Influence of the fish pond aquaculture effluent discharge on abiotic environmental factors of selected rivers in Northwest Poland

Pollution of rivers caused by human activity is a widely discussed problem, however there is not much attention paid to the changes of water quality that result from the inflow of effluent discharged from fish breeding ponds. The paper presents results of studies on changes of the abiotic parameters (hydrochemical and hydrological) of water observed in the yearly cycle between 2004 and 2008 in selected rivers of Northwest Poland. It was proved that the fastest reaction on the inflow of the effluent discharged from the fish ponds was reflected in changes of biogenic and organic compounds in the river water. The largest, i.e. threefold (rivers Krapiel and Tywa) or even fourfold (rivers Rurzyca and Stepnica) increase in nutrients and organic matter was recorded during the pond effluent discharge into the rivers. At that time values of the organic matter ranged from 8.9 to 18.3 mgO₂/dm³ (BOD₅), the nitrogen compounds from 16.868 to 26.930 mgN/dm³, while the phosphorus from 1.928 to 6.353 mgP/dm³. Interestingly, an additional dry mass of seston was recorded no earlier than the activity of the harmful element had been stopped and the river had resumed to the “initial” state (i.e. before the effluent discharge); that period varied from one to two months, depending on the river characteristics. The highest values of the dry seston mass (580.9 mg/dm³) was recorded in river Krapiel in November 2006. It seems that in spite of remarkable influence on values of individual physical and chemical indices of the river water quality, the effluent discharge from the fish ponds is not a factor hampering the self-purification processes of the rivers.     

基于RBFN的桂西北喀斯特区植被碳密度空间分布影响因素分析

在2010年植被碳密度空间分布结果的基础上,通过13个环境因子的1377个样点数据,建立径向基函数网络(Radial Basis Function Network,RBFN)模型,对桂西北喀斯特区植被碳密度空间分布的影响因素进行了初步探讨。研究结果显示:对该区植被碳密度空间分布影响最为重要的前4位为地类、森林类型、林种和植被类型4个因子,其标准化重要性分别在50%以上;其次为石漠化程度、腐殖层厚度、面积等级、植被总覆盖度和土层厚度5个因子,其标准化的重要性分别在15%—30%;影响最小的是坡位、坡度、坡向和海拔4个地形因子,其标准化重要性仅2%—11%。研究表明地形因子对植被碳密度空间分布影响有限,更为重要的是土地类型、森林类型、林种和植被类型等可通过人为活动改变的因素,因此生态环境移民、退耕还林等石漠化治理措施对植被碳密度空间分布具有重要影响。     

Yeast diversity sampling on the San Juan Islands reveals no evidence for the spread of the Vancouver Island Cryptococcus gattii outbreak to this locale

Biological diversity has been estimated for various phyla of life, such as insects and mammals, but in the microbe world is has been difficult to determine species richness and abundance. Here we describe a study of species diversity of fungi with a yeast-like colony morphology from the San Juan Islands, a group of islands that lies southeast of Vancouver Island, Canada. Our sampling revealed that the San Juan archipelago biosphere contains a diverse range of such fungi predominantly belonging to the Basidiomycota, particularly of the order Tremellales. One member of this group, Cryptococcus gattii, is the etiological agent of a current and ongoing outbreak of cryptococcosis on nearby Vancouver Island. Our sampling did not, however, reveal this species. While the lack of recovery of C. gattii does not preclude its presence on the San Juan Islands, our results suggest that the Strait of Juan de Fuca may be serving as a geographical barrier to restrict the dispersal of this primary human fungal pathogen into the United States.     

Species Richness of Nonvolant Small Mammals Along Elevational Gradients in Northwestern Argentina

The Nevados del Aconquija (5500 m) and Cumbres Calchaquíes (4600 m) are isolated mountain ranges that contain at least three physiognomic units in their eastern slopes: Neotropical rainforests, Andean grasslands and High Andean Steppes. Despite phytogeographical similarities, the two ranges differ in the amount and spatial distribution of rainfall over the elevation gradient. We studied terrestrial small mammals by direct trapping in two altitudinal transects on the eastern slope of the two mountain ranges. We recorded the changes in richness and species composition, as well as the relationships between species and microhabitats at each altitudinal level. The results show a similar structure of the small mammal assemblage in the two ranges. The largest differences, in terms of species composition, were registered at lower elevation forests, and faunal affinities increased with elevation to the point of finding identical species composition at the top of the mountains. Species richness showed a clear curvilinear pattern with a peak at the upper limit of the forests. Our findings suggest that total rainfall has an important influence on the composition and abundance of small mammal species but apparently not on the species richness along the elevation gradient. The highest values of species richness were observed at the sites where a contact between two different physiognomic units exists. These results indicate that habitat heterogeneity plays an important role in allowing the juxtaposition of small terrestrial mammal assemblages of the highlands and lowlands at a given point, contributing significantly to the considerable diversity of species observed in intermediate altitudinal sites.
     

