Evidence for diet partitioning among three coexisting native freshwater fishes in South Africa's Cape Fold Ecoregion

The partitioning of limited resources commonly explains how different species can coexist within the same ecological community. In this 2010 study, the diets of three coexisting freshwater fishes (Cape galaxias Galaxias zebratus, n = 27; Cape kurper Sandelia capensis, n = 60; Breede River redfin Pseudobarbus burchelli, n = 77) were characterised and compared in three headwater streams in South Africa's Cape Fold Ecoregion using gut contents and stable isotope analyses. These data were analysed to ascertain whether the three species exploit distinct trophic niches. Both approaches provided evidence that these species occupy different trophic niches, though with some overlap. However, dietary differences among sites were not consistent and were probably influenced by site-specific factors like resource availability. Pseudobarbus burchelli had a broader niche breadth at Tierkloof Stream than the other two species, but not at Waaihoek or Tierstel Streams. Our results also suggest that P. burchelli consumed a more omnivorous diet than do the other two species, whereas S. capensis occupied a higher trophic position than the other two species and consumed vertebrates. Our findings suggest that these species occupy non-equivalent feeding niches in Cape Fold Ecoregion headwater streams, and that diet partitioning might facilitate their coexistence in these systems.     

Community disassembly under global change: Evidence in favor of the stress‐dominance hypothesis

Ecological theory suggests that communities are not random combinations of species but rather the results of community assembly processes filtering and sorting species that are able to coexist together. To date, such processes (i.e., assembly rules) have been inferred from observed spatial patterns of biodiversity combined with null model approaches, but relatively few attempts have been made to assess how these processes may be changing through time. Specifically, in the context of the ongoing biodiversity crisis and global change, understanding how processes shaping communities may be changing and identifying the potential drivers underlying these changes become increasingly critical. Here, we used time series of 460 French freshwater fish communities and assessed both functional and phylogenetic diversity patterns to determine the relative importance of two key assembly rules (i.e., habitat filtering and limiting similarity) in shaping these communities over the last two decades. We aimed to (a) describe the temporal changes in both functional and phylogenetic diversity patterns, (b) determine to what extent temporal changes in processes inferred through the use of standardized diversity indices were congruent, and (c) test the relationships between the dynamics of assembly rules and both climatic and biotic drivers. Our results revealed that habitat filtering, although already largely predominant over limiting similarity, became more widespread over time. We also highlighted that phylogenetic and trait‐based approaches offered complementary information about temporal changes in assembly rules. Finally, we found that increased environmental harshness over the study period (especially higher seasonality of temperature) led to an increase in habitat filtering and that biological invasions increased functional redundancy within communities. Overall, these findings underlie the need to develop temporal perspectives in community assembly studies, as understanding ongoing temporal changes could provide a better vision about the way communities could respond to future global changes.     

高寒森林溪流微生物群落结构的季节性变化

高寒森林溪流不仅是区域河流的源头,而且是联系陆地与水域的生态纽带。微生物活动可能成为控制溪流生态系统过程的关键因子,但其结构与动态过程缺乏必要关注。因此,结合同步温度动态监测,采用实时荧光定量PCR和DGGE技术,在2014年到2015年冻融季节和生长季节关键时期对比研究了川西高寒森林溪流和森林林下土壤中微生物群落的动态特征。研究结果发现,高寒森林溪流具有较低的真菌和细菌群落丰度;与森林土壤相同,溪流在冻融季节表现出相对生长季节更高的真菌/细菌比,而且从冻融季节到生长季节,溪流微生物丰度动态也表现出明显的季节性变化特征。与森林土壤不同的是,溪流中细菌和真菌的丰度及其Shannon-Wiener多样性指数的最高值均出现在生长季节而不是冬季冻融季节,并且溪流中细菌丰度在季节性变化的不同时期具有显著差异(P0.05)。此外,森林土壤细菌类群以芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus sp.)比例相对较高,真菌类群则以格孢菌属(Pleosporales sp.)、曲霉属(Aspergillus sp.)和其他一些子囊菌门(Ascomycota)的类群为优势;而溪流细菌类群以红球菌属(Rhodococcus sp.)为主,真菌类群则以曲霉属和空团菌属(Cenococcum sp.)为主。同时,季节性变化中温度、p H、水溶性有机碳和溶解氧等环境因子可显著影响溪流微生物群落结构及其组成,这些环境因子在高寒森林溪流微生物群落的季节性变化过程中具有重要的作用。     

