Southern Coast Of China Research Articles

Evaluation of Real‐Time Convection‐Permitting Precipitation Forecasts in China During the 2013–2014 Summer Season

AbstractForecasts at a 4 km convection‐permitting resolution over China during the summer season have been produced with the Weather Research and Forecasting model at Nanjing University since 2013. Precipitation forecasts from 2013 to 2014 are evaluated with dense rain gauge observations and compared with operational global model forecasts. Overall, the 4 km forecasts show very good agreement with observations over most parts of China, outperforming global forecasts in terms of spatial distribution, intensity, and diurnal variation. Quantitative evaluations with the Gilbert skill score further confirm the better performance of the 4 km forecasts over global forecasts for heavy precipitation, especially for the thresholds of 100 and 150 mm d−1. Besides bulk characteristics, the representations of some unique features of summer precipitation in China under the influence of the East Asian summer monsoon are further evaluated. These include the northward progression and southward retreat of the main rainband through the summer season, the diurnal variations of precipitation, and the meridional and zonal propagation of precipitation episodes associated with background synoptic flow and the embedded mesoscale convective systems. The 4 km forecast is able to faithfully reproduce most of the features while overprediction of afternoon convection near the southern China coast is found to be a main deficiency that requires further investigations.

Gelidium sanyaense sp. nov. and G. yangmeikengense sp. nov. (Gelidiales, Rhodophyta) from southern China based on morphology and molecular data

:Taxonomic confusion has been a significant problem with the small species of Gelidium because of their simple and variable morphology. In this study, specimens of two turf-forming species from southern China were studied on the basis of morphology and molecular data. Both data sets revealed the presence of two novel species in Gelidium: G. sanyaense sp. nov. and G. yangmeikengense sp. nov., described here. Gelidium sanyaense, forming sparse or dense turfs along the coast of southern China, was distinguished by the presence of compact brushlike haptera, a flattened and lanceolate axis, simple branches, and sparse medullary cells surrounded by rhizines. Gelidium yangmeikengense was characterized by a broad, stipelike axis that was constricted at the base, broadened in the middle and attenuated upward to become slender and cylindrical, and by sparsely pinnate branches on the upper portion of the axis. In phylogenies of both COI and rbcL sequences, G. sanyaense and G. yangmeikengense were distantly related and formed separate monophyletic clades.

Growth performance and biochemical composition of the oysters Crassostrea sikamea , Crassostrea angulata and their hybrids in southern China

The Kumamoto oyster (Crassostrea sikamea) and the Portuguese oyster (C. angulata) are important aquaculture species which naturally coexist along the southern coast of China. To understand the potential feasibility of hybridization between the two species, we conducted two-by-two factorial cross-experiments in Beihai (Guangxi province), and also compared the survival and growth of the hybrids to that of the two parental progenies during the grow-out period from July 2014 to July 2015. Genetic analysis confirmed that the hybrid spats were true hybrids. Additionally, the biochemical composition of the 1-year-old oyster progenies was determined. In July 2015, the mean shell height of the hybrids was 42.98 ± 6.29 mm, which was higher than that of the Kumamoto oyster progeny. The cumulative survival rate of the hybrids was 26.37 ± 1.32%, which was higher than that of the progeny of the Portuguese oyster. Mean lipid content of the hybrids was 13.65 ± 1.63% of dry weight, which showed obvious heterosis compared to those of the two parental progenies. Observation of gonads revealed that all hybrids were completely fertile. Furthermore, relative expression of the lipid homeostasis genes, SREBP (sterol regulatory element-binding proteins), PPARα (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor) and INSIG (insulin-induced gene) were found to vary between parental progenies and the hybrids, thus providing a possible reason for difference in the lipid contents of these experimental groups. Overall, the hybrids were viable, rich in lipid and completely fertile and thus could serve as a promising aquaculture stock for oyster breeding in southern China.

