第四纪冰川对中国昆虫区系形成的影响

第四纪冰川对我国昆虫区系的形成有重大影响,冰川促使古北界种类向南扩散,分布于我国云南、海南和台湾等最南部地区形成了我国分布最南古北种。第四纪冰川对我国南部高山昆虫属、种及特有种的形成起到了重要的作用。我国古北界和东洋界在东部的分界线应该在淮河附近。我国一部分特有种可能是来源于欧洲和俄罗斯远东地区种类被冰川向南驱赶所遗留下来的。很多的古北-东洋广布种的形成是由于冰川的驱赶作用促使一些来源于古北界种类进一步延伸至东南亚和南亚。     

An extant cichlid fish radiation emerged in an extinct Pleistocene lake

The haplochromine cichlid fish of the East African Great Lakes represent some of the fastest and most species-rich adaptive radiations known, but rivers in most of Africa accommodate only a few morphologically similar species of haplochromine cichlid fish. This has been explained by the wealth of ecological opportunity in large lakes compared with rivers. It is therefore surprising that the rivers of southern Africa harbour many, ecologically diverse haplochromines. Here we present genetic, morphological and biogeographical evidence suggesting that these riverine cichlids are products of a recent adaptive radiation in a large lake that dried up in the Holocene. Haplochromine species richness peaks steeply in an area for which geological data reveal the historical existence of Lake palaeo-Makgadikgadi. The centre of this extinct lake is now a saltpan north of the Kalahari Desert, but it once hosted a rapidly evolving fish species radiation, comparable in morphological diversity to that in the extant African Great Lakes. Importantly, this lake seeded all major river systems of southern Africa with ecologically diverse cichlids. This discovery reveals how local evolutionary processes operating during a short window of ecological opportunity can have a major and lasting effect on biodiversity on a continental scale.     

广西十万大山蝶类区系组成的初步研究

经初步调查获知，广西十万大山的蝶类有9科22亚科83属135种．该地区蝶类主要以东洋区成分(74．8％)为主，兼有广布种(24．4％)，并发现一个地方特有种，以此为据，探讨了广西十万大山蝶类的区系的组成特征。     

Oligocene mammals from Ethiopia and faunal exchange between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia

Afro-Arabian mammalian communities underwent a marked transition near the Oligocene/Miocene boundary at approximately 24 million years (Myr) ago. Although it is well documented that the endemic paenungulate taxa were replaced by migrants from the Northern Hemisphere, the timing and evolutionary dynamics of this transition have long been a mystery because faunas from about 32 to 24 Myr ago are largely unknown. Here we report a late Oligocene fossil assemblage from Ethiopia, which constrains the migration to postdate 27 Myr ago, and yields new insight into the indigenous faunal dynamics that preceded this event. The fauna is composed of large paenungulate herbivores and reveals not only which earlier taxa persisted into the late Oligocene epoch but also demonstrates that one group, the Proboscidea, underwent a marked diversification. When Eurasian immigrants entered Afro-Arabia, a pattern of winners and losers among the endemics emerged: less diverse taxa such as arsinoitheres became extinct, moderately species-rich groups such as hyracoids continued into the Miocene with reduced diversity, whereas the proboscideans successfully carried their adaptive radiation out of Afro-Arabia and across the world.     

A new hominin foot from Ethiopia shows multiple Pliocene bipedal adaptations

A newly discovered partial hominin foot skeleton from eastern Africa indicates the presence of more than one hominin locomotor adaptation at the beginning of the Late Pliocene epoch. Here we show that new pedal elements, dated to about 3.4 million years ago, belong to a species that does not match the contemporaneous Australopithecus afarensis in its morphology and inferred locomotor adaptations, but instead are more similar to the earlier Ardipithecus ramidus in possessing an opposable great toe. This not only indicates the presence of more than one hominin species at the beginning of the Late Pliocene of eastern Africa, but also indicates the persistence of a species with Ar. ramidus-like locomotor adaptation into the Late Pliocene.     