基于SEBAL模型的西北农牧交错带生长季蒸散发估算及变化特征分析

蒸散发是土壤-植被-大气系统中水循环和能量交换的主要组成部分,准确估算区域蒸散发对农业用水调度与水资源的管理至关重要。利用MODIS数据产品结合地面气象站的观测资料,基于能量平衡原理建立的SEBAL(Surface Energy Balance Algorithms for Land)模型对西北农牧交错带2015年生长季(4—10月)的地表蒸散发量进行反演研究,并用Penman-Monteith(P-M)公式结合作物系数对模型的估算结果进行对比,结果表明:SEBAL模型估算结果与P-M公式之间的平均绝对误差为0.79mm/d,均方根误差为0.94mm/d,R~2=0.76,整体反演值偏高,但基本能满足本地区的研究需求。生长季区域日均蒸散发的变化范围为0.12—10.66mm/d,日蒸散量均值为4.31mm/d,呈东北、西南部较高,西部偏低的空间分布特征。将蒸散发估算值与地表特征参数统计分析发现蒸散发与NDVI和地表净辐射之间呈正相关,与地表温度和地表反照率之间呈负相关;不同土地利用/覆被类型的日蒸散发量由大到小依次为:耕地、林地、未利用地与草地。     

西北半干旱区紫花苜蓿-小黑麦间作对根际土壤养分和细菌群落的影响

我国西北半干旱区土地贫瘠,土壤pH和碳酸盐含量高,容易形成盐碱地,抑制土壤微生物活性,导致土壤养分匮乏。为了改善西北干旱地区土壤健康状况,本研究通过连续3年田间试验,探讨了紫花苜蓿-小黑麦间作对根际土壤养分和根际土壤细菌群落结构的影响。结果表明: 根际土壤中,间作紫花苜蓿有机质含量显著大于单作紫花苜蓿,而pH及速效钾含量显著低于单作紫花苜蓿;间作小黑麦有机质、碱解氮、有效磷及速效钾含量均显著大于单作小黑麦。细菌序列数、种群分类单元(OTU)、丰富度和多样性均表现为间作大于单作。在门水平上,变形菌门和拟杆菌门分别占总分类单元的31.1%～33.4%和22.4%～32.2%,且间作下拟杆菌门比例高于单作。放线菌门数量在单作下显著大于间作,酸杆菌门数量在小黑麦间作下显著大于单作,疣微菌门数量在紫花苜蓿间作下显著大于单作。在属水平上,噬冷菌属、黄杆菌属、Gp6和Chryseolinea数量均表现为单作大于间作,纤维弧菌属相反。相关性分析表明,变形菌门、拟杆菌门与pH呈显著负相关,拟杆菌门与有机质、全氮、碱解氮呈显著正相关;而绿弯菌门、浮霉菌、酸杆菌门、疣微菌门和芽单胞菌门与有机质和碱解氮呈显著负相关。紫花苜蓿-小黑麦间作是改善西北半干旱区土壤的一种有效措施。     

New Important Iguanodontid and Theropod Trackways of the Tracksite Obernkirchen in the Berriasian of NW Germany and Megatracksite Concept of Central Europe

This article examines the high-resolution track horizon stratigraphy at the outcrop Obernkirchen. Massive sandstones, products of marine sand bar and fluviatile environments are present at the tracksite. Recently two track beds were examined in the outcrop. One new track slab of the lower track bed is described exposing well-preserved quadrupedal iguanodontid tracktypes of Iguanodontipus Sarjeant, Delair, and Lockley, 1998 Sarjeant, W. A. S., Delair, J. B. and Lockley, M. G. 1998. The footprints of Iguanodon: a history and taxonomic study. Ichnos, 6: 183–202. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], and bipedal theropod tracks Megalosauropus Kaever and Lapparent, 1974 Kaever, M. and Lapparent, A. F. de. 1974. Les traces des pas le Dinosaures du Jurassique des Barkhausen (Basse Saxe, Allemagne). Bulletin de la Societé Geologique Français, 16: 516–525.  [Google Scholar]. The ichnogenus Iguanodontipus is discussed and the diagnosis extended. The tracksite Obernkirchen belongs to a megatracksite of the ancient coastline of the marginal marine Hercynic Basin of the Lower Cretaceous of Europe, including the four well-known sites Obernkirchen, Bad Rehburg, Münchehagen, and Bückeburg of Northwest Germany. Three different tracktypes of huge sauropods, theropods, and ornithopods are abundant at basal Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic coastlines in different regions in Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, and Switzerland. Dinosaur tracks are also present in carbonate platform environments of northern Italy and Istria.     

Post‐breeding population dynamics indicate upslope molt‐migration by Wilson's Warblers

Molt is an energetically costly process, and songbirds (Order Passeriformes) exhibit a diversity of strategies to maximize their survival and reproductive success while meeting the energetic demands of the annual prebasic molt. Nearctic‐Neotropic migrants in western North America commonly exhibit one of three strategies: (1) remain in breeding areas to molt, (2) migrate long distances to molt before continuing to wintering areas, or (3) migrate to wintering areas and then molt. Among species that molt in or near breeding areas, the nature of small‐scale movements to undergo molt remains largely unknown. We used banding data collected over a period of 27 yr and across an elevational gradient to examine the propensity of Wilson's Warblers (Cardellina pusilla) to molt and breed at the same or different locations in northern California and southern Oregon. We found that individual adult Wilson's Warblers were more likely to breed at lower elevations and molt at higher elevations, suggesting that some individuals move altitudinally after breeding to complete the definitive prebasic molt. Such altitudinal movements may be more common among Nearctic‐Neotropic migrants in western North America than previously thought.     

湖南武陵源种子植物区系初步研究

武陵源共有种子植物171科、742属、1468种(含栽培种,下同)。其中裸子植物8科、24属、39种;被子植物163科、718属、1429种。在科属种不同的水平上对武陵源种子植物区系特征进行了较深入的统计分析,结果表明：武陵源种子植物区系属的成分中,北温带分布类型占明显优势,共有389属,热带分布类型次之,共289属,东亚和中国特有分布也是非常重要的区系成分之一,共139属。可见,武陵源植物区系不仅兼容了丰富的热带和温带成分,而且还显示出其在华中植物区系中的重要位置。另外武陵源植物区系还有许多珍稀、古老、孑遗、原始植物成分。