The Stratification of Pools in the Alluvium of the River Lužnice

The stratification of two shallow and small pools, situated in a floodplain ecosystem, was investigated. A new methodological approach was applied. The parameter called summarized chemical and biological stratification (SCB), was derived from basic limnological parameters in order to evaluate the global intensity of chemical and biological stratification and to compare it with a thermal one. Three situations were described when the seasonal courses of thermal and SCB stratification were compared: 1. Both SCB and thermal stratification are present. 2. The water column is homogeneous — there is no stratification in the pool. 3. SCB stratification is present, but the water is homoiothermic. The thermal stratification is very unstable because of the small volume of the pools and frequent floods. The SCB stratification is of higher stability and it may persist in a homoiothermic water column. In comparison with temperate deep lakes, the thermal stratification does not play such an important role in initiating the chemical and biological stratification. The surface/volume ratio and the depth in the pools are lower, which cause the “bottom-initiated” quick renovation of stratification even in homoiothermic water. The differences in oxygen regime, volume and localization of both investigated pools cause the differences in stratification patterns. Frequent oxygen depletions in one of the pools increase the intensity of stratification and influence its character. The anaerobic conditions lead to steeper gradients of basic nutrients, pH, alkalinity and water color. The occurrence of a unique phytoplankton community (Cryptophyceae) is probably closely related to the described stratification patterns.     

洞庭湖湿地与农田土壤动物多样性研究

为探讨洞庭湖退田还湖工程的生态恢复进程, 2005年10月对洞庭湖退田还湖区3类典型生境7个样地土壤动物群落结构进行了调查, 共获土壤动物标本8,484头, 隶属于5门11纲32个动物类群。其中, 还湖湿地捕获土壤动物类群26类, 优势类群为线虫类、蜱螨目; 未还湖农田生境捕获土壤动物类群28类, 优势类群为线虫类、蜘蛛目; 原始湿地(对照)仅捕获土壤动物13类, 优势类群为腹足类。对Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H')、Pielou均匀性指数(E)、Simpson优势度指数(C)、Margalef丰富度指数(D)和复杂性指数(C_j) 5个多样性指标进行分析, 结果表明: (1)与Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H')相比, 复杂性指数(C_j)表征的土壤动物多样性更能客观地反映土壤动物分布的真实情况; (2)群落多样性与均匀度显著相关(P<0.05), 而与其他指数关系不密切; (3)在类群数上, 还湖湿地和未还湖农田都多于对照的原始湿地, 有极显著差异(P<0.01); 个体数量上看, 未还湖农田多于原始湿地, 存在极显著差异(P<0.01), 还湖湿地与原始湿地相比却没有显著差异(P>0.05)。这说明: 洞庭湖退田还湖后生态恢复较慢, 恢复效率较低。     

Diversity of intestinal helminth communities of carp from six lakes in the flood plain of the Yangtze River, China

The infra- and component communities of intestinal helminths of carp Cyprinus carpio were investigated in six lakes in the flood plain of the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Eight species of helminth parasites were recorded. The intestinal helminth communities were species rich in Niushan and Tonghu lakes where the digenean Asymphylodora japonica was the dominant species, whereas in Qinggang and Yanglan lakes a species-poor helminth community had only one species, Khawia sinensis . The degree of similarity within localities was highest in Qinggang and Yanglan lakes, and was high between communities where K. sinensis was the dominant species. The rich composition of these helminth communities may be because China is the heartland for carp while the poor helminth composition of those in Qinggang and Yanglan lakes may reflect the poor fauna there. It is suggested that species compositions of intestinal helminth communities of carp may be diversified in lakes in the flood plain of the Yangtze River.     

The Ziway–Shala lake basin system, Main Ethiopian Rift: Influence of volcanism, tectonics, and climatic forcing on basin formation and sedimentation

