大尺度环境梯度上羊草种群适应性研究

　　由于全球气候变化，干旱化问题已经成为制约植物生存、影响农作物产量的主要环境因子，因此有关植物在大尺度环境梯度上对环境因子变化的适应性研究已经成为生态学研究的热点。目前环境变化对植被生产力的影响已经有了广泛研究，但是关于植物在形态解剖和渗透调节等生理特征上对大尺环境梯度变化的适应机制研究报道却很少。本研究以北纬43°16′-44°36′；东经125°17′-115°43′范围内的羊草草地为研究对象，探讨羊草主要形态解剖特征、生理渗透调节特征等的变化规律及其与环境因子的关系，以期揭示大尺度环境梯度上羊草种群对环境变化的响应规律和适应策略。本研究的主要结果如下： 在大尺度环境梯度下，羊草种群的气孔密度和气孔指数表现出非常相似的变化趋势，均为由东向西呈先降后升的变化趋势，且与降水等因子的相关关系为V型二次曲线。这是因为气孔的蒸腾作用是植物散失水分的主要途径，同时蒸腾作用产生的蒸腾拉力是植物根部吸收水分的主要动力，因此这种V型曲线正是它在野外对如何调节体内失水和吸水的一种权衡的结果。由于羊草叶片的营养生长和器官建成主要在7月份，这也导致了该月的平均降水对气孔密度和气孔指数有很重要的影响作用。 在该梯度下，羊草叶片厚度和LMA（Leaf mass per unit area, 单位面积叶重）等形态性状指标、叶片解剖学特征等表现出有规律的变化趋势。具体表现为从东向西随着气候由湿润到干旱的变化，叶片厚度、LMA呈增加趋势；同样维管束、木质部及导管直径和叶片厚度等变化趋势相似，从东向西逐渐增加,它们均与七月份温度显著相关。这说明外界环境变化对羊草的形态性状和解剖特征等产生了显著的影响，而且羊草也会通过改变形态解剖特征等来适应大尺度环境梯度变化。 在本研究中，羊草叶片脯氨酸和可溶糖份含量等生理指标也随着环境梯度的变化呈现出明显的规律变化，主要表现为由东至西随降水量的减少而逐渐增加；叶片钠离子和钾离子含量虽然有一定变化，但是它们与气候因子变化并不一致，而分别与土壤里钠离子和钾离子含量呈显著的相关关系。这说明自东向西随着干旱程度的增加，脯氨酸和可溶糖份含量对羊草适应环境变化起着主要的渗透调节作用。 自然条件下，羊草主要有两种生态型，根据叶片颜色的差异分别为灰绿型(GG)和黄绿型(YG)。它们在分布上也表现出很大的差异，其中灰绿型羊草分布范围更广，且更耐盐碱。我们分别选取查干花和绍根两个样点镶嵌生长的两种生态型羊草，对它们的叶片形态解剖特征和渗透调节特征进行比较。结果显示无论是在查干花还是绍根地区，在同一生境条件下，黄绿型羊草叶片厚度、LMA、及维管束直径、木质部直径和导管直径等均比灰绿型高，而气孔密度和气孔指数比灰绿型低，在形态上表现出明显的旱生化特征。而灰绿型羊草叶片则有较高的脯氨酸含量、可溶糖份含量及钾离子含量，较低的钠离子含量，表现出较强的渗透调节能力、更强的选择性排钠离子和吸收钾离子的能力。为此我们推断在相同生境下两种生态型羊草在应对干旱和盐碱胁迫时在形态和生理上采取不同的适应策略，而且这两种策略是互相补充，这就解释了两种生态型羊草能够镶嵌生长的现象。

Finite element solution of Navier Stokes equations adapted to a priori error estimates

The paper is based on qualitative properties of the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluid, and on properties of their finite element solution. In problems with corner-like singularities (e.g. on the well-known L-shaped domain) usually some adaptive strategy is used. In this paper we present an alternative approach. For flow problems on domains with corner singularities we use the a priori error estimates and asymptotic expansion of the solution to derive an algorithm for refining the mesh near the corner. It gives very precise solution in a cheap way. We present some numerical results.

