Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Channa punctatus (Bloch) in river Ramganga (U.P.), India

Ganga is the largest riverine system of India with a fragile ecosystem. Its prone to anthropogenic disturbances because of its cultural, economic and environmental values. The contamination of river Ganga by heavy metals (HM) is due to biotic (anthropogenic sources) and abiotic (pesticides, fertilizers) sources that poses a devastating health hazard to human, plant and edible fish life. The chemical analysis with the help of atomic absorption spectrometer performed on its water samples demonstrated the accumulation of heavy metals such as Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn). Moreover, the spectrophotometric analysis indicated clearly the accumulation of heavy metals in order of occurrence (Fe > As > Cd > Zn > Pb) in liver and (Zn > Fe > As > Cd > Pb) in kidney of edible fish Channa punctatus. The present study has be used to sensitively monitor the extent of heavy metals pollution in the biotic aqua life of river Ramganga system and its suggested that the bioaccumulation of heavy metal in Channa punctatus has reached above permissible limits for human consumption, indicating potential health risks. Necessary biological steps should be taken to handle such food pollution and prevent the environmental risk and food chain disruption.     

Morphology and Phylogeny of Calyptospora paranaidji n. sp. (Eimeriorina: Calyptosporidae), an Apicomplexan Parasite of the Hepatic Tissue of Cichla piquiti Kullander & Ferreira, 2006, From a Reservoir in the Brazilian Amazon Region

The coccidians of the family Calyptosporidae are parasites of the tissue and organs of fish and aquatic invertebrates, in particular in the tropical region. In contrast with other apicomplexans of the suborder Eimeriorina, the diversity and ecology of the species of the genus Calyptospora have been poorly investigated, resulting in a lacuna that restricts the understanding of the distribution and prevalence of this group of eukaryote microparasites in the Amazon region. In the present study, the integrated comparative analysis of morphological characteristics, histological and structural traits, and the sequences of a fragment of the 18S rRNA gene, provides support for the identification of a new species of Calyptospora, found parasitizing the hepatic tissue of the piscivorous blue peacock bass, Cichla piquiti, captured in the reservoir of the Estreito hydroelectric dam on the middle Tocantins River in northern Brazil. This new species was named Calyptospora paranaidji n. sp.     

河南发现刘氏石龙子及该物种系统位置分析

2018年8月下旬,在河南省南阳市桐柏山采集到11号石龙子科（Scincidae）蜥蜴标本。经形态比较鉴定,该批标本均为刘氏石龙子（Pleistiodon liui）,是河南省爬行动物分布新记录种,也是该物种在长江以北地区首次被发现。通过形态学分析,发现刘氏石龙子可能存在雌雄性二态。基于COI基因658 bp序列的系统发育分析显示,大渡石龙子（P. capito）和黄纹石龙子（P. tunganus）聚在一起,然后再与刘氏石龙子聚成一支系,支持先前基于形态数据的黄纹石龙子种组的单系性。     

黄河口潮间带大型底栖动物群落特征

2013年2月、5月和8月对黄河入海口附近潮间带的大型底栖动物进行了调查,调查工作涵盖3个季节2条断面的样品,分析了黄河口潮间带大型底栖动物的群落结构特征,包括群落种类组成、丰度和生物量、优势种、多样性,采用CLUSTER聚类分析了大型底栖动物的群落结构,并用AMBI和m-AMBI对底栖群落和环境质量进行了评估。本次调查共鉴定出大型底栖动物52种,其中,多毛纲动物24种,软体动物14种,甲壳动物12种,鱼类1种,纽虫1种。多毛纲动物为该海域底栖群落的主要成分,占据了群落总种数的46.15%。从季节来看,物种数春季最高(38种),夏季则处于最低水平(16种)。群落丰度和生物量均具有明显的季节变化,丰度在春季达到最高,为3 549.33 ind/m2,远高于冬季的256.67 ind/m2和夏季的100.67 ind/m2,其中扁玉螺(Neverita didyma)是丰度的主要贡献者,贡献了全年群落总丰度的75.44%。生物量春季最高,夏季次之,冬季最低。在全年尺度上,甲壳动物的日本大眼蟹(Macrophthalmusjaponicus)是生物量的主要贡献者,占据总生物量的49.86%。群落的季节变化也得到了群落CLUSTER分析与SIMPER分析结果的验证。这与黄河入海口附近底质不稳定,易受侵蚀、环境条件如盐度等具有明显季节差异,以及一定程度的人为扰动密切相关。AMBI和m-AMBI的分析结果显示,该区域环境质量状况较好,仅受到了轻微扰动影响。     

