摘要：
<jats:p>The chloroplast genome (plastome) of angiosperms (particularly photosynthetic members) is generally highly conserved, although structural rearrangements have been reported in a few lineages. In this study, we revealed <jats:italic>Corydalis</jats:italic> to be another unusual lineage with extensive large-scale plastome rearrangements. In the four newly sequenced <jats:italic>Corydalis</jats:italic> plastomes that represent all the three subgenera of <jats:italic>Corydalis</jats:italic>, we detected (1) two independent relocations of the same five genes (<jats:italic>trnV-UAC</jats:italic>-<jats:italic>rbcL</jats:italic>) from the typically posterior part of the large single-copy (LSC) region to the front, downstream of either the <jats:italic>atpH</jats:italic> gene in <jats:italic>Corydalis saxicola</jats:italic> or the <jats:italic>trnK-UUU</jats:italic> gene in both <jats:italic>Corydalis davidii</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Corydalis hsiaowutaishanensis</jats:italic>; (2) relocation of the <jats:italic>rps16</jats:italic> gene from the LSC region to the inverted repeat (IR) region in <jats:italic>Corydalis adunca</jats:italic>; (3) uniform inversion of an 11–14 kb segment (<jats:italic>ndhB</jats:italic>-<jats:italic>trnR-ACG</jats:italic>) in the IR region of all the four Corydalis species (the same below); (4) expansions (&gt;10 kb) of IR into the small single-copy (SSC) region and corresponding contractions of SSC region; and (5) extensive pseudogenizations or losses of 13 genes (<jats:italic>accD</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>clpP</jats:italic>, and 11 <jats:italic>ndh</jats:italic> genes). In addition, we also found that the four <jats:italic>Corydalis</jats:italic> plastomes exhibited elevated GC content in both gene and intergenic regions and high number of dispersed repeats. Phylogenomic analyses generated a well-supported topology that was consistent with the result of previous studies based on a few DNA markers but contradicted with the morphological character-based taxonomy to some extent. This study provided insights into the evolution of plastomes throughout the three <jats:italic>Corydalis</jats:italic> subgenera and will be of value for further study on taxonomy, phylogeny, and evolution of <jats:italic>Corydalis</jats:italic>.</jats:p>
摘要：
Habitat fragmentation results in the loss of seed dispersers and subsequently leads to low regeneration and functional decline of forests. However, very few studies on disperser decline and seedling regeneration have been conducted in urban forest systems. In three isolated forest patches in Wuhan, central China, acorn dispersers, acorn dispersal, acorn deposition patterns in soil seed banks and seedling recruitment of the dominant animal-dispersed tree species (Quercus chenii) were investigated over four consecutive years (2014 to 2017). The hypothesis tested was that the loss of acorn dispersers caused by forest fragmentation leads to low regeneration and functional degradation of the urban forest system. As predicted by the hypothesis, very few acorn dispersers (only a few Chinese white-bellied rats, Niviventer confucianus, and Eurasian jays, Garrulus glandarius, were observed) existed in the forest patches; thus, almost all of the acorns were left on the soil surface under the mother trees, where conditions are not favorable for germination and establishment. Large acorns had higher probabilities of germination and seedling establishment than did small acorns when they were buried in the soil. These results suggest that regeneration of fragmented urban forests is increasingly hampered by sharp reduction in seed disperser abundance. Planting large seeds in the soil may compensate for the low regeneration caused by disperser loss in fragmented urban forests.
摘要：
The 'home-field advantage' (HFA) hypothesis states that litter decomposes faster in its 'home' habitat, i.e., in the same habitat as the plant species from which it was derived than it does 'away' from its home, i.e., in the habitat of a different plant species. However, studies pertaining to HFA in aquatic ecosystems are relatively few. One area not well-studied is whether the presence of living plants has an effect on the HFA of aquatic macrophyte decomposition in a eutrophic lake. Here, we conducted reciprocal litter transplanting experiments, coupled with removal of living plants, between a dominant submerged macrophyte (Myriophyllum spicatum) and a floating-leaved macrophyte (Trapa natans) in a eutrophic urban lake in China, for 50days. Test plots were created at sites by removing the dominant macrophytes from their 'home' habitats to test the effect of living plants on decomposition rates and HFA effect. The water chemistry of the two sites was not significantly different. The initial litter qualities were significantly higher in M. spicatum than in T. natans. The decomposition rates of T. natans were significantly greater in both the control and test plots in its 'home' habitat, indicating a positive HFA effect, while the decomposition rates of M. spicatum were significantly greater in the 'away' habitat compared to its 'home' habitat in all treatments, indicating a home-field disadvantage effect. The removal of living plants had a noticeable effect on the abundance of associated-macroinvertebrates, but had an inconsistent effect on decomposition rates providing conflicting evidence for HFA. In total, 10 macroinvertebrate taxa from four functional feeding groups (FFGs) were collected during the experiment. Compared to macroinvertebrate communities, microbial activities showed less correlation with decomposition rates. Our results provide evidence to suggest that decomposition-based HFA is dependent upon litter quality, habitat, and their interactions in a eutrophic urban lake.
