Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.

The rediscovery of remnant Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) in southern Florida swamplands prompted a program to protect and stabilize the population. In 1995, conservation managers translocated eight female pumas (P. c. stanleyana) from Texas to increase depleted genetic diversity, improve population numbers, and reverse indications of inbreeding depression. We have assessed the demographic, population-genetic, and biomedical consequences of this restoration experiment and show that panther numbers increased threefold, genetic heterozygosity doubled, survival and fitness measures improved, and inbreeding correlates declined significantly. Although these results are encouraging, continued habitat loss, persistent inbreeding, infectious agents, and possible habitat saturation pose new dilemmas. This intensive management program illustrates the challenges of maintaining populations of large predators worldwide.

OBJECTIVE: Bell's palsy, named after the Scottish anatomist, Sir Charles Bell, is the most common acute mono-neuropathy, or disorder affecting a single nerve, and is the most common diagnosis associated with facial nerve weakness/paralysis. Bell's palsy is a rapid unilateral facial nerve paresis (weakness) or paralysis (complete loss of movement) of unknown cause. The condition leads to the partial or complete inability to voluntarily move facial muscles on the affected side of the face. Although typically self-limited, the facial paresis/paralysis that occurs in Bell's palsy may cause significant temporary oral incompetence and an inability to close the eyelid, leading to potential eye injury. Additional long-term poor outcomes do occur and can be devastating to the patient. Treatments are generally designed to improve facial function and facilitate recovery. There are myriad treatment options for Bell's palsy, and some controversy exists regarding the effectiveness of several of these options, and there are consequent variations in care. In addition, numerous diagnostic tests available are used in the evaluation of patients with Bell's palsy. Many of these tests are of questionable benefit in Bell's palsy. Furthermore, while patients with Bell's palsy enter the health care system with facial paresis/paralysis as a primary complaint, not all patients with facial paresis/paralysis have Bell's palsy. It is a concern that patients with alternative underlying etiologies may be misdiagnosed or have unnecessary delay in diagnosis. All of these quality concerns provide an important opportunity for improvement in the diagnosis and management of patients with Bell's palsy. PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this guideline is to improve the accuracy of diagnosis for Bell's palsy, to improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients with Bell's palsy, and to decrease harmful variations in the evaluation and management of Bell's palsy. This guideline addresses these needs by encouraging accurate and efficient diagnosis and treatment and, when applicable, facilitating patient follow-up to address the management of long-term sequelae or evaluation of new or worsening symptoms not indicative of Bell's palsy. The guideline is intended for all clinicians in any setting who are likely to diagnose and manage patients with Bell's palsy. The target population is inclusive of both adults and children presenting with Bell's palsy. ACTION STATEMENTS: The development group made a strong recommendation that (a) clinicians should assess the patient using history and physical examination to exclude identifiable causes of facial paresis or paralysis in patients presenting with acute-onset unilateral facial paresis or paralysis, (b) clinicians should prescribe oral steroids within 72 hours of symptom onset for Bell's palsy patients 16 years and older, (c) clinicians should not prescribe oral antiviral therapy alone for patients with new-onset Bell's palsy, and (d) clinicians should implement eye protection for Bell's palsy patients with impaired eye closure. The panel made recommendations that (a) clinicians should not obtain routine laboratory testing in patients with new-onset Bell's palsy, (b) clinicians should not routinely perform diagnostic imaging for patients with new-onset Bell's palsy, (c) clinicians should not perform electrodiagnostic testing in Bell's palsy patients with incomplete facial paralysis, and (d) clinicians should reassess or refer to a facial nerve specialist those Bell's palsy patients with (1) new or worsening neurologic findings at any point, (2) ocular symptoms developing at any point, or (3) incomplete facial recovery 3 months after initial symptom onset. The development group provided the following options: (a) clinicians may offer oral antiviral therapy in addition to oral steroids within 72 hours of symptom onset for patients with Bell's palsy, and (b) clinicians may offer electrodiagnostic testing to Bell's palsy patients with complete facial paralysis. The development group offered the following no recommendations: (a) no recommendation can be made regarding surgical decompression for patients with Bell's palsy, (b) no recommendation can be made regarding the effect of acupuncture in patients with Bell's palsy, and (c) no recommendation can be made regarding the effect of physical therapy in patients with Bell's palsy.

