Strategies to restore floodplain vegetation after abandonment of human activities

Restoring the flooding‐related disturbance regime by removing and setting back flood defenses (channel widening) is the most efficient strategy for recovering riparian plant communities in floodplains formerly impacted by human activities such as agriculture, mining, and forestry. Removing flood defenses is generally not socially accepted, and alternative recovery strategies must be explored. We assessed vegetation establishment on 33 sites in the floodplains of the Middle Ebro River and three of its tributaries (NE Spain) where restoration approaches applied in the last 20 years include channel widening, floodplain excavation, and abandonment of agriculture, gravel extraction, and hybrid poplar plantations, with and without plantation of native species. Using analysis of similarity and ordinations, we found that channel widening led to plant communities closely resembling those found on natural gravel bars, including new recruits of keystone tree species. Excavation of the floodplain as the restoration approach resulted in pioneer, non‐strictly riparian communities. Abandonment of agricultural land or clearing of poplar plantations resulted in alternative stable states predominating, regardless of time elapsed since restoration and whether poles of native species were planted. However, forest‐like communities relatively similar to mature, natural riparian references were attainable when hybrid poplars were allowed to resprout after clear‐cutting, or after the human activities were abandoned and trees were not cut. Combining channel widening and assisted revegetation where flood defenses cannot be altered may partially reproduce a mosaic of habitats typical of natural floodplains.     

Catastrophic disturbance, logging and the ecology of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King): grounds for listing a major tropical timber species in CITES

Recent debate on whether or not mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla King) is threatened by the international timber trade has focused on the breadth of its range and estimates of the remaining stock of mahogany trees. These data are inadequate to reveal the status of mahogany populations, both because they are incomplete in areal extent and because they do not reveal population parameters such as the existence or density of young trees smaller than commercial size. However, there is sufficient information on the regeneration ecology of mahogany to indicate that under natural conditions this species regenerates in essentially even-aged stands after catastrophic disturbances destroy many or most trees, and, in the case of fires and flooding, saplings and seedlings as well. Adult mahoganies tend to survive these events, and regenerate by shedding seed onto the resulting gaps or clearings. This ecological strategy makes mahogany vulnerable to logging, first because juvenile mahoganies are not found in the understorey, and secondly because logging operations shortcircuit mahogany regeneration processes by selectively removing almost all mahogany seed sources while leaving standing competing vegetation of other species. Listing of mahogany in CITES Appendix II could provide both a mechanism to fill in gaps in information and an incentive to change current practices in favour of silvicultural management to provide for regeneration of this valuable timber species in forests subjected to logging.     

啮齿类取食的物种偏好与时空格局

通过强烈消耗土壤种子库，动物取食种子对植物种群更新和群落动态产生深远的影响。一般认为种子被食概率的空间格局取决于种子密度和离母树的距离，而环境（如地形）异质性的影响则一直没有得到足够的关注，与此相关的机制及其影响程度亦不清楚。研究设计在野外埋放种子以模拟种子扩散后的情形，监测啮齿类对种子的取食，以检验种子取食受埋藏生境、时间及动物对种子种类的偏好等因素的影响。结果表明，经过1a实验，8种落叶阔叶树种子的累计取食概率为0～48．25％，平均值为20％；山顶部位的取食概率大致是其它部位概率的3倍；埋放在凋落物层中的种子被食概率大约为埋放在土壤层中概率的2倍。利用logistic回归模型进行统计分析表明，种子被食概率变化的45％可以被上述因素解释。其中，物种偏好是影响种子被取食概率的首要因素，其后依次是地形、埋藏时间和深度。啮齿类明显喜好较大的种子；其取食行为在山脊部位明显较其它部位更频繁和剧烈；对埋藏种子的取食从3月份开始加剧，到7月份以后平息下来。种子埋放深度对啮齿类的取食概率有显著影响。     

Vertical and horizontal distribution patterns of the giant sea anemone Heteractis crispa with symbiotic anemonefish on a fringing coral reef

The distribution patterns of the leathery sea anemone, Heteractis crispa, which contains an algal endosymbiont (zooxanthellae) and anemonefish, were investigated in relation to size distribution on a shallow fringing reef (3.2 ha, 0–4 m depth) in Okinawa, Japan. Individual growth and movements were also examined. Large individuals (>1,000 cm²) inhabited reef edges up to a depth of 4 m, while small anemone (<500 cm²) inhabited shallow reefs including inner reef flats. Individuals rarely moved, and their sizes were significantly correlated with their water depths. Growth of small anemones was negatively correlated with their distance from the reef edge, suggesting that reef edges provide more prey and lower levels of physiological stress. This study suggested that deep reef edges are suitable habitats for H. crispa. Large anemones were inhabited by large Amphiprion perideraion or large Amphiprion clarkii, both of which are effective defenders against anemone predators. Anemones that settle in deep reef edges may enjoy a higher survival rate and attain a large size because of their symbiotic relationship with anemonefish. However, early settlers do not harbor anemonefish. Their mortality rate would be higher in the deep edges than in shallow edges, the complicated topography of which provides refuge.     

