Using remote underwater video to estimate freshwater fish species richness

Species richness records from replicated deployments of baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) and unbaited remote underwater video stations (UBRUVS) in shallow (<1 m) and deep (>1 m) water were compared with those obtained from using fyke nets, gillnets and beach seines. Maximum species richness (14 species) was achieved through a combination of conventional netting and camera‐based techniques. Chanos chanos was the only species not recorded on camera, whereas Lutjanus argentimaculatus, Selenotoca multifasciata and Gerres filamentosus were recorded on camera in all three waterholes but were not detected by netting. BRUVSs and UBRUVSs provided versatile techniques that were effective at a range of depths and microhabitats. It is concluded that cameras warrant application in aquatic areas of high conservation value with high visibility. Non‐extractive video methods are particularly desirable where threatened species are a focus of monitoring or might be encountered as by‐catch in net meshes.     

Species co‐occurrence patterns and dietary resource competition in primates

Diamond (Assembly of species communities. In: Cody ML, Diamond JM, editors. Ecology and evolution of communities. Cambridge: Belknap. p 342–444 ( 1975 )) argued that interspecific competition between species occupying similar niches results in a nonrandom pattern of species distributions. In particular, some species pairs may never be found in the same community due to competitive exclusion. Rigorous analytical methods have been developed to investigate the possible role that interspecific competition has on the evolution of communities. Many studies that have implemented these methods have shown support for Diamond's assembly rules, yet there are numerous exceptions. We build on this previous research by examining the co‐occurrence patterns of primate species in 109 communities from across the world. We used EcoSim to calculate a checkerboard (C) score for each region. The C score provides a measure of the proportion of species pairs that do not co‐occur in a set of communities. High C scores indicate that species are nonrandomly distributed throughout a region, and interspecific competition may be driving patterns of competitive exclusion. We conducted two sets of analyses. One included all primate species per region, and the second analysis assigned each species to one of four dietary guilds: frugivores, folivores, insectivores, and frugivore‐insectivores. Using all species per region, we found significantly high C scores in 9 of 10 regions examined. For frugivores, we found significantly high‐C scores in more than 50% of regions. In contrast, only 23% of regions exhibited significantly high‐C scores for folivores. Our results suggest that communities are nonrandomly structured and may be the result of greater levels of interspecific competition between frugivores compared to folivores. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The reliability of a composite biodiversity indicator in predicting bird species richness at different spatial scales

Several biodiversity features can be linked to landscape heterogeneity, that, in turn, can be informative for management and conservation purposes. Usually, the more the landscape is complex the more the biodiversity increases. Biodiversity indicators can be a useful tool to assess biodiversity status, in function of landscape heterogeneity. In this study, we developed a biodiversity indicator, based on Shannon diversity index and built from distribution maps of protected species. With such an approach, we seek to evaluate the feasibility of using a combination of target species as a surrogate for assessing the status of the whole bird community. Our approach was spread over multiple spatial scales, to determine which was the most informative. We selected four species protected by European regulation and generated a presence-absence map from species distribution modelling. We, therefore, used the FRAGSTATS biodiversity metric to calculate Shannon index for the overlapped presence-absence maps, at two spatial scales (500 m and 1000 m). Then, the relationships with the whole community was assessed through generalised least square models, at the spatial scale of 4 ha, 9 ha and 25 ha. Results showed that the higher rate of variability of community was explained by the biodiversity indicator at 1000 m scale. Indeed, the more informative spatial scale for the whole bird community was 9 ha. In addition, a pattern emerged about the relationships between biodiversity indicator and community richness, that is worth of further research. Our study demonstrates that the usefulness of surrogate species for biodiversity and community assessment can become clear only at a certain spatial scales. Indeed, they can be highly predictive of the whole community, and highly informative for conservation planning. Moreover, their use can optimize biodiversity monitoring and conservation, focusing on a small number of noteworthy species.     

