Nitrogen isotopic fractionation during a simulated diatom spring bloom: importance of N-starvation in controlling fractionation

N isotope fractionation (epsilon) was first determined during ambient NO3- depletion in a simulated diatom spring bloom. After 48 h of N-starvation, NH4+ was resupplied to the diatoms in small pulses to simulate grazer-produced N and then epsilon was determined. Large variations in epsilon values were observed: from 2.0-3.6 to 14-0 parts per thousand during NO3- and NH4+ uptake, respectively. This is the first study reporting an epsilon value as low as 0 to 2 parts per thousand for NH4+ uptake and we suggest that greater N demand after N-starvation may have drastically reduced NH3 efflux out of the cells. Thus the N status of the phytoplankton and not the ambient NH4+ concentration may be the important factor controlling epsilon, because, when N-starvation increased, epsilon values for NH4+ uptake decreased within 30 h. This study may thus have important implications for interpreting the delta(15)N of particulate N in nutrient-depleted regimes in temperate coastal oceans.

Response of cyanobacterial carbon concentrating system to light intensity: a simulated analysis

Cyanobacteria possess a delicate system known as the carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM), which can efficiently elevate the intracellular inorganic carbon (Ci) concentration via active transportation. The system requires energy supplied by photosystems; therefore, the activity of the Ci transporter is closely related to light intensity. However, the relationship between CCM and light intensity has rarely been evaluated. Here, we present an improved quantitative model of CCM in which light is incorporated, and developed a CCM model that modified after Fridlyand et al. in 1996. Some equations used in this model were inducted to describe the relationship between transport capacity and light intensity, by which the response of the CCM to light change is simulated. Our results indicate that the efficiency of the carbon concentrating system is sensitive to light intensity. When the external Ci concentration was low, CO2 uptake dominated the total Ci uptake with increasing light intensity, while under high external Ci concentrations HCO3- uptake primarily contributed to the total Ci uptake. Variations in the ratio of energy allocated between the transport systems could markedly affect the operation of CCM. Indeed, our simulations suggest that various combinations of Ci fluxes can provide a possible approach to detect the way by which the cell distributes energy produced by the photosystems to the two active Ci transport processes. The proportion of the energy consumed on CCM to the total energy expenditure for the fixation of one CO2 molecule was determined at 18%-40%.

Interactions between the bloom-forming dinoflagellates Prorocentrum donghaiense and Alexandrium tamarense in laboratory cultures

Interactions between Prorocentrum donghaiense and Alexandrium tamarens, two bloom-forming dinoflagellates, were investigated using bi-algal cultures. All R donghaiense died, but A. tamarense was hardly affected by the end of the experiment when the initial cell density was set at 1.0 X 10(4) cells mL(-1) for P. donghaiense and 0.28 x 10(4) cells mL(-1) for A. tamarense. However, significant growth suppression occurred in either species when the initial cell density of P donghaiense increased to I. 0 X 105 Cells mL(-1) in the bi-algal culture, but no out-competement was observed. The simultaneous assay on the culture filtrates showed that P donghaiense filtrate prepared at a lower initial density (1.0 X 10(4) cells mL(-1)) stimulated growth of the co-cultured A. tanzarense (0.28 x 10(4) cells mL(-1)), but filtrate at a higher initial density (1.0 x 10(5) cells mL(-1)) depressed its growth. The filtrate of A. tamarense at a density of 0.28 x 10(4) cells mL(-1) killed all R donghaiense at a lower density (1.0 x 10(4) cells mL(-1)), but only exhibited an inhibitory effect on it at a higher density (1.0 x 10(5) cells mL(-1)). It is likely that these two species of microalgae interfere with each other mainly by releasing allelochemical substance(s) into the culture medium, and a direct cell-to-cell contact was not necessary for their mutual interaction. The allelopathic test further proved that A. tamarense could affect the growth of co-cultured P. donghaiense by producing allelochemical(s); moreover, A. tamarense culture filtrate at the stationary growth phase (SP) had a strongly inhibitory effect on P donghaiense compared to that at the exponential phase (EP). Results also demonstrated a dose-dependent relationship between the microalgal initial cell density and the degree of the allelopathic effect. The growth of R donghaiense and A. tamarense in the bi-algal cultures was simulated using a mathematical model to quantify the interaction. The estimated parameters from the model showed that the inhibition exerted by A. tamarense on P. donghaiense was about 17 and 8 times stronger than the inhibition P. donghaiense exerted on A. tamarense, when the initial cell density was set at 1.0 X 10(4) and 1.0 X 10(5) cells mL(-1) for P donghaiense, respectively. and 0.28 x 10(4) cells mL(-1) for A. tamarense in the bi-algal cultures. A. tamarense seems to have a survival strategy that is superior to that of P. donghaiense in bi-algal cultures under controlled laboratory conditions. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vegetation Responses to A Long-term Grazing Intensity Experiment in Alpine Shrub Grassland on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