In the central sector of the Main Ethiopian Rift, the Ziway–Shala lake basin system includes four present-day residual lakes, from north to south, lakes Ziway, Langano, Abijata, and Shala. This region of East Africa is under the influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone seasonal migration. Thus it has been designated as a potential core site by the ERICA Project (‘Environmental Research for Intertropical Climate in Africa'). The four lakes have been subjected to strong changes in water level and water salinity at least during the Late Pleistocene. The purpose of this study is to produce a model of basin formation and sediment accumulation for this system of lakes, in order to separate the effects of climatic change from environmental variations induced by local or regional factors such as volcano-tectonic forcings. In addition to an exhaustive synthesis of available data, various investigations have been used to develop this model: 3D remote sensing, high-resolution seismics, coring, and structural, sedimentological, and hydrological field studies. New AMS radiocarbon dating helped to refine the pre-existing stratigraphic framework for this region, and basin age estimations were calculated using mean sediment accumulation rates. The history of the Ziway–Shala lake basin system has been reconstructed from the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene period (10⁶ yr), mainly characterized by catastrophic explosive volcanic eruptions. The early-middle Pleistocene–Late Pleistocene period (10⁴–10⁶ yr) was marked by a regional volcano-tectonic paroxysm, resulting in major changes in the morphology of the area, with the formation of the Abijata, Ziway and Shala lake basins. From 0.20 Ma, the Ziway–Shala basin history is marked by the eastward migration of volcano-tectonic activity, resulting in the development of the youngest basin of the Ziway–Shala system, the Langano Basin. The joint history of sedimentation in the Ziway, Langano, Abijata, and Shala lake basins started during the early-Late Pleistocene period (10¹–10⁴ yr) and is characterized from this period up to the present-day by a series of climatically controlled rises and falls of lake level.     

中国东北西部地区沙质荒漠化过程与植被动态关系的生态学研究——群落多样性与沙质荒漠化过程

依据东北西部沙质荒漠化地区植被的分类与排序,分析了不同演替梯度上植被群落多样性指数与DCA排序坐标值的相关关系,利用其探讨群落多样性与沙质荒漠化过程的关系;科尔沁沙地、呼伦贝尔沙地,1)植物群落的生态优势度λ、Renyi的均匀度E1与群落分布的地下水位有显著的相关关系;2)植物群落Hill的多样性指数H0,H1、Hill的均匀度Eh、Hill指数的均匀度E′1与海拔、湿润系数、Thornthwaite指数、降水量、地下水位、放牧干扰等有显著的相关关系;3)植物群落Renyi的多样性指数N0,N1、Heip修正的均匀度Ep、Alatalo修正的均匀度E′h与经度、温暖指数、冷暖指数、Thornthwaite指数、土壤有机质、地下水位、放牧等干扰有显著的相关关系。4)呼伦贝尔沙地的完工-海拉尔沙带,樟子松林、贝加尔针茅羊草草甸草原;科尔沁沙地的油松林、羊草草甸草原、丛生禾草草原具有较高的多样性,各群落类型随着沙质荒漠化过程的逐渐加剧,物种丰富度逐渐降低,其递减趋势分为旱生沙化系列、湿生沙化系列、盐水至水生系列。按各群落类型的物种丰富度递减顺序可分为6个级别,6个级别所含的群落类型分别对应着稳定沙地(A、B),固定沙丘(C),半固定沙丘(D),半流动沙丘(E),流动沙丘(F)。     

碧塔海自然保护区科考旅游开发探讨

科考旅游是一种高品位的生态旅游活动 ,是通过旅游地深层次开发 ,突出其科学文化内涵 ,以满足人们探索大自然奥秘的好奇心 ,提高科学知识水平的旅游项目[1 ] 。科学普及和环境教育是自然保护区的重要功能之一[2 ] ,根据自然保护区的特点和资源类型 ,科学合理地开发、设计科考旅游项目 ,一方面可满足游客对当地自然景观、生态系统及其生态过程和动植物区系认识的需求 ,在欣赏人与自然和谐美的过程中 ,增强公众保护自然的意识 ;另一方面 ,增强旅游地吸引力 ,使旅游业更广泛地面向社会 ,与市场经济接轨 ,为保护提供资金来源。因此 ,科考旅游是…     

An example of intralacustrine evolution at an early stage: the freshwater ostracods of the Miocene crater lake of Steinheim (Germany)

I present the findings of two detailed studies on Steinheim lake ostracods carried out over the last eight years. The 178 samples studied cover a combined section about 30 m thick, comprising the whole sequence of seven planorbid beds. Of the 53 species found, 44 occur in the basic sediment layers, the kleinibeds. In contrast, all of the subsequent beds contain 16 species, and only seven species withstood the extinction at the kleini–steinheimensis boundary.This may be mainly due to the loss of littoral habitats brought about by a constantly increasing lake level, as the majority of the species in the kleinibeds were shallow water dwellers. Long-term lake level fluctuations are considered the most important external factor of the post-kleini period. Density fluctuations of the ostracods Pseudocandona steinheimensis and Potamocypris gracilis broadly reflect these water level fluctuations. At the beginning of the sulcatusperiod, when the lake level was very high, some species show morphological changes in their carapaces. During this time Leucocythere immigrata split into the daughter species L. sieberi and L. esphigmena. In the following trochiformis period, when the water level was lowest, the most curious carapace sculptures appear. The morphological changes detected, however, cannot simply be interpreted as ecophenotypic. The speciation event in Leucocythere, the non-recolonization with ubiquitous species during the low water level stage (trochiformis period), as well as the types of morphological changes indicate mainly evolutionary processes, as also the planorbid molluscs prove. Moreover, ostracods and planorbids show convergent evolutionary patterns. Compared with data on ostracod speciation in ancient lakes, the ostracod assemblage of Lake Steinheim seems to be a good palaeontological example of intralacustrine evolution at an early stage.     