Subtropical broad-leaved forests in southeastern China support a high diversity of woody plants. Using a comparative study design with 30 × 30 m plots (n = 27) from five successional stages (<20, <40, <60, <80, and ≥80 yr), we investigated how the gradient in species composition reflects underlying processes of community assembly. In particular, we tested whether species richness of adult trees and shrubs decreased or increased and assessed to which degree this pattern was caused by negative density dependence or continuous immigration over time. Furthermore, we tested whether rare species were increasingly enriched and the species composition of adult trees and shrubs became more similar to species composition of seedlings during the course of succession. We counted the individuals of all adult species and shrubs >1 m in height in each plot and counted all woody recruits (bank of all seedlings ≤1 m in height) in each central 10 × 10 m quadrant of each plot. In addition, we measured a number of environmental variables (elevation, slope, aspect, soil moisture, pH, C, N, and C/N ratio) and biotic structural variables (height and cover of layers). Adult species richness varied from 25 to 69 species per plot, and in total 148 woody species from 46 families were recorded. There was a clear successional gradient in species composition as revealed by nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), but only a poor differentiation of different successional stages with respect to particular species. Adult richness per 100 individuals (rarefaction method) increased with successional stage. None of the measured abiotic variables were significantly correlated with adult species richness. We found no evidence that rare species were responsible for the increasing adult species richness, as richness of rare species among both adults and recruits was independent of the successional stage. Furthermore, the similarity between established adults and recruits did not increase with successional stage. There was a constant number of recruit species and also of exclusive recruit species, i.e., those that had not been present as adult individuals, across all successional stages, suggesting a continuous random immigration over time.

It is necessary to improve the ecological environment and keep ecological balance of nature reserves that have particularly important function on precious and endangered wildlife species conservation. Human activities give rise to the remarkable changes in land use/land cover (LULC) and further have an effect on the landscape and eco-environment in nature reserves. This study evaluated the landscape ecological risk based on LULC changes in Baishuijiang National Nature Reserve according to different management zones from 1986 to 2015. Results showed that the significant change characteristics of LULC were the increase of forest and the decrease of cultivated land from 1986 to 2015. The major LULC changes took place in the experimental zone, and there was 85.61 km2 cultivated land transferred to the forest. Generally, the ecological risk level was low, and the area percentages of the lowest and lower risk regions to the total area were all higher than 97% from 1986 to 2015. Moreover, the values of ecological risk were discrepant in different time, the order of that being 1986 < 2015 < 1995 < 2008. Combining the components of different ecological risk levels in every management zone, the ecological risk from low to high was the core zone, buffer zone, and experimental zone. The ecological risk tended to be aggregated in space during 1986–2008, and it was enhanced slightly from 2008 to 2015. This study focuses on Baishuijiang National Nature Reserve to provide assessment for environmental protection and ecological management in hope that the method can be applied to other national nature reserves in China.

Abstract There is increasing concern over the impact of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on forest ecosystems in the tropical and subtropical areas. In this study, we quantified atmospheric N deposition and revealed current plant and soil N status in 14 forests along a 150 km urban to rural transect in southern China, with an emphasis on examining whether foliar δ 15 N can be used as an indicator of N saturation. Bulk deposition ranged from 16.2 to 38.2 kg N ha −1 yr −1 , while the throughfall covered a larger range of 11.7–65.1 kg N ha −1 yr −1 . Foliar N concentration, NO 3 − leaching to stream, and soil NO 3 − concentration were low and NO 3 − production was negligible in some rural forests, indicating that primary production in these forests may be limited by N supply. But all these N variables were enhanced in suburban and urban forests. Across the study transect, throughfall N input was correlated positively with soil nitrification and NO 3 − leaching to stream, and negatively with pH values in soil and stream water. Foliar δ 15 N was between −6.6‰ and 0.7‰, and was negatively correlated with soil NO 3 − concentration and NO 3 − leaching to stream across the entire transect, demonstrating that an increased N supply does not necessarily increase forest δ 15 N values. We proposed several potential mechanism that could contribute to the δ 15 N pattern, including (1) increased plant uptake of 15 N‐depleted soil NO 3 − , (2) foliage uptake of 15 N‐depleted NH 4 + , (3) increased utilization of soil inorganic N relative to dissolved organic N, and (4) increased fractionation during plant N uptake under higher soil N availability.