河北南部山区植物群落的调查研究

河北南部山区地带性植被类型为落叶阔叶林,共包括5个植被型、29个群系,其群落结构和组成具暖温带森林植被的特点,在太行山区具有一定的代表性.据样方调查,该区典型植被类型的主要组成种类约有178种,隶属于47科、126属,优势科有菊科、豆科、禾本科、蔷薇科等,优势属有蒿属、委陵菜属、苔草属等;该区系具明显的温带性质,中国特有分布、东亚分布和温带亚洲分布种在该区植被组成及群落结构、特征形成上具有重要的作用;植被生活型以地面芽植物为主,高位芽植物相对较少.     

Release of methane from a volcanic basin as a mechanism for initial Eocene global warming

A 200,000-yr interval of extreme global warming marked the start of the Eocene epoch about 55 million years ago. Negative carbon- and oxygen-isotope excursions in marine and terrestrial sediments show that this event was linked to a massive and rapid (approximately 10,000 yr) input of isotopically depleted carbon. It has been suggested previously that extensive melting of gas hydrates buried in marine sediments may represent the carbon source and has caused the global climate change. Large-scale hydrate melting, however, requires a hitherto unknown triggering mechanism. Here we present evidence for the presence of thousands of hydrothermal vent complexes identified on seismic reflection profiles from the V?ring and M?re basins in the Norwegian Sea. We propose that intrusion of voluminous mantle-derived melts in carbon-rich sedimentary strata in the northeast Atlantic may have caused an explosive release of methane--transported to the ocean or atmosphere through the vent complexes--close to the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary. Similar volcanic and metamorphic processes may explain climate events associated with other large igneous provinces such as the Siberian Traps (approximately 250 million years ago) and the Karoo Igneous Province (approximately 183 million years ago).     

雉科四种鸟类线粒体DNAR的分子进化

采用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)和直接测序的方法分析了4种雉科(Phasianidae)鸟类的线粒体DNA(mtDNA)控制区基因(D-loop)415bp基因序列。4种鸟类遗传距离在5.90％--23．67％．变异位点数为116个，大石鸡和石鸡的遗传距离为5．90％，二者分歧时间大约是290万年．斑翅山鹑与环颈雉遗传距离为21．06％，分歧时间为1000万年，山鹑属与雉属的遗传距离为21．06％，与石鸡属的遗传距离为22．41％；雉属与石鸡属的遗传距离为22．85％．三者分歧时间在1000—1150万年间，与化石材料相符．在系统树中斑翅山鹑与环颈雉属同一枝，说明1)在雉科系统发生中，雉属与山鹑属是近缘属或2)环颈雉与斑翅山鹑的分化较晚，关系密切，也与Randi得出的斑翅山鹑称为小雉的结论相吻合。     

常绿阔叶林壳斗科优势种植物地理特征数量分析

以壳斗科锥属、青冈属和柯属的22个典型常绿阔叶优势种的分布资料和11项环境因子为基础,利用对应分析和典范对应分析,对这些物种的分布类型以及同环境因子之间的关系开展数量分析.根据对应分析的结果,全部物种可分为东、西两个分布类型.其中,东部类型又分为南、北两个亚类型.对应于物种的分布类型,研究区域也分为了西部、东部偏北和东部偏南三个分布区域.典范对应分析的结果表明,不同空间梯度上影响物种分布类型的主要环境因子不同.影响物种东西方向上分布的主要因子是年平均温差、最暖月平均温度、日照时数、太阳实际总辐射和干燥指数,而影响物种在南北方向上分布的主要因子是最冷月平均温度和太阳潜在总辐射.从分布区域的划分结果来看,同以往对亚热带常绿阔叶林区域的划分方案相比,东、西两个区域的划分与之相吻合,而南、北两个区域的划分则向北略有延伸.     

Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6 million years

The role of African savannahs in the evolution of early hominins has been debated for nearly a century. Resolution of this issue has been hindered by difficulty in quantifying the fraction of woody cover in the fossil record. Here we show that the fraction of woody cover in tropical ecosystems can be quantified using stable carbon isotopes in soils. Furthermore, we use fossil soils from hominin sites in the Awash and Omo-Turkana basins in eastern Africa to reconstruct the fraction of woody cover since the Late Miocene epoch (about 7 million years ago). (13)C/(12)C ratio data from 1,300 palaeosols at or adjacent to hominin sites dating to at least 6 million years ago show that woody cover was predominantly less than ～40% at most sites. These data point to the prevalence of open environments at the majority of hominin fossil sites in eastern Africa over the past 6 million years.     

武陵山地区种子植物区系特征及植物地理学意义

武陵山地区地处湘鄂川黔交界,面积约10万km2,从科,属,种水平对区种子植物区系特征进行研究,结果表明,（1）该区产种子植物201,1005属,4119种,地理成分以亚热带（至温带）分布为主（占总属数的56．8％和总种数的90．49％）,中国特有属64属,中国特有种达2682种（其中武陵山地区特有126种,武际人山区以外的华中区特有675种）。（2）该区保存有长苞铁极,水杉,粗榧,厚朴,鹅掌楸,水青属,八角莲属,马蹄芹属等起源或重要化化地;（3）该区与邻近区系具有广泛交流和渗透,经初步确定分别有109种,96种,67种和109种以武 陵山地区为分布区东界,西界,南界和北界,另外所含东亚成分由西向东方向分布式样的359种中,有303种正处于该方向迁移和扩散的重要通道（武陵山走廊）上,因此,武陵山地区在中国植物区系甚至个东亚植物区系中具有十分重要的意义。     

Mesozoic origin for West Indian insectivores

The highly endangered solenodons, endemic to Cuba (Solenodon cubanus) and Hispaniola (S. paradoxus), comprise the only two surviving species of West Indian insectivores. Combined gene sequences (13.9 kilobases) from S. paradoxus established that solenodons diverged from other eulipotyphlan insectivores 76 million years ago in the Cretaceous period, which is consistent with vicariance, though also compatible with dispersal. A sequence of 1.6 kilobases of mitochondrial DNA from S. cubanus indicated a deep divergence of 25 million years versus the congeneric S. paradoxus, which is consistent with vicariant origins as tectonic forces separated Cuba and Hispaniola. Efforts to prevent extinction of the two surviving solenodon species would conserve an entire lineage as old or older than many mammalian orders.     

中国南方苦苣苔科植物在喀斯特地貌和丹霞地貌上的适应分化

中国南方同域分布着大面积的喀斯特地貌和丹霞地貌,其形成的异质性生境可能促进物种的分化适应以实现植物物种形成与维持。本文比较研究了中国南方喀斯特地貌和丹霞地貌的土壤与生境差异,分析了苦苣苔科植物在这两类生境上的分布格局、专性程度等,解释这两类生境对苦苣苔科物种分化与特有种维持的可能作用。结果显示:丹霞地貌的土壤更偏酸性,土壤含钾量极高;喀斯特地貌土壤则呈明显碱性,土壤含钙量极高。苦苣苔科植物专性或偏好喀斯特生境的物种有162种(占31.58%),花期集中在4—10月(87.04%);丹霞生境专性或偏好的物种27种,花期集中在8—9月(44.44%)。另外有一部分类群同时在喀斯特地貌和丹霞地貌有着较广的分布,但也存在一定的分化;如在两类生境都有大量分布的闽赣长蒴苣苔,在丹霞地貌上的种群花期较喀斯特种群的约早2个月。这些结果证实,中国南方喀斯特和丹霞地貌不同的土壤性质及相关环境与气候特点,促进了苦苣苔科植物物种分化,可能是我国南方苦苣苔科植物具有较多狭域特有种的一个重要原因。     