Whole genome sequencing analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Weltevreden isolated from human stool and contaminated food samples collected from the Southern coastal area of China

Salmonella enterica serovar Weltevreden is the most common non-typhoid Salmonella found in South and Southeast Asia. It causes zoonoses worldwide through the consumption of contaminated foods and seafood, and is considered as an important food-borne pathogen in China, especially in the Southern coastal area. We compared the whole genomes of 44 S. Weltevreden strains isolated from human stool and contaminated food samples from Southern Coastal China, in order to investigate their phylogenetic relationships and establish their genetic relatedness to known international strains. ResFinder analysis of the draft genomes of isolated strains detected antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in only eight isolates, equivalent to minimum inhibitory concentration assay, and only a few isolates showed resistance to tetracycline, ciprofloxacin or ampicillin. In silico MLST analysis revealed that 43 out of 44 S. Weltevreden strains belonged to sequence type 365 (CC205), the most common sequence type of the serovars. Phylogenetic analysis of the 44 domestic and 26 international isolates suggested that the population of S. Weltevreden could be segregated into six phylogenetic clusters. Cluster I included two strains from food and strains of the “Island Cluster”, indicating potential inter-transmission between different countries and regions through foods. The predominant S. Weltevreden isolates obtained from the samples from Southern coastal China were found to be phylogenetically related to strains from Southern East Asia, and formed clusters II–VI. The study has demonstrated that WGS-based analysis may be used to improve our understanding of the epidemiology of this bacterium as part of a food-borne disease surveillance program. The methods used are also more widely applicable to other geographical regions and areas and could therefore be useful for improving our understanding of the international spread of S. Weltevreden on a global scale.

Raman analysis of cobalt blue pigment in blue and white porcelain: A reassessment

Cobalt blue is a famous pigment in human history. In the past decade it is widely reported that the cobalt aluminate has been detected in ancient ceramics as blue colorant in glaze, yet the acquired Raman spectra are incredibly different from that of synthesised references, necessitating a reassessment of such contradictory scenario with more accurate analytic strategies. In this study, micro-Raman spectroscopy (MRS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in association with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) were performed on under-glaze cobalt pigments from one submerged blue and white porcelain shard dated from Wanli reign (1573–1620CE) of Ming dynasty (1365–1644CE) excavated at Nan'ao I shipwreck off the southern coast of China. The micro-structural inspection reveals that the pigment particles have characteristics of small account, tiny size, heterogeneously distribution, and more importantly, been completely enwrapped by well-developed anorthite crystals in the glaze, indicating that the signals recorded in previous publications are probably not from cobalt pigments themselves but from outside thickset anorthite shell. The further spectromicroscopic analyses confirm this presumption when the accurate spectra of cobalt aluminate pigment and surrounding anorthite were obtained separately with precise optical positioning. Accordingly, we reassess and clarify the previous Raman studies dedicated to cobalt blue pigment in ancient ceramics, e.g. cobalt blue in celadon glaze, and in turn demonstrate the superiority and necessity of coupling spectroscopic analysis with corresponding structure observation, especially in the characterization of pigments from complicated physico-chemical environment like antiquities. Thus, this study promotes a better understanding of Raman spectroscopy study of cobalt blue pigments in art and archaeology field.

Dynamical downscaling of East Asian winter monsoon changes with a regional ocean–atmosphere coupled model

This study investigated the impacts of regional air–sea coupling on the downscaling of historical and future winter climate changes under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario over the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) East Asia domain. Two sets of dynamical downscaling results were compared using a regional ocean–atmosphere coupled model (FROALS) and the corresponding atmosphere‐only regional climate model (RegCM3) at a horizontal resolution of 50 km. Driven by the reanalysis data, the inclusion of the local air–sea coupling process has little impact on the simulation of surface climate over most land regions of East Asia. However, driven by the global climate model, the cold SST anomalies simulated by FROALS were much larger than those driven by the reanalysis data, which favoured a stronger and northward extended low‐level anomalous anticyclone. The improved low‐level winter monsoon flow partly reduced the dry biases (cold biases) over the Yangtze River valley (north China and Mongolia) in RegCM3. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, a weakened Aleutian Low and relatively weak increase of northeasterly over the southern coast of China were found in the FROALS simulation, which were consistent with those from the driving global climate system model. However, the atmosphere‐only RCM exhibited extended regions with decreases in precipitation over east China, and a weaker surface warming over southern China. These projected changes in the atmosphere‐only RCM were followed by the evidently enhanced northerly flow in east China, which was mainly caused by the exaggerated decrease in sea‐level pressure over the western North Pacific as a result of strong responses to the local SST warming. Our results indicated that a regional air–sea coupled model could be a useful tool for the dynamical downscaling of present and future winter climate changes over East Asia.