在青藏高原中国科学院海北高寒草甸生态系统定位研究站对金露梅高寒灌丛草场植被开展了长期不同放 牧强度试验,分别在短期(4 年) 、中期(11 年) 和长期(18 年) 放牧阶段研究不同放牧干扰强度对草地植物物种多样 性、群落结构、地上生物量和草场质量的影响。研究表明,在不同放牧阶段,随着放牧强度增加植物群落的高度和 盖度都降低。在中期放牧干扰阶段,物种多样性指数和均匀度指数随着放牧强度增加呈现典型的单峰曲线模式; 在长期放牧干扰阶段,随着放牧强度增加,占优势地位的灌木和禾草被典型杂类草替代,其中的重度放牧干扰简化 了高寒灌丛植被群落结构,减少了地上现存生物量,特别是可食优良牧草生物量。植被对放牧的响应除了与放牧 强度和放牧时间阶段密切相关外,还与该地区水热条件的变化有一定的相关性。针对长期放牧干扰的反应特性可 将金露梅灌丛草场中植物划分为增加型、敏感型、忍耐型和无反应型4 种类型。除了丰富度指数、多样性指数和均 匀度指数外,其它一些特征参数并不支持著名的中度干扰假说。本研究发现,长期重度放牧促进了青藏高原高寒 草地退化,适度放牧有利于高寒灌丛草场的生物多样性保护和牧草利用;“取半留半”的放牧原则在青藏高原草场 放牧管理实践中值得推荐,它将有利于防止草场退化,提高牧草利用率和维持较高的生物多样性。

Reproduction and behavior of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae Hodgson) under predation risk: A field experiment

The mixture of the feces and urine of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus) was used to increase the perception of predation risk of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae Hodgson) in the field. The influence of the predation risk on the reproduction and behavior of plateau pikas was examined through comparing reproductive characteristics and five different kinds of behavior between treatment and control plots. The results showed that 1) the body weight of the pikas was not significantly different between treatment and control plots. 2) The reproductive period of the pikas extended from March to later August in both treatment and control plots. The pregnant ratio, developed testes ratio, reproductive success and sex ratio of the pikas were not significantly different between the treatment and control plots. 3) The pikas increased their observing and calling frequencies and decreased their moving and feeding frequencies when exposed to red fox's feces and urine. 4) The increased red fox's feces and urine had no influence on the behavior of the pikas when the number of their natural enemies increased; the pikas obviously increased the observing frequencies and sharply decreased the calling frequency so as to decrease the direct predation risk. 5) There were no significantly behavioral differences between males and females as well as between adults and young. 6) The results reject the hypothesis 1 that the red fox's feces and urine as indirect predation risk suppresses the reproduction of the pikas and support the hypothesis 2 that the pikas can make decision by changing behavior to avoid the predation risk they encountered whenever.

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.

自由表面上球形浮体的拖曳运动仿真与试验

浮体在自由表面上的拖曳是一种常见的拖曳形式,由于自由表面上物体的运动情况相当复杂,目前对这种拖曳系统的设计和分析一般采用试验的方法。通过理论分析,对球形浮体在自由表面上的匀速直线拖曳运动建立了数学模型,其中对缆绳的分析采用Ablow-Schechter提出的有限差分模型,对球形浮体的分析采用水动力系数法,整个耦合系统用有限差分方法求解。之后,在拖曳水池进行了试验,试验结果表明,这种方法在拖曳速度比较低的情况下能够模拟真实情况,可以用来指导拖曳系统设计。

水下滑翔机器人运动机理仿真与实验

对水下滑翔机器人SEA-WING的定常滑翔运动和空间定常螺旋回转运动进行机理分析,针对其特定水动力系数进行仿真,得出其运动机理特性。在此基础上,通过湖试实验数据对仿真结果进行验证,认为对于定常滑翔运动,以约36°航迹角滑行可得到最大水平速度;在相同航迹角航行情况下,水平方向速度随净浮力的增大而增大。对于定常回转运动,回转半径由载体的质量、俯仰角、水动力参数、横滚角确定。在质量和俯仰角保持不变条件下,横滚角对回转半径的影响较明显,系统的回转半径可以通过控制横滚角来实现的。

