Length–weight relationships for seven freshwater fishes caught in Kemer reservoir, Turkey

Length–weight relationships (LWR) were estimated for Acanthobrama mirabilis, Barbus pectoralis, Chondrostoma meandrense, Capoeta bergamae, Silurus glanis, Petroleuciscus smyrnaeus and Cyprinus carpio from the Kemer reservoir in western Anatolia, Turkey. This study is the first reference on length–weight parameters for five of these species.     

Effects of disturbance caused by selective timber extraction on fish communities in Sabah, Malaysia

To examine the effects of selective timber extraction on fish communities in Sabah, Malaysia, quantitative samples of fishes were taken from thirteen streams running through undisturbed rainforest or through forest that had been selectively logged 3–18 years previously. Multivariate analysis (canonical discriminant analysis and cluster analysis) indicated that mesohabitats within streams (riffles and pools) and differences in stream size were more important in determining community structure than logging history. Riffles in streams running through logged or undisturbed forest were indistinguishable using relative biomass or abundance data, as were pools from small streams (approximate order 2). Fish communities from pools in larger streams showed some separation in multivariate space corresponding to a complex set of relative changes in abundance and/or biomass between species. However it was difficult to unambiguously assign such changes to logging regime alone. There appeared to be some differences in fish communities between streams in recently-logged (3–7 years) and old-logged (17–18 years) areas related to abundance or biomass of three cyprinids (Garra borneensis, Lobocheilos bo and Osteochilus chini). Only one species, Pangio mariarum, was not found in streams in logged forest, but it was only found at one location in undisturbed forest. A number of other species showed significant differences in abundance or biomass between sites but most of these were only present at some sites and in low abundance. Principal components analysis of habitat data showed that riffle sites were homogeneous whatever their logging history as were pools in unlogged large streams. Pools in logged large streams were significantly more heterogeneous but in a random rather than systematic manner. It is concluded that the type of selective logging practices used locally have low impact on fish communities through mechanisms of persistence and/or rapid recolonisation.     

Sustainable use of tropical forests by reduced-impact logging in Deramakot Forest Reserve,Sabah, Malaysia

In pursuance of economic growth and development, logging has exhausted the natural timber resource in the tropical rainforest of Sabah, Malaysia. Realizing the forest depletion, the Sabah Forestry Department, with technical support from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, begun developing a management system with the intent of managing all commercial forest reserves in a way that mimics natural processes for sustainable production of low volume, high quality, and high priced timber products in 1989. As dictated by a forest management plan based on forest zoning, about 51,000 ha of the entire area is set aside for log production and 4,000 ha for conservation in Deramakot Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia. This Forest Management Plan has served as the blueprint for operational work and biodiversity conservation in Deramakot to the present. A strict protection area is set aside for biodiversity conservation within the reserve. A reduced-impact logging system is being employed for harvesting with minimal impacts on the physical environment. Deramakot Forest Reserve was certified as “well managed” by an international certification body, the Forest Stewardship Council, in 1997 and is the first natural forest reserve in Southeast Asia managed in accordance with sustainable forestry principles. In addition to providing a "green premium," certification provides easier market access, evidence of legality, multi-stakeholder participation, conservation of biodiversity and best forest management practices, particularly reduced-impact logging techniques. Deramakot Forest Reserve is the flagship of the Sabah Forestry Department and serves as a symbol of what can be achieved with political support and institutional commitment.     

Aquatic surface respiration,a widespread adaptation to hypoxia in tropical freshwater fishes

Synopsis Use of the surface water for aquatic respiration (aquatic surface respiration, ASR) is one of the few alternatives to aerial respiration which allow fish to survive extreme hypoxia, yet it has received very little attention. This report examines three generalizations concerning ASR on a phylogenetically and geographically diverse range of tropical freshwater fishes. It demonstrates that ASR greatly enhances survival in hypoxic water, even in fish not morphologically specialized to use the surface film, that ASR is initiated at a distinct threshold oxygen concentration, with time spent at the surface increasing rapidly as O₂ declines, and that with extreme deoxygenation fish perform ASR over 90% of the time. Ninety-four percent of the 31 species of non-air breathing fish tested showed ASR., with the threshold oxygen concentration ranging from 6 to 40 torr.Present address correspondence and reprint requests to D.L. Kramer.     