Impacts of metal contamination and eutrophication on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages along the Guangdong coast of southern China

Fifty-one surface sediment samples were collected from eleven sea areas along the Guangdong coast in southern China. Biogenic elements, metals and dinoflagellate cysts were analyzed. Twenty-one cyst taxa in 12 genera were identified. The cyst concentrations ranged between 14 and 250 cysts/g, with an average of 69 cysts/g. The low cyst production was caused by coarse sediments, high sedimentation rates, and high anthropogenic disturbances. Biogenic elements were comparable with those reported. However, the metal concentrations were far lower than the sediment quality guidelines. Both biogenic elements and metals were higher in the Mid Coast and lower in the Western Coast. Eutrophication slightly enhanced the productivity of autotrophic dinocysts, and cysts of Scrippsiella indicated eutrophication. Cd had inhibitory effects on cyst production. Alexandrium and Diplopsalis cysts were sensitive to metal contamination; however, Gyrodinium, Pheopolykrikos, and Lingulodinium cysts had high resistance to metal contamination.

Implications of Local Sources to Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis in South Chinese Coastal Area

The South China Sea is recognized as an area at high risk of tsunamis. The Manila Trench has long been considered as the regional source of tsunamis that might affect Chinese coastal areas, and considerable analysis of the tsunami hazard has been conducted in this area. However, there has been no consideration of other potential local sources near the coastal area. Thus, the locations of local potential tsunami sources (PTSs) along the southern coast of China and the evaluation of their impact on tsunami hazard assessment require investigation. We identified eight local PTSs for given seismic activity parameters. For the probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA), the lower-limit earthquake magnitude was determined as 7.0, based on numerical simulation of tsunami scenarios. Six measured sites in the Pearl River Estuary and Taiwan Strait were selected for PTHA, which were referenced to Macao, Hong Kong, Daya Bay, Shantou, Xiamen, and Quanzhou. The annual rate of tsunami waves exceeding a given height [Formula: see text] was calculated for each site. The results show that the upper-limit earthquake magnitude and the relative geographical positions of the measured site of interest and the PTS are two of the most important factors in the PTHA computation. The probabilities of tsunami waves exceeding a given height [Formula: see text] within 100 years and their return periods were calculated for each site. The results show that the probability of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m within 100 years is 30–40% in Xiamen and Quanzhou but 5–10% in Macao and Hong Kong. If the Manila Trench were considered as a regional source, these probabilities would be higher. It is concluded that the tsunami hazard on the southern coast of China is very high and that both regional and local PTSs should be included in any future PTHA.

Application of high-throughput sequencing techniques for analyzing bacterial communities in pond-raised mud crab ( Scylla paramamosain ) intestine and its aquaculture environment

