BACKGROUND The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is one of the most extensive habitats for alpine plants in the world. Climatic oscillations during the Quaternary ice age had a dramatic effect on species ranges on the QTP and the adjacent areas. However, how the distribution ranges of aquatic plant species shifted on the QTP in response to Quaternary climatic changes remains almost unknown. METHO...

Salvinia molesta Mitchell, a floating invasive aquatic plant, is one of the top 10 worst invasive aquatic weeds in the world. It was discovered in the lower Pascagoula River in 2005 and evidence suggests that this non-native species is spreading along the northern Gulf of Mexico. These plants exhibit rapid growth and nutrient uptake rates, allowing them to out compete other plants in similar ha...

Biogeographic barriers for freshwater biota can be effective at various spatial scales. At the largest spatial scale, freshwater organisms can become genetically isolated by their high mountain ranges, vast deserts, and inability to cross oceans. Isolation by distance of aquatic plants is expected to be stronger across than alongside mountain ridges whereas the heterogeneity of habitats among p...

The use of quantitative methods for aquatic plants has not become as standardized as other components in the aquatic ecosystem, such as biotic (e.g., fish) or physical components (e.g., water chemistry) (APHA 1995, Lind 1979, Wetzel and Likens 1991). Even when considering aquatic biomass sampling, which is a widely accepted means of quantifying aquatic plant communities, there is considerable d...

Many aquatic plant species are distributed over large areas and diverse environments with populations interconnected by abiotic and biotic mediators. Here, we examined differences and similarities in the population genetic structure of six sympatric and widespread aquatic plant species. We sampled the aquatic species from six Chinese lakes found on plateaus, plains, and different river systems ...

Mercury at low concentrations represents a major hazard to microorganisms. Inorganic mercury has been reported to produce harmful e€ects at 5 lg/l in a culture medium. Organomercury compounds can exert the same e€ect at concentrations 10 times lower than this. The organic forms of mercury are generally more toxic to aquatic organisms and birds than the inorganic forms. Aquatic plants are a€ecte...

Understanding the biotic and abiotic factors that influence the susceptibility of a community to invasion is beneficial for the prediction and management of invasive species and the conservation of native biodiversity. However, the relationships between factors and invasibility of a community have not been fully confirmed, and the factors most associated with the susceptibility of a community t...

Human activity is currently changing our environment rapidly, with predicted temperature increases of 1-5°C over the coming century and increased nitrogen and phosphorus inputs in aquatic ecosystems. In the shallow parts of these ecosystems, submerged aquatic plants enhance water clarity by resource competition with phytoplankton, provide habitat, and serve as a food source for other organisms....