Effects of peach branches returning on autotoxins and microbes in soil and tree growth of peaches

Aims This study aimed to investigate the effects of branch returning on the growth of peach (Amygdalus persica "Chunmei/Maotao") saplings, soil enzyme activity, and soil contents of phenolic acids and amygdalin, thereby providing scientific evidence against the application of branch returning for peach trees. Methods One-year-old potted peach tree (Amygdalus persica "Chunmei/Maotao") was used in this study with four agricultural treatments applied, including soil coverage by fragmented peach tree branches (fragment treatment;1.5 and 22.5 g·kg^-1) and applying leachate solutions of peach tree branches to soil (leachate treatment; 1.5 and 22.5 g·kg^-1). No branch addition was used as control (CK). Solid phase extraction, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), biological high-throughput sequencing was used to determine the content of autotoxic substances, and microbial community structure in soil. Soil coverage and leachate solution treatments of 30 g and 450 g branches applied to the peach trees were described as 1.5 and 22.5 g·kg^-1, respectively in this paper.Important findings Compared with CK, the phenolic acid and amygdalin contents significantly increased after both fragment and leachate treatments in high quantities (22.5 g·kg^-1). Soil microbial community structure altered in both treatments, with the proportion of fungi (particularly Agaricomycetes, Tubeufia and Cystofilobasidiaceae) increased significantly and bacteria decreased accordingly. Invertase activity in both high-quantity treatments exceeded that in the CK significantly. The activity of catalase and urease was higher at first and then decreased relative to CK under high-quantity fragment and leachate treatments. Specifically, the effect of leachate treatment on enzyme activity was higher than the fragment treatment in the short term. Chlorophyll content, ground diameter (diameter of 5 cm from the ground) growth and net photosynthesis rate of plants were lower in high-quantity fragment and leachate treatments than those in CK, with earlier retardation of new shoot growth. We observed an increase in soil phenolic acids and enzymes in treatments in normal pruning quantity, while no inhibition effect was found on the tree growth. In conclusion, autotoxins (such as phenolic acid and amygdalin) inhibited the growth of peach trees both directly and indirectly through changing soil enzyme activity and microbial community.     

Shifts in bacterial communities of two caribbean reef-building coral species affected by white plague disease

Coral reefs are deteriorating at an alarming rate mainly as a consequence of the emergence of coral diseases. The white plague disease (WPD) is the most prevalent coral disease in the southwestern Caribbean, affecting dozens of coral species. However, the identification of a single causal agent has proved problematic. This suggests more complex etiological scenarios involving alterations in the dynamic interaction between environmental factors, the coral immune system and the symbiotic microbial communities. Here we compare the microbiome of healthy and WPD-affected corals from the two reef-building species Diploria strigosa and Siderastrea siderea collected at the Tayrona National Park in the Caribbean of Colombia. Microbiomes were analyzed by combining culture-dependent methods and pyrosequencing of 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) V5-V6 hypervariable regions. A total of 20 410 classifiable 16S rDNA sequences reads were obtained including all samples. No significant differences in operational taxonomic unit diversity were found between healthy and affected tissues; however, a significant increase of Alphaproteobacteria and a concomitant decrease in the Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria was observed in WPD-affected corals of both species. Significant shifts were also observed in the orders Rhizobiales, Caulobacteriales, Burkholderiales, Rhodobacterales, Aleteromonadales and Xanthomonadales, although they were not consistent between the two coral species. These shifts in the microbiome structure of WPD-affected corals suggest a loss of community-mediated growth control mechanisms on bacterial populations specific for each holobiont system.     

Structure and species richness in wetland continua on sandy soils in subtropical and tropical Australia

Net photosynthetic fixation of wetland plant communities is confined to the period of the year when the surface soil is not waterlogged and is thus well aerated. In the open‐structured vegetation continuum across freshwater wetlands on sandy soils in subtropical and tropical Australia, the sum of the foliage projective covers (FPCs) of the overstorey and understorey strata remains constant, while that of the overstorey decreases to zero as seasonal waterlogging (and anaerobic conditions) in the surface root systems increases. Density and height of the overstorey trees – of only one or two species – and species richness (number of species per hectare) in the understorey decreases along this waterlogging gradient. Melaleuca paperbark trees, possessing surface roots with cortical aerenchyma, may form a closed‐forest at the edge of the wetland continuum wherever there is a continuous flow of aerated water. As global warming progresses, an increase in air temperature in the atmosphere flowing over and through the wetland continuum during the short period of annual foliage‐growth will affect the combined FPCs of overstorey and understorey strata, as well as the leaf‐specific weights of all leaves throughout the plant community. With a reduction in net photosynthetic fixation, species richness of the plant community will slowly decline.     