Poyang Lake is situated within the East Asian Flyway, a migratory corridor for waterfowl that also encompasses Guangdong Province, China, the epicenter of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1. The lake is the largest freshwater body in China and a significant congregation site for waterfowl; however, surrounding rice fields and poultry grazing have created an overlap with wild waterbirds, a situation conducive to avian influenza transmission. Reports of HPAI H5N1 in healthy wild ducks at Poyang Lake have raised concerns about the potential of resilient free-ranging birds to disseminate the virus. Yet the role wild ducks play in connecting regions of HPAI H5N1 outbreak in Asia is hindered by a lack of information about their migratory ecology. During 2007-08 we marked wild ducks at Poyang Lake with satellite transmitters to examine the location and timing of spring migration and identify any spatiotemporal relationship with HPAI H5N1 outbreaks. Species included the Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope), northern pintail (Anas acuta), common teal (Anas crecca), falcated teal (Anas falcata), Baikal teal (Anas formosa), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), garganey (Anas querquedula), and Chinese spotbill (Anas poecilohyncha). These wild ducks (excluding the resident mallard and Chinese spotbill ducks) followed the East Asian Flyway along the coast to breeding areas in northern China, eastern Mongolia, and eastern Russia. None migrated west toward Qinghai Lake (site of the largest wild bird epizootic), thus failing to demonstrate any migratory connection to the Central Asian Flyway. A newly developed Brownian bridge spatial analysis indicated that HPAI H5N1 outbreaks reported in the flyway were related to latitude and poultry density but not to the core migration corridor or to wetland habitats. Also, we found a temporal mismatch between timing of outbreaks and wild duck movements. These analyses depend on complete or representative reporting of outbreaks, but by documenting movements of wild waterfowl, we present ecological knowledge that better informs epidemiological investigations seeking to explain and predict the spread of avian influenza viruses.

Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) was introduced to China in 1979 from the United States for reducing coastal erosion. It grows vigorously in China and has spread over much of the Chinese coast, from Leizhou Peninsula to Liaoning, a range of more than 19 degrees of latitude. On the southern coast of China, S. alterniflora has invaded mangrove-dominated habitats during the last two decades, but little is known about interactions between native mangroves and invasive S. alterniflora. We studied the distribution and competitive interactions between native mangroves and S. alterniflora in the Zhangjiang Estuary at four tidal sites along a salinity gradient: oligohaline upstream, mesohaline, polyhaline, and euhaline downstream. S. alterniflora occurred at all four sites, and several mangrove species occurred at all but the downstream euhaline site. S. alterniflora has invaded the estuary widely and has spread to the lower tidal margins of mangroves. It has not invaded mangrove areas with a closed canopy but has established in the mangrove zone where the canopy was opened by human disturbance. Ramets of S. alterniflora transplanted into the understory of mangrove stands with closed canopies died within 10 weeks, but 37.5% survived and grew well on open mud flats. S. alterniflora had virtually no competitive effect on mangrove seedlings planted at the upstream oligohaline site. However, S. alterniflora competitively reduced biomass of mangrove seedlings to 33% over a period of 14 weeks at the mesohaline and polyhaline sites where human disturbance has opened the mangrove canopy. In contrast, S. alterniflora marginally facilitated growth and survival of experimental seedlings at the downstream euhaline site. In China, mangroves occur along the coastline south of Whenzhou, but they have been severely disturbed and removed widely, mainly by mariculture activities. Natural vegetation patterns and our experimental results suggest that, without intervention, S. alterniflora could gradually replace these mangroves in mid-salinity regions of Chinese estuaries.

