A Plant Needs Ants like a Dog Needs Fleas: Myrmelachista schumanni Ants Gall Many Tree Species to Create Housing

Hundreds of tropical plant species house ant colonies in specialized chambers called domatia. When, in 1873, Richard Spruce likened plant-ants to fleas and asserted that domatia are ant-created galls, he incited a debate that lasted almost a century. Alth

Defoliation, nitrogen, and competition: effects on plant growth and resource allocation of Cleistogenes squarrosa and Artemisia frigida

Two species, Artemisia frigida Willd. (C-3, semishrub, and dominant on overgrazed sites) and Cleistogenes squarrosa (Trin.) Keng (C-4, perennial bunchgrass, and dominant or codominant on moderately grazed sites) were studied to determine the effects of defoliation, nitrogen (N) availability, competition, and their interactions on growth, biomass, and N allocation in a greenhouse experiment. The main treatments were: two nitrogen levels (NO = 0 mg N pot(-1), N1 = 60 mg N pot(-1)), two defoliation intensities (removing 60% of total aboveground biomass and no defoliation), and three competitive replacement series (monocultures of each species and mixtures at 0.5:0.5). Our results were inconsistent with our hypothesis on the adaptive mechanisms of A. frigida regarding the interactive effects of herbivory, N, and competition in determining its dominant position on overgrazed sites. Cleistogenes squarrosa will be replaced by A. frigida on over-grazed sites, although C. squarrosa had higher tolerance to defoliation than did A. frigida. Total biomass and N yield and N-15 recovery of C. squarrosa in mixed culture were consistently lower than in monocultures, whereas those of A. frigida grown in mixtures were consistently higher than in monocultures, suggesting higher competitive ability of A. frigida. Our results suggest that interspecific competitive ability may be of equal or greater importance than herbivory tolerance in determining herbivore-induced species replacement in semi-arid Inner Mongolian steppe. In addition, the dominance of A. frigida on overgrazed sites has been attributed to its ability to shift plant-plant interactions through (lap colonization, root niche differentiation, and higher resistance to water stress.

亚热带森林外生菌根真菌的生态学研究

菌根是一种植物营养根与土壤真菌形成的共生体，在自然界中分布广泛。外生菌根真菌是菌根真菌的重要类群，其宿主植物约占陆地植物总数的3%左右。由于外生菌根真菌的宿主植物常常是一些生态系统的优势种和建群种，并且这些真菌还参与了许多森林生态系统的有机和无机元素循环、物种的竞争和共存、生物多样性的维持、生态系统的演替等过程，因而对外生菌根真菌的研究有助于对这些生态系统维持和演替机制的深入理解。本文通过外生菌根真菌的种类鉴定和多样性，外生菌根真菌种群的遗传结构，外生菌根真菌群落的结构、空间格局及植物-菌根真菌空间关系，外生菌根真菌接种对植物生长和竞争的影响等四个方面的研究，使我们对这一地区的外生菌根真菌的种类组成、空间分布和传播规律、年度变化、以及对植物群落组成和多样性的影响等方面，有一个初步了解。 外生菌根真菌的鉴定和种类组成是进行菌根真菌研究的前提之一。在第一章中，主要通过子实体形态分类和分子方法，对大型真菌的种类进行了鉴定。在对东灵山和都江堰森林的调查中分别发现的大型真菌106种和98种，菌根真菌比例分别为44.3%和69.4%，木生真菌比例分别为16%和10.2%。按Fellner的评价标准，两个森林群落均属于健康的生态系统。我们应用ITS-RFLP和ITS序列比较的方法对地上子实体、地下菌根及分离培养的菌种进行了种类鉴定和分析。结果表明，ITS-RFLP可以用来进行外生菌根真菌的种类鉴定，而序列分析能够提供更为可靠的信息。二者的结合，可以使我们建立菌根真菌分子数据库成为可能。 种群遗传结构的研究包括种群中个体的空间分布和亲缘关系等方面，有助于加深我们对种群的生殖和传播方式，菌根真菌与风、雨、动物等生态因子的关系等方面的理解。第二章主要以两个外生菌根真菌种群为例，对种群遗传结构中空间距离与遗传相似性的关系、种群结构的年度变化等方面进行了探讨。正红菇（Russula vinosa）种群具有较高的遗传多样性，每个子实体来自不同的克隆。空间距离-遗传相似性关系和空间格局分析的结果均表明，这一正红菇的种群结构可能是由短距离孢子传播产生的，而不可能是无性生长或长距离孢子传播形成的。在对隐花青鹅膏菌（Amanita manginiana）连续两年的种群结构进行了研究中，种群的每一个子实体也均来自不同的克隆。遗传相似性分析、AMOVA、遗传相似性-空间距离关系的结果均显示，这两年的种群在遗传相似性和种群结构上均具有显著差异。对此的一个合理的解释就是，这一外生菌根真菌种群来说，其个体由有性孢子发育为子实体的时间可能超过一年，因而2001和2002年的个体并非同一种群的连续世代。 外生菌根真菌群落可以定义为在一定地理范围和时间尺度内不同外生菌根真菌种群的组合。对外生菌根真菌群落的研究有助于揭示森林生态系统中菌根真菌与植物、菌根真菌与环境因子、以及菌根真菌之间的相互关系。在第三章中，我们应用点格局的分析方法和二元逻辑回归分析对外生菌根真菌的主要类群，即鹅膏菌科，牛肝菌科和红菇科，的空间格局及其与周围（5×5米样方）树种组成的关系进行研究。结果表明，某些树种与特定类群菌根真菌的子实体出现有负相关，而三个类群的外生菌根真菌在克隆生长上的差异并不是子实体空间分布的决定因素。而在较小尺度上（450平方米样方）研究也表明，三个主要外生菌根真菌类群的空间分布为聚集半径不等的集群分布，并且其空间分布不依赖于木本植物的分布。外生菌根真菌主要类群在空间分布上具有相互抑制的特点，而抑制能力的大小可能与菌根真菌地下菌丝体的分布范围及连续性有关。 外生菌根真菌的盆栽接种实验通常用来验证菌根真菌-宿主植物的相互关系，不但有理论意义，也是大田实验和大规模生产应用的基础。第四章中进行了两个实验，对外生菌根真菌多样性与宿主植物生长的关系以及菌根真菌与植物之间竞争平衡的关系进行了初步研究。在外生菌根真菌多样性对马尾松生长影响实验中，菌根真菌接种并未显著促进马尾松幼苗的生长和生物量积累，不同的菌种与地上、地下生物量的积累存在不同（正或负）的相关关系。外生菌根真菌的多样性水平与马尾松幼苗的针叶数量存在显著的正相关，并且随接种时间的延长相关关系更为显著。外生菌根真菌多样性水平还与马尾松幼苗地下生物量的累积呈显著的正相关关系。在外生菌根真菌对三种植物的竞争平衡和共存的影响实验中，外生菌根真菌接种没有显著促进马尾松幼苗的生长，但对漆树和枹栎幼苗的生长有显著影响。外生菌根真菌接种能够在两个外生菌根真菌宿主植物竞争中降低枹栎对马尾松的优势，在马尾松和漆树的竞争中降低马尾松的优势，并促使枹栎与漆树（一个外生菌根真菌宿主和一个非宿主植物）的竞争处于不稳定状态。 本文首次通过生态学的角度对外生菌根真菌的物种多样性、种群结构、群落中的空间格局、以及外生菌根真菌与植物生长的关系进行了较为全面的研究。在大型真菌的多样性方面，菌根和木生真菌比例的引入可以完善森林生态系统的健康评价体系，而分子数据库的建立使对大型真菌尤其是外生菌根真菌多样性的长期监测成为可能;在种群遗传结构方面，本文验证了红菇属和鹅膏菌属克隆较小的特点，以及红菇属菌根真菌以短距离孢子传播为主的繁殖特性，并首次从生活史特点的角度解释菌根真菌的种群结构的年度差异;在菌根真菌群落的空间格局方面，本文首次应用二元逻辑回归和点格局分析的方法研究外生菌根真菌的空间分布及菌根真菌－植物关系，并发现三个类群的外生菌根真菌在子实体分布上具有相互排斥的特点;在控制实验中，本文首次研究了菌根真菌接种的多样性水平对宿主植物的影响，首次研究了外生菌根真菌接种对三个物种之间竞争与共存的影响。虽然这些研究在很多方面都仅得到初步的结果，但我们希望这些探索可以为今后对外生菌根真菌的生态学研究提供有益的启示。