Photosynthetic recovery of desiccated intertidal seaweeds after rehydration

Intertidal seaweeds experience periodical desiccation and rehydration to different extents due to the tidal cycles and their vertical distributions. Their photosynthetic recovery process during the rehydration may show different patterns among the seaweeds from different zonations or depths at intertidal zone. In this study 12 species of seaweeds collected from the upper, middle, lower and sublittoral zones were examined. The relationship of the photosynthetic recovery to vertical distribution was assessed by comparing their patterns of photosynthetic and respiratory performances after rehydration following desiccation. Both the photosynthesis and dark respiration declined during emersion, showing certain degrees of recovery after re-immersion into seawater for most species, but the extents were markedly different from one species to the other. The species from upper intertidal zone after being rehydrated for 1 hour, following 2 hours of desiccation, achieved 100 % recovery of their initial physiological activity, while most of the lower or sublittoral species did not achieve full recovery. It is the ability to withstand desiccation stress (fast recovery during rehydration), but not that to avoid desiccation (water retaining ability) that determines the distribution of intertidal seaweeds. Such physiological behavior during rehydration after desiccation reflects the adaptive strategy of intertidal seaweeds against desiccation and their capability of primary production in the process of rehydration.

克隆植物东方草莓对异质生境的适应对策

克隆植物被认为比非克隆植物更宜于利用异质性环境。在复杂的空间异质环境中，克隆植物可能形成了各种有效利用环境异质性的适应对策。对于克隆植物适应机制的研究，前人已做了大量的工作，特别是从形态和生物量分配等方面对简单异质生境下克隆植物的克隆整合和克隆分工进行了详细的研究。本研究以分布广泛的克隆植物东方草莓（Fragaria orientalis）作为研究对象，应用野外调查和实验生态学方法，采用多对比度单资源模型和不同向双资源模型，从形态和生理生态的角度，研究复杂异质生境下克隆植物的整合和分工及其耗益问题，分析不同类型的生境对克隆植物整合和分工的修饰作用，进而探讨克隆植物对异质生境的适应策略。克隆构型和分株种群特征是植物克隆生长及其生态适应对策研究的基本内容。本文通过野外调查，研究在不同光照条件下东方草莓克隆构型、分株种群特征以及点分布格局。结果表明：东方草莓的克隆构型随光照发生相应的变化，低光照下其匍匐茎节间长和分枝角度均增大而分枝强度减小；随光照减弱，东方草莓分株种群的生物量、根冠比和分株种群密度显著降低；不同光照下东方草莓分株均以随机分布为主但不同尺度下有所差异，其分布格局强度依次为旷地<林缘<林下。结合克隆植物对资源的利用对策，探讨了克隆构型和分株种群特征以及分布格局随环境条件变化的生态适应意义。不同生境斑块条件下克隆植物可能采取不同的适应对策。采用盆栽实验，研究不同水分对比度下克隆整合及其生理生态特征，并对单向和交互资源中东方草莓的克隆整合做了对比研究。结果显示：高的水分对比度能够促进东方草莓的克隆整合，并能刺激相连分株增加光合作用，东方草莓体内的氧化—抗氧化系统也II随对比度做出相应的反应。耗-益分析表明胁迫分株的受益是以供给分株的损耗为代价的，但从克隆片段总体来说是受益的。单向资源中东方草莓生长的绝对值高于交互资源，但耗-益分析表明生长于交互资源下东方草莓的克隆整合获益大于生长于单向资源下东方草莓的克隆整合获益。长期生长于特定生境的克隆植物，在进化过程中其克隆整合和克隆分工在对资源异质性的适应策略方面可能有所侧重。采用盆栽实验对来自不同海拔梯度的东方草莓的克隆整合和克隆分工对异质资源的适应对策进行了研究。实验结果表明，来自高海拔的东方草莓可塑性较差。来自两个海拔的东方草莓对切断匍匐茎的表现有所差异，总体上切断匍匐茎对来自高海拔的东方草莓影响更大些。另外，来自高海拔的东方草莓表现出更高的克隆分工。IIIClonal plants are known to be more suitable for the habitats of heterogeneousresources than nonclonal plants, perhaps due to their well developed adaptivestrategies to environmental heterogeneity. Many studies have been done on theadaptive mechanisms of clonal plants, especially on the clonal integration anddivision of labor with morphology and biomass allocation under simpleheterogeneous habitats. Based on field surveys, laboratory experiments, multi-contrastunidirectional resource model and reciprocal resource model, Fragaria orientalis, aRosaceae stoloniferous herb that widely distributes in China, was used to study thisplant’s morphological and physiological responses to complicated heterogeneoushabitats in terms of its clonal integration, division of labor and cost-benefit, as well astheir modifications by different habitats, so as to better understand the adaptivestrategies of clonal plants under heterogeneous environments.Clonal architecture and ramet population characteristics are of the major concernin the studies on growth and adaptive strategies of clonal plants. Clonal architecture,ramet population characteristics and spatial point pattern of F. orientalis underdifferent light intensity were studied with field observations. The results showed that,clonal architecture changed with light availability: Internode-lengths and branchangels of stolons were larger while branch intensities were smaller under lower lightintensity than those under higher light intensity; Biomass of ramet population,root-shoot ratio and density of ramet population decreased significantly with reduce oflight intensity; Under