Fanjinshan National Nature Reserve (FNNR) is a biodiversity hotspot in China that is part of a larger, multi-use landscape where farming, grazing, tourism, and other human activities occur. The steep terrain and persistent cloud cover pose challenges to robust vegetation and land use mapping. Our objective is to develop satellite image classification techniques that can reliably map forest cover and land use while minimizing the cloud and terrain issues, and provide the basis for long-term monitoring. Multi-seasonal Landsat image composites and elevation ancillary layers effectively minimize the persistent cloud cover and terrain issues. Spectral vegetation index (SVI) products and shade/illumination normalization approaches yield significantly higher mapping accuracies, compared to non-normalized spectral bands. Advanced machine learning image classification routines are implemented through the cloud-based Google Earth Engine platform. Optimal classifier parameters (e.g., number of trees and number of features for random forest classifiers) were achieved by using tuning techniques. Accuracy assessment results indicate consistent and effective overall classification (i.e., above 70% mapping accuracies) can be achieved using multi-temporal SVI composites with simple illumination normalization and elevation ancillary data, despite the fact limited training and reference data are available. This efficient and open-access image analysis workflow provides a reliable methodology to remotely monitor forest cover and land use in FNNR and other mountainous forested, cloud prevalent areas.

Abstract Allopatric speciation requiring an unbroken period of geographical isolation has been the standard model of neo-Darwinism. While doubts have been repeatedly raised, strict allopatry without any gene flow remains a plausible mechanism in most cases. To rigorously reject strict allopatry, genomic sequences superimposed on the geological records of a well-delineated geographical barrier are necessary. The Strait of Malacca, narrowly connecting the Pacific and Indian Ocean coasts, serves at different times either as a geographical barrier or a conduit of gene flow for coastal/marine species. We surveyed 1700 plants from 29 populations of 5 common mangrove species by large-scale DNA sequencing and added several whole-genome assemblies. Speciation between the two oceans is driven by cycles of isolation and gene flow due to the fluctuations in sea level leading to the opening/closing of the Strait to ocean currents. Because the time required for speciation in mangroves is longer than the isolation phases, speciation in these mangroves has proceeded through many cycles of mixing-isolation-mixing, or MIM, cycles. The MIM mechanism, by relaxing the condition of no gene flow, can promote speciation in many more geographical features than strict allopatry can. Finally, the MIM mechanism of speciation is also efficient, potentially yielding mn (m &amp;gt; 1) species after n cycles.

Bacteria are the highest abundant microorganisms in the soil. To investigate bacteria community structures, diversity and functions, contrasting them in four different seasons all the year round with/within two different forest type soils of China. We analyzed soil bacterial community based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing via Illumina HiSeq platform at a temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest (Baotianman, BTM) and a tropical rainforest (Jianfengling, JFL). We obtained 51,137 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and classified them into 44 phyla and 556 known genera, 18.2% of which had a relative abundance >1%. The composition in each phylum was similar between the two forest sites. Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the most abundant phyla in the soil samples between the two forest sites. The Shannon index did not significantly differ among the four seasons at BTM or JFL and was higher at BTM than JFL in each season. The bacteria community at both BTM and JFL showed two significant (P<0.05) predicted functions related to carbon cycle (anoxygenic photoautotrophy sulfur oxidizing and anoxygenic photoautotrophy) and three significant (P<0.05) predicted functions related to nitrogen cycle (nitrous denitrificaton, nitrite denitrification and nitrous oxide denitrification). We provide the basis on how changes in bacterial community composition and diversity leading to differences in carbon and nitrogen cycles at the two forests.