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 应用高通量测序技术分析拟穴青蟹肠道及其养殖环境菌群结构 DOI: 作者: 作者单位: 广西壮族自治区海洋研究所, 广西海洋生物技术重点实验室, 广西 北海 536000 作者简介: 王贤丰(1989-),男,实习研究员,硕士,主要研究方向为拟穴青蟹健康养殖与遗传育种.E-mail:wang_xfeng@qq.com 通讯作者: 中图分类号: S96 基金项目: 广西科技开发项目（桂科合1599005-2-18；桂科能1598020-10；桂科AB16380105；桂科合14125008-2-20）. Application of high-throughput sequencing techniques for analyzing bacterial communities in pond-raised mud crab (Scylla paramamosain) intestine and its aquaculture environment Author: Affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology;Guangxi Institute of Oceanology, Beihai 536000, China Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:采用基于Illumina HiSeq测序平台的高通量测序技术，对拟穴青蟹（）肠道及其养殖池塘水体、底泥中细菌种类及丰度进行了研究。测序结果显示，3个样品共获得有效序列234575条，可聚类于2812个分类操作单元（OTUs），归属于拟穴青蟹肠道、养殖水体、池塘底泥样品的操作分类单元（OTU）个数分别为453、706和2547，其中有184个OTU均能在3个样品中检测到，在青蟹肠道和养殖水体、青蟹肠道和池塘底泥中分别检测到197和309个共有OTU。物种注释结果显示，拟穴青蟹肠道中优势细菌种类为变形菌门（Proteobacteria）（39.96%）、柔膜菌门（Tenericutes）（23.09%）和厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）（16.58%）；养殖水体中优势细菌种类为变形菌门（63.02%）、放线菌门（Actinobacteria）（24.96%）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）（8.41%）；池塘底泥中优势细菌种类为变形菌门（75.23%）、拟杆菌门（5.72%）和放线菌门（3.83%）。此外，对各样品中丰度最高的前10位OTU分析显示，不同样品中占优势地位的10种细菌在数据库（SILVA）缺乏相关已知序列，并且各样品中的优势细菌种类完全不同。实验结果表明拟穴青蟹肠道与其池塘养殖环境中菌群结构存在着密切的相关性，但肠道菌群同时具有一定的独立性，其优势细菌种类与养殖环境中优势细菌种类无关。本研究旨在为拟穴青蟹健康养殖和微生态调控提供实验依据。 Abstract:Mud crab (), widely cultured in brackish and seawater ponds along the coast of southern China, has become the most productive seawater crab species because of its strong adaptive abilities and high economic value. Bacteria play an important role in pond aquaculture ecosystems; however, little is known about the bacterial composition and diversity in earthen aquaculture pond microbial communities of . Accordingly, we applied Illumina HiSeq high-throughput sequencing to investigate bacterial community structure and diversity in pond-raised intestinal and its aquacultural environment. The results showed that 234575 effective sequences were detected in three samples, and they could be classified into 2812 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), among which 453, 706, and 2547 OTUs belong to the gut of , the aquaculture water, and the sediment, respectively. 184 OTUs were shared among all samples, 197 OTUs between S. paramamosain intestine and sediment, and 572 OTUs between the aquaculture water and sediment. This indicates that bacterial richness and diversity were lower in intestine than in water and sediment. In total, 48 phyla were identified, among them Proteobacteria (39.96%), Tenericutes (23.09%), Firmicutes (16.58%), CKC4 (6.55%), and Bacteroidetes (4.96%), which constituted the predominant components of the intestine; Proteobacteria (63.02%), Actinobacteria (24.96%), Bacteroidetes (8.41%), Cyanobacteria (1.19%), and Firmicutes (0.83%) were the predominant phyla in the water; and the predominant phyla in the sediment were Proteobacteria (75.23%), Bacteroidetes (5.72%), Actinobacteria (3.83%), Chloroflex I (2.65%), and Acidobacteria (1.80%). Analysis of the 10 most abundant bacterial OTUs in different samples revealed that the most dominant bacteria in intestine and its aquacultural environment were totally different, and there were only four kinds of dominant bacteria that have close sequences in the SILVA database. These results suggest that there exists a close correlation between bacterial species composition in the intestine and its aquacultural environment. Meanwhile, intestinal microflora may be a relatively independent microbial ecosystem and the micro-ecosystem could hardly be influenced by the bacteria in the culture environment. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Japanese Maritime Blockade on the Southern China Coast during the Early Second Sino-Japanese War

Japanese Maritime Blockade on the Southern China Coast during the Early Second Sino-Japanese War

Bioaccumulation of sediment-bound dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and heavy metals in benthic polychaete, Nereis succinea from a typical mariculture zone in South China