all light intensities, spatial pattern of ramets was mainlyrandomly distributed but it changed with different scales, with pattern intensity as:open space < forest edge < understory. Adaptation significance of the clonal architecture, the ramet population characteristics and the spatial pattern changing withdifferent environments was discussed according to these results.Clonal plants may take different adaptive strategies under different patches. Withpot culture, clonal integration and physiological parameters of F. orientalis underdifferent water contrasts were studied, and clonal integration under unilateralresources and reciprocal resources were also compared. The results suggested that,high water contrast improve the clonal integration of F. orientalis and increase thephotosynthesis of connected ramets. Oxidative and antioxidative system of F.orientalis also responded with changing water contrasts. According to cost-benefitanalysis, the drought-stressed ramets obtained benefits from the connectedwell-watered ramets, and as a whole, the clonal fragment could also get benefits.Growth of F. orientalis in homogeneous resources was better than that inheterogeneous resources, but the whole plant got more benefit through clonalintegration in heterogeneous resources than in homogeneous resources.Pot culture experiments were also used to study the adaptive strategies inutilizing heterogeneous resources by the plant populations from different altitudes.The results showed that, F. orientalis from alpine zones were shorter and lessexpanded with poorer clonal plasticity than those from middle mountains. F.orientalis from two different altitudes showed different responses to stolon severing,and as a whole, stolon severing had more influence on F. orientalis from alpine zones.In addition, F. orientalis from alpine zones exhibited higher division of labor, whichsuggested that clonal plants from different habitats develop their own adaptivemechanisms in their clonal integration and division of labor in response toenvironmental heterogeneity.

Floral closure in response to temperature and pollination in Gentiana straminea Maxim. (Gentianaceae), an alpine perennial in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Floral closure may be induced by pollination and various other factors, but is rarely studied comprehensively. Different kinds of floral closure should have various effects on reproductive fitness of plants. Two contrasting types of floral closure were observed in the flowers of Gentiana straminea Maxim. in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The first type occurred prior to pollination during both gender phases, in response mainly to decreasing air temperatures. Flowers closed when decreasing temperatures approached 20 degrees C and subsequently began to reopen the following day during mid-morning when air temperatures warmed to approximately 13-15 degrees C. This kind of floral closure can protect pollen grains on either stamens or stigmas, increasing fitness of both male and female. Following pollination, permanent floral closure occurred, although there was a delay between the dates of pollination and permanent closure, during which flowers continued to show temporary closure in response to low temperature episodes. The time required for permanent, pollination-induced closure varied according to the age of the gender phase, including a prolonged time before closure if pollination occurred early in the female phase. The retaining of permanent closed flowers increased both approaching (to inflorescences) and visiting (to unpollinated flowers) frequencies of individual plants when with fewer open flowers and the persisting corolla is further beneficial for seed sets of these pollinated flowers. Thus, two separate types of floral closure, one in response to environmental cues and the other in response to the age of each gender stage, appeared to have a strong influence on reproductive fitness in this species. These results revealed a different adaptive strategy of alpine plants in the sexual reproduction assurance in addition to the well-known elevated floral longevity, dominant role of more effective pollinators and increased reproduction allocation in the arid habitats.