基于高通量测序的乐安江冬季细菌群落特征分析

【目的】分析乐安江从上游至下游水体细菌群落结构组成变化,揭示细菌群落结构组成变化的影响因素。【方法】分析不同河段水体中C、N、P、Cu、Zn、As和Pb等化学指标。对水体DNA的16S rRNA基因进行高通量测序确定细菌群落特征。基于Bray-Curtis距离的采样点非度量多维尺度(NMDS)分析和聚类分析研究乐安江水体细菌群落结构差异,基于冗余分析(RDA)研究环境因子与细菌群落的关系。【结果】乐安江水体中C、N、P、Cu、Zn、As和Pb等化学指标含量中下游偏高。中游河水受德兴铜矿废水影响,细菌群落多样性降低,下游受农业、生活废水影响,细菌群落丰富度和多样性升高。水体中优势菌群为β-变形菌纲(Beta-proteobacteria,53.03%)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria,20.24%)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes,14.75%)。中游受德兴铜矿废水影响,Beta-proteobacteria丰度增大,而Actinobacteria丰度减小;下游受微生物间捕食影响,Bacteroidetes丰度下降。在细菌群落与环境因子的关系中,DO是解释乐安江细菌群落结构变化的最佳环境因子。【结论】乐安江中游德兴铜矿废水和中下游农业、生活废水明显改变了水体细菌群落结构组成,使水体细菌群落特征从上游到下游发生显著变化。本研究为揭示人类活动对乐安江水生态环境的影响提供了参考性数据。     

汾河入黄口夏季微生物群落结构分析

【背景】河流交汇区日益成为流域生态治理的焦点和热点之一。【目的】探明汾河入黄口微生物群落结构及其主要环境影响因子。【方法】应用16S rRNA基因Illumina MiSeq高通量测序技术,分析了汾河入黄口夏季微生物群落结构,并利用典范对应分析(Canonical correspondence analysis,CCA)了解影响微生物群落的主要环境因子。【结果】多样性指数分析表明该区域微生物群落多样性较高。微生物多样性分析发现优势菌门为变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)和放线菌门(Actinobacteria);在属分类水平上,相对丰度最高的菌属为芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus),其次为乳球菌属(Lactococcus)和hgcI_clade。Spearman相关性分析及典范对应分析表明环境因子对水体微生物群落结构具有显著影响。【结论】汾河与黄河微生物群落组成具有一定的差异,不同环境因子对不同微生物的影响程度不同,p H和溶解氧(Dissolved oxygen,DO)是汾河入黄口微生物群落结构的主要影响因子。     

Larval development of mandi-pintado Pimelodus britskii (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae)

This study investigated the morphology, morphometric and meristic characters of 117 larval Pimelodus britskii showing early development of head, eye, barbel and snout. Body and mouth pigmentation increased throughout development; the mouth was ventrally situated in the yolk-sac stage, becoming subterminal afterwards, and an embryonic fin was visible in all four stages observed. Post-flexion larval P. bristskii are distinguished from larval P. ortmanni by having 47–50 myomeres (v. 36).     