Abstract Mangroves invade some very marginal habitats for woody plants—at the interface between land and sea. Since mangroves anchor tropical coastal communities globally, their origin, diversification and adaptation are of scientific significance, particularly at a time of global climate change. In this study, a combination of single-molecule long reads and the more conventional short reads are generated from Rhizophora apiculata for the de novo assembly of its genome to a near chromosome level. The longest scaffold, N50 and N90 for the R. apiculata genome, are 13.3 Mb, 5.4 Mb and 1.0 Mb, respectively. Short reads for the genomes and transcriptomes of eight related species are also generated. We find that the ancestor of Rhizophoreae experienced a whole-genome duplication ∼70 Myrs ago, which is followed rather quickly by colonization and species diversification. Mangroves exhibit pan-exome modifications of amino acid (AA) usage as well as unusual AA substitutions among closely related species. The usage and substitution of AAs, unique among plants surveyed, is correlated with the rapid evolution of proteins in mangroves. A small subset of these substitutions is associated with mangroves’ highly specialized traits (vivipary and red bark) thought to be adaptive in the intertidal habitats. Despite the many adaptive features, mangroves are among the least genetically diverse plants, likely the result of continual habitat turnovers caused by repeated rises and falls of sea level in the geologically recent past. Mangrove genomes thus inform about their past evolutionary success as well as portend a possibly difficult future.

Li Yu, Ya-Ping Zhang, Chung-I Wu and colleagues report the de novo genome of the black snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus bieti and the genomic sequences of four other Rhinopithecus species, including three high-altitude and two lowland species. The species- and population-level genomic analyses as well as the transcriptomic analysis and functional assays find adaptive signatures associated with adaptation to high altitude. The snub-nosed monkey genus Rhinopithecus includes five closely related species distributed across altitudinal gradients from 800 to 4,500 m. Rhinopithecus bieti, Rhinopithecus roxellana, and Rhinopithecus strykeri inhabit high-altitude habitats, whereas Rhinopithecus brelichi and Rhinopithecus avunculus inhabit lowland regions. We report the de novo whole-genome sequence of R. bieti and genomic sequences for the four other species. Eight shared substitutions were found in six genes related to lung function, DNA repair, and angiogenesis in the high-altitude snub-nosed monkeys. Functional assays showed that the high-altitude variant of CDT1 (Ala537Val) renders cells more resistant to UV irradiation, and the high-altitude variants of RNASE4 (Asn89Lys and Thr128Ile) confer enhanced ability to induce endothelial tube formation in vitro. Genomic scans in the R. bieti and R. roxellana populations identified signatures of selection between and within populations at genes involved in functions relevant to high-altitude adaptation. These results provide valuable insights into the adaptation to high altitude in the snub-nosed monkeys.

Climate is widely recognised as an important determinant of the latitudinal diversity gradient. However, most existing studies make no distinction between direct and indirect effects of climate, which substantially hinders our understanding of how climate constrains biodiversity globally. Using data from 35 large forest plots, we test hypothesised relationships amongst climate, topography, forest structural attributes (stem abundance, tree size variation and stand basal area) and tree species richness to better understand drivers of latitudinal tree diversity patterns. Climate influences tree richness both directly, with more species in warm, moist, aseasonal climates and indirectly, with more species at higher stem abundance. These results imply direct limitation of species diversity by climatic stress and more rapid (co-)evolution and narrower niche partitioning in warm climates. They also support the idea that increased numbers of individuals associated with high primary productivity are partitioned to support a greater number of species.

Epidemiological studies have found a correlation between daily mortality and particle concentrations in outdoor air as measured at a central monitor ing station. These studies have been the central reason for the U.S. EPA to propose new tighter particle standards. However, personal monitoring studies have generally found very poor correlations (often approaching 0) between personal exposures and outdoor air concentrations. This has led to questions regarding the scientific basis of the new EPA standard. One reason for the poor correlations noted in the personal monitoring studies is that the correlations were cross-sectional: that is, they included many persons (generally monitored for only 1 or a few days) with no differentiation between persons exposed to high indoor sources (such as smokers) and those with much smaller exposures. Some recent studies have improved on this situation by following persons for a number of days and performing longitudinal correlations on individuals over time. These longitudinal correlations are almost invariably much higher than cross-sectional correlations. A second possible reason for the low correlations of personal exposure with outdoor concentrations is that most studies have been done on healthy persons who may be much more active and therefore generate more particles than sick persons. Therefore a second set of studies has begun to be carried out looking at high-risk subpopulations, such as those with existing respiratory or cardiovascular disease. A common element in these studies is the existence of a ''personal cloud,'' an increased personal exposure beyond what is calculated from a time-weighted average of indoor and outdoor concentrations. The personal cloud for healthy persons can be quite sizable, on the order of 50 mu g /m3 during the day when people are active and may be a major reason for the poor correlations of personal exposure with outdoor air concentrations. If the personal cloud of high-risk subpopulations is considerably smaller than that of healthy populations and if indoor sources are reduced in the impaired populations, then better correlations of personal exposure with outdoor air could be expected. Recent studies that have quantitated the personal cloud for both healthy and sick populations are reviewed.