Sexually coercive male chimpanzees sire more offspring.

In sexually reproducing animals, male and female reproductive strategies often conflict. In some species, males use aggression to overcome female choice, but debate persists over the extent to which this strategy is successful. Previous studies of male aggression toward females among wild chimpanzees have yielded contradictory results about the relationship between aggression and mating behavior. Critically, however, copulation frequency in primates is not always predictive of reproductive success. We analyzed a 17-year sample of behavioral and genetic data from the Kasekela chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) community in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, to test the hypothesis that male aggression toward females increases male reproductive success. We examined the effect of male aggression toward females during ovarian cycling, including periods when the females were sexually receptive (swollen) and periods when they were not. We found that, after controlling for confounding factors, male aggression during a female's swollen periods was positively correlated with copulation frequency. However, aggression toward swollen females was not predictive of paternity. Instead, aggression by high-ranking males toward females during their nonswollen periods was positively associated with likelihood of paternity. This indicates that long-term patterns of intimidation allow high-ranking males to increase their reproductive success, supporting the sexual coercion hypothesis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to present genetic evidence of sexual coercion as an adaptive strategy in a social mammal.

Flexible self-adjustment of task deployment in dynamic environments

This paper presents an investigation into dynamic self-adjustment of task deployment and other aspects of self-management, through the embedding of multiple policies. Non-dedicated loosely-coupled computing environments, such as clusters and grids are increasingly popular platforms for parallel processing. These abundant systems are highly dynamic environments in which many sources of variability affect the run-time efficiency of tasks. The dynamism is exacerbated by the incorporation of mobile devices and wireless communication. This paper proposes an adaptive strategy for the flexible run-time deployment of tasks; to continuously maintain efficiency despite the environmental variability. The strategy centres on policy-based scheduling which is informed by contextual and environmental inputs such as variance in the round-trip communication time between a client and its workers and the effective processing performance of each worker. A self-management framework has been implemented for evaluation purposes. The framework integrates several policy-controlled, adaptive services with the application code, enabling the run-time behaviour to be adapted to contextual and environmental conditions. Using this framework, an exemplar self-managing parallel application is implemented and used to investigate the extent of the benefits of the strategy

Policy-based techniques for self-managing parallel applications

This paper presents an empirical investigation of policy-based self-management techniques for parallel applications executing in loosely-coupled environments. The dynamic and heterogeneous nature of these environments is discussed and the special considerations for parallel applications are identified. An adaptive strategy for the run-time deployment of tasks of parallel applications is presented. The strategy is based on embedding numerous policies which are informed by contextual and environmental inputs. The policies govern various aspects of behaviour, enhancing flexibility so that the goals of efficiency and performance are achieved despite high levels of environmental variability. A prototype self-managing parallel application is used as a vehicle to explore the feasibility and benefits of the strategy. In particular, several aspects of stability are investigated. The implementation and behaviour of three policies are discussed and sample results examined.

