Bioturbation in matgrounds at Lake Bogoria in the Kenya Rift Valley: implications for interpreting the heterogeneous early Cambrian seafloor

Modern burrowing organisms feed on microbial organic matter in matgrounds near hot springs on the margins of Lake Bogoria, a saline alkaline lake in the Kenya Rift Valley. The burrowers produce a low-diversity trace assemblage similar to those produced by undermat miners during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. Despite obvious differences in body plans and phylogenetic affinities, these modern animals feed on microbes in similar ways to those inferred for primitive bilaterians. With increasing distance from hot-spring vents, outflow channels and adjacent matgrounds, the diversity and depth of the traces increase and mixgrounds become dominant. This modern extreme environment gives clues for interpreting the heterogeneous early Cambrian seafloor, with: (1) the restriction of ‘pre-agronomic revolution’ matground substrates; and (2) expansion of adjacent ‘post-agronomic revolution’ mixground areas.     

Assessment of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) recruitment in a regulated spawning tributary of Rainy Lake,Ontario

Continued study of the relationship between lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) recruitment and hydroelectric dams and operations, in a variety of river systems and habitat types is needed to improve the ability to predict and monitor impacts of the hydroelectric industry on this species. Herein, we present results of a juvenile lake sturgeon study aimed at addressing concerns over an inferred lack of recruitment resulting from spawning downstream of a hydroelectric generating station (HGS). Two years of sampling (2015 and 2016) were conducted in five sections of a 41 km long reach of the Seine River, Ontario, a lake sturgeon spawning tributary of Rainy Lake. Using an established gillnetting method, deepwater habitat was targeted to capture juvenile lake sturgeon to assess relative abundance, recruitment (cohort strength), and growth. Deepwater habitat, defined as water depths >6 m in this system, comprised only 2.1% of the wetted area in this study area. Within these habitats, a total of 331 lake sturgeon capture events were observed over the 2-years study period. The majority of the lake sturgeon catch (85%) was comprised of age-0 to age-5 individuals (both sampling years combined). Although inter-annual variation in cohort strength was apparent, each cohort between 2006 and 2016 was represented. The spatial distribution of cohorts varied among river reaches with younger individuals (age-0 and age-1) occupying reaches proximal to the Sturgeon Falls HGS, and larger, older individuals (age-2 to age-5) occupying reaches further downstream. The rarity of age-6+ individuals can likely be explained by ongoing downstream redistribution of juveniles over time, out of the Seine River and into Rainy Lake. Growth of juvenile lake sturgeon captured in the Seine River was above average relative to conspecifics from other rivers in the Hudson Bay drainage. Unfortunately, baseline data sets required to facilitate comparisons of contemporary (post-construction Sturgeon Falls HGS) versus historical (i.e. pre- Sturgeon Falls HGS) lake sturgeon recruitment, or to evaluate the influence of the Seine River Water Management Plan (2004) on lake sturgeon recruitment, are lacking. However, juvenile Lake Sturgeon are more abundant in this system than what had been surmised based on recent studies which implemented random sampling. Results indicate that juvenile lake sturgeon may reside in spawning tributaries for several years (age-0 to age-5) prior to seeking alternate habitats and highlights the value of targeted sampling (i.e. by depth) along the flow axis of rivers downstream of spawning areas when assessing lake sturgeon recruitment patterns.     

Diversity of sulfur-cycle prokaryotes in freshwater lake sediments investigated using aprA as the functional marker gene

The diversity of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRPs) and sulfur-oxidizing prokaryotes (SOPs) in freshwater lake ecosystems was investigated by cloning and sequencing of the aprA gene, which encodes for a key enzyme in dissimilatory sulfate reduction and sulfur oxidation. To understand their diversity better, the spatial distribution of aprA genes was investigated in sediments collected from six geographically distant lakes in Antarctica and Japan, including a hypersaline lake for comparison. The microbial community compositions of freshwater sediments and a hypersaline sediment showed notable differences. The clones affiliated with Desulfobacteraceae and Desulfobulbaceae were frequently detected in all freshwater lake sediments. The SOP community was mainly composed of four major phylogenetic groups. One of them formed a monophyletic cluster with a sulfur-oxidizing betaproteobacterium, Sulfuricella denitrificans, but the others were not assigned to specific genera. In addition, the AprA sequences, which were not clearly affiliated to either SRP or SOP lineages, dominated the libraries from four freshwater lake sediments. The results showed the wide distribution of some sulfur-cycle prokaryotes across geographical distances and supported the idea that metabolic flexibility is an important feature for SRP survival in low-sulfate environments.     

