Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in coastal dune plant communities I. Spore formation ofGlomus spp. predominates under a patch ofElymus mollis

Vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi in pure patches of coastal dune plantsElymus mollis, Wedelia prostrata andZoysia macrostachya were examined for frequency of occurrence and number of spores of VA mycorrhizal fungi over one year. Six species in three genera of VA mycorrhizal fungi were recovered. Under a patch ofE. mollis, spores ofAcaulospora sp. 1,Glomus tortuosum, Glomus sp. 1,Glomus sp. 2 andScutellospora gregaria were recovered. Spores ofGlomus spp. were most common. In patches ofW. prostrata andZ. macrostachya spores ofAcaulospora sp. 1,G. tortuosum, Glomus sp. 1,Glomus sp. 2,S. gregaria andScutellospora sp. 1 were found.Contribution No. 112, Laboratories of Plant Pathology and Mycology, Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Tsukuba.     

The effects of sediment slurrying on microbial processes,and the role of amino acids as substrates for sulfate reduction in anoxic marine sediments

In sediment slurry experiments with anoxic marine sediments collected in Cape Lookout Bight, NC, and a site in mid-Chesapeake Bay, the rates of sulfate reduction and ammonium production decrease with increasing dilution of sediment with oxygen-free sea-water. The effect of sediment dilution on the rates of these processes can be described by a simple mathematical relationship, and when these rates are corrected for sediment dilution they yield values which agree well with direct measurements of these processes.In sediment slurry studies of amino acid utilization in Cape Lookout Bight sediments, the fermentative decarboxylation of glutamic acid (to -aminobutyric acid) or aspartic acid (to alanine or -alanine) did not occur when either of these amino acids were added to Cape Lookout Bight slurries. The addition of glutamic acid did however lead to a small (1) transient build-up of -aminoglutaric acid. Measured rates of glutamic acid uptake in these slurries also decreased with increasing sediment dilution.Molybdate inhibition experiments demonstrated that dissolved free amino acids represent 1–3% of the carbon sources/electron donors used for sulfate reduction in Cape Lookout Bight sediments. The direct oxidation of amino acids by sulfate reducing bacteria also accounts for 13–20% of the total ammonium produced. Glutamic acid, alanine, -aminoglutaric acid, aspartic acid and asparagine are the major amino acids oxidized by sulfate reducing bacteria in Cape Lookout Bight sediments.     

Study of the Ria Formosa ecosystem: benthic nutrient remineralization and tidal variability of nutrients in the water

Exchange of nutrients across the sediment-water interfaces of Ria Formosa was studied in the laboratory. In the field, water samples were collected (i) fortnightly, at low and high tide over one year, and (ii) semi-diurnally, over three neap-spring tidal cycles in winter. Results from both laboratory experiments and field collection were quite variable. Higher liberation rates of silicates, phosphates and ammonium occurred in chambers whose bottom was formed by mixtures of mud and sand covered by vegetation with clams. The bottom took up nitrates from the overlying water. Nutrient variations in the lagoon water were controlled both seasonally and tidally. Higher concentrations of silicates were found at low tide independently of the season; phosphates in spring/summer at low tide; nitrates in winter/spring at high tide. Tidal flushing appears to be an important removal-mechanism in this lagoon.     

Fluctuating deposition of ocean water drives plant function on coastal sand dunes

Sea‐level rise will alter the hydrology of terrestrial coastal ecosystems. As such, it becomes increasingly important to decipher the present role of ocean water in coastal ecosystems in order to assess the coming effects of sea‐level rise scenarios. Sand dunes occur at the interface of land and sea. Traditionally, they are conceived as freshwater environments with rain and ground water as the only water sources available to vegetation. This study investigates the possibility of ocean water influx to dune soils and its effect on the physiology of sand dune vegetation. Stable isotopes are used to trace the path of ocean water from the soil to the vegetation. Soil salinity, water content and δ¹⁸O values are measured concurrently with stem water and leaf tissue of eight species during the wet and dry season and from areas proximal and distal to the ocean. Our results indicate the dune ecosystem is a mixed freshwater and marine water system characterized by oceanic influence on dune hydrology that is spatially heterogeneous and fluctuates temporally. Ocean water influx to soil occurs via salt spray in areas 5–12 m from the ocean during dry season. Accordingly, vegetation nearest to the sea demonstrate a plastic response to ocean water deposition including elevated integrated water use efficiency (δ¹³C_leaf) and uptake of ocean water that comprised up to 52% of xylem water. We suggest physiological plasticity in response to periodic ocean water influx may be a functional characteristic common to species on the leading edge of diverse coastal habitats and an important feature that should be included in modeling coastal ecosystems. Rising sea level would likely cause a repercussive landward shift of dune species in response to encroaching maritime influences. However, human development would restrict this process, potentially causing the demise of dune systems and the protection from land erosion they provide.     