A biodiversity intactness index

The nations of the world have set themselves a target of reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. Here, we propose a biodiversity intactness index (BII) for assessing progress towards this target that is simple and practical--but sensitive to important factors that influence biodiversity status--and which satisfies the criteria for policy relevance set by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Application of the BII is demonstrated on a large region (4 x 10(6) km2) of southern Africa. The BII score in the year 2000 is about 84%: in other words, averaged across all plant and vertebrate species in the region, populations have declined to 84% of their presumed pre-modern levels. The taxonomic group with the greatest loss is mammals, at 71% of pre-modern levels, and the ecosystem type with the greatest loss is grassland, with 74% of its former populations remaining. During the 1990s, a population decline of 0.8% is estimated to have occurred.     

云南冬樱花的群落特征及地理分布

云南冬樱花群落共有种子植物1421种，分属158科。696属，科、属、种的区系成分都以热带成分占显优势，分别为74．42％，76．08％，66．31％(不包括世界分布)，说明该区系种子植物具显的热带性质。该区系与泛热带和热带亚洲联系最为密切，同时与热带大洋州、热带非洲、热带美洲、北温带、东亚等有一定程度的联系，而与地中海区、西亚、中亚联系最少。另外，该区系特有现象不十分显，特有科、属、种比例低于不同纬度上相邻的滇中高原和云南热带地区。     

中国西南地区濒危植物的区系地理研究

根据《中国植物红皮收》第一册,中国西南地区共有濒危植物（除去稀有和渐危植物）28科,41属,52种,笔者对这些植物的生活型、分布区类型、地理分布和植物区系分布的特征进行了分析,主要结果表明：从属性的分布区类型来看,西南地区37属濒危种子植物中,热带分布型有16属,占种子植物属的43.3%,温带分布型有19属,占51.4%,中国特有分布型只有2属,其中1属为西南地区特有属,说明属的特有分布现象不明显;从西南地区52种濒危植物的水平分布来看,有33种为西南地区特有种,占63.5%,说明种的特有分布现象明显;西南地区跨越了我国仅有的2大植物区,5个地区,植物区系成分复杂。     

邢台山地植被及其区系分析

邢台山地植被具暖温带森林植物群落的特点,在太行山区具有一定的代表性.对主要植被类型的区系地理成分分析显示:该区植被具明显的温带性质,但在其发生、发展过程中与热带也有一定的历史渊源;中国特有分布、东亚分布和温带亚洲分布种在该区植被组成及群落结构、特征形成上具有重要的作用;生活型分析显示:本区植被以地面芽植物为主,高位芽植物相对较少.     

河南省西峡老界岭自然保护区植物区系及珍稀植物资源研究

1、西峡老界岭自然保护区位于亚热带向暖温带的过渡地区、南北植物交汇、种类较丰富,计有种子植物131科,864属和1354种,种子植物以华北,华中区系成分为主,但也有不少的西南成分。构成该区植被的主要建群种及优势种科有四个:松科(Pinaceae),壳斗科(Pagaceae),桦木科(Betulaceae)和胡桃科(Juglandaceae),多数属,种为典型的温带成分和亚热带地区成分。2、初步统计,该区蕴藏有国家重点保护植物17种,省级27种和许多其它名贵药材,奇花异草,野生水果等资源。     

岷江上游地区种子植物区系初步研究

岷江上游地区位于四川北部,是世界生物多样性保护的热点地区.区系分析结果显示保护区内有种子植物107科,444属,1091种,其中裸子植物6科,11属,42种;被子植物101科,433属,1049种.种子植物科的分布区类型有12个,具有较强的热带性质,泛热带(热带广布Pantropic)型29科,占总科数的40.28%,属的分布区类型有15个,以温带区系成分为主,共225属,占总属数的56.53%,种的分布区类型有15个,其中特有种501个,占总种数的50.81%.该地区区系成分较复杂,特有成分较多,泛热带区系成分具有极其重要的地位.