The crocodile lizard is a critically endangered reptile, and serious diseases have been found in this species in recent years, especially in captive lizards. Whether these diseases are caused by changes in the gut microbiota and the effect of captivity on disease remain to be determined. Here, we examined the relationship between the gut microbiota and diet and disease by comparing the fecal microbiota of wild lizards with those of sick and healthy lizards in captivity. The gut microbiota in wild crocodile lizards was consistently dominated by Proteobacteria (~56.4%) and Bacteroidetes (~19.1%). However, the abundance of Firmicutes (~2.6%) in the intestine of the wild crocodile lizards was distinctly lower than that in other vertebrates. In addition, the wild samples from Guangdong Luokeng Shinisaurus crocodilurus National Nature Reserve also had a high abundance of Deinococcus-Thermus while the wild samples from Guangxi Daguishan Crocodile Lizard National Nature Reserve had a high abundance of Tenericutes. The gut microbial community in loach-fed crocodile lizards was significant different from the gut microbial community in the earthworm-fed and wild lizards. In addition, significant differences in specific bacteria were detected among groups. Notably, in the gut microbiota, the captive lizards fed earthworms resulted in enrichment of Fusobacterium, and the captive lizards fed loaches had higher abundances of Elizabethkingia, Halomonas, Morganella and Salmonella, all of which are pathogens or opportunistic pathogens in human or other animals. However, there is no sufficient evidence that the gut microbiota contributes to either disease A or disease B. These results provide a reference for the conservation of endangered crocodile lizards and the first insight into the relationship between disease and the gut microbiota in lizards.

Ecosystem services (the benefits to humans from ecosystems) are estimated globally at $125 trillion/year [1, 2]. Similar assessments at national and regional scales show how these services support our lives [3]. All valuations recognize the role of biodiversity, which continues to decrease around the world in maintaining these services [4, 5]. The giant panda epitomizes the flagship species [6]. Its unrivalled public appeal translates into support for conservation funding and policy, including a tax on foreign visitors to support its conservation [7]. The Chinese government has established a panda reserve system, which today numbers 67 reserves [8, 9]. The biodiversity of these reserves is among the highest in the temperate world [10], covering many of China's endemic species [11]. The panda is thus also an umbrella species [12]-protecting panda habitat also protects other species. Despite the benefits derived from pandas, some journalists have suggested that it would be best to let the panda go extinct. With the recent downlisting of the panda from Endangered to Vulnerable, it is clear that society's investment has started to pay off in terms of panda population recovery [13, 14]. Here, we estimate the value of ecosystem services of the panda and its reserves at between US$2.6 and US$6.9 billion/year in 2010. Protecting the panda as an umbrella species and the habitat that supports it yields roughly 10-27 times the cost of maintaining the current reserves, potentially further motivating expansion of the reserves and other investments in natural capital in China.