Assessing the impacts of imperfect detection on estimates of diversity and community structure through multispecies occupancy modeling

Detecting all species in a given survey is challenging, regardless of sampling effort. This issue, more commonly known as imperfect detection, can have negative impacts on data quality and interpretation, most notably leading to false absences for rare or difficult‐to‐detect species. It is important that this issue be addressed, as estimates of species richness are critical to many areas of ecological research and management. In this study, we set out to determine the impacts of imperfect detection, and decisions about thresholds for inclusion in occupancy, on estimates of species richness and community structure. We collected data from a stream fish assemblage in Algonquin Provincial Park to be used as a representation of ecological communities. We then used multispecies occupancy modeling to estimate species‐specific occurrence probabilities while accounting for imperfect detection, thus creating a more informed dataset. This dataset was then compared to the original to see where differences occurred. In our analyses, we demonstrated that imperfect detection can lead to large changes in estimates of species richness at the site level and summarized differences in the community structure and sampling locations, represented through correspondence analyses.     

实验室条件下唐鱼两性异形及其与游泳能力关系

为了解唐鱼两性异形及其与游泳能力关系,检测了性成熟阶段唐鱼躯干部和鱼鳍形态特征以及爆发游泳速度(U_burst)和临界游泳速度(U_crit)在雌雄之间的差异,旨在从形态适应角度探究长期进化中雌雄唐鱼各自面对选择压力所产生的游泳能力差异及其机制,从而为野生唐鱼保护提供基础数据.结果表明: 雌性唐鱼的体长、头高、头宽、尾鳍面积以及吻端至枕骨后末端、腹鳍起点至背鳍末端等长度均与雄性无显著差异.而体高、体宽、腹鳍起点至背鳍起点等反映腹腔大小的形态参数以及吻端至背鳍起点、吻端至臀鳍起点、枕骨后末端至背鳍起点等反映躯干部大小的形态参数均显示为雌性显著大于雄性,但头长以及胸鳍面积、腹鳍面积、背鳍面积和臀鳍面积均显示为雄性显著大于雌性.对所有数据进行主成分分析,结果显示第1主成分贡献率为74.2%,负载量较大的是体长、头长、头高、体高、头宽、体宽以及各鳍之间距离等主要反映唐鱼躯干整体特征的参数;第2主成分贡献率为15.7%,负载量较大的是胸鳍面积、腹鳍面积、背鳍面积和臀鳍面积等主要反映鱼鳍特征的参数.唐鱼性别在第1主成分上无法区分,但在第2主成分却可以明显区分.根据体宽、胸鳍面积、腹鳍面积、背鳍面积和臀鳍面积等建立的性别判别方程对雌雄判断准确率达到91.8%～92.5%.唐鱼游泳能力测定结果显示,雌性U_burst与雄性无显著差异,但U_crit显著小于雄性.以上结果表明,雌雄唐鱼两性异形主要集中在与游泳能力相关的鱼鳍特征上.相比雄性,雌性唐鱼虽然胸鳍等鱼鳍面积较小导致其U_crit小于雄性,却具有更长的躯干部以保证其同样具有较高的爆发游泳能力,从而有利于在流速波动很大的溪流中躲避捕食和进行其他应急活动;相比雌性,雄性唐鱼则具有较大的鱼鳍面积保证其U_crit高于雌性,以利于日常活动及在繁殖过程中追逐雌性等相对持久性游泳运动.     