Bioaccumulation potential and associated ecological risk of sediment-bound DDT and its metabolites (DDXs) and heavy metals in Hailing Bay, a typical mariculture zone along the southern coast of China, were evaluated. The estuarine sediments were co-polluted by DDXs (120–4882ng/g dry wt.) and heavy metals (292–409mg/kg dry wt.). Both DDXs and metals in sediment were bioavailable to Nereis succinea, although the biota-sediment accumulation factors were less than 1 except for DDE. Significant transformation of DDT in organism was observed and DDE was the main metabolite. Ecological risk assessment showed that sediment-bound p,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDD frequently exhibited adverse effects on benthic community in the aquaculture zone, and heavy metals would cause moderate to considerable ecological risk, with Cd dominating the risk. The highest risk occurred in the shipyard area, indicating severe pollution and urgent need to control the source of DDT and heavy metals from aquafarming activities. CapsuleEstuarine sediments in South China was co-polluted by DDT and its metabolites and heavy metals due to aquafarming activities, which resulted in bioaccumulation of the contaminants in benthic invertebrates and posed potential risk to species at higher trophic levels.

Possible relationship between NAO and tropical cyclone genesis frequency in the western North Pacific

This study examined a strong positive correlation between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index during June and the total tropical cyclone (TC) genesis frequency in the western North Pacific during July and August. To investigate a possible cause for this relation, the mean difference between highest positive NAO years and lowest negative NAO years was analyzed by dividing into when the El Niño and La Niña years were included and when the El Niño and La Niña years were not included.When the El Niño and La Niña years were included, for positive NAO years, the TCs mostly occurred in the northwestern region of tropical and subtropical western Pacific, and showed a pattern that migrate from the sea northeast of the Philippines, pass the East China Sea, and move toward the mid-latitudes of East Asia. In contrast, for negative NAO years, the TCs mostly occurred in the southeastern region of tropical and subtropical western Pacific, and showed a pattern that migrate westward from the sea southeast of the Philippines, pass the South China Sea, and move toward the southern coast of China and Indochinese peninsula. These two different TC migration patterns affect the recurving location of TC, and for positive NAO years, the recurving of TC was averagely found to take place in the further northeast. In addition, the migration patterns also affect the TC intensity, and the TCs of positive NAO years had stronger intensity than the TCs of negative NAO years as sufficient energy can be absorbed from the ocean while moving north in the mid-latitudes of East Asia. The TCs of negative NAO years showed weak intensity as they weaken or disappear shortly while landing on the southern coast of China and Indochinese peninsula. On the other hand, the above result of analysis is also similarly observed when the El Niño and La Niña years were not included.

Early embryo and larval development of inviable intergeneric hybrids derived from Crassostrea angulata and Saccostrea cucullata

To detect the intergeneric hybridization between the oyster Crassostrea angulata and Saccostrea cucullata coexisting along the southern coast of China, reciprocal crosses were conducted between the two species. Barriers for sperm recognizing, binding, penetrating the egg, and forming the pronucleus were detected by fluorescence staining. From the results, although fertilization success was observed in hybrid crosses, the overall fertilization rate was lower than that of intraspecific crosses. A large number of hybrid larvae died at 6–8 d after hatching, and those survived could not complete metamorphosis. C. angulata ♀× S. cucullata ♂ larvae had a growth rate similar to that of the maternal species, whereas S. cucullata ♀ × C. angulata ♂ larvae grew the slowest among all crosses. Molecular genetics analysis revealed that hybrid progeny were amphimixis hybrids. This study demonstrated that hybrid embryos generated by crossing C. angulata and S. cucullata could develop normally to the larval state, but could not complete metamorphosis and then develop to the spat stage. Thus, there is a post-reproductive isolation between C. angulata and S. cucullata.

Combined effects of temperature, salinity and rearing density on growth and survival of juvenile ivory shell, Babylonia areolata (Link 1807) population in Thailand

