scholarly journals Census of the fruit and flower chafers (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) of the Macau SAR, China

ZooKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1026 ◽  
pp. 17-43
Author(s):  
Renzo Perissinotto ◽  
Lynette Clennell

The coleopteran fauna of the Macau SAR in southern China has historically received only limited attention and no updated information has been published since the last substantial works produced in the 1990s. An annotated and illustrated review of the fruit and flower chafers (Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae) of this region is here presented, in order to provide an account of the current status of the taxonomic diversity and ecology of this important insect group. Eleven species were observed in the SAR during an intense investigation undertaken during the period 2017–2020, with six of these representing new records for Macau and two for the broader region of the Pearl River Delta, also known as the Greater Bay Area. Although this census leads to a substantial increase in the number of species known for the area, it also highlights the threats that the recent escalation in urban development and land-use transformation are posing to a number of species which seem unable to maintain a sustainable population in the region, mainly due to habitat destruction.

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
K. K. Holoborodko ◽  
V. O. Makhina ◽  
K. S. Buchnieva ◽  
O. E. Pakhomov

Floodplain valley of the Dnieper river midstream is a unique natural complex, having a great bìogeographical, ecological, environmental, historical and recreational values. In 1990, the Natural reserve «Dniprovsko-Orilsky» was established within the area. The Natural reserve «Dniprovsko-Orilsky» is environmentally protected site within the Dnipropetrovsk region, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, Ukraine. This reserve occupies part of the Dnieper river valley and marshy and reedy banks of Protovch river (existing bed of Oril river). It was created by Regulation of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 15 September 1990, No. 262, based on common zoological and ornitological Nature reserves «Taromskì plavni» and «Obukhovskie zaplavy». On the territory of the Natural reserve «Dniprovsko-Orilsky», they were registered 32 Lepidoptera species listed in the List of Threatened Species at different categories (5 species in IUCN Red List ; 18 in Red Data Book of Ukraine; 7 in European Red List of plants and animals endangered on a global scale; 31 in Red Book of Dnipropetrovsk oblast). The main scientific materials were author’s collections from area of research and materials of entomological funds, Department of Zoology and Ecology, Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University (mostly Memorial Collection of V. O. Barsov). Field surveys covered all the ecosystems basic on size and degree of protection. The author’s researches have conducted over the past decade during annual expeditions to the Reserve. Taxonomic structure of the complex is quite diverse, and represented by all the major families of higher millers and rhopalocera, having protectedstatus. In relation to taxonomy, this complex formed by representatives of five superfamilies (Zyganoidea, Noctuoidea, Bombycoidea, Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea) from 11 families (Zygaenidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Noctuidae Arctiidae Hesperiidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Satyridae, Lycaenidae). High taxonomic diversity can be explained by unique geographical location of the reserve in azonal conditions of the Dnieper river valley. Such location allows to enter different zoogeographic Lepidoptera groups on the reserve territory. Zoogeographic analysis of species protected within the reserve territory selected 7 basic groups. It was found that most of the globally rare species have Mediterranean origin (39 %); species of Palearctic origin are in second place (22 %); Western Palearctic and Ponto-Kazakh types of areas are same of number of species, and come third (11 %); and others come 17 % (European, Euro-Siberian, and Holarctic). This fauna component is specific due to presence of so-called «northern» species that make up 40 % (representatives of Palearctic, Western Palearctic, Euro-Siberian, European and Holarctic groups). Their existence within the reserve territory is only possible due to development of boreal valley ecosystems. High taxonomic diversity can be explained by unique geographical location of the reserve in azonal conditions of the Dnieper river valley. Such location allows to enter different zoogeographic Lepidoptera groups on the reserve territory. Zoogeographic analysis of species protected within the reserve territory selected 7 basic groups. It was found that most of the globally rare species have Mediterranean origin (39 %); species of Palearctic origin are in second place (22 %); Western Palearctic and Ponto-Kazakh types of areas are same of number of species, and come third (11 %); and others come 17 % (European, Euro-Siberian, and Holarctic). This fauna component is specific due to presence of so-called «northern» species that make up 40 % (representatives of Palearctic, Western Palearctic, Euro-Siberian, European and Holarctic groups). Their existence within the reserve territory is only possible due to development of boreal valley ecosystems.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3490
Author(s):  
Pui Yan Siak ◽  
Alan Soo-Beng Khoo ◽  
Chee Onn Leong ◽  
Boon-Peng Hoh ◽  
Shiau-Chuen Cheah