First occurrence of Cochlodinium blooms in Sabah, Malaysia

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) resulting in red discoloration of coastal waters in Sepanggar Bay, off Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia, were first observed in January 2005. The species responsible for the bloom, which was identified as Cochlodinium polykrikoides, coincided with fish mortalities in cage-cultures. Determinations of cell density between January 2005 and June 2006 showed two peaks that occurred in March–June 2005 and June 2006. Cell abundance reached a maximum value of 6 × 10⁶ cells L⁻¹ at the fish cage sampling station where the water quality was characterized by high NO₃–N and PO₄–P concentrations. These blooms persisted into August 2005, were not detected during the north–east monsoon season and occurred again in May 2006. Favorable temperature, salinity and nutrient concentrations, which were similar to those associated with other C. polykrikoides blooms in the Asia Pacific region, likely promoted the growth of this species. Identification of C. polykrikoides as the causative organism was based on light and scanning microscopy, and confirmed by partial 18S ribosomal DNA sequences of two strains isolated during the bloom event (GenBank accession numbers DQ915169 and DQ915170).     

Standardgewichte der Copepoden in der Pommerschen Bucht. Standard Weights of the Pomeranian Bay Copepods

The length weight relationship was determined for Pseudocalanus minutus elongatus, Temora longicornis, Acartia bifilosa, and Acartia longiremis caught in the Pomeranian Bay (Baltic Sea). To determine the weights of the individuals a geometrical method was used and the formula.     

Genetic variation of growth and tree quality traits among 42 diverse genetic origins of Tectona grandis planted under humid tropical conditions in Sabah, East Malaysia

Forty-two different genetic origins of teak (Tectona grandis) comprising 26 open-pollinated families from a clonal seed orchard (CSO) were planted in a replicated trial under 2,500 mm of annual rainfall and no distinct dry season, in 1997, in Sabah, East Malaysia. The trees were measured or scored for various traits at 13, 35, 49, 61, 72, 85, 96, and 106 months after planting. Mortality rate, height (H), diameter at breast height (DBH), volume (V), and fork height (FH) varied strongly among populations and origins. The best population means after 106 months for growth H (21.1 m), DBH (21.1 cm), and V (278 dm³) were for the CSO families. Narrow sense heritabilities for the CSO families increased gradually with age but remained lower after 106 months for DBH (h ² = 0.24) and V (h ² = 0.34) than for H (h ² = 0.51) and FH (h ² = 0.56). Overall, the CSO families were also straighter, less forked, and grew more vertically than the native provenance and seed-derived sources. Such differences did not exist for flowering ability, and at 106 months, the great majority of the trees of the various origins had not yet entered the flowering stage. Overall, at 106 months, the phenotypic correlations between the various quantitative and qualitative traits were weak, except between straightness and bending with values higher than 0.50. These findings confirm the usefulness of CSO for teak improvement and demonstrate the beneficial influence of wet tropical conditions on traits of major economical importance for this species.     

Length–weight relationships of six freshwater fishes from small streams flowing into Lake Sapanca, NW Turkey

Length–weight relationships are given on six freshwater fish species ( Phoxinus phoxinus , Cobitis vardarensis , Neogobius gymnotrachelus , Proterorhinus marmoratus, Petroleuciscus borysthenicus and Gambusia holbrooki ) from four streams flowing into Lake Sapanca, north-western Turkey.     

