, however, monkeys did not sleep in the valley bottom where trees were the largest, but frequently slept in the middle of the slope towards the east/southeast, in the shadow of ridges in three other directions, to avoid strong wind and to access sunshine; in winter-spring, they ranged in a more southern and lower area than in summer-autumn. These may be behavioral strategies to minimize energy stress in the cold habitat. Monkeys often slept in the same sleeping site on consecutive nights, which reflected a reduced pressure of predation probably due to either the effectiveness of anti-predation through sleeping site selection, or the population decline of predators with increasing human activities in the habitat. The group's behavioral responses to interactive and sometimes conflicting traits of the habitat are site-specific and conform to expectations for a temperate zone primate.

长白山阔叶红松林种子雨组成与时空格局

种子雨是森林植物种群更新的主要方式之一，是森林生态系统自我繁衍和恢复的主要手段。为了解长白山阔叶红松林种子雨的组成及其时空变化，参照BCI 50ha 样地技术规范，在长白山阔叶红松林25ha长期监测样地内设置了150个种子收集器，从2006年5月15日到2007年11月8日，每15天收集掉落于收集器中的果实、种子及其相关附属物等。所收到的样品分别鉴定其种类并分为成熟种实、未成熟种实、花絮、果实或种子碎片及其附属物4类，记录各类别的数量，然后分别烘干称重。 研究期间，共收集到11科12属22种木本植物的种子及其它生殖器官残体，包括成熟种实16种，未成熟种实17种，花序12种，翅2种，果实或种子碎片及其附属物10种。累计收集到种实136664粒，其中成熟种实32358粒，占所有种实总数的23.80%。种实数最多的树种是紫椴(Tilia amurensis)，其次为水曲柳(Fraxinus mandshuica)，两个树种种实数占总数的89.54%。种实总重量为3320.93g，其中成熟种实总重量为1242.85g，占37.4%。成熟种实中水曲柳和紫椴的重量最大，其次是色木槭(Acer mono)，假色槭(A. pseudo-sieboldianum)、糠椴(T. mandshuric)和红松(Pinus koraiensis)。 种子雨数量年际变化明显，2006年种子雨密度为1370.25粒/m2，2007年为249.47粒/m2，差异极显著(P<0.001)。但不同年份种子雨的季节动态趋势一致，均有两个明显的大高峰期和一个小高峰期。不同物种种子雨扩散的时间格局大致可以分为“单峰”和“双峰”两种类型，在时间上体现了不同物种的更新策略。 150个收集器均收到了成熟种实，各收集器中的种实数呈偏态分布，种实数在150-250之间的收集器数量最多，共68个，种实数小于50的收集器有5个，种实数大于250的收集器共37个。样地内成熟种实数量及其空间分布差异明显，收集器中种实数在1000个以上的有3个，最多达1511个，聚集分布于样地的西北角；收集器中种实数最少的只有22个种实。种实重量的空间分布与种实数分布一样存在较明显的空间差异，只是差异性相对偏弱一些，且与种实数量的空间分布不一致。

森林流域单元水文模型的构建与应用

目前全球缺水、水污染、洪涝灾害以及水土流失仍然非常严重，尤其在我国北方地区。流域水文模型可用来进行不同需水管理的情景分析，为解决我国水问题提供科学依据。分布式水文模型是流域水文模型的发展方向，具有显著特点：1）应用前景广泛，不仅可以模拟流域水文过程，还可以协助模拟泥沙或污染物的运移过程，为水利工程设计、水土保持、环境保护等领域提供技术支持；2）能够预测流域土地利用或气候变化下的流域水文响应过程变化，为管理部门提供决策支持；3）模型所需要的参数全部具有物理意义，可通过实际测量确定，适合模拟实测系列较短或是无观测流域的水文过程；4）对于目前国际水文界的前沿问题—水文尺度转换提供了一种有效的解决途径。 然而分布式水文模型还不完善，如1)真实性问题。对一些水文过程和边界条件还不确定。2)尺度转换问题。目前很少考虑尺度对参数有效性的影响。3)检验问题。还无法判断对有些难以测量的水文状态变量的模拟正确与否。4)计算时间和数据存储的问题。有些分布式水文模型虽然具有很强的水文物理基础和完善的模型结构，但是计算时间过长和(或)数据存储过大，难以应用。上述问题的核心就是对分布式水文模型的核心—单元水文模型的研究不够，需要为进一步完善单元水文模型进行研究。 本文采用饱和入渗理论、Saint-Venant方程、Richards方程、Penman-Monteith方程等等构建了以有限差分法求解的适用于森林流域的单元水文模型，并通过实验室模拟试验和坡地径流场资料进行了验证，主要结论为： 通过不同坡度和不同雨强下的室内坡面产汇流实验模拟，表明：该模型模拟的坡面流和壤中流过程与实测过程基本一致，峰现时间、径流历时、峰值流量、出流总量模拟值与实测值的相对误差均较小，基本小于10%。模型的模拟精度较高，实用性较强，为深入研究壤中流机制和改进流域降雨-径流模型提供了理论依据。 通过坡地径流观测场实测资料的验证，表明：该模型模拟的坡面流过程精度较高，累计流量的精度更高于小时过程的精度，离差系数、效率系数、确定系数均较理想，具有应用价值，有助于改善分布式水文模型在森林流域的模拟效果。