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits the rugged mountains in 12 countries of Central Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau. Due to poaching, decreased abundance of prey, and habitat degradation, it was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1972. Current conservation strategies, including nature reserves and incentive programs, have limited capacities to protect snow leopards. We investigated the role of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in snow leopard conservation in the Sanjiangyuan region in China's Qinghai Province on the Tibetan Plateau. From 2009 to 2011, we systematically surveyed snow leopards in the Sanjiangyuan region. We used the MaxEnt model to determine the relation of their presence to environmental variables (e.g., elevation, ruggedness) and to predict snow leopard distribution. Model results showed 89,602 km(2) of snow leopard habitat in the Sanjiangyuan region, of which 7674 km(2) lay within Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve's core zones. We analyzed the spatial relation between snow leopard habitat and Buddhist monasteries and found that 46% of monasteries were located in snow leopard habitat and 90% were within 5 km of snow leopard habitat. The 336 monasteries in the Sanjiangyuan region could protect more snow leopard habitat (8342 km(2) ) through social norms and active patrols than the nature reserve's core zones. We conducted 144 household interviews to identify local herders' attitudes and behavior toward snow leopards and other wildlife. Most local herders claimed that they did not kill wildlife, and 42% said they did not kill wildlife because it was a sin in Buddhism. Our results indicate monasteries play an important role in snow leopard conservation. Monastery-based snow leopard conservation could be extended to other Tibetan Buddhist regions that in total would encompass about 80% of the global range of snow leopards.

This article documents the addition of 512 microsatellite marker loci and nine pairs of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Alcippe morrisonia morrisonia, Bashania fangiana, Bashania fargesii, Chaetodon vagabundus, Colletes floralis, Coluber constrictor flaviventris, Coptotermes gestroi, Crotophaga major, Cyprinella lutrensis, Danaus plexippus, Fagus grandifolia, Falco tinnunculus, Fletcherimyia fletcheri, Hydrilla verticillata, Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus, Leavenworthia alabamica, Marmosops incanus, Miichthys miiuy, Nasua nasua, Noturus exilis, Odontesthes bonariensis, Quadrula fragosa, Pinctada maxima, Pseudaletia separata, Pseudoperonospora cubensis, Podocarpus elatus, Portunus trituberculatus, Rhagoletis cerasi, Rhinella schneideri, Sarracenia alata, Skeletonema marinoi, Sminthurus viridis, Syngnathus abaster, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) chinensis, Verticillium dahliae, Wasmannia auropunctata, and Zygochlamys patagonica. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Chaetodon baronessa, Falco columbarius, Falco eleonorae, Falco naumanni, Falco peregrinus, Falco subbuteo, Didelphis aurita, Gracilinanus microtarsus, Marmosops paulensis, Monodelphis Americana, Odontesthes hatcheri, Podocarpus grayi, Podocarpus lawrencei, Podocarpus smithii, Portunus pelagicus, Syngnathus acus, Syngnathus typhle,Uroteuthis (Photololigo) edulis, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvauceli and Verticillium albo-atrum. This article also documents the addition of nine sequencing primer pairs and sixteen allele specific primers or probes for Oncorhynchus mykiss and Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; these primers and assays were cross-tested in both species.

BACKGROUND: Qinghai Lake in central China has been at the center of debate on whether wild birds play a role in circulation of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1. In 2005, an unprecedented epizootic at Qinghai Lake killed more than 6000 migratory birds including over 3000 bar-headed geese (Anser indicus). H5N1 subsequently spread to Europe and Africa, and in following years has re-emerged in wild birds along the Central Asia flyway several times. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To better understand the potential involvement of wild birds in the spread of H5N1, we studied the movements of bar-headed geese marked with GPS satellite transmitters at Qinghai Lake in relation to virus outbreaks and disease risk factors. We discovered a previously undocumented migratory pathway between Qinghai Lake and the Lhasa Valley of Tibet where 93% of the 29 marked geese overwintered. From 2003-2009, sixteen outbreaks in poultry or wild birds were confirmed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the majority were located within the migratory pathway of the geese. Spatial and temporal concordance between goose movements and three potential H5N1 virus sources (poultry farms, a captive bar-headed goose facility, and H5N1 outbreak locations) indicated ample opportunities existed for virus spillover and infection of migratory geese on the wintering grounds. Their potential as a vector of H5N1 was supported by rapid migration movements of some geese and genetic relatedness of H5N1 virus isolated from geese in Tibet and Qinghai Lake. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study to compare phylogenetics of the virus with spatial ecology of its host, and the combined results suggest that wild birds play a role in the spread of H5N1 in this region. However, the strength of the evidence would be improved with additional sequences from both poultry and wild birds on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where H5N1 has a clear stronghold.