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy that shows a remarkable ethnic and geographical distribution. It is one of the major public health problems in some countries, especially Southern China and Southeast Asia, but rare in most Western countries. Multifactorial interactions such as Epstein–Barr virus infection, individual’s genetic susceptibility, as well as environmental and dietary factors may facilitate the pathogenesis of this malignancy. Late presentation and the complex nature of the disease have led it to become a major cause of mortality. Therefore, an effective, sensitive, and specific molecular biomarker is urgently needed for early disease diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of metastasis and recurrence after treatment. In this review, we discuss the recent research status of potential biomarker discovery and the problems that need to be explored further for better NPC management. By studying the aberrant pattern of these candidate biomarkers that promote NPC development and progression, we are able to understand the complexity of this malignancy better, hence positing our stands better towards strategies that may provide a way forward to the discovery of more reliable and specific biomarkers for diagnosis and targeted therapeutic development.


The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110032
Author(s):  
Pingyuan Li ◽  
Mingkun Li ◽  
Huayang Gan ◽  
Zhen Xia

Typhoon is an important meteorological phenomenon that affects the living and development of human beings on the southern China coast. However, there is still lack of clarity in the paleo-typhoon history and its influence on the evolution of the ancient human settlement environment since the mid-Holocene. Here, we identify six typhoon-like deposits from a core retrieved from the northern South China Sea shelf, close to the Pearl River Estuary, based on accelerated mass spectrometry 14C dating, grain size, and geochemistry. The sand fractions, CaO, Sr, SiO2/TiO2, and SiO2/Al2O3 were used to indicate the typhoon-like deposits. Results show that the ages with high-frequency typhoons are present ~200–300 cal yr BP, ~800–1000 cal yr BP, ~1500–1700 cal yr BP, ~2000–2100 cal yr BP, ~2400–2500 cal yr BP, and ~2700–3000 cal yr BP. Our results are comparable to the records from adjacent regions. Significantly, the vast tides occurred in the duration of ~2700–3000 cal yr BP in southern China, which probably caused the ancestors’ migration to the inland. Further studies are needed to deeply study the paleo-typhoon history in the southern China coast to verify our results.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1497-1513 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Li ◽  
T. Brauers ◽  
R. Häseler ◽  
B. Bohn ◽  
H. Fuchs ◽  
...  

Abstract. We performed measurements of nitrous acid (HONO) during the PRIDE-PRD2006 campaign in the Pearl River Delta region 60 km north of Guangzhou, China, for 4 weeks in June 2006. HONO was measured by a LOPAP in-situ instrument which was setup in one of the campaign supersites along with a variety of instruments measuring hydroxyl radicals, trace gases, aerosols, and meteorological parameters. Maximum diurnal HONO mixing ratios of 1–5 ppb were observed during the nights. We found that the nighttime build-up of HONO can be attributed to the heterogeneous NO2 to HONO conversion on ground surfaces and the OH + NO reaction. In addition to elevated nighttime mixing ratios, measured noontime values of ≈200 ppt indicate the existence of a daytime source higher than the OH + NO→HONO reaction. Using the simultaneously recorded OH, NO, and HONO photolysis frequency, a daytime additional source strength of HONO (PM) was calculated to be 0.77 ppb h−1 on average. This value compares well to previous measurements in other environments. Our analysis of PM provides evidence that the photolysis of HNO3 adsorbed on ground surfaces contributes to the HONO formation.


The Holocene ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 705-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengling Yu ◽  
Yongqiang Zong ◽  
Jeremy M Lloyd ◽  
Melanie J Leng ◽  
Adam D Switzer ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Guo ◽  
Shijing Zhang ◽  
Ting Yan ◽  
Guoqiang Yuan ◽  
Yafeng Dai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo is a traditional functional food and medicinal plant in China. Due to low natural regeneration rates, habitat destruction, excessive collection and commercial trade, D. officinale is severely threatened, and commercial artificial-sheltered cultivation has been massively used to meet the needs of the market. Aim: To comprehensively compare the accumulation of nutritional compounds during 3-5 years of introduced, artificial-sheltered cultivation from southern to northern China.Methods: D. officinale of the same species were artificially cultivated in the southern traditional cultivation area, Anhui and the new northern cultivation area, Beijing. First, samples were collected in the third, fourth, and fifth years of growth, and nutritional quality indexes, including polysaccharides, alkaloids, flavonoids and total phenolic content, were determined. Second, an untargeted metabolomics method was used to investigate metabolic variations in D. officinale stems between Anhui and Beijing cultures in the fifth year.Results: After comparing the nutrient accumulation in different growing years, the idea harvest time was found in the third growing year in both cultivation areas. Of them, the contents of polysaccharides, flavonoids and total polyphenol were higher in cultivation in Anhui than Beijing, but the accumulation of alkaloid content was much lower in Anhui. The highest amount of polysaccharides of Dendrobium officinale was found in the three-year cultivation in Anhui, which reached 515.75 mg/g. When metabolites were analysed, a total of 272 metabolites were detected in the current study, including 27 up-regulated and 73 down-regulated metabolites in D. officinale cultivated in Beijing compared with samples from Anhui. Conclusion: D. officinale artificially and transplanted cultivated from southern to northern China showed some significant differences in the accumulation of nutrient compounds. Planting in northern China has some specific advantages, but the overall nutritional value is not as good as planting in southern China. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the nutrient profiles of D. officinale through artificial cultivation in different areas.