Long-term cathode performance and the microbial communities that develop in microbial fuel cells fed different fermentation endproducts

To better understand how cathode performance and substrates affected communities that evolved in these reactors over long periods of time, microbial fuel cells were operated for more than 1 year with individual endproducts of lignocellulose fermentation (acetic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, succinic acid, or ethanol). Large variations in reactor performance were primarily due to the specific substrates, with power densities ranging from 835 ± 21 to 62 ± 1 mW/m³. Cathodes performance degraded over time, as shown by an increase in power of up to 26% when the cathode biofilm was removed, and 118% using new cathodes. Communities that developed on the anodes included exoelectrogenic families, such as Rhodobacteraceae, Geobacteraceae, and Peptococcaceae, with the Deltaproteobacteria dominating most reactors. Pelobacter propionicus was the predominant member in reactors fed acetic acid, and it was abundant in several other MFCs. These results provide valuable insights into the effects of long-term MFC operation on reactor performance.     

石油降解菌的分离鉴定及石油污染土壤的细菌多样性

从石油污染的土壤中分离筛选到28株石油降解菌,经鉴定分别为短杆菌属、假单胞菌属、邻单胞菌属和微球菌属;对4个石油不同程度污染的土壤样品中嗜油微生物分布状况进行分析,发现污染严重的土壤样品中嗜油菌的数量相对较多;用聚合酶链式反应(PCR)、变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)和切胶测序相结合的方法对4个土壤样品中的细菌多样性进行分析,结果显示在受污染的土壤中,My cobacterium和B acillus在污染程度较低的样品中分布的较为集中,F lavobacterium和A zosp ira在污染程度较高的样品中丰度较高。属于B eta p roteobacterium类群的细菌在受污染的土壤中占有优势,同时还有一些不可培养的菌群存在。气质联用(GC-M S)分析结果表明石油污染程度及污染物中芳香烃类的含量对细菌多样性有着显著影响。在石油污染程度高,芳香烃类含量高的样品中细菌的多样性相对较低。     

Bt水稻田不同斑块设计对田间节肢动物群落稳定性的影响

利用正交设计考察了B t水稻种植面积大小以及与非转基因水稻相间距离两个因素对稻田节肢动物群落稳定性的影响。结果表明:在转B t稻斑块与非转B t稻斑块共存格局下,尽管两因素对两个品种上节肢动物群落物种丰富度影响不大,但较大斑块面积对两个品种水稻而言均有利于其上节肢动物群落多样性的保持。同时还发现,两个因素对两个品种斑块上的节肢动物群落影响不尽相同,且起显著效应的时间分布也因品种而异。对转B t稻斑块上节肢动物群落显著影响集中在水稻生育期前期(7月份)和末期(9月份),以斑块面积因素相对而言对节肢动物群落稳定性影响更大,具体表现在其面积越大,多样性越高,优势集中度越大。而对于非转B t稻两个因素对其上节肢动物群落的影响几乎贯穿整个调查期,其中又以斑块相间距离因素的影响更大,距离越小,多样性越高,优势集中度越低。进一步品种间的比较发现,转B t稻对田间节肢动物群落影响显著,在靶标害虫危害盛期其上节肢动物群落明显比非转B t稻上的稳定,而在非靶标害虫危害为主的时期,转B t稻田上节肢动物群落均不如非转B t稻上的稳定,尤其在水稻移栽后初期表现显著。     

不同间作枣园害虫的群落结构与动态

对5种不同间作枣园的害虫群落结构特征进行了研究,结果表明,在不同的间作枣园中,害虫的科、种与个体数是各不相同的,其多样性、均匀度和Berger-Parker指数也有明显差异(p<0.05)。间作牧草或保留杂草的枣园,害虫的科与种以及多样性和均匀度明显(p<0.05)大于间作小麦、大豆和单作枣园,而个体数和Berger-Parker指数则显著(p<0.05)小于单作枣园。枣园害虫个体数的时序动态随季节交替而有明显(p<0.05)的变化,4~8月份害虫的个体数明显(p<0.05)大于3月份、9~10月份。在枣园间作作物、牧草或者适当保留一定数量的杂草,不仅能够充分有效地利用枣园的空间和自然资源,而且增加了生物的多样性,改善了枣园的生态环境,同时提高了有害生物相互制约的能力和枣园单位面积的纯收入。