Temporal and spatial variation of forest biomass in relation to stand dynamics in a mature,lowland tropical rainforest,Malaysia

To clarify consistency in the size of carbon pool of a lowland tropical rainforest, we calculated changes in above-ground biomass in the Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. We estimated the total above-ground biomass of a mature stand using tree census data obtained in a 6-ha plot every 2years from 1994 to 1998. The total above-ground biomass decreased consistently from 1994 (431Mgha^–1) to 1998 (403Mgha^–1) (1Mg=10³ kg). These are much lower than that in 1973 for a 0.2ha portion of the same area, suggesting that the the total above-ground biomass reduction might have been consistent in recent decades. This trend contrasted with a major trend for neotropical forests. During 1994–1998, the forest gained 23.0 and 0.88Mgha^–1 of the total above-ground biomass by tree growth and recruitment, respectively, and lost 51.9Mgha^–1 by mortality. Overall, the biomass decreased by 28.4Mgha^–1 (i.e. 7.10Mgha^–1·year^–1), which is almost equivalent to losing a 76-cm-diameter living tree per hectare per year. Analysis of positive and negative components of biomass change revealed that deaths of large trees dominated the total above-ground biomass decrease. The forest biomass also varied spatially, with the total above-ground biomass density ranging 212–655Mgha^–1 on a 0.2-ha basis (n= 30 subplots, 1998) and 365–440Mgha^–1 on a 1ha basis. A large decrease of the total above-ground biomass density (>50Mg per ha per 2years) in several 0.2-ha subplots contributed to the overall decrease in the 6-ha total above-ground biomass. In the present study, we discuss the association between forest dynamics and biomass fluctuation, and the implication for carbon cycling in mature forests with emphasis on forest monitoring and assessments of soil and decomposition systems.     

Limited performance of DNA barcoding in a diverse community of tropical butterflies

DNA 'barcoding' relies on a short fragment of mitochondrial DNA to infer identification of specimens. The method depends on genetic diversity being markedly lower within than between species. Closely related species are most likely to share genetic variation in communities where speciation rates are rapid and effective population sizes are large, such that coalescence times are long. We assessed the applicability of DNA barcoding (here the 5' half of the cytochrome c oxidase I) to a diverse community of butterflies from the upper Amazon, using a group with a well-established morphological taxonomy to serve as a reference. Only 77% of species could be accurately identified using the barcode data, a figure that dropped to 68% in species represented in the analyses by more than one geographical race and at least one congener. The use of additional mitochondrial sequence data hardly improved species identification, while a fragment of a nuclear gene resolved issues in some of the problematic species. We acknowledge the utility of barcodes when morphological characters are ambiguous or unknown, but we also recommend the addition of nuclear sequence data, and caution that species-level identification rates might be lower in the most diverse habitats of our planet.     

Behavioral thermoregulatory abilities of tropical coral reef fishes: a comparison with temperate freshwater and marine fishes

Synopsis Eight species in six different families of tropical marine reef fishes from the Indo-West Pacific region (Naso lituratus, Zebrasoma.flavescens, Balistes fuscus, B. vidua, Forcipiger longirostris, Echidna zebra, Cromileptes altivelis, Canthigaster jactator) were tested for ability to thermoregulate behaviorally in electronic shuttleboxes. All of these species preferred mean temperatures between 20 and 30°C, but differed considerably in thermoregulatory precision. All species avoided lethal high or low temperatures (i.e., they did not die during the tests), and some species thermoregulated as precisely as temperate species. Some temperate species prefer higher temperatures (above 30°C) than do these tropical reef species.     

Ecomorphological correlates in tropical stream fishes of southern India

Synopsis I studied ecomorphological correlations in 18 stream fish species (belonging to five families) commonly occurring in diversity rich habitats of rivers in the central Western Ghats (Southern India). Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated a clear segregation of species in morphological and ecological (habitat) space. Cluster analyses using morphological features segregated species based mainly on their body shape and feeding parameters while habitat parameters segregated species according to their position along the water column and preference to runs or pool habitats. Principal component analyses showed that body size, head dimensions, mouth position and eye diameter were important characters for species segregation in morphological space while run or pool habitat type and the position of the fish in the water column best explained segregation of species in habitat space. Consistencies in some of the species clusters obtained from analyses on morphological characteristics and habitat preferences warrant closer examination of the relationships between them. These were studied employing multivariate methods like canonical correspondence analysis and the Mantel test. The tests revealed weak correlations indicating that in addition to morphology, other factors like behavioural, physiological and evolutionary constraints together are likely to play an important role in ecosystem structuring of these complex tropical assemblages.     