Chilling damage in a changing climate in coastal landscapes of the subtropical zone: a case study from south Florida

Freeze events significantly influence landscape structure and community composition along subtropical coastlines. This is particularly true in south Florida, where such disturbances have historically contributed to patch diversity within the mangrove forest, and have played a part in limiting its inland transgression. With projected increases in mean global temperatures, such instances are likely to become much less frequent in the region, contributing to a reduction in heterogeneity within the mangrove forest itself. To understand the process more clearly, we explored the dynamics of a Dwarf mangrove forest following two chilling events that produced freeze‐like symptoms, i.e., leaf browning, desiccation, and mortality, and interpreted the resulting changes within the context of current winter temperatures and projected future scenarios. Structural effects from a 1996 chilling event were dramatic, with mortality and tissue damage concentrated among individuals comprising the Dwarf forest's low canopy. This disturbance promoted understory plant development and provided an opportunity for Laguncularia racemosa to share dominance with Rhizophora mangle. Mortality due to the less severe 2001 event was greatest in the understory, probably because recovery of the protective canopy following the earlier freeze was still incomplete. Stand dynamics were static over the same period in nearby unimpacted sites. The probability of reaching temperatures as low as those recorded at a nearby meteorological station (≤3 °C) under several warming scenarios was simulated by applying 1° incremental temperature increases to a model developed from a 42‐year temperature record. According to the model, the frequency of similar chilling events decreased from once every 1.9 years at present to once every 3.4 and 32.5 years with 1 and 4 °C warming, respectively. The large decrease in the frequency of these events would eliminate an important mechanism that maintains Dwarf forest structure, and promotes compositional diversity.     

Plankton metabolic balance at the margins of very large lakes: temporal variability and evidence for dominance of autochthonous processes

1. Planktonic metabolic balance (PMB_m) of the surface mixed layer (SML) was measured as the ratio of areal rates of gross photosynthesis (AGP) to community respiration (AR) to test the idea that previously neglected allochthonous inputs of organic matter may support chronic excess respiration relative to photosynthesis even in very large lakes during the summer (May–October) season. Four Laurentian Great Lakes coastal sites of varying trophic status, physical structure and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration were studied with oxygen light‐and dark bottle and ¹⁴C methods, with excess respiration anticipated in the higher DOC sites. 2. Planktonic metabolic balance was net autotrophic in 73% of the observations. The calculated mixing depth at which respiration would predominate over photosynthesis was greater than typically observed mixing depths, varying from 11 to 25 m in the more transparent, low DOC (<3 g m⁻³) sites to 8–15 m in the higher DOC (4–6 g m⁻³) sites. Biweekly measurements at one higher and one lower DOC site over two successive summer seasons showed that seasonal gross photosynthesis (ΣAGP) exceeded seasonal community respiration (ΣAR). Despite the location of the sites at the periphery of the lakes, where allochthonous influences should be strongest, the measurements indicated prevailing conditions of net autotrophy in the SML. 3. Individual measurements of AR from this study and the literature were correlated with AGP but season average values were more tightly correlated, suggesting a tighter coupling of metabolic rates on a larger scale and a looser coupling on a shorter scale. The observed temporal variability was variable in pattern among years, and likely to confound inferences based on limited sampling. 4. It is shown that accepted formulations for AGP and AR lead to the conclusion that PMB_m should be largely predictable from knowledge of a biological properties ratio (light‐saturated gross photosynthesis to plankton community respiration, P_max/R) and a physical properties ratio (euphotic to mixing depths, Z_eu/Z_m) and this prediction was confirmed using data from this study and from the literature. The evident success of this model points to the pre‐eminent importance of plankton biomass and physical conditions in determining metabolic balance. Variation in these fundamental factors appears capable of explaining the diversity of PMB_m reported for different Great Lakes.     