Salinity Impact on Bacterial Community Composition in Five High-Altitude Lakes from the Tibetan Plateau,Western China

The influence of salinity and geographical distance on bacterial community composition (BCC) in five freshwater, oligosaline or polysaline lakes located at altitudes higher than 4400 m on the central and southern Tibetan Plateau were investigated using the 16S rRNA gene clone library approach together with multivariate analysis of environmental variables. A total of 10 clone libraries were constructed with two libraries in each lake, one in the epilimnion and the other in the hypolimnion. Geographical distance was not found to impact BCC significantly, but salinity, chl a and lake hydraulic retention time were significant factors influencing the BCC. Bacteria in lakes located on the central and southern Plateau owned the same community composition as that observed from the eastern Tibetan lakes. They were both predominated by Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria, had low taxon richness, and similar typical freshwater clusters and distributed characteristics. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Geomicrobiology Journal to view the supplemental file.     

The Life Cycle of Lestes viridis (Odonata: Lestidae) in Two Seasonal Streams of the Sierra Morena Mountains (Southern Spain)

The life cycle of the zygopteran odonate Lestes viridis in two seasonal streams in the Sierra Morena Mountains is inferred from size-frequency analyses of handnet samples of larvae and records of presence and reproductive activity of adults during three consecutive years. The egg stage (duration 5–6 months) overwinters, larval development is brief (6–8 weeks) and adults undergo a protracted, prereproductive, summer diapause (up to 3 months) before mating and ovipositing in late September, about one week after the first appreciable fall of rain, but before surface water reappears in the streams after having been absent for about four months during the hot, dry summer. Comparison between this life cycle and those of more northerly populations reveals a latitude-correlated cline in phenology resembling that found in some other northern hemisphere odonates that, like L. viridis, maintain an obligatorily univoltine life cycle at different latitudes.     

Limnophyes (Diptera: Chironomidae) from northwestern Russia

The nominal family group taxa of the Ephemeroptera are listed along with their authors, dates of publication and bibliographic references.     

湖泊水体细菌多样性及其生态功能研究进展

维护湖泊生态系统健康发展是一个全球关注的热点问题.细菌不仅是湖泊系统食物网的重要组成部分,同时在控制和调节湖泊水质方面发挥着重要作用.本文对于细菌多样性的相关概念和评价方法、细菌群落在湖泊水体中的分布特征、形成机制及其生态功能等方面进行了综合论述和分析.目前,在湖泊水体中共发现21个典型的淡水细菌门类,其中变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、蓝细菌门(Cyanobacteria)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)和疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia)是最主要的5个门类.Beijerinck和Baas-Becking的观点及Meta-群落假说,均表明湖泊水体细菌群落多样性和物种分布特征是“随机分布”和“环境决定”两种过程共同作用的结果.对湖泊细菌功能的研究,主要集中于细菌参与下的湖泊水体生产力和元素的生物地球化学循环过程.尽管经过十几年的不懈努力,人们对湖泊细菌群落多样性和功能的认识还十分有限,湖泊细菌生态学仍是一门年轻的科学,限制着人们对湖泊微生物群落的进一步认识.未来研究者们需要在以下4个方面重点开展工作:(1)综合细菌表型、基因型、系统发育史及生态特征的一致性来界定细菌“种”的概念;(2)在区域尺度上研究细菌在不同斑块间的扩散作用;(3)在微观尺度上研究细菌群落多样性及功能特征;(4)提出或验证湖泊细菌群落多样性的生态理论及假说,完善微生物生态学相关理论框架.     