Liderazgo y resiliencia organizacional en la crisis financiera global del 2008–2009

Durante la crisis financiera global de 2008 muchas organizaciones y mercados financieros tuvieron que terminar sus operaciones o replantearlas debido a los choques que golpearon el bienestar de sus empresas. A pesar de esta grave situación, en la actualidad se pueden encontrar empresas que se recuperaron y salieron del terrible panorama que les presentó la crisis, incluso encontrando nuevas oportunidades de negocio y fortaleciendo su futuro. Esta capacidad que algunas organizaciones tuvieron y que permitió su salida victoriosa de la crisis se denomina resiliencia, la cual es la capacidad de sobreponerse a los efectos negativos de choques internos o externos (Briguglio, Cordina, Farrugia & Vella 2009). Por tanto en el presente trabajo se estudiará esta capacidad tanto en la organización como en los líderes para hallar factores que mejoren el desempeño de las empresas en crisis como la que ocurrió en el 2008 – 2009. Primero se realizará un estudio sobre los sucesos y el desarrollo de la crisis subprime del año 2008 para tener un entendimiento claro de sus antecedentes, desarrollo, magnitud y consecuencias. Posteriormente se realizará un estudio profundo sobre la teoría de la resiliencia organizacional y la resiliencia en el líder como individuo y los estilos de liderazgo. Finalmente teniendo un sustento teórico tanto de la crisis como del concepto de resiliencia se tomarán casos de estudio de empresas que lograron perdurar en la crisis financiera del 2008 y empresas que no lograron sobrevivir para posteriormente hallar características del líder y del liderazgo que puedan aumentar o afectar la capacidad de resiliencia de las organizaciones con el objetivo de brindar herramientas a los líderes actuales para que manejen de forma eficiente y eficaz las empresas en un mundo complejo y variable como el actual.

High-resolution, unstructured meshes for hydrodynamic models of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Accuracy and mesh generation are key issues for the high-resolution hydrodynamic modelling of the whole Great Barrier Reef. Our objective is to generate suitable unstructured grids that can resolve topological and dynamical features like tidal jets and recirculation eddies in the wake of islands. A new strategy is suggested to refine the mesh in areas of interest taking into account the bathymetric field and an approximated distance to islands and reefs. Such a distance is obtained by solving an elliptic differential operator, with specific boundary conditions. Meshes produced illustrate both the validity and the efficiency of the adaptive strategy. Selection of refinement and geometrical parameters is discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bollène-2002 experiment: radar quantitative precipitation estimation in the Cévennes–Vivarais region, France

The Bollène-2002 Experiment was aimed at developing the use of a radar volume-scanning strategy for conducting radar rainfall estimations in the mountainous regions of France. A developmental radar processing system, called Traitements Régionalisés et Adaptatifs de Données Radar pour l’Hydrologie (Regionalized and Adaptive Radar Data Processing for Hydrological Applications), has been built and several algorithms were specifically produced as part of this project. These algorithms include 1) a clutter identification technique based on the pulse-to-pulse variability of reflectivity Z for noncoherent radar, 2) a coupled procedure for determining a rain partition between convective and widespread rainfall R and the associated normalized vertical profiles of reflectivity, and 3) a method for calculating reflectivity at ground level from reflectivities measured aloft. Several radar processing strategies, including nonadaptive, time-adaptive, and space–time-adaptive variants, have been implemented to assess the performance of these new algorithms. Reference rainfall data were derived from a careful analysis of rain gauge datasets furnished by the Cévennes–Vivarais Mediterranean Hydrometeorological Observatory. The assessment criteria for five intense and long-lasting Mediterranean rain events have proven that good quantitative precipitation estimates can be obtained from radar data alone within 100-km range by using well-sited, well-maintained radar systems and sophisticated, physically based data-processing systems. The basic requirements entail performing accurate electronic calibration and stability verification, determining the radar detection domain, achieving efficient clutter elimination, and capturing the vertical structure(s) of reflectivity for the target event. Radar performance was shown to depend on type of rainfall, with better results obtained with deep convective rain systems (Nash coefficients of roughly 0.90 for point radar–rain gauge comparisons at the event time step), as opposed to shallow convective and frontal rain systems (Nash coefficients in the 0.6–0.8 range). In comparison with time-adaptive strategies, the space–time-adaptive strategy yields a very significant reduction in the radar–rain gauge bias while the level of scatter remains basically unchanged. Because the Z–R relationships have not been optimized in this study, results are attributed to an improved processing of spatial variations in the vertical profile of reflectivity. The two main recommendations for future work consist of adapting the rain separation method for radar network operations and documenting Z–R relationships conditional on rainfall type.