The influence of macrophyte beds on plankton communities and their export from fluvial lakes in the St Lawrence River

1. To determine the influence of macrophyte beds on plankton abundance within fluvial lakes of the St Lawrence River, planktonic components (macrozooplankton, heterotrophic bacteria, and phytoplankton as chlorophyll- a [Chl- a ]) were sampled in Lake St Francis and Lake St Pierre during summer 1998. We tested the hypothesis that the abundance of planktonic components was higher within macrophyte beds in comparison to the more rapidly flushed open water areas of the fluvial lakes.
2. The large cross channel variation in zooplankton biomass was indeed correlated with the presence of dense beds of submerged macrophytes. Total macrozooplankton biomass was nine-fold greater within the beds (mean=180 μg L−1 dry mass) than in either the open water or areas with only sparse vegetation (mean=20 μg L−1 dry mass).
3. Chl- a and heterotrophic bacterial abundance were also higher in the beds, but only slightly so. There was no difference in total phosphorus or dissolved organic carbon concentrations between areas of dense vegetation, sparse vegetation or open water.
4. Macrophyte beds on the margins of the fluvial lakes allow the development of high planktonic abundance relative to the fast flowing central channel. Macrozooplankton biomass was much higher at the outflows of the lakes (∼50 μg L−1 dry mass) in comparison to the inflows (<20 μg L−1 dry mass). The increase is due to the transfer of organisms from submerged macrophyte beds into the central channel in the downstream quarter of the two lakes where the marginal littoral waters enter central channel waters.
5. Along rivers, shallow fluvial lakes appear to act as sources of plankton which is exported downstream during years of extensive littoral macrophyte development.     

Macrophyte‐based assessment of lakes – a contribution to the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive in Germany

The European Water Framework Directive requires ecological status classification and monitoring of surface and ground water bodies using biological indicators. To fulfill the demands of the Directive, a macrophyte‐based assessment system was developed for application on four lake site types in Germany. Biological lake site types were established using differences in characteristic macrophyte communities, reflecting ecoregion, Ca²⁺ content, mixis and morphology. Ecological status classification of lake sites is based on macrophyte abundance along 275 transects in 95 natural German lakes and the calculation of a reference index value, in some cases supplemented by submerged vegetation data. The reference index quantifies the deviation of species composition and abundance from reference conditions and classifies sites to one of the five ecological quality classes specified in the Directive. Based on an example of Lake Chiemsee, Germany, the possibilities for a wholelake assessment are discussed. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Importance of Lake Morphometry for the Structureand Function of Lakes

This work demonstrates quantitatively and in a comprehensive way that the size and form of lakes regulate many general transport processes, such as sedimentation, resuspension, diffusion, mixing, burial and outflow, which in turn regulate many abiotic state variables, such as concentrations of phosphorus, suspended particulate matter, many water chemical variables and water clarity, which in turn regulate primary production, which regulate secondary production, for example of zooplankton and fish. Such relationships are discussed not qualitatively but quantitatively using a new generation of validated dynamic ecosystem models (LakeWeb and LakeMab) based on mechanistic principles. It has been shown by critical model tests (including blind tests using data covering wide limnological ranges) that these models give predictions that agree well with empirical data. This should lend credibility to the results presented in this work, which would have been very difficult to obtain using traditional methods with extensive field studies in a few lakes. Simulations have been carried out where the inflow of phosphorus is held constant and the consequences simulated for small, large, shallow and deep lakes. There are striking differences in total phosphorus (TP) concentrations and trophic state (from 10 to 100 µg TP/l) and hence also in changes in many variables characterizing lake structure and function, such as Secchi depth, suspended particulate matter, pH, water temperature, chlorophyll, algal volume, macrophyte cover; as well as production and biomasses of benthic algae, bacterioplankton, macrophytes, herbivorous zooplankton, predatory zooplankton, zoobenthos, prey fish and predatory fish. These changes have been quantified in a comprehensive manner in this work and the approach to calculate such changes are basic for an understanding of how different lakes react to changes in nutrient loading (eutrophication). (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)