Assessment of higher insect taxa as bioindicators for different logging-disturbance regimes in lowland tropical rain forest in Sabah, Malaysia

One of the serious environmental problems since the 1980s has been the conflict between the high rate of deforestation and maintenance of healthy ecosystem services and biological values in tropical forests. There is an urgent demand for setting up an appropriate environmental assessment to keep healthy ecosystem functions and biodiversity along with sustainable forest use based on ecology. In this study, we tried to assess logging-disturbance effects on the abundances of several flying insect groups (higher-taxon approach) in lowland tropical rain forest (Deramakot Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia), while considering seasonal changes and vertical forest stratification. The season was the most important factor affecting the abundances of all the insect groups. Effects of logging disturbance were prominent in the understorey but obscure in the canopy. Changes in physical conditions caused by logging—possibly an increased evaporation due to solar radiation—may have decreased the abundance of desiccation-sensitive insects, especially in the understorey. There are also two probable reasons for the difference between events in the understorey and those in the canopy: (1) noise effects of various physical, environmental factors may have obscured insect responses to logging disturbance in the canopy; (2) higher spatio-temporal variation in quality and quantity of living food resources—such as leaves, flowers and fruits—provided in the canopy may have affected the abundance of their consumer insects independently of logging disturbance. Thus, this study suggests that the abundance of some insect groups at higher-taxon level, especially in the understorey, can be used as bioindicators for assessing effects of logging disturbance on the forest ecosystem.     

Interspecific relationships of aufwuchs-eating fishes in Lake Tanganyika

Synopsis On a rocky shore of Lake Tanganyika aufwuchs-eating is practiced by 18 fish species: 17 cichlids and 1 cyprinid. The majority takes mostly either filamentous or unicellular algae.Tropheus moorei and its taxonomically related species most closely resemble one another in diet among the species taking mostly filamentous algae, and thePetrochromis species do so among the species taking mostly unicellular algae.Petrochromis polyodon andT. moorei severely interfere with the feeding activities of related species. These two dominant species share both intensive grazing sites and temporal grazing patterns, and there seems to be a symbiotic relationship between them. Symbiotic relationships are also seen in seven cases of associated feeding by carnivorous fishes. Differences in diet or feeding behavior are found between these symbionts. Small but clear differences are found betweenP. polyodon andT. moorei and between the associating and the carnivorous host fishes in the four cases of associated feeding. These small differences seem attributable to morphological differences and may have been effective for the evolution of symbiotic relationships.Contribution from the Laboratory of Animal Ecology, Kyoto University, No. 461.     

Fish assemblages across a complex,tropical freshwater/marine ecotone

Synopsis Riverine fish assemblages in the temperate zone generally show strong longitudinal patterns of faunal turnover and increases in species richness with increasing stream order. We examined the composition and structure of tropical fish assemblages across a complex freshwater/marine ecotone in Tortuguero National Park on the Caribbean coast of Central America. Species turnover was high between four characteristic habitats that largely corresponded with a longitudinal gradient of stream order over distances of less than 30 km. Suites of common fish species characterized each habitat: creeks, rivers, lagoons, and the sea. In addition to the habitat endemics, several species spanned two habitat types, but only three species were collected in more than two habitats. Multivariate gradient analysis of fish assemblages reflected a gradient of habitats that to some extent corresponded to fluvial distances. Due to the unusual configuration of coastal lagoons lying parallel to the coast, the ordination gradient showed little correlation with linear distance to the coast. Environmental variables related to habitat size and salinity showed greatest correspondence with the fish assemblage ordination gradient. Invertebrate-feeding fishes were the predominant trophic group in 15 of 16 fish assemblages, and inland creek sites contained a greater proportion of herbivores and omnivores than other sites. The relative fraction of herbivorous and detritivorous fishes showed a monotonic decline along the longitudinal habitat