What is going on around here? Intolerance of uncertainty predicts threat generalization

Attending to stimuli that share perceptual similarity to learned threats is an adaptive strategy. However, prolonged threat generalization to cues signalling safety is considered a core feature of pathological anxiety. One potential factor that may sustain over-generalization is sensitivity to future threat uncertainty. To assess the extent to which Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) predicts threat generalization, we recorded skin conductance in 54 healthy participants during an associative learning paradigm, where threat and safety cues varied in perceptual similarity. Lower IU was associated with stronger discrimination between threat and safety cues during acquisition and extinction. Higher IU, however, was associated with generalized responding to threat and safety cues during acquisition, and delayed discrimination between threat and safety cues during extinction. These results were specific to IU, over and above other measures of anxious disposition. These findings highlight: (1) a critical role of uncertainty-based mechanisms in threat generalization, and (2) IU as a potential risk factor for anxiety disorder development.

Reproductive pattern comparison of Uca thayeri Rathbun, 1900 and U. uruguayensis Nobili, 1901 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Ocypodidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Hemoglobin and HFE gene polymorphisms in Brazilian populations in regions endemic for malaria

Our objective was to determine how the distribution of red blood cell diseases is related to malaria occurrence in north Brazil, a region endemic for malaria. We evaluated the incidence of two mutations in the HFE gene, H63D and C282Y, in two study groups: a control blood donor group, with no indication of malaria infection, and a group constituted of malaria patients of four states of the Amazonian region. The hemoglobin polymorphisms were obtained by HPLC and classical laboratory methodologies, and the two mutations in the HFE gene were assayed by PCR-RFLP. We found a high frequency of alpha thalassemia, but there were no significant differences between blood donors and malaria patients. There were also no significant differences in the frequencies of HbA(2); however, the frequency of HbF was significantly different in individuals with malaria from Para and Rondonia. The mean number of reticulocytes was significantly reduced in the blood donors from the northern region, suggesting an adaptive strategy of these populations to parasitic attack by Plasmodium. Most individuals were heterozygous for the H63D allele of the HFE gene in both study groups. In the blood donors group, the greatest frequency of the H63D allele was found in Caucasians of all the states. In the malaria patients group in Rondonia, there was a high frequency of the H63D allele among the non-Caucasians. In the other states, and in the malaria patients group, the H63D allele was the most frequent among the Caucasians. Based on our results, we suggest that the maintenance of polymorphism of the mutations in the gene HFE can be explained by selective factors other than malaria, or it is due to simple allelic oscillation and by the constant gene flow among the populations in Brazil.

Emergence and stability of interlimb coordination patterns in children with developmental coordination disorder

The purpose of this study was to investigate the emergence and stability of coordination patterns in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) when performing a rhythmic interlimb coordination task on rigid (floor) and elastic (mini-trampoline) surfaces. Twelve typically developing (TD) children and 12 children with DCD were required to clap while jumping under different conditions: in a chosen pattern Free; when the feet touched the surface - Clapping-surface; when the body reached the maximum jumping height, Clapping-jump; and when the feet touched the surface and the body reached the maximum jumping height - Clapping-both. The results showed that the coordination pattern of children with DCD was more variable in the Free, Clapping-surface, and Clapping-jumping conditions and more variable on the mini-trampoline than on the floor under the Free condition when compared with the TD children. Clapping-jumping was more difficult to perform than Clapping-surface for both groups. These findings suggest that the children with DCD were less capable of rhythmically coordinating the jumping-clapping task because they used a type of exploratory strategy regarding the physical properties of the surfaces, whereas the TD children used a type of adaptive strategy displaying behavior that was more consistent across the tasks/environmental demands. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.