The altitudinal limit of Leptohyphes Eaton, 1882 and Lachlania Hagen, 1868 (Ephemeroptera: Leptohyphidae,Oligoneuriidae) in Ecuadorian Andes streams: searching for mechanisms

We explored mechanisms determining the upper altitudinal limit of ephemeropterans from two different genera: Leptohyphes Eaton, 1882 Eaton, A.E. (1882), ?An Announcement of New Genera of the Ephemeridae?, The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, 18, 207–208. [Google Scholar] (Leptohyphidae) and Lachlania Hagen, 1868 Hagen, H.A. (1868), ?On Lachlania Abnormis: A New Genus and Species from Cuba Belonging to the Ephemerina?, Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 11, 372–375. [Google Scholar] (Oligoneuriidae). For this, we (1) surveyed the two taxa in 165 stream sites along a wide altitudinal gradient; (2) sampled benthic fauna at short altitudinal intervals along a stream, from 2780 to 3150 m above sea level; (3) collected adults at the lowest and highest sites; and (4) transplanted nymphs from the lowest to the highest study site in our stream to determine survival over time. Densities of the two taxa declined gradually with altitude and both disappeared between 2950 and 3080 m a.s.l. The upper altitudinal limit in the stream seemed to be most closely related to mean oxygen saturation, temperature, and current velocity. Adults were collected where the nymphs were found, but not at the upstream site where the nymphs were absent, implying limited upstream dispersal of adults and some of the altitudinal constraint lying at the adult stage. Short-term survival of transplanted nymphs was lower than that of controls, suggesting that the distribution was limited at the juvenile stage, and that at least some of the altitudinal constraint is related to the abiotic stream environment.     

Glacial loss and its effect on riparian vegetation of alpine streams

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Context‐dependent outcomes in a reproductive mutualism between two freshwater fish species

1. The development of encompassing general models of ecology is precluded by underrepresentation of certain taxa and systems. Models predicting context‐dependent outcomes of biotic interactions have been tested using plants and bacteria, but their applicability to higher taxa is largely unknown.
2. We examined context dependency in a reproductive mutualism between two stream fish species: mound nest‐building bluehead chub Nocomis leptocephalus and mountain redbelly dace Chrosomus oreas, which often uses N. leptocephalus nests for spawning. We hypothesized that increased predator density and decreased substrate availability would increase the propensity of C. oreas to associate with N. leptocephalus and decrease reproductive success of both species.
3. In a large‐scale in situ experiment, we manipulated egg predator density and presence of both symbionts (biotic context), and replicated the experiment in habitats containing high‐ and low‐quality spawning substrate (abiotic context).
4. Contradictory to our first hypothesis, we observed that C. oreas did not spawn without its host. The interaction outcome switched from commensalistic to mutualistic with changing abiotic and biotic contexts, although the net outcome was mutualistic.
5. The results of this study yielded novel insight into how context dependency operates in vertebrate mutualisms. Although the dilution effect provided by C. oreas positively influenced reproductive success of N. leptocephalus, it was not enough to overcome both egg predation and poor spawning habitat quality. Outcomes of the interaction may be ultimately determined by associate density. Studies of context dependency in vertebrate systems require detailed knowledge of species life‐history traits.

     

Temporal and spatial responses of Chironomidae (Diptera) and other benthic invertebrates to urban stormwater runoff

In a longitudinal study of two streams whose lower reaches received unattenuated urban stormwater runoff, physical disturbance by stormflow was less important than the persistant unidentified chemical impacts of urban stormwater in limiting the distribution of Chironomidae, and Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Plecoptera (EPT). A hierarchical spatial analysis showed that chironomid density did not decrease from rural to urban stream reaches. Instead, the taxonomic composition of chironomid assemblages was significantly altered in urban versus rural reaches; chironomid assemblages in urban reaches exhibited higher average pollution tolerance scores. In contrast, the density of EPT was significantly lower in urban reaches. Despite higher values of stormflow tractive force in urban reaches, streambed stability tended to be greater in urban reaches. Modeling of temporal variation in chironomid density showed similar patterns in both rural and urban reaches: chironomid density had a unimodal relationship to rainfall index (RI), with highest densities at intermediate values of RI. Models of EPT density over time in rural reaches showed no significant relation to RI, and temporal variation in EPT density in urban reaches was not predictable. The abundance of fine particulate organic matter, including periphyton (FPOM), on cobbles was greater in urban reaches and showed a much greater degree of temporal variation than in rural reaches. In urban reaches, a negative relation between FPOM and RI indicated the importance of stormflow abrasion. Handling editor: K. Martens