Influence of latitude, water depth, day v. night and wet v. dry periods on the species composition of reef fish communities in tropical Western Australia

Trap sampling over reefs in deep (mean = 20 m) and shallow (mean = 10 m) waters along c. 1500 km of coastline in tropical north‐western Australia during both day and night and in wet and dry periods yielded 23 377 fishes, representing 32 families, 58 genera and 119 species. Individuals of the Serranidae, Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae and Carangidae contributed 88·9% to the total catch. The ichthyofaunal compositions of the Kimberley, Canning and Pilbara bioregions were relatively discrete. Species composition was influenced far more by location (latitude) than by water depth, period and time of day, and underwent a gradational change southwards. The latter change reflected differences in the trends exhibited by the relative abundances of certain species with increasing latitude and the confinement of other species largely to particular regions. The three most abundant species, i.e. Lethrinus sp. 3, Lutjanus carponotatus and Lethrinus laticaudis contributed 34·8, 20·8 and 11·6% to the total catch, respectively. The first species was rarely recorded in the two most northern locations and was abundant in the four most southern locations, whereas the last two species were relatively more abundant in northern than in southern locations. Lutjanus bitaeniatus and Lutjanus johnii were found exclusively at the two locations in the Kimberley region, whereas Abalistes stellatus, Pentapodus emeryii and Lethrinus nebulosus were not caught in this region but were found in both locations of the Canning and Pilbara regions. The species composition in deep and shallow waters at each location almost invariably differed significantly between day and night and between dry and wet periods, with species such as L. bitaeniatus, L. johnii, Lutjanus sebae and A. stellatus being more abundant over deep reefs, whereas L. carponotatus, L. laticaudis, Siganus fuscescens and Lethrinus lentjan were more numerous over shallow reefs. Species such as L. johnii and Lethrinus atkinsoni were relatively more important in night‐time than daytime catches, whereas the reverse applied to Lethrinus lentjan, L. laticaudis and Choerodon cyanodus. Lethrinus sp. 3 and L. laticaudis were relatively more important in catches during the dry than wet period.     

真光层深度的遥感反演及其在富营养化评价中的应用

真光层深度直接影响水体中浮游植物的分布和初级生产力以及水体生态环境,是水生态研究的一个重要参数.利用2006年10月24日～11月2日太湖水下实测光谱数据和光合有效辐射(PAR)数据,通过数据的处理和分析,尝试建立真光层深度与水面以下遥感反射率的关系模型,并利用真光层深度与透明度的关系,建立水体富营养化真光层深度评价模型.研究结果表明:真光层深度与归一化遥感反射率具有很好的相关性;选用特定波段的归一化反射率作为变量,建立两者的关系模型能较好的反演真光层深度,所建立的模型算法中,指数模型拟合方程的综合效果好于其他模型,波段比值算法反演精度要好于单波段算法;利用利用真光层深度进行富营养化评价具有一定的应用价值,利用该模型对太湖水体进行富营养化评价,得出太湖西部湖区大部分已富营养化,东部湖区处于中营养化和轻度富营养化状态.     

Two-stage depth filter perfusion culture for recombinant antibody production by recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cell

A rCHO cell line of DUKX origin 26*-320, producing recombinant antibody against the human platelet, was cultivated in a two-stage depth filter perfusion system (DFPS) for 20 days in order to attain high recombinant antibody concentration. The productivity of the first stage DFPS bioreactor reached 53 times that of the batch culture in a controlled stirred tank reactor and was showed 12.1 mg/L antibody concentration at a perfusion rate of 6.0 d⁻¹. Glucose concentration in the first DFPS was maintained at 1.5 g/L to avoid cell damage in the perfusion culture. A second stage DFPS system was attached to the first DFPS, which resulted in a low glucose concentration of 0.02 g/L and a high antibody concentration of 23.9 mg/L. The two-stage depth filter perfusion culture yielded 60% higher product concentration than the batch and 49-fold higher productivity of 69.3 mg/L/d in comparison with that (1.4 mg/L/d) in a batch system. Furthermore, antibody concentration of the second stage was 97% higher than that of the first stage, and the antibody productivities were comparable to that of the first stage. This two-stage DFPS system also showed potential for higher titer production of recombinant antibody and high volumetric productivity for long-term culture of bio-pharmaceutical substances.     