The ivory shell, Babylonia areolata (Link 1807), has been exploited as an important aquaculture organism along the southern China coast. In order to obtain optimal culture conditions for ivory shell juvenile, the central composite rotatable design was used to estimate the combined effects of temperature, salinity and rearing density on accumulated growth rate (AGR) and survival rate (SR). The results showed that the linear effects of temperature and rearing density on both growth and survival were highly significant (P < 0.01), but there was no significant effect on salinity (P > 0.05). The quadratic effects of temperature, salinity and rearing density influenced growth significantly (P < 0.01). The quadratic effects of temperature and salinity on survival of juvenile snail were significant (P < 0.01), the combined effects between the quadratic effect of temperature and the linear effect of rearing density influenced survival significantly (P < 0.01); the interactive effects of temperature, salinity and rearing density played a significant role in survival (P < 0.01). As can be seen from the above experimental results, the effects of temperature and salinity on growth and survival of B. areolata were strengthened with enhanced rearing density in a certain range and vice versa. By optimization using the response surface method, the optimal point was found at a temperature of 26.81°C, a salinity of 28.76 ppt and a rearing density of 527.07 ind m−2. Under these conditions, the optimal AGR and SR were 36.84 mg day−1 and 99.99%, respectively, with a satisfaction function value of 99.71%.

Impact of four‐dimensional data assimilation (FDDA) on urban climate analysis

AbstractThis study investigates the impact of four‐dimensional data assimilation (FDDA) on urban climate analysis, which employs the NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) WRF (the weather research and forecasting model) based on climate FDDA (CFDDA) technology to develop an urban‐scale microclimatology database for the Shenzhen area, a rapidly developing metropolitan located along the southern coast of China, where uniquely high‐density observations, including ultrahigh‐resolution surface AWS (automatic weather station) network, radio sounding, wind profilers, radiometers, and other weather observation platforms, have been installed. CFDDA is an innovative dynamical downscaling regional climate analysis system that assimilates diverse regional observations; and has been employed to produce a 5 year multiscale high‐resolution microclimate analysis by assimilating high‐density observations at Shenzhen area. The CFDDA system was configured with four nested‐grid domains at grid sizes of 27, 9, 3, and 1 km, respectively. This research evaluates the impact of assimilating high‐resolution observation data on reproducing the refining features of urban‐scale circulations. Two experiments were conducted with a 5 year run using CFSR (climate forecast system reanalysis) as boundary and initial conditions: one with CFDDA and the other without. The comparisons of these two experiments with observations indicate that CFDDA greatly reduces the model analysis error and is able to realistically analyze the microscale features such as urban‐rural‐coastal circulation, land/sea breezes, and local‐hilly terrain thermal circulations. It is demonstrated that the urbanization can produce 2.5 k differences in 2 m temperatures, delays/speeds up the land/sea breeze development, and interacts with local mountain‐valley circulations.

Exploring for Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from the Chinese Medicinal Mangroves

Mangroves comprise a large number of various salt-tolerant plants growing in tropical and subtropical intertidal estuarine zones. Historically, many mangrove plants were used to treat various diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. Currently, the secondary metabolites found in mangroves represent an extremely rich source of novel chemical diversity for academic drug discovery and chemical biology programs. It is particularly true that the mangroves from Southern Coast of China are very prolific producers of bioactive natural products [1].

Projection of sea‐level change in the vicinity of Hong Kong in the 21st century

ABSTRACTSituated along the coast of southern China and facing the South China Sea, Hong Kong has been experiencing a significant rise in sea level by about 2.9 mm year−1 since the 1950s. For a densely populated coastal city prone to storm surge impacts during the passages of tropical cyclones, accentuated by the threat of sea‐level rise as a result of global warming and local vertical land displacement, projection of the sea‐level change for Hong Kong is essential for local risk assessment and long‐term planning of adaptation measures. This study presented the projection of sea‐level change in Hong Kong and its adjacent waters under the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 and 8.5 (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios in the 21st century based on climate projections by models in phase 5 of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, in combination with contributions from land ice and land water storage determined from published literatures, and local vertical land displacement as estimated by using continuous high‐precision GPS observations in Hong Kong. The results show that the sea level in Hong Kong and its adjacent waters is projected to rise by 0.67 (0.50–0.84) m and 0.84 (0.63–1.07) m in 2081–2100 relative to 1986–2005 under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively, about 0.2 m higher than the global mean values projected by the Fifth Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The higher projected sea‐level rise in Hong Kong and its adjacent waters as compared with the global mean values is primarily due to local vertical land displacement which contributes around 28% and 23% of the projected sea‐level rise in 2081–2100 relative to 1986–2005 in the two respective RCP scenarios.