山西桑干河流域湿地植被优势种群分布格局研究

根据野外调查的样地资料,应用方差/均值比（扩散系数）的t检验、聚集指数、平均拥挤度、聚块性指数、Green指数和负二项分布的聚集强度等方法,研究了山西桑干河流域湿地植被优势种群的分布格局并分析格局形成的原因,并用相关分析比较了6个指数间的关系,结果表明：这些植物的分布格局皆属于聚集分布,但它们的聚集强度有差异。聚集强度最大的是沙棘和柽柳,聚集强度最小的是小车前和车前,由于它们均分布于河漫滩或者河床地势较高处,土壤水分含量较低,仅仅在洪水季节短时间有积水存在,不是典型的湿地植物。典型的水生植物泽泻、莎草、轮藻、芦苇、香蒲、慈姑,湿生植物水葱、藨草等,它们的聚集强度居中,对水分有着较强的依赖性,均分布于流水较缓的河道,或者濒临河道的积水处。此外,多年生的莎草、芦苇、香蒲、水葱、藨草等主要依靠无性繁殖扩大种群分布范围和密度,这也是它们服从聚集分布的原因之一。本研究还说明方差/均值比率法是一种较好的分析种群分布格局的方法。     

Use of wetlands at the mouth of the Yangtze River by shorebirds during spring and fall migration

ABSTRACT.   The mouth of the Yangtze River is an important stopover site for migratory shorebirds using the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. From 1984 to 2004, we censused and banded shorebirds and monitored hunting activities at the mouth of the Yangtze River to understand how shorebirds used the study area. Counts and banding data revealed greater numbers of shorebirds at the mouth of the Yangtze River during northward migration (spring) than during southward migration (fall), with ratios varying from 1.5:1 to 7.2:1 at different sites from 1984 to 2005. The most common species observed during spring (northward) migration were Great Knots ( Calidris tenuirostris ), Red Knots ( Calidris canutus ), Bar-tailed Godwits ( Limosa lapponica ), Sharp-tailed Sandpipers ( Calidris acuminata ), and Red-necked Stints ( Calidris ruficollis ). During spring 2003–2004, 96.98% of the shorebirds observed were adults (ASY or older) and 3% were after hatching-year and second-year birds (AHY or SY). In contrast, almost all (94.73%) birds counted during the fall were hatching-year (HY) birds. These results indicate that adult shorebirds either use a different migration route during fall migration or use the same route, but do not stop at the mouth of the Yangtze River. HY birds, however, may depend on the coastal stopover sites for feeding during their first southward passage.     

Yangtse River sediments and erosion rates from source to sink traced with cosmogenic Be: Sediments from major rivers

Estimates of regional erosion and sediment mixing from different sources in the Yangtse River system are presented, based on sand samples collected from major tributaries and the trunk stream, at 23 sites between western Sichuan and the Yangtse Delta. Mixing is estimated from concentrations of Mg, Ca, Sr, Ti, Mn and Fe, which are substantially higher in sand from major tributaries in the western Yangtse River catchment than from tributaries in the eastern catchment. Intermediate concentrations occur in sand from the Yangtse Delta, both for modern samples from the surface and for early Holocene samples from drill holes. Mixing ratios indicate that 35 ± 5% of sand in the delta came from eastern sources. A similar result was obtained using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in quartz grains as a tracer of mixing. Regional erosion rate estimated from ¹⁰Be in sand grains from high mountain catchments of the western Yangtse River are mostly similar to rates based on sediment gauging but are sometimes higher, and range to over 700 m Ma^− 1, while ¹⁰Be measured at upper Yangtse River tributaries on the northeast Tibetan plateau gave rates of 20-30 m Ma^− 1. For the eastern catchments, ¹⁰Be measurements from quartz sand and sediment gauging both gave rates of 30-70 m Ma^− 1. Eroding at this rate, the eastern catchments could not supply more than 20% of the sediment in the delta, in contrast with 35% estimated from geochemical fingerprints. The relative input from eastern sources may have been higher in Late Pleistocene times, under a different climatic regime, and reworking of Pleistocene deposits may still be in progress.