Fractionation of metals in the Sa1/2 sediment core from Lake Sarbsko (northern Poland) and its palaeolimnological implications

Abstract

This article documents and interprets stratigraphical changes in fractionation of Fe, Mn, Mg, K, Pb, Cu and Zn in the Sa1/2 sediment core from a coastal freshwater lake, Lake Sarbsko (northern Poland). The elements were sequentially extracted from the samples to distinguish five geochemical fractions: exchangeable, acid-extractable, reducible, oxidisable and residual. The analyses revealed substantial variations in geochemical partitioning of the elements and showed no correlation between the fractionation patterns and lithology of the sediments. In the sediments of Lake Sarbsko, iron is mainly bound to sulfides. Potassium occurs in its residual form. Magnesium and zinc are associated with carbonates and aluminosilicates, while copper occurs in compounds with organic matter and sulfides. Lead is found in connection with aluminosilicates and, to a lesser extent, with sulfides and organic matter. Manganese is partitioned between the oxidisable, acid-extractable, and exchangeable fractions. Heavy metals and potassium display the overall tendency to reduce the contents of their residual forms towards the top of the depositional sequence. Fe, Mn, Mg and Zn were found to be the most susceptible to post-sedimentary mobilisation.     

Impacts of cage culture on physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality in Lake Volta,Ghana

The effects of cage fish farming on physico-chemical and bacteriological water quality in Lake Volta, Ghana, were investigated in 2013–2014. Farmed and unfarmed (control) areas of the lake were selected for monitoring. Nutrients, temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, pH, total coliforms, Pseudomonas and Vibrio spp. in the water were monitored monthly. Analyses of the water samples were carried out according to standard procedures. Physico-chemical quality of the water in both farm and control sites were within ranges typical of minimally impacted water and did not vary significantly between the two contrasting sites. The bacteriological analysis, however, revealed contamination of the lake water by fish farming. The bacterial counts at the farmed sites were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of the control sites, with figures at the farmed sites ranging from 132 to 1 708 cfu 100 ml?1 for total coliforms, 514 to 5 170 cfu 100 ml?1 Pseudomonas spp. and 14 to 516 cfu 100 ml?1 for Vibrio spp. The results suggested that cage fish farming has increased bacterial loads in the lake water, but has had minimal impact on its physico-chemical quality.     

新疆艾比湖沉积物中免培养放线菌的多样性北大核心CSCD

【目的】采用免培养的方法研究新疆艾比湖湖底沉积物放线菌组成及多样性。【方法】采集并混合5份艾比湖湖底沉积物样本,并提取其总DNA,采用放线菌通用引物对其16S r RNA基因序列进行Touchdown PCR,构建放线菌16S r RNA基因文库。蓝白斑筛选后随机挑选白色克隆分析,利用限制性内切酶HhaⅠ进行酶切分型,挑选具有独特限制性片段差异的阳性克隆进行测序分析。序列经Chimera Check检测,BLAST同源比对及构建16S r RNA基因序列系统发育树。【结果】随机挑选192个白色克隆,其中166个为阳性克隆,选取51个具有独特限制性片段差异的克隆进行序列分析。测序结果进行比对以及Chimera Check检测后,共获得36个可操作单元(Operational Taxonomic Units,OTUs),Gen Bank注册号为KR182090-KR182131。文库覆盖度结果表明克隆文库涵盖了本环境中90.4%的放线菌类群。聚类结果显示,艾比湖湖底沉积物中放线菌分为2个类群,第1个类群属于放线菌门(Actinobacteria),放线菌纲(Actinobacteria)中的放线菌目(Actinomycetales)、丙酸杆菌目(Propionibacteriales)、微球菌目(Micrococcales)和棒杆菌目(Corynebacteriales)4个目,该类群占克隆文库18.1%;另外1个类群属于Unclassified Actinobacteria的类群,分为3个不同的group,占整个克隆文库的81.9%。【结论】新疆艾比湖湖底沉积物中存在多种未知的放线菌类群。