Change in community phylogenetic structure of tropical forest along the southern coast of China during restoration

Analyzing the change in community phylogenetic structure during restoration succession processes may assist in determining the mechanisms of community assembly and community composition change. An analysis of a 15–30 year succession series of degraded forest restoration sample plots at the Xiaoliang Research Station for Restoration of Tropical Coastal Degraded Ecosystem was performed to evaluate the patterns in the phylogenetic structure of tropical forest over time in the early stage of succession. In our study, we attempted to determine whether it was possible to predict future variations in the community composition based on the phylogenetic positions of different species. The results showed that the random colonization pattern of pioneer species resulted in the random community phylogenetic structure in the early stage of succession. Subsequently, the rapid development of species with close genetic relationships possess similar traits which were adaptive to the local homogeneous environment resulted in phylogenetic clustering. We also proposed a new method to determine the relationships between the phylogenetic positions of the species in a community and the quantitative dynamics of their populations. The results indicated that species with close initial community phylogenetic positions (lnD &lt;&lt; 0) had more related species, high population growth rates, whereas species with relatively unrelated initial community phylogenetic positions (lnD &gt;&gt; 0) had fewer related species, low population growth rates, and even decreased populations. These results reflected the construction and maintenance of species in tropical forests from a certain perspective.

Using a food-web model to assess the trophic structure and energy flows in Daya Bay, China

Daya Bay, is one of the largest and most important semi-closed bays along the southern coast of China. Due to the favorable geomorphological and climatic conditions, this bay has become an important conservation zone of aquatic germplasm resources in South China Sea. To characterize the trophic structure, ecosystem properties and keystone species, a food-web model for Daya Bay has been developed by the means of a mass-balance approach using the Ecopath with Ecosim software. The mean trophic transfer efficiency for the entire ecosystem as a whole is 10.9% while the trophic level II is 5.1%. The primary- and secondary-producers, including phytoplankton, zooplankton and micro-zoobenthos demonstrated the important overall impacts on the rest of the groups based on mixed trophic impact (MIT) analysis and are classified as the keystone groups. The analysis of ecosystem attributes indicated that ecosystem of Daya Bay can be categorized as an immature one and/or is in the degraded stage. A comparison of this model with other coastal ecosystems, including Kuosheng Bay, Tongoy Bay, Beibu Gulf and Cadiz Gulf, underpinned that the ecosystem of Daye Bay is an obviously stressed system and is more vulnerable to the external disturbance. In general, our study indicates that a holistic approach is needed to minimize the impacts of anthropogenic activities to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem in the future.

The Connection between the Sea Surface Height Anomaly Preceding the Indian Ocean Dipole and Summer Rainfall in China

The sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) sig- nals leading the fall Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are inves- tigated. The results suggest that, prior to the IOD by one year, a positive SSHA emerges over the western-central tropical Pacific (WCTP), which peaks during winter (January-February-March, JFM), persists into late spring and early summer (April-May-June, AMJ), and becomes weakened later on. An SSHA index, referred as to SSHA_WCTP, is defined as the averaged SSHA over the WCTP during JFM. The index is not only significantly positively correlated with the following-fall (Septem- ber-October-November, SON) IOD index, but also is higher than the autocorrelation of the IOD index crossing the two different seasons. The connection of SSHA_ WCTP with following-summer rainfall in China is then explored. The results suggest that higher (lower) SSHA_ WCTP corresponds to increased (reduced) rainfall over southern coastal China, along with suppressed (increased) rainfall over the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River, North China, and the Xinjiang region of north- western China. Mechanistically, following the preced- ing-winter higher (lower) SSHA_WCTP, the South Asia High and the Western Pacific Subtropical High are weak- ened (intensified), which results in the East Asian summer monsoon weakening (intensifying). Finally, the connec- tion between SSHA_WCTP and El Nino-Southern Oscil- lation (ENSO) is analyzed. Despite a significant correla- tion, SSHA_WCTP is more closely connected with sum- mer rainfall. This implies that the SSHA_WCTP index in the preceding winter is a more effective predictor of summer rainfall in comparison with ENSO. 