Author(s):  
Xiangbo Feng ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Zhenglei Zhu ◽  
Amulya Chevuturi ◽  
Wenlong Chen

AbstractUnderstanding water level (WL) fluctuations in river deltas is of importance for managing water resources and minimizing the impacts of floods and droughts. Here, we demonstrate the competing effects of atmospheric and oceanic forcing on multi-timescale variability and changes in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) WLs in southern China, using 52 years (1961–2012) of in-situ observations at 13 hydrological stations. PRD WL presents significant seasonal to decadal variations, with large amplitudes upstream related to strong variability of southern China rainfall, and with relatively small amplitudes at the coastal stations determined by sea level (SL) fluctuations of the northern South China Sea. We find that the strengths of atmospheric and oceanic forcing in PRD are not mutually independent, leading to a distinct contrast of WL–forcing relationships at upstream and coastal stations. In the transition zone, because of counteracts of atmospheric and oceanic forcing, no robust relationships are identified between WL and either of the forcing. We further show that in the drought season of the warm ENSO and PDO epochs, the effect of atmospheric (oceanic) forcing on PRD WL is largely enhanced (weakened), due to increased southern China rainfall and negative SL anomalies. Over the observation period, WL significantly decreased at upstream stations, by up to 28–42 mm/year for flood season, contrasting with the upward trends of <4.3 mm/year at coastal stations across all seasons. Southern China rainfall explains little of the observed WL trends, whilst SL rise is mostly responsible for the WL trends at coastal stations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 11451-11467
Author(s):  
Zhenhao Ling ◽  
Qianqian Xie ◽  
Min Shao ◽  
Zhe Wang ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract. The dicarbonyls glyoxal (Gly) and methylglyoxal (Mgly) have been recognized as important precursors of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) through the atmospheric heterogeneous process. In this study, field measurement was conducted at a receptor site in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in southern China, and an observation-based photochemical box model was subsequently applied to investigate the production and evolution of Gly and Mgly as well as their contributions to SOA formation. The model was coupled with a detailed gas-phase oxidation mechanism of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (i.e., Master Chemical Mechanism, MCM, v3.2), heterogeneous processes of Gly and Mgly (i.e., reversible partitioning in aqueous phase, irreversible volume reactions and irreversible surface uptake processes), and the gas–particle partitioning of oxidation products. The results suggested that without considering the heterogeneous processes of Gly and Mgly on aerosol surfaces, the model would overpredict the mixing ratios of Gly and Mgly by factors of 3.3 and 3.5 compared to the observed levels. The agreement between observation and simulation improved significantly when the irreversible uptake and the reversible partitioning were incorporated into the model, which in total both contributed ∼ 62 % to the destruction of Gly and Mgly during daytime. Further analysis of the photochemical budget of Gly and Mgly showed that the oxidation of aromatics by the OH radical was the major pathway producing Gly and Mgly, followed by degradation of alkynes and alkenes. Furthermore, based on the improved model mechanism, the contributions of VOC oxidation to SOA formed from gas–particle partitioning (SOAgp) and from heterogeneous processes of Gly and Mgly (SOAhet) were also quantified. It was found that o-xylene was the most significant contributor to SOAgp formation (∼ 29 %), while m,p-xylene and toluene made dominant contributions to SOAhet formation. Overall, the heterogeneous processes of Gly and Mgly can explain ∼ 21 % of SOA mass in the PRD region. The results of this study demonstrated the important roles of heterogeneous processes of Gly and Mgly in SOA formation and highlighted the need for a better understanding of the evolution of intermediate oxidation products.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shicai Shen ◽  
Michael D. Day ◽  
Gaofeng Xu ◽  
Diyu Li ◽  
Guimei Jin ◽  
...  

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