摘要：
Although neighboring plants can influence animal-seed dispersal interactions, little is known about the effect of neighboring seeds and the influence of habitat on seed dispersal by ants. Here we investigated the influence of neighboring seeds on seed removal in two coexisting myrmecochorous species (Epimedium pubescens and Helleborus thibetanus) from temperate deciduous forests of Qinling Mountains, central China, by examining (1) the potential role of ants and rodents and (2) whether the neighboring seed effect differed between forest edge and interior. We found that, presence of the higher-ESMR (elaiosome: seed mass ratio) E. pubescens did not significantly affect seed removal of the lower-ESMR H. thibetanus. By contrast, the presence of H. thibetanus decreased the seed removal rates of E. pubescens, with only a significant effect in rodent exclusion( ant alone) rather than in both ant exclusion (rodent alone) and full access (rodent + ant). Moreover, we found that those effects were not significantly different between the forest edge and the interior, which may be attributed to a similar pattern of overall seed-dispersing ant abundance in the two habitats. This suggested that neighboring seeds could influence seed removal of the focal plant depending on the absence of rodents; when rodents were present, the interaction of rodents and ants rendered no influence of neighboring seeds on seed removal. Our results show that the neighborhood effect was regulated by both dispersers and predators, and this effect was not context-dependent at a small spatial scale. This study highlights the importance to understand the effect of shared seed-removing animals and habitat context to assess the neighboring seed effect on plant-animal interactions. (C) 2019 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
期刊：
Chemistry and Ecology,2019年35(7):660-677 ISSN：0275-7540
通讯作者：
Wang, Dong
作者机构：
[Wang, Dong] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China;[Wang, Dong] Cent China Normal Univ, Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China
通讯机构：
[Wang, Dong] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China. Cent China Normal Univ, Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.
摘要：
Knowledge on aquatic macrophyte decomposition has well developed, yet the decomposition and associated biotic factors along a vertical gradient in waters remain less examined. Here, we used Vallianeria natans leaves to investigate the decomposition rate and associated decomposers and microalgae at different vertical depths, by placing V. natans leaves into litterbags (0.5 and 5 mm meshes) and incubating them at the air-water interface (AW), sediment-water (SW) interface, and 10 cm (B10) or 20 cm (B20) burial in sediment over 60 days in a littoral zone of lake. Decomposition rates decreased with increased depths in each mesh size, with significant differences among and between AW (0.028 d(-1)), SW (0.022 d(-1)), B10 (0.014 d(-1)) and B20 (0.011 d(-1)) treatments in 0.5 mm litterbags and no significant difference between B10 (0.027 d(-1)) and B20 (0.025 d(-1)) in 5 mm litterbags. The average contribution of macroinvertebrates to biomass loss was highest in B20 (44.66%), lowest in AW (22.66%) and midst in both SW (25.35%) and B10 (38.78%), and was much less than that of both microbes and microalgae at each location. We show the importance of macroinvertebrates, microbes and microalgae in mediating macrophyte decomposition rate in response to different vertical locations in freshwaters.
期刊：
Chemistry and Ecology,2019年35(5):431-444 ISSN：0275-7540
通讯作者：
Wang, Dong
作者机构：
[Chen, Shaojun; Wang, Dong] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.;[Wang, Dong] Cent China Normal Univ, Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Wang, Dong] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.;Cent China Normal Univ, Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.
摘要：
It has been reported that a suit of plant traits can regulate the ant-seed interaction and subsequently affect the seed dispersal. However, the role of plant volatiles in attracting the ants for seed dispersal remains little examined. We used a Y-tube olfactometer to test behavior response of a keystone seed-dispersing ant (Pristomyrmex pungens Mayr) to leaves and seeds of five co-occurring myrmecochorous Corydalis species (C. wilfordii Regel, C. racemosa (Thunberg) Persoon, C. sheareri S. Moore, C. balansae Prain and C. incisa (Thunberg) Persoon). Of the five species, only C. wilfordii and C. racemosa leaves emits heavily volatiles. We also performed seed cafeteria experiments to assess the effect of leaf volatiles from C. racemosa on seed retrieval by presenting simultaneously the seeds near the fresh leaf and the leaf immersed by diethyl ether both in the field and lab. The experiment using Y-tube showed that the ants were only significantly attracted by the fresh leaves of two species, C. wilfordii and C. racemosa. The cafeteria experiments showed that ants spent less time to detect the C. racemosa seeds which were near the fresh leaf, and transported these seeds more quickly. This indicated that the leaf volatiles can function as an attractant for the dispersing ants, and ant preference in turn enhance the seed retrieval. The findings reveal that leaf volatiles can play an important but underestimated role in shaping the ant-seed dispersing interactions.
