Phlorotannin and Pigment Content of Native Canopy-Forming Sargassaceae Species Living in Intertidal Rockpools in Brittany (France): Any Relationship with Their Vertical Distribution and Phenology?

Five native Sargassaceae species from Brittany (France) living in rockpools were surveyed over time to investigate photoprotective strategies according to their tidal position. We gave evidences for the existence of a species distribution between pools along the shore, with the most dense and smallest individuals in the highest pools. Pigment contents were higher in lower pools, suggesting a photo-adaptive process by which the decreasing light irradiance toward the low shore was compensated by a high production of pigments to ensure efficient photosynthesis. Conversely, no xanthophyll cycle-related photoprotective mechanism was highlighted because high levels of zeaxanthin rarely occurred in the upper shore. Phlorotannins were not involved in photoprotection either; only some lower-shore species exhibited a seasonal trend in phlorotannin levels. The structural complexity of phlorotannins appears more to be a taxonomic than an ecological feature: Ericaria produced simple phloroglucinol while Cystoseira and Gongolaria species exhibited polymers. Consequently, tide pools could be considered as light-protected areas on the intertidal zone, in comparison with the exposed emerged substrata where photoprotective mechanisms are essential.

rasterdiv - an Information Theory tailored R package for measuring ecosystem heterogeneity from space: to the origin and back

Ecosystem heterogeneity has been widely recognized as a key ecological feature, influencing several ecological functions, since it is strictly related to several ecological functions like diversity patterns and change, metapopulation dynamics, population connectivity, or gene flow.In this paper, we present a new R package - rasterdiv - to calculate heterogeneity indices based on remotely sensed data. We also provide an ecological application at the landscape scale and demonstrate its power in revealing potentially hidden heterogeneity patterns.The rasterdiv package allows calculating multiple indices, robustly rooted in Information Theory, and based on reproducible open source algorithms.

Estimation of regional groundwater resources carrying capacity in Yangtze River Economic Belt

It is of great significance to evaluate the groundwater resources carrying capacity, for understanding the basic situation of regional groundwater resource availability and utilization, establishing a monitoring and warning mechanism for resources and environment carrying capacity, and supporting the research oriented to national spatial planning. In this paper, groundwater resources carrying capacity is proposed based on analysis of the quantity, quality and ecological feature of groundwater in Yangtze River Economic Belt, an evaluation methodology is established respectively from background and status of carrying capacity. Results show that integrated carrying capacity is medium in this region. The number of cities with strong, medium-strong, medium, medium-weak, and weak integrated carrying capacity are 27, 28, 51, 15, and 8 respectively. Cities with strong and medium-strong integrated carrying capacity are mainly located in Middle-Lower of Yangtze River, Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and Sichuan Basin. Cities with medium-weak and weak integrated carrying capacity are mainly located in coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Sichuan red layer area, north of Sichuan Plateau, and Jinsha River basin.

DIVERSITY OF BRITTLE STARS (OPHIUROIDEA) IN TALISE WATERS, NORTH SULAWESI

Talise waters, located in North Sulawesi, is one of many coastal areas in Indonesia with sea grass cover extending along the reef flat. This ecological feature is beneficial for living habitat of associated fauna, including brittle stars. Brittle stars are group of Echinodermata reported to be abundantly found in sea grass ecosystem. However, the diversity of this fauna is less reported except as part of echinoderm studies. This research aims to investigate the diversity of brittle stars in Talise waters. Data were collected in July 2009 applying quadrant transect method. In total of 650 individuals belonging to 4 families (Ophiotrichidae, Ophiodermatidae, Ophiocomidae and Ophiuridae) and 10 species were recorded during this study. The diversity (H’=1.58), richness (D=1.69) and Evennes Index (J=0.89) was relatively higher compared to adjacent water in North Sulawesi such as Wori (H =1.64, D =1.38, J=0.85), Kema (H =1.3, D =0.38, J=0.36) but lower than East Likupang waters (H =1.95, D =2.42, J=0.97). Keywords: brittle star, diversity, richness, evennes, Talise waters

Phenotypic plasticity in seed germination relates differentially to overwintering and flowering temperatures

Phenotypic plasticity in seed dormancy may allow plant species to cope with rapid environmental changes, such as climate warming. In controlled experimental settings, plasticity in dormancy has been found to relate to temperature during seed maturation, but this relationship has not been tested in field conditions. Here we analyse for the first time the variation in dormancy during five successive years in wild populations of the study species Centaurium somedanum, to determine how this variation is related to average temperatures during specific seasons of plant activity. We performed laboratory germination experiments to measure: (1) the degree of dormancy at dispersal; and (2) the sensitivity to dormancy-breaking factors. We calculated average temperatures during four seasons of plant activity (overwintering, vegetative growth, flowering and seed maturation) for each year, and tested the relationship between these temperatures and patterns of dormancy variation, using Generalized Linear Models. Dormancy varied among sites and years, seeds being more dormant in colder years. For the degree of dormancy at dispersal, we found a positive relationship with flowering temperature and a significant effect of collection site. For the sensitivity to dormancy-breaking factors, we found no significant differences among sites, a positive relationship with flowering temperature and a negative relationship with overwintering temperature. Phenotypic plasticity in dormancy in C. somedanum is thus especially marked in the sensitivity to dormancy-breaking factors. Temperatures during overwintering and flowering have differential effects on this plasticity, allowing the plant to detect the gradient of seasonality, a main ecological feature of its distribution. These results highlight the importance of taking into account more than average temperatures when assessing the response of plant phenotypic plasticity to climate change.

Pasture vegetation near the village of Idjos

A pasture on the solonchakic solonetz soil in the vicinity of the village of Idjos (Banat, Serbia) was found to harbor 137 plant taxa (129 species, 7 subspecies and 1 variety). The plant cover they formed was specific from the ecological, phytogeographical and phytocoenological points of view. The specific ecological feature of the surveyed plant cover was that 47 or 34.31% of the recorded taxa were rated with the ecological index S+ due to their ability to grow in saline soil. The specific phytogeographical feature of the surveyed plant cover was the presence of two Pannonian endemics, Plantago schwarzenbergiana Schur and Statice gmelini subsp. hungaricum (Klokov) So?, and two subendemics, Puccinellia limosa Holmb. and Roripa kerneri Menyh. The specific phytocoenological feature of the surveyed plant cover was the presence of two phytocoenoses from the class Phragmitetea Tx. et Prsg. 1942 (ass. Scirpo-Phragmitetum medioeuropaeum and ass. Bolboschoenetum maritimi continentale), one phytocoenose from the class Molinio- Arrhenatheretea Tx.1937 p.p., Br.-Bl. et Tx. 1943 p.p. (ass. Trifolio-Lolietum perennis) and ten phytocoenoses from the class Festuco-Puccinellietea So? 1968 (ass. Puccinellietum limosae, ass. Pholiuro-Plantaginetum tenuiflorae, ass. Hordeetum histricis, ass. Agrostio-Alopecuretum pratensis, ass. Agrostio-Beckmannietum, ass. Halo-Agropyretum repentis, ass. Poeto-Alopecuretum pratensis halophyticum, ass. Artemisio-Festucetum pseudovinae, ass. Trifolio-Festucetum pseudovinae and ass. Achilleo-Festucetum pseudovinae). The presence of 34.31% of taxa rated with the ecological index S+, the presence of two Pannonian and two sub-Pannonian floristic elements and the predominance of stands from the class Festuco-Puccinellietea So? 1968 led us to conclusion that the pasture near the village of Idjos (Banat, Serbia) is a part of the halobiome of the Pannonian Plain.