Experimental warming causes large and rapid species loss, dampened by simulated grazing, on the Tibetan Plateau

We investigated the independent and combined effects of experimental warming and grazing on plant species diversity on the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau, a region highly vulnerable to ongoing climate and land use changes. Experimental warming caused a 26-36% decrease in species richness, a response that was generally dampened by experimental grazing. Higher species losses occurred at the drier sites where N was less available. Moreover, we observed an indirect effect of climate change on species richness as mediated by plant-plant interactions. Heat stress and warming-induced litter accumulation are potential explanations for the species' responses to experimental warming. This is the first reported experimental evidence that climate warming could cause dramatic declines in plant species diversity in high elevation ecosystems over short time frames and supports model predictions of species losses with anthropogenic climate change.

Interactions between a cyanobacterial bloom (Microcystis) and the submerged aquatic plant Ceratophyllum oryzetorum Kom.

In aquatic ecosystems, macrophytes and phytoplankton are main primary producers, in which macrophyte plays an important role in maintaining clear water state, while phytoplankton often dominates in turbid waterbodies. In the present study, the growth and photosynthetic activity of the submerged aquatic plant Ceratophyllum oryzetorum Kom. in different cell densities of cyanobacterial bloom are studied. The results show that the plant length and fresh mass of C. oryzetorum are promoted by low cyanobacterial cell densities. Medium and high cyanobacterial cell densities, on the contrary, act as inhibitory. Furthermore, the photosynthetic activity of C. oryzetorum is strongly inhibited by high cyanobacterial cell densities. To a certain extent, the growth of cyanobacteria is inhibited by C. oryzetorum, but no significant effect is found in this study.

Allelopathic interactions between the Potamogeton spp and toxic cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa)

This study aimed to investigate the allelopathic activities between 3 Potamogeton spp. (Potamogeton maackianus, Potamogeton malaianus and Potamogeton pectinatus) and the toxic cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa). All Potamogeton spp inhibited the growth of M. aeruginosa in both coexistence and exudates experiments. Inhibition of M. aeruginosa growth by plant exudates depended strongly on the biomass of P malaianus. Initial pH (6.5-9.8) did not influence the inhibitory effects of P. malaianus exudates. However, the M. aeruginosa inhibited the net photosynthesis and respiration of all three pondweed test spp.. The decreases in photosynthesis and respiration were probably caused by the toxic compounds released by M. aeruginosa, rather than its shading effects. The M. aeruginosa also decreased the nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) uptake rates of macrophytes. The absorption rates of phosphorus and nitrogen and net photosynthesis were decreased sharply. These results will help to restore submerged plants in eutrophic waters.