scholarly journals Influence of High Temperatures and Heat Wave on Thermal Biology, Locomotor Performance, and Antioxidant System of High-Altitude Frog Nanorana pleskei Endemic to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie He ◽  
Xiaolong Tang ◽  
Peng Pu ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Zhiyi Niu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Heat Wave ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Antioxidant Enzyme Activities ◽  
Locomotor Performance ◽  
Thermal Preference ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Investigating how highland amphibians respond to changes in ambient temperature may be of great significance for their fate prediction and effective conservation in the background of global warming. Here, using field individuals as the control group, we investigated the influence of high temperatures (20.5 and 25.5°C) and heat wave (15–26.6°C) on the thermal preference, critical thermal limits, locomotor performance, oxidative stress, and antioxidant enzyme activities in high-altitude frog Nanorana pleskei (3,490 m) endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). After 2 weeks of acclimation to high temperatures and heat wave, the thermal preference (Tpref), critical thermal maximum (CTmax), and range of tolerable temperature significantly increased, while the critical thermal minimum (CTmin) was significantly decreased. The total time of jump to exhaustion significantly decreased, and burst swimming speed significantly increased in frogs acclimated in the high temperature and heat wave groups compared with the field group. In the high temperature group, the level of H2O2 and lipid peroxide (malondialdehyde, MDA), as well as the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) significantly increased in the liver or muscle. However, in the heat wave group, the MDA content significantly decreased in the liver, and antioxidants activities decreased in the liver and muscle except for CAT activities that were significantly increased in the liver. These results indicated that N. pleskei could respond to the oxidative stress caused by high temperatures by enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The heat wave did not appear to cause oxidative damage in N. pleskei, which may be attributed to the fact that they have successfully adapted to the dramatic temperature fluctuations on the QTP.

scholarly journals Air–surface exchange of gaseous mercury over permafrost soil: an investigation at a high-altitude (4700 m a.s.l.) and remote site in the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhijia Ci ◽  
Fei Peng ◽  
Xian Xue ◽  
Xiaoshan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Permafrost Soil ◽  
Remote Site ◽  
Water Addition ◽  
Surface Exchange ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Gaseous Mercury ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Abstract. The pattern of air–surface gaseous mercury (mainly Hg(0)) exchange in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) may be unique because this region is characterized by low temperature, great temperature variation, intensive solar radiation, and pronounced freeze-thaw process of permafrost soils. However, air–surface Hg(0) flux in the QTP is poorly investigated. In this study, we performed filed measurements and controlled field experiments with dynamic flux chambers technique to examine the flux, temporal variation and influencing factors of air–surface Hg(0) exchange at a high-altitude (4700 m a.s.l.) and remote site in the central QTP. The results of field measurements showed that surface soils were net emission source of Hg(0) in the entire study. Hg(0) flux showed remarkable seasonality with net high emission in the warm campaigns and net low deposition in winter campaign, and also showed the diurnal pattern with emission in daytime and deposition in nighttime, especially on days without precipitation. Rainfall events on the dry soils induced large and immediate increase in Hg(0) emission. Snowfall events did not induce the pulse of Hg(0) emission, but snow melt resulted in the immediate increase in Hg(0) emission. Daily Hg(0) fluxes on rainy or snowy days were higher than those of days without precipitation. Controlled field experiments suggested that water addition to dry soils significantly increased Hg(0) emission both in short and relatively long timescales, and also showed that UV radiation was primarily attributed to Hg(0) emission in the daytime. Our findings imply that a warm climate and environmental change could facilitate Hg release from the permafrost terrestrial ecosystem in the QTP.

Resolving the energy restriction at high altitude: variation in the digestive system of Phrynocephalus vlangalii

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-331
Author(s):  
Yang yang Zhao ◽  
Yue Qi ◽  
Xiao ning Wang ◽  
Wei Zhao
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Morphological Structure ◽  
Histological Change ◽  
Energy Restriction ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Argyrophil Cells ◽  
Energy Limitation ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Abstract Hypothermic and hypoxic environments create strong selective pressure on native species by affecting, among other things, the relationship between energy intake and allocation. In order to detect the adaptation of Phrynocephalus vlangalii to such energy limitation, the morphological structure and argyrophil cells of the digestive tract of 80 individuals from two different altitudes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were compared using overall anatomy as well as paraffin sectioning of specific organs. Compared with the low-altitude population, the high-altitude individuals were found to have a significantly longer stomach and duodenum, longer and wider villus in the small intestine, larger surface area in duodenum and jejunum, and more argyrophilic cells in stomach and duodenum. Our results indicate that the morphological and histological change of the digestive tract may be conductive to the plateau adaptability of P. vlangalii by enhancing the efficiency of digestion and absorption. For a more general conclusion to be drawn, comparison of more populations at both altitudes is required in addition to verifying how phenotypically flexible these traits are.

