Biodiversity and distribution patterns of Triplophysa species in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Three taxa of Scapania with Sino-Himalayan and meta-Himalayan distribution are described as new to science: S. pseudojavanica from the southern portion of the eastern spur of the Tibetan Plateau in southern China and North Vietnam, S. metahimalayana with a disjunct distribution that ranges from Nepal (where its distribution is questionable) to North Vietnam, and S. sichuanica from high elevation in Sichuan in SW China. Each species is morphologically similar to taxa distributed in the more humid and warmer climates of East and South-East amphi-oceanic Asia. The differentiation is presumably the result of recent speciation in the Sino-Himalayas and adjacent lands and the observed differentiation and distribution patterns are in support of the geographic approach in splitting hepatic species. The initial differentiation of these Scapania in sect. Stephania was the specialization into two groups: with brown and colorless gemmae, both being predominantly unicellular.

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Prokaryotic Community Structure Driven by Salinity and Ionic Concentrations in Plateau Lakes of the Tibetan Plateau

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.03332-15 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 82 (6) ◽

pp. 1846-1858 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Zhi-Ping Zhong ◽

Ying Liu ◽

Li-Li Miao ◽

Fang Wang ◽

Li-Min Chu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Community Composition ◽

Qaidam Basin ◽

Nitrogen Concentration ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Prokaryotic Community ◽

Content Type ◽

Ionic Concentrations

ABSTRACTThe prokaryotic community composition and diversity and the distribution patterns at various taxonomic levels across gradients of salinity and physiochemical properties in the surface waters of seven plateau lakes in the Qaidam Basin, Tibetan Plateau, were evaluated using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. These lakes included Lakes Keluke (salinity, <1 g/liter), Qing (salinity, 5.5 to 6.6 g/liter), Tuosu (salinity, 24 to 35 g/liter), Dasugan (salinity, 30 to 33 g/liter), Gahai (salinity, 92 to 96 g/liter), Xiaochaidan (salinity, 94 to 99 g/liter), and Gasikule (salinity, 317 to 344 g/liter). The communities were dominated byBacteriain lakes with salinities of <100 g/liter and byArchaeain Lake Gasikule. The clades At12OctB3 andSalinibacter, previously reported only in hypersaline environments, were found in a hyposaline lake (salinity, 5.5 to 6.6 g/liter) at an abundance of ∼1.0%, indicating their ecological plasticity. Salinity and the concentrations of the chemical ions whose concentrations covary with salinity (Mg2+, K+, Cl−, Na+, SO42−, and Ca2+) were found to be the primary environmental factors that directly or indirectly determined the composition and diversity at the level of individual clades as well as entire prokaryotic communities. The distribution patterns of two phyla, five classes, five orders, five families, and three genera were well predicted by salinity. The variation of the prokaryotic community structure also significantly correlated with the dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, the total nitrogen concentration, and the PO43−concentration. Such correlations varied depending on the taxonomic level, demonstrating the importance of comprehensive correlation analyses at various taxonomic levels in evaluating the effects of environmental variable factors on prokaryotic community structures. Our findings clarify the distribution patterns of the prokaryotic community composition in plateau lakes at the levels of individual clades as well as whole communities along gradients of salinity and ionic concentrations.

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