Search

From January 2009 to October 2023, conducted a continuous survey of waterbirds in the Luoyang section of the Yellow River Wetland National Nature Reserve in Henan Province. A total of 129 species of waterfowl belonging to 10 orders and 19 families have been recorded. Among them, there are 5 species of national level I key protected birds and 21 species of national level II key protected birds. 8 species are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), including 2 species in Appendix I and 6 species in Appendix II. According to the type of residence, there are 58 species of winter migratory birds, 27 species of summer migratory birds, 31 species of traveling birds, and 13 species of resident birds. There are 91 species of Palaearctic birds, 6 species of Oriental birds, and 32 species of widespread birds [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to analyze the different types of influence of human disturbance on plant communities in the Yellow River wetland and the relevant mechanisms, three wetlands in Zhengzhou section which were respectively affected by agricultural planting, reservoir construction and building construction, were selected after conducting a large number of field investigations. After measuring the plant communities and related environmental factors, redundancy analysis was carried out based on human pressure index evaluation system. The results showed that the whole wetland plant community showed an obvious degradation trend, and the function of productivity maintenance decreased. For the sample land with different types of human disturbance, the severity of human disturbance varied from the disturbance caused by reservoir construction to agricultural planting, and building construction. With intensification of the severity of human disturbance, the similarity coefficients of plant communities in different wetlands declined successively, and the species richness index of wetland in Bird Nature Reserve and Taipingzhuang North wetland decreased by 15. 98% and 37. 05%, respectively, compared with the Taohuayu wetland, indicating that the overall construction of wetland plant communities gradually became simpler. Among the many factors causing wetland degradation, the change of ammonium nitrogen content in soil had a significant negative correlation with species diversity index and species evenness index, and was one of the main reasons for wetland plant degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this work was to determine the contributions of denitrification and anammox to nitrogen loss in the sediments of the Yellow River wetland and to explore the abundance of functional genes involved in these two processes. Methods: Three samples were collected from areas with different vegetation covers: a P. australis-covered site (LW), a T. orientalis-covered site (XP), and a site without vegetation coverage (GT). The potential anammox and denitrification rates were estimated using nitrogen isotope tracer technology by quantifying 29N2 and 30N2 produced in a strictly anaerobic incubation of sediment with labeled 15NO3− as the reactive substrate. According to the production rates of 29N2 and 30N2, denitrification and anammox rates were simultaneously measured. Metagenomic sequencing was used to analyze the abundances of functional microbes and functional genes. Results: The total nitrogen removal rates (denitrification + anammox) in the vegetation-covered sites were three to six times that in the GT (GT: 0.28 mg N kg−1 d−1; LW: 1.73 mg N kg−1 d−1; XP: 0.94 mg N kg−1 d−1). The denitrification rates at the LW, XP, and GT were 1.50 mg N kg−1 d−1, 0.80 mg N kg−1 d−1, and 0.07 mg N kg−1 d−1, respectively. The anammox rates at the GT, LW, and XP were 0.21 mg N kg−1 d−1, 0.23 mg N kg−1 d−1, and 0.14 mg N kg−1 d−1, respectively. The denitrification rates were six times higher than the anammox rates in the vegetation-covered sites and thus represented the dominant nitrogen removal pathway, accounting for 85% (LW) and 86% (XP) of nitrogen loss. However, anammox was the dominant process of N2 production at the GT. Metagenomic analysis showed that the GT did not meet the lower limit of gene abundance detection. The anammox gene was not detected, and the abundance of the denitrification gene was high, which was consistent with the denitrification rate. In addition, the continuous accumulation of 15NH4+ and the abundance of functional genes indicated the existence of the DNRA process in the Yellow River wetland. Conclusion: Denitrification is the main nitrogen removal pathway in Yellow River wetland sediment, and vegetation coverage accelerates the nitrogen removal rate. Moreover, the DNRA process is of great significance for the efficient utilization of nitrogen in the Yellow