石油二次运移的物理与数值模拟实验及其应用

Facing the problems met in studies on predominant hydrocarbon migration pathways, experiments and numerical simulating were done in this thesis work to discuss the migration mechanisms. The aim is to analyze quantitatively the pathway pattern in basin scale and to estimate the hydrocarbon loss on the pathway that offer useful information for confirming the potential hydrocarbon accumulation. Based on our understandings on hydrocarbon migration and the fluid dynamic theory, a series of migration experiments were designed to observe the phenomena where kerosene is used as draining phase driven only by buoyancy force that expulses pore water. These experiments allow to study the formation of migration pathways, the distribution of non-wetting oil along these pathways, and the re-utilizing of previously existing pathways marked by residual traces etc. The types of pattern for migration pathways may be characterized by a phase diagram using two dimensionless numbers: the capillary number and the Bond number. The NMR technique is used to measure the average saturation of residual oil within the pathways. Based our experiment works and percolation concept, a numerical simulation model were proposed and realized. This model is therefore called as BP (Buoyancy Percolation) simulator, since buoyancy is taken as the main driving force in hydrocarbon migration. To make sure that BP model is applicable to simulate the process of oil secondary migration, the experimental phenomena are compared with those simulated with BP model by fractal method, and the result is positive. After then, we use BP simulator to simulate the process of migration of oil in the porous media saturated with water at different scale. And the results seem similar to those cited in literatures. In addition, our software is applied in Paris basin to predict the pathway of hydrocarbon migration happened in the Middle Jurassic reservoirs. It is found that the results obtained with our BP model are generally agree with Hindle (1997) and Bekeles'(1999), but our simulated migration pathway pattern and migration direction seem more reasonable than theirs.

地震反射界面形态与介质各向异性属性联立成像：地震反射波旅行时与偏振信息综合反演

It has been a difficult problem faced by seismologists for long time that how exactly to reconstruct the earth's geometric structure and distribution of physical attributes according to seismic wave's kinematical and dynamic characteristics, obtained in seismological observation. The jointing imaging of seismic reflector and anisotropy attributes in the earth interior is becoming the research hot spot. The limitation of shoot and observation system makes that the obtained seismic data are too scarce to exactly reconstruct the geological objects. It is popular that utilizing only seismic reflection traveltimes or polarizations information make inversion of the earth's velocity distribution by fixing seismic reflector configuration (vice versa), these will lead to the serious non-uniqueness reconstruction due to short of effective data, the non-uniqueness problem of reconstructing anisotropy attributes will be more serious than in isotropy media. Obviously it is not enough to restrict the media structure only by information of seismic reflection traveltimes or polarizations, which even sometimes will lead to distorted images and misinterpretation of subsurface structure. So we try to rebuild seismic reflection structure (geometry) and media anisotropic structure (physics) in the earth interior by jointing data of seismic wave kinematics and dynamics characteristics, we carry out the new experiment step by step, and the research mainly comprises of two parts: one is the reconstruction of P-wave vertical velocity and anisotropic structure(Thomsen parameter s and 8) in the transversely isotropic media with vertical symmetrical axis(VTI) by fixing geometrical structure, and the other is the simultaneous inversion of the reflector surface conformation and seismic anisotropic structure by jointing seismic reflection traveltimes and polarizations data. Simulated annealing method is used to the first research part, linear inversion based on BG theory and Simulated annealing are applied to the second one. All the research methods are checked by model experiments, then applied to the real data of the wide-angle seismic profile from Tunxi, Anhui Province, to Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. The results are as following The inversion results based on jointing seismic PP-wave or PSV-wavereflection traveltimes and polarizations data are more close to real model than themodels based simply on one of the two data respectively. It is shown that the methodwe present here can effectively reconstruct the anisotropy attributes in the earth'sinterior when seismic reflector structure is fixed.The layer thickness, P-wave vertical velocity and Thomsen anisotropicparameters {s and 8) could be resolved simultaneously by jointing inversion ofseismic reflection traveltimes and polarizations with the linear inversion methodbased on BG theory.The image of the reflector structure, P-wave vertical velocity and theanisotropy parameters in the crust could be obtained from the wide-angle seismicprofile from Tunxi (in Anhui Province), to Wenzhou (in Zhejiang Province). Theresults reveal the difference of the reflector geometrical structure and physicalattributes in the crust between Yangtze block and Cathaysia block, and attempt tounderstand the characteristics of the crustal stress field in the areas.