Does flagship species tourism benefit conservation? A case study of the golden snub-nosed monkey in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve

Tourism has been widely used as a conservation strategy that directly compensates local people or management authorities, thereby contributing to development and creating incentives to preserve the landscape. Reserves or parks that are inhabited by flagship species may be able to generate more revenue through tourism than those without such species because flagship species have great potential for raising funds and creating publicity for conservation goals. In this paper, we examine flagship species tourism...     

Rapid growth and sterility of growth hormone gene transgenic triploid carp

Triploid carp (100%) with 150 (3n=150) chromosomes were obtained by crossing the females of improved tetraploid hybrids (♀, 4n=200) of red crucian carp (♀)×common carp (♂) with the males of diploid yellow river carp (♂, 2n=100). The crosses yielded transgenic triploid carp (positive triploid fish, 44.2% of the progeny) and non-transgenic triploid carp (negative triploid fish). Histological examination of the gonads of 24-month-old positive triploid fish suggested they were sterile and the fish were not able to produce mature gametes during the breeding season. Morphologically, both the positive and negative triploid fish were similar. They had a spindle-shaped, laterally compressed, steel grey body with two pairs of barbells. Most of the quantifiable traits of the triploid carp were intermediate between those of the two parents. The positive and negative triploid fish were raised in the same pond for 2 years. The mean body weight of the positive triploid fish was 2.3 times higher than the negative triploid fish. The weight of the largest positive triploid fish was 2.91 times higher than that of the largest negative triploid fish. Thus, we produced fast-growing transgenic triploid carp that have a reduced ecological risk because of their inability to mate and produce progeny.     

Habitat-induced reciprocal transformation in the root phenotype of Oriental ginseng is associated with alteration in DNA methylation

Oriental ginseng is an important medicinal plant that grows in 2 major forms or ecotypes, wild and domesticated. Each form differs conspicuously in root phenotype, but can be converted from one type to another by habitat. Here we show that the habitat-induced transformation of ginseng root phenotype was accompanied by alteration in cytosine methylation at a large number of 5′-CCGG-3′ sites detected by the methylation-sensitive polymorphism (MSAP) marker. The collective CG and CHG methylation levels of all 4 landraces of the domesticated form were significantly lower than those of the wild form. Interestingly, artificially transplanted ginseng plants recreated in both directions the methylation levels (at least in CHG) of their natural counterparts. The methylation differences between the 2 ginseng ecotypes were validated at 2 isolated MSAP loci bearing homology to a 5S rRNA gene or a copia retrotransposon. Our results implicate a link between epigenetic variation and habitat-induced phenotypic flexibility in Oriental ginseng.     

Compact fiber-optic diode-laser sensor system for wide-dynamic-range relative humidity measurement

A compact fiber-optic diode-laser sensor system for measuring relative humidity is studied. In such a system, a distributed feedback laser lasing near 1877 nm is used as light source while a high-precision Pt resistance as temperature sensor, an accuracy of 0.1% relative-humidity can be achieved. The laser sensor system is able to lock to the absorption peak and calculate the density of water vapor without any additional reference measurements. Using programs built in to the microcontroller unit, the laser system can switch functions between direct measurement at high density and second-harmonic detection at low density. The system can switch between the two modes automatically and work in a wide dynamic range.     

Potential influence of water level changes on energy flows in a lake food web

Large seasonal water-level fluctuations may influence isotopic signatures of primary producers and the types and amounts of these potential food sources accessible to aquatic fauna of Poyang Lake,the largest freshwater lake in China.In this study,the isotopic signatures of primary producers and consumers were determined,stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and mixing models were combined to investigate the influence of water levels on the diet and isotopic composition of Poyang Lake fish and inverteb...     

Coral reef ecosystems in the South China Sea as a source of atmospheric CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> in summer

Field measurements of air-sea CO2 exchange in three coral reef areas of the South China Sea (i.e. the Yongshu Reef atoll of the Nansha Islands, southern South China Sea (SCS); Yongxing Island of Xisha Islands, north-central SCS; and Luhuitou Fringing Reef in Sanya of Hainan Island, northern SCS) during the summers of 2008 and 2009 revealed that both air and surface seawater partial pressures of CO2 (pCO2) showed regular diurnal cycles. Minimum values occurred in the evening and maximum values in the morning. Air pCO2 in each of the three study areas showed small diurnal variations, while large diurnal variations were ob-served in seawater pCO2. The diurnal variation amplitude of seawater pCO2 was ~70 μmol mol–1 at the Yongshu Reef lagoon, 420–619 μmol mol–1 on the Yongxing Island reef flat, and 264–579 μmol mol–1 on the reef flat of the Luhuitou Fringing Reef, and 324–492 μmol mol–1 in an adjacent area just outside of this fringing reef. With respect to spatial relations, there were large differences in air-sea CO2 flux across the South China Sea (e.g. ~0.4 mmol CO2 m–2 d–1 at Yongshu Reef, ~4.7 mmol CO2 m–2 d–1 at Yongxing Island, and ~9.8 mmol CO2 m–2 d–1 at Luhuitou Fringing Reef). However, these positive values suggest that coral reef ecosystems of the SCS may be a net source of CO2 to the atmosphere. Additional analyses indicated that diurnal variations of surface seawater pCO2 in the shallow water reef flat are controlled mainly by biological metabolic processes, while those of deeper water lagoons and outer reef areas are regulated by both biological metabolism and hydrodynamic factors. Unlike the open ocean, inorganic metabolism plays a significant role in influencing seawater pCO2 variations in coral reef ecosystems.     

Sufficient and necessary conditions of separability for bipartite pure states in infinite-dimensional systems

The PHC criterion and the realignment criterion for pure states in infinite-dimensional bipartite quantum systems are given. Furthermore, several equivalent conditions for pure states to be separable are generalized to infinite-dimensional systems.     

3GPP-LTE系统下行链路S-SCH检测算法的低复杂度实现

小区搜索是3GPP-LTE移动通信系统中的重要过程,研究了此过程中下行链路辅同步信道（S-SCH）的检测问题,指出了接收机在采用最大似然序列检测（MLSD）算法进行S-SCH检测时,具有较高的计算复杂度.给出了一种基于MLSD准则S-SCH检测算法的低复杂度实现方法,利用S-SCH序列的结构特点,缩小候选S-SCH序列...     

水稻花期干旱胁迫应答基因Os07g0422100启动子的克隆及鉴定

水稻作为需水量最大的作物之一,对于水分的胁迫异常敏感.对处于花期的水稻进行干旱胁迫处理,利用基因芯片技术筛选出在水稻花穗中特异性表达的应答干旱胁迫的基因Os07g0422100.在对该基因的研究中发现,该基因的表达图谱有较高的专一性,且该基因的启动子属于诱导型启动子,仅在受到干旱胁迫的水稻花穗中表达.利用Os07g04...     

超精密气浮工件台误差建模

为了研究多种作用因素在高加速、大行程条件下对超精密微动台静态精度的影响,利用刚体运动学,通过综合工件台中的线性位置误差与角位置误差,建立了超精密气浮工件台的静态误差解析模型。利用该模型,结合有限元等方法定量分析了超精密气浮工件台中加速度、制造误差、结构柔性及气浮轴承刚度等普遍存在的误差因素同时作用时对系统最终精度的影响。通过分析,证明在高加速、大行程条件下,气浮轴承的角刚度不足是造成静态误差的主要因素。