Phenological studies of selected savanna mosses of south-western Nigeria

It was established that there is little diversity of bryophytes in the derived savanna. Mosses were found in the sampling sites, whereas liverworts were rarely observed. The reproductive methods of four dominant sexually reproducing savanna mosses —Archidium ohioense, Bryum coronatum, Fissidens minutifolius andTrachycarpidium tisserantii were monitored over two consecutive rainy seasons. Protonemal and gametophyte production were noticed in the field in March/April, and capsule dehiscence and spore dispersal occurred in September/October. The sequential stages of development, starting with gametangial production and ending with the falling of the dehisced capsules, occurred within the rainy season. However,A. ohioense andT. tisserantii did not discharge their spores easily (cleistocarpous), unlike the stegocarpous speciesB. coronatum andF. minutifolius. Water availability and possibly high humidity may have contributed to growth. The short period between sex organ formation and dehiscence of capsule seen in these studies, compared with the longer period in some temperate mosses, may be an advantage for bryophytes in a savanna environment.     

广州市园林木本植物物候调查研究

研究了广州市天河公园、二沙岛住宅区、广州大道和珠江北岸等4个代表区域共110种园林木本植物的开花、结果、落叶、长叶等物候情况．调查每半月1次，持续观察13个月．调查的植物中，花较显著的植物有35种，占全部种的32％，以观花为主的植物(花色鲜艳，花形较大，有较强视觉效果，花期较长)19种，花颜色主要是红、白、黄3种，百分比分别是52％、14％和19％．果较显著的植物17种，占总种数的15％．主要观叶的植物6种，全为灌木．开花和结果终年不断，从4月开始至12月，开花种数较多，最多是10月份．结果较多的是5月至次年1月，最多是8月．大部分植物的花期较长，花期长达半年以上的植物占全部种类的21％．果实的类型较多样，以核果、蒴果、浆果和荚果较多，以含水量较高的肉质果实(或种子)较多．成熟果实的颜色有黑、黄、红、棕等，以黑色和黄色果实较多．     

湛江市野生线柱兰开花物候观测

线柱兰是华南地区常见野生地生兰,生长在公园、学校、小区等地的草坪中,目前尚未应用于城市园林绿化。本研究以广东海洋大学寸金学院为研究地点,对线柱兰的开花物候进行观测记录分析,为园林应用评估提供论据。结果表明:线柱兰花芽于12月开始形成,花期为次年1月中旬至4月下旬,其中2月、3月为盛花期,单朵花寿命5~7 d;总状花序螺旋着花5~15朵不等,花由下而上依次开放。线柱兰茎直立,叶色深绿,小花量多而密,花型秀美,花色素雅,花期集中,具备开发应用潜力。     

Not every drought is bad: quantifying reproductive effort in the harlequin frog Atelopus laetissimus (Anura: Bufonidae)

Atelopus laetissimus is an endemic and threatened harlequin frog from the high mountain forests of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Knowledge of its reproductive biology is essential for understanding the intraspecific interactions that can help the conservation of Atelopus species. We quantified the energy, measured in body weight, invested by males and females of A. laetissimus for reproduction, and how this energetic investment is related to the survival of individuals and rainfall conditions in habitats during two years (2014 and 2015). Our results show plasticity in terms of reproductive phenology linked to rainfall with short- and long-duration breeding strategies. The first year of this study, 2014, had a precipitation level in accordance with the annual averages at the area. During this time frogs exhibit a short breeding period. Contrary to 2014, 2015 was a year with little precipitation, below the annual averages, which probably facilitated the females’ quick spawning in the creeks and a consequent reduction in the duration of amplexus and low breeding efforts by males. This, in turn, was related to a long breeding period that favors the survival and reproduction of males during the entire year. In 2014 we found a decrease of 25% to 30% body weight of potentially reproductive males, which may be attributed to a prolonged duration of amplectant events.     

Co-occurrence of three Aristolochia-feeding Papilionids (Archon apollinus,Zerynthia polyxena and Zerynthia cerisy) in Greek Thrace

Comparative studies of co-occurring species using overlapping resources may help in understanding the mechanisms supporting biotic diversity in species-rich regions, such as the Mediterranean region of Europe. Three Papilionidae butterflies, Archon apollinus, Zerynthia cerisy and Zerynthia polyxena, develop on Aristolochia plants and co-occur in Greek Thrace. We used mark–recapture to describe adult demography and dispersal, and searched for eggs and larvae to assess host plants and microhabitat preferences. Adult flight timing followed a sequence from earliest A. apollinus, through Z. polyxena to late Z. cerisy; this was more prominent in 2010 (warm early spring) than in 2011 (cold delayed spring). Population densities were highest for A. apollinus and lowest for Z. cerisy, whereas dispersal ability followed a reverse pattern. Adults of all three species crossed distances > 3 km and used all habitat types present. Four Aristolochia host plants were used at the study locality: small Aristolochia pallida, intermediate Aristolochia rotunda and Aristolochia hirta, and bulky, late-sprouting Aristolochia clematitis. Both A. apollinus and Z. polyxena used all four Aristolochia species, the former preferring Aristolochia rotunda and Aristolochia hirta, the latter Aristolochia rotunda and Aristolochia pallida. Zerynthia cerisy did not use the early-growing Aristolochia pallida while frequently using the late-growing Aristolochia clematitis. Further parameters affecting oviposition were biotope and canopy closure: early A. apollinus tolerated shady sites but late Z. cerisy avoided them. The simultaneous use of several host plants differing in phenology and habitat requirements, combined with rather high dispersal ability, arguably buffers the butterflies’ population dynamics against yearly variation in weather, while allowing efficient occupation of the diverse Mediterranean landscapes. The regional habitat diversity, created during millennia of human activity, is currently threatened by land abandonment, which may diminish the resource base for the studied butterflies.     

