Drivers of arthropod biodiversity in an urban ecosystem.

Our world is becoming increasingly urbanized with a growing human population concentrated around cities. The expansion of urban areas has important consequences for biodiversity, yet the abiotic drivers of biodiversity in urban ecosystems have not been well characterized for the most diverse group of animals on the planet, arthropods. Given their great diversity, comparatively small home ranges, and ability to disperse, arthropods make an excellent model for studying which factors can most accurately predict urban biodiversity. We assessed the effects of (i) topography (distance to natural areas and to ocean) (ii) abiotic factors (mean annual temperature and diurnal range), and (iii) anthropogenic drivers (land value and amount of impervious surface) on the occurrence of six arthropod groups represented in Malaise trap collections run by the BioSCAN project across the Greater Los Angeles Area. We found striking heterogeneity in responses to all factors both within and between taxonomic groups. Diurnal temperature range had a consistently negative effect on occupancy but this effect was only significant in Phoridae. Anthropogenic drivers had mixed though mostly insignificant effects, as some groups and species were most diverse in highly urbanized areas, while other groups showed suppressed diversity. Only Phoridae was significantly affected by land value, where most species were more likely to occur in areas with lower land value. Los Angeles can support high regional arthropod diversity, but spatial community composition is highly dependent on the taxonomic group.

Distinct interaction effects of warming and anthropogenic input on diatoms and dinoflagellates in an urbanized estuarine ecosystem.

Diatoms and dinoflagellates are two major bloom-forming phytoplankton groups in coastal ecosystems and their dominances will notably affect the marine ecosystems. By analyzing an 18-year monthly monitoring dataset (2000-2017) in the Pearl River Estuary (one of the most highly urbanized and populated estuarine in the world), we observe an increasing trend of the diatom to dinoflagellate ratio (Diatom/Dino). As revealed by multiple statistical models (generalized additive mixed model, random forest, and gradient boosting algorithms), both groups are positively correlated with temperature. Diatoms are positively correlated with nitrate and negatively correlated with ammonium while dinoflagellates show an opposite pattern. The Diatom/Dino trend is explained by an altered nutrient composition caused by a decadal increase in anthropogenic input, at which nitrate increased rapidly while ammonium and phosphate were relatively constant. Regarding the interaction of warming and nutrient dynamics, we observe an additive effect of warming and nitrate enrichment that promotes the increase in diatom cell density, while the dinoflagellate cell density only increases with warming when nutrients are depleted. Our models predict that the Diatom/Dino ratio will further increase with increasing anthropogenic input and global warming in subtropical estuarine ecosystems with nitrate as the dominant inorganic nitrogen; its ecological consequences are worthy of further investigation.

Gd4Ge(3-x)Pn(x) (Pn = P, Sb, Bi, x = 0.5-3): stabilizing the nonexisting Gd4Ge3 binary through valence electron concentration. Electronic and magnetic properties of Gd4Ge(3-x)Pn(x).

Gd(4)Ge(3-x)Pn(x) (Pn = P, Sb, Bi; x = 0.5-3) phases have been prepared and characterized using X-ray diffraction, wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy, and magnetization measurements. All Gd(4)Ge(3-x)Pn(x) phases adopt a cubic anti-Th(3)P(4) structure, and no deficiency on the Gd or p-element site could be detected. Only one P-containing phase with the Gd(4)Ge(2.51(5))P(0.49(5)) composition could be obtained, as larger substitution levels did not yield the phase. Existence of Gd(4)Ge(2.51(5))P(0.49(5)) and Gd(4)Ge(2.49(3))Bi(0.51(3)) suggests that the hypothetical Gd(4)Ge(3) binary can be easily stabilized by a small increase in the valence electron count and that the size of the p element is not a key factor. Electronic structure calculations reveal that large substitution levels with more electron-rich Sb and Bi are possible for charge-balanced (Gd(3+))(4)(Ge(4-))(3) as extra electrons occupy the bonding Gd-Gd and Gd-Ge states. This analysis also supports the stability of Gd(4)Sb(3) and Gd(4)Bi(3). All Gd(4)Ge(3-x)Pn(x) phases order ferromagnetically with relatively high Curie temperatures of 234-356 K. The variation in the Curie temperatures of the Gd(4)Ge(3-x)Sb(x) and Gd(4)Ge(3-x)Bi(x) series can be explained through the changes in the numbers of conduction electrons associated with Ge/Sb(Bi) substitution.