深圳海域近20年赤潮发生的特征分析

本文根据深圳海域1981-2002年发生的93起赤潮记录,综合分析了赤潮发生的特征,可归纳为5点：①深圳海域的赤潮多发区位于大鹏湾、大亚湾和深圳圳湾,其中大鹏湾的盐田水域、大亚湾两部的东山和坝光水域、深圳湾的后海与东角头水域为赤潮多发地段;②赤潮发生的频率增高,赤潮持续时间延长;③全年中有两个赤潮多发季节,主要集中在3～5月,其次为9～11月;④赤潮引发种类丰富,约有39种,其中甲藻最多,其次为硅藻,具有一定的区域分布特征;⑤赤潮引发种类具有明显的演替规律,不断有新的种类引发赤潮。     

Natural beaches confer fitness benefits to nesting marine turtles

Coastal ecosystems provide vital linkages between aquatic and terrestrial habitats and thus support extremely high levels of biodiversity. However, coastlines also contain the highest densities of human development anywhere on the planet and are favoured destinations for tourists, creating a situation where the potential for negative effects on coastal species is extremely high. I gathered data on marine turtle reproductive output from the literature to determine whether coastal development negatively influences offspring production. Female loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting on natural beaches (as opposed to beaches with permanent development) produce significantly more hatchling turtles per nest; all else being equal, females that successfully produce more offspring will have higher fitness than conspecifics producing fewer offspring. Thus, female marine turtles nesting on natural beaches probably have higher fitness than turtles nesting on developed beaches. Consequently, populations nesting on natural beaches may be able to recover more quickly from the historic population declines that have plagued marine turtles, and some species may recover more quickly than others.     

Interactions between endangered wild and hatchery salmonids: can the pitfalls of artificial propagation be avoided in small coastal streams?

Hatchery and wild juvenile populations of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss and coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch , in a small coastal watershed in central California, were sampled throughout the year in a stream and at a hatchery. Both species grew faster in captivity than in the wild. Hatchery fish of both species had elevated gill Na⁺, K⁺‐ATPase activity, and thus were ready to enter sea water when planted during the wild fish migration. Downstream migrant trapping and stream surveys indicated that hatchery smolts went to sea soon after planting, consequently avoiding the effects of competition and predation that commonly occur when hatchery‐bred juveniles are released. Adult steelhead were also sampled throughout the watershed. The return of hatchery steelhead was highly synchronized with that of wild steelhead, indicating that hatchery propagation had no adverse effects on the timing of the run. A disproportionate number of hatchery steelhead returned to the tributary where the hatchery was located, despite being planted throughout the watershed. Hatchery steelhead did not differ in mean age or size from wild steelhead. Observations of spawning indicated that hatchery and wild steelhead interbreed. Competition for mates or spawning substratum was rarely observed between hatchery and wild steelhead. Many of the problems commonly associated with artificial propagation can be avoided in small coastal watersheds when wild broodstock are used and fish are released as smolts.     

基于突变理论的近岸海域生态风险综合评价方法——以罗源湾为例

基于突变理论建立了“海水水质-沉积物-生物体”三相一体、“富营养化-重金属-有机污染”3种类型的近岸海域生态风险综合评价指标体系和递级突变模型,综合相关质量标准,建立了近岸海域生态风险4级评判标准（无、低、中、高）,采用2007和2009年监测数据对罗源湾进行生态风险综合评价.结果表明： 2007-2009年,罗源湾生态风险空间变化特征表现为从湾顶到湾口呈降低趋势;2009年罗源湾生态风险等级总体小于2007年;罗源湾关键生态风险因素为富营养化.本文所建方法能够识别近岸海域生态风险的时空变化特征,能较好地反映出关键风险因素,为近岸海域生态风险有效预测预警提供了基础方法.