Reliability of wavefront shaping based on coherent optical adaptive technique in deep tissue focusing

Wavefront shaping can compensate the wavefront distortions in deep tissue focusing, leading to an improved penetration depth. However, when using the backscattered signals as the feedback, unexpected compensation bias may be introduced, resulting in focusing position deviations or even no focus in the illumination focal plane. Here we investigated the reliability of wavefront shaping based on coherent optical adaptive technique in deep tissue focusing by measuring the position deviations between the foci in the illumination focal plane and the epi‐detection plane. The experimental results show that when the penetration depth reaches 150 μm in mouse brain tissue (with scattering coefficient ~22.42 mm^?1) using a 488 nm laser and an objective lens with 0.75 numerical aperture, the center of the real focus will deviate out of one radius range of the Airy disk while the optimized focus in the epi‐detection plane maintained basically at the center. With the penetration depth increases, the peak to background ratio of the focus in the illumination focal plane decreases faster than that in the epi‐detection plane. The results indicate that when the penetration depth reaches 150 μm, feedback based on backscattered signals will make wavefront shaping lose its reliability, which may provide a guidance for applications of non‐invasive precise optogenetics or deep tissue optical stimulation using wavefront shaping methods. A, Intensity distribution in the epi‐detection plane and the illumination focal plane before and after correction, corresponding to brain sections with 250 and 300 μm thickness, respectively. Scale bar is 2 μm. B, Averaged focusing deviations in the epi‐detection plane (optimized) and the illumination focal plane (monitored) after compensation. The unit of the ordinate is one Airy disk diameter. Black dashed line represents one Airy disk radius. Bars represent the SE of each measurement set.      

Effects of long-term flooding on respiratory metabolism of Taxodium ‘Zhongshansha 118’ seedlings

Aims Taxodium ‘Zhongshansha’ had a strong submergence tolerance, but the biological mechanism is not clearly defined. The respiratory metabolism for the tolerance of Taxodium ‘Zhongshansha 118’ ((Taxodium distichum × Taxodium mucronatum) × Taxodium mucronatum) to long-term flooding was investigated through the measuring and analyzing the changes in root starch and soluble sugar as well as the contents of anaerobic respiration enzymes, including lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), ethanol dehydrogenase (ADH) and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC)), in the ‘Zhongshansha 118’ seedling. The biomass and activities of the seedling roots were also measured and analyzed.Methods 24 1-year Taxodium ‘Zhongshansha 118’ seedlings were randomly and equally divided into four groups and each group experienced one of four different levels of flooding (i.e., no flooding, waterlogging, partial submergence, deep submergence) from August 8 to November 8, 2014.Important findings The results showed that the contents of the anaerobic respiration enzymes in the seedling roots and leaves are increasing with the levels of severity of flooding, which indicated the roots and leaves adapt to long-term flooding by reinforcing their anaerobic respiration and activities of ADH that were higher than LDH for roots and leaves used in alcoholic fermentation mainly. The activities of anaerobic respiration enzymes in leaves were higher than that in roots, while leaves were more sensitive to flooding. The starch and soluble sugar in roots and leaves had similar trend with anaerobic respiration enzymes. However, roots starch was higher than leaves where soluble sugar was lower than roots. The higher content of starch were the important reason of strong submergence tolerance, and we consider the strategy to fit into long-term flooding is patience type. The paper demonstrate Taxodium ‘Zhongshansha 118’ have the physiological and the morphological properties to adapt to long-term flooding, including aerial root and basal part of stem expanded and the outer wall of the root lignified to protect the roots from flooding.     

Impact of waterlogging on the N-metabolism of flood tolerant and non-tolerant tree species

The present study was conducted to characterize the N‐metabolism of important European tree species with different degrees of flooding tolerance. The roots of Fagus sylvatica (sensitive to flooding), Quercus robur (moderately flood tolerant) and Populus tremula × P. alba (flood tolerant) saplings were exposed to different flooding regimes and N uptake, amino acid, protein and chlorophyll concentrations as well as gas exchange were measured. The effects of these treatments on the tree species varied distinctly. In general, the N metabolism of beech was severely affected whereas less impacts were observed on oaks and almost no effects on poplars. The concentrations of amino compounds, particularly of Asp, Asn, Glu and Gln, were lower in the roots of flooded trees than in controls. By contrast, γ‐amino butyric acid concentrations increased. Root protein concentrations remained unaffected in oak and poplar but decreased in beech in response to flooding. The concentrations of pigments remained unaffected by flooding in all tree species investigated. However, photosynthesis and transpiration were severely affected in beech but much less in oak and poplar. The data obtained show a clear correlation between the different flooding tolerances of the trees investigated and the impacts of flooding on N uptake and N metabolism.