Year-round activity patterns in a hyperdiverse community of rainforest amphibians in Madagascar

Madagascar hosts a high diversity of amphibians estimated at over 500 species, nearly all of them endemic. Surprisingly few data are available on the activity cycles of this fauna, despite its importance for ecological, evolutionary and conservation research. Here we report the results of a year-round survey of amphibians along a transect bordering the Analamazaotra forest near Andasibe in central eastern Madagascar. During 120 transect walks evenly spaced through the year, a total of 2530 individuals of 40 species of anurans was observed. Abundance was higher during the warm/rainy season (December to April) and peaked in February. Of the five climatic predictors measured, only mean temperature and relative humidity showed high importance values, and multi-model averages indicate that these two variables have a strong effect on amphibian abundance along the transect. Species richness showed no evident peak during the study period and was best explained by a model including average temperature and rainfall. Canonical correspondence analysis indicates that Boophis sibilans, B. tephraeomystax, B. boehmei and Plethodontohyla notosticta were more frequently encountered along the transect on cold and humid days while Plethodontohyla mihanika, Gephyromantis boulengeri and Spinomantis aglavei were distinctly more abundant on cold and dry days, and Paradoxophyla palmata on warm and dry days. The results of our study flag a number of species as suitable candidates for future monitoring initiatives and suggest that a simple combination of visual and acoustic surveys can estimate amphibian activity with high sample sizes in Madagascar’s rainforests.     

长白山区垂花百合园艺栽培技术

垂花百合(Lilium cernuum)野生资源分布稀疏、数量较少,是园林杂交育种的重要野生种源,具有较高的经济价值.对垂花百合的形态学特征、地理分布、生态学习性及长白山区垂花百合的物候特征进行描述,并重点对其繁育技术、田间管理、病虫害防治等进行研究.结果发现:人工栽培的垂花百合在花、叶、鳞茎的生长上都明显优于野生自然生长的垂花百合;引种栽培后病害较多,易倒伏;第1年遮阴栽培是关键,需遮阴50%;有性繁殖时,种子需暖温处理,发芽率可达70%以上.无性繁殖生长较快.     

Seasonality in the reproductive phenology ofFicus: Its evolution and consequences

Summary Ficus can only reproduce if they are pollinated by mutualistic wasps that breed within the figs. Pollen-loaded wasps enter the figs when the female flowers are receptive. Several weeks later, their offspring load pollen within the fig and then emerge. As individual trees typically produce crops of synchronous figs at long intervals, the shortlived wasps have to move to another, receptive, tree. The wasp population can only survive, and hence the fig population reproduce, if there are trees fruiting all over the year. When only few trees are present within a population gaps in the flowering sequence may lead to the extinction of the local pollinator population. Two models are presented. One investigates the number of trees necessary in order to sustain a local pollinator population when the tree population has a seasonal pattern of fruiting. The second model investigates how such a seasonal pattern may evolve within a fig population as a result of individual selection on the trees. It is shown that pollinator populations are fragilized under seasonal conditions. Hence, the breeding system ofFicus limits their expansion into highly seasonal habitats. Seasonal habitats may also lead to seasonal adjustment of male versus female investments and to the evolution of dioecy.     

武汉市植被物候变化规律及影响因素分析

植被物候作为植被生长响应气候变化的指示器,对于研究气候变化以及城市化进程具有重要意义.城市内部植被通常分布破碎,因此公里级的低分辨率遥感影像难以实现植被的精细识别与分析,而十米级空间分辨率的遥感数据在时间分辨率方面又难以满足物候分析的要求.为此,该文基于遥感数据时空融合技术,缓解高时间分辨率与高空间分辨率之间的矛盾,进行城市植被物候变化规律的分析.基于非局部滤波融合方法,生成武汉市空间分辨率30 m、时间分辨率8 d的地表反射率及EVI(增强型植被指数)序列,进一步采用移动加权谐波分析方法对EVI序列进行重建,并通过动态阈值方法提取2006年～2014年武汉市植被物候信息.实验结果表明：1) 武汉市植被由中心向郊区呈现生长期开始时间(SOS)逐渐推迟、结束时间(EOS)逐渐提前、生长期长度(LOS)逐渐延长的空间分布规律,且整体呈现出SOS提前、EOS推迟、LOS延长的时间变化趋势;2) 植被物候和平均气温相关性并不显著,但EOS和LOS受气温年平均日较差影响显著,气温年平均日较差每增加1℃,EOS推迟约12 d,LOS延长约16 d,降水主要影响SOS和LOS,平均降水量每升高100 mm,SOS提前约5 d,LOS延长约9 d.