摘要：
Seed dispersal in myrmecochorous plants, in which a sequence of two or more steps is often involved, has profound effects on plant benefits. First, seeds mature or fall onto to the ground (primary dispersal), then ants transport them into nests (ant dispersal), and sometimes ants subsequently discard seeds out of nests (re-dispersal). By neglecting one or the other of these phases, we might misjudge the benefits of myrmecochory to plants. Here, we investigated the difference between two common Chinese myrmecochorous plants, Corydalis incisa and C. wilfordii, in the importance of each dispersal step by examining 1) primary dispersal distance, 2) seed removal rates and dispersal distance by ants, and 3) frequency of seeds discarded out of nests and the re-dispersal distance. We found that the mean primary dispersal distance of C. incisa was about eight times longer than that of C. wilfordii. The presence of an elaiosome increase the attractiveness of seeds to ants, and both the removal rate and dispersal distance were greater in C. wilfordii than in C. incisa. Two ant species, Pheidole noda and Pristomyrmex pungens are the major dispersers. Pheidole noda, the larger-bodied ant species, discarded most seeds of both species out of nests, whereas Pr. pungens discarded only C. wilfordii seeds. The mean re-dispersal distances of the two plant species were similar, but that of C. incisa and C. wilfordii were about threefold and fivefold shorter than the distances in the step of ant dispersal, respectively. In the field, no predators were found to interact with the discarded seeds in 72 h. Our results indicate that the importance of each dispersal phase differ between the two Corydalis species, and this difference is largely attributable to the differential role of ant identity and seed characteristics. It is concluded that re-dispersal also needs to be considered in studies of myrmecochory.
期刊：
Nordic Journal of Botany,2018年36(7):e01882- ISSN：0107-055X
通讯作者：
Wang, Dong
作者机构：
[Wang, Dong; Zhu, Yan] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China.;[Wang, Dong] Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Wang, Dong] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Wuhan, Hubei, Peoples R China.
关键词：
ant community;human-altered habitats;seed dispersal by ant
摘要：
Anthropogenic habitat disturbance has potential consequences for ant communities. However, there is limited information on the effects of ant responses on associated ecological processes such as seed dispersal. We investigated the effect of disturbance on the abundance, richness, and composition of ant communities and the resulting seed-dispersal services for a herbaceous myrmecochore, Corydalis giraldii (Papaveraceae), in an undisturbed habitat (forest understory), moderately disturbed habitat (abandoned arable field), and highly disturbed habitat (road verge) on Qinling Mountains, China. In total, we recorded 13 ant species, and five out of these were observed to transport seeds. The community composition of dispersers was significantly different amongst habitats. The richness of the dispersers did not differ among the habitats, but their total abundance varied significantly across habitats and was 21% lower in the road verge than in the abandoned arable fields. The major seed-dispersing ant species in both the forest understory and the abandoned arable field were large-bodied (Myrmica sp. and Formica fusca, respectively), whereas the major seed-dispersing ants found in the road verge were the small-bodied Lasius alienus. This difference resulted in lower seed removal rates and dispersal distances in the road verge than in the other two habitats. The different dispersal patterns were attributed primarily to differences in dispersing ant abundance and identity, most likely in response to habitats with different degree of anthropogenic disturbance. The possible influence of disturbance on the ecological specialization of ant-seed dispersal interaction is also discussed.
作者机构：
[Wang, Dong; Xu, Xiao-Dong] Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Wang, Dong] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Sch Life Sci, Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan 430079, Hubei, Peoples R China.
摘要：
Hylomecon japonica (Papaveraceae) is the sole species of its genus. Two varieties, H. japonica var. dissecta and H. japonica var. subincisa, have been recognized, but the presence of numerous morphological intermediates renders the intraspecific taxa controversial. Based on observations of natural populations and molecular sequences of nDNA (NADPH) and cpDNA (rpoB-trnC and trnG intron regions), our results show that the samples identified as distinct varieties are scattered and nested within the subclades of plants identified as H. japonica var. japonica. As a whole, all samples of H. japonica are monophyletic; this is further supported by the continuous variation in leaf morphology. As a result, the two infraspecific names are synonymized with H. japonica. Our study emphasizes the importance of evaluating the full range of morphological variation and molecular data when describing infraspecific taxa within a morphologically variable species.