River wetland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gut microbiota are closely related to the nutrition, immunity, and metabolism of the host and play important roles in maintaining the normal physiological activities of animals. Cranes are important protected avian species in China, and they are sensitive to changes in the ecological environment and are thus good environmental indicators. There have been no reports examining gut fungi or the correlation between bacteria and fungi in wild Demoiselle cranes (Grus virgo) and Common cranes (Grus grus). Related research can provide a foundation for the protection of rare wild animals. Methods: 16S rRNA and ITS high-throughput sequencing techniques were used to analyze the gut bacterial and fungal diversity of Common and Demoiselle cranes migrating to the Yellow River wetland in Inner Mongolia. Results: The results revealed that for gut bacteria a diversity, Chao1 index in Demoiselle cranes was remarkably higher than that in Common cranes (411.07± 79.54 vs. 294.92 ± 22.38), while other index had no remarkably differences. There was no remarkable difference in fungal diversity. There were marked differences in the gut microbial composition between the two crane species. At the phylum level, the highest abundance of bacteria in the Common crane and Demoiselle crane samples was Firmicutes, accounting for 87.84% and 74.29%, respectively. The highest abundance of fungi in the guts of the Common and Demoiselle cranes was Ascomycota, accounting for 69.42% and 57.63%, respectively. At the genus level, the most abundant bacterial genus in the Common crane sample was Turicibacter (38.60%), and the most abundant bacterial genus in the Demoiselle crane sample was Catelicoccus (39.18%). The most abundant fungi in the Common crane sample was Penicillium (6.97%), and the most abundant fungi in the Demoiselle crane sample was Saccharomyces (8.59%). Correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant correlation between gut bacteria and fungi. Discussion: This study provided a research basis for the protection of cranes. Indeed, a better understanding of the gut microbiota is very important for the conservation andmanagement of wild birds, as it not only helps us to understand their life history and related mechanisms, but also can hinder the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gut microbiota are closely related to the nutrition, immunity, and metabolism of the host and play important roles in maintaining the normal physiological activities of animals. Cranes are important protected avian species in China, and they are sensitive to changes in the ecological environment and are thus good environmental indicators. There have been no reports examining gut fungi or the correlation between bacteria and fungi in wild Demoiselle cranes ( Grus virgo ) and Common cranes ( Grus grus ). Related research can provide a foundation for the protection of rare wild animals., Methods: 16S rRNA and ITS high-throughput sequencing techniques were used to analyze the gut bacterial and fungal diversity of Common and Demoiselle cranes migrating to the Yellow River wetland in Inner Mongolia., Results: The results revealed that for gut bacteria α diversity, Chao1 index in Demoiselle cranes was remarkably higher than that in Common cranes (411.07 ± 79.54 vs. 294.92 ± 22.38), while other index had no remarkably differences. There was no remarkable difference in fungal diversity. There were marked differences in the gut microbial composition between the two crane species. At the phylum level, the highest abundance of bacteria in the Common crane and Demoiselle crane samples was Firmicutes, accounting for 87.84% and 74.29%, respectively. The highest abundance of fungi in the guts of the Common and Demoiselle cranes was Ascomycota, accounting for 69.42% and 57.63%, respectively. At the genus level, the most abundant bacterial genus in the Common crane sample was Turicibacter (38.60%), and the most abundant bacterial genus in the Demoiselle crane sample was Catelicoccus (39.18%). The most abundant fungi in the Common crane sample was Penicillium (6.97%), and the most abundant fungi in the Demoiselle crane sample was Saccharomyces (8.59%). Correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant correlation between gut bacteria and fungi., Discussion: This study provided a research basis for the protection of cranes. Indeed, a better understanding of the gut microbiota is very important for the conservation and management of wild birds, as it not only helps us to understand their life history and related mechanisms, but also can hinder the spread of pathogenic microorganisms., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Li, Duan, Wang, Wu, Meng, Bao, Gao and Liu.)