scholarly journals Therapeutic Erythrocytapheresis Is Effective in Treating High Altitude Polycythemia on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-430
Author(s):  
Yuexin Dong ◽  
Ba Dun ◽  
Pu Bu Wang Dui ◽  
Luo Bu Zhuo Ma ◽  
Jie Fang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Gut microbiome adaptation to extreme cold winter in wild plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yijie Wang ◽  
Rui Zhou ◽  
Qiaoling Yu ◽  
Tianshu Feng ◽  
Huan Li
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Cellulase Activity ◽  
Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Plateau Pika ◽  
Ochotona Curzoniae ◽  
Degrading Bacteria ◽  
Extreme Cold ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

ABSTRACT The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a harsh environment characterized by low temperature, high altitude and hypoxia, although some native mammals may adapt well to the extreme climate. However, how animal gut microbial community structure and function adapt to extreme cold climates is not well understood. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is an ideal animal model with which to study the effects of climate change on host adaptation by studing intestinal microorganisms. Here, we used 16S rRNA sequencing technology combined with physiological methods to investigate plateau pika gut microbiota in summer and winter. Due to limited diet resources, the pikas in winter have a lower ability of degradation and fermentation for plant-based food (reduced cellulase activity and total short-chain fatty acids) by decreasing gut microbial diversity and some functional microbes, such as fiber-degrading bacteria Oscillospira and Treponema. Metagenomic prediction showed that most of those gene functions associated with metabolism (e.g. energy metabolism and lipid metabolism) were less abundant in winter, implying that the plateau pika slows diet fermentation and weakens energy requirements in the cold season. Our results have significance for explaining the mechanism of wild plateau mammals adapting to a high-altitude cold environment from the perspective of gut microbiome.

scholarly journals Miocene Diversification and High-Altitude Adaptation of Parnassius Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Revealed by Large-Scale Transcriptomic Data

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 754
Author(s):  
Chengyong Su ◽  
Tingting Xie ◽  
Yunliang Wang ◽  
Chengcai Si ◽  
Luyan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Molecular Dating ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Evolutionary Pattern ◽  
High Altitude Adaptation ◽  
Time Calibration ◽  
Altitude Adaptation ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

The early evolutionary pattern and molecular adaptation mechanism of alpine Parnassius butterflies to high altitudes in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are poorly understood up to now, due to difficulties in sampling, limited sequence data, and time calibration issues. Here, we present large-scale transcriptomic datasets of eight representative Parnassius species to reveal the phylogenetic timescale and potential genetic basis for high-altitude adaptation with multiple analytic strategies using 476 orthologous genes. Our phylogenetic results strongly supported that the subgenus Parnassius formed a well-resolved basal clade, and the subgenera Tadumia and Kailasius were closely related in the phylogenetic trees. In addition, molecular dating analyses showed that the Parnassius began to diverge at about 13.0 to 14.3 million years ago (middle Miocene), correlated with their hostplant’s spatiotemporal distributions, as well as geological and palaeoenvironmental changes of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Moreover, the accelerated evolutionary rate, candidate positively selected genes and their potentially functional changes were detected, probably contributed to the high-altitude adaptation of Parnassius species. Overall, our study provided some new insights into the spatiotemporally evolutionary pattern and high altitude adaptation of Parnassius butterflies from the extrinsic and intrinsic view, which will help to address evolution, biodiversity, and conservation questions concerning Parnassius and other butterfly species.

A Research on the Planning Strategy of Eco-Demonstration Zones in High Altitude Areas — a Case Study of Tanggula Town

2011 ◽  
Vol 368-373 ◽  
pp. 1632-1637
Author(s):  
Jin Wang ◽  
De Gang Duan ◽  
Jie Shen
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Planning Strategy ◽  
Development Direction ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

The unruled development of construction land, along with the disordered planning and deteriorating living environment, etc. has long been prevalent in those small towns in the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau. This paper, thus, conducts some on-the-spot investigations and analyses of Tanggula town. The paper departs from the disparities between the current conditions of Tanggula town and the standards of eco- demonstration zone, proposing some strategies in the aspects of development direction, land use layout, facility layout, architecture and the town's features, aiming to exert positive influence upon the planning of small towns in plateaux.

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