摘要：
Corydalis pseudohemsleyana (Papaveraceae), a new species from western Hubei, central China, is described and illustrated. It is most similar to C. hemsleyana, but differs by its racemes 13–26-flowered (vs 4–8-flowered), outer petals truncate to emarginate at apex, with a short mucro in notch (vs obtuse to subacute), and the spurs cylindric (vs conical).
摘要：
Seed re-dispersal following initial harvesting by ants may have important implications for the distribution and fate of myrmecochorous seeds. However, the probability of seed re-dispersed by ants and the effect it may have on subsequent survival appear variable, the functional role of diaspore, disperser and seed predator to the fate of discarded seeds remain unclear. To clarify the ecology, we compared the consequences of seed re-dispersal by a keystone seed-dispersing ant (Myrmica ruginodis Nylander) for four sympatric myrmecochorous plants common to the temperate deciduous forests in Qinling Mountains, central China. Plants varied in the probability of re-dispersal and in elaiosome condition. Ants preferred seeds with residual elaiosomes, while rodents only consumed the two larger-seeded species, regardless of the elaiosome presence. The scattered distribution of discarded seeds increased the probability of ant re-harvesting and, to some extent, reduced rodent predation. Thus, difference in the probability of seed re-dispersal and its subsequent effect on seed fate in relation to ants and rodents was attributed primarily to the elaiosome condition, seed size and seed spatial pattern. The results imply that seed re-dispersal could affect the fitness of plants and ultimately influence the plant abundance and distribution pattern. This highlights the necessity to incorporate re-dispersal into myrmecochory to advance our understanding of the benefits of myrmecochory to plants.
期刊：
Biochemical Systematics and Ecology,2016年67:134-141 ISSN：0305-1978
通讯作者：
Wang, Dong
作者机构：
[Zhang, Zhong-Xin; Wang, Dong; Yang, Xue] Cent China Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Key Lab Geog Proc Anal & Simulat, Wuhan 430079, Hubei Province, Peoples R China.;[Zhang, Zhong-Xin] Anqing Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Prov Key Lab Biodivers Study & Ecol Conservat Sou, Anqing 246011, Anhui, Peoples R China.;[Wang, Dong] Cent China Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, 152 Luoyu Rd, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.
通讯机构：
[Wang, Dong] C;Cent China Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, 152 Luoyu Rd, Wuhan 430079, Peoples R China.
关键词：
Corydalis;Corydalis parviflora;CpDNA;NDNA;Taxonomic position
摘要：
The taxonomic position of Corydalis parviflora Su & Liden, an endemic Chinese herb that grows in limestone crevices, has been uncertain. It was presumed to be a hybrid and had been placed in Corydalis section Thalictrifoliae or section Sophorocapnos. To test whether C. parviflora represents a hybrid of Corydalis saxicola Bunting (section Thalictrifoliae) with Corydalis balansae Prain (section Sophorocapnos) and/or Corydalis racemosa Pers. (section Cheilanthifoliae), we compared cpDNA (rbcL, psbA-trnH, and the trnG intron) and nDNA (NADPH-ferrihemoprotein oxidoreductase) sequences of these taxa and reconstructed phylogenetic trees from 18 Corydalis species and two outgroup species. Corydalis parviflora differs from its putative parents in both cpDNA and nDNA sequences and represented a separate lineage within section Sophorocapnos. These findings demonstrate that C parviflora is not a hybrid and is more closely related to species in section Sophorocapnos than in section Thalictrifoliae. They also demonstrate that although hybridization is considered a relatively common phenomenon in vascular plants, assumptions of interspecific hybridization that are based on morphological similarities need to be tested through genetic analyses. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
摘要：
Understanding habitat quality and landscape connectivity and exploring corridors connecting habitat patches are crucial for conservation, particularly for species distributed among isolated populations. The Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus roxellana, is an Endangered primate species endemic to mountainous forests in China. Its easternmost distribution lies in the Shennongjia area, which harbors an isolated subspecies, R. roxellana hubeiensis. Unfortunately, it has experienced significant habitat loss, fragmentation, and dramatic population decline in recent decades, primarily due to increased human disturbance. To quantify habitat quality, identify suitable habitat patches, and detect possible linkages among these patches for R. roxellana hubeiensis, we conducted habitat suitability assessments and landscape connectivity analyses in the Shennongjia area based on a set of environmental factors. We created a habitat quality model and a movement cost surface for the Shennongjia area based on a habitat suitability index, graph theory, expert knowledge, field experience, and information from the literature. Our results show that suitable habitat for R. roxellana hubeiensis in Shennongjia is fragmented and limited, and that this is particularly true for highly suitable habitats. We detected six core habitat patches and six least-cost paths and corridors. Our study does not provide accurate distributions of the monkeys and their habitat use. However, it identifies the most feasible and traversable habitats and corridors, which should be conservation priorities for this subspecies, and provides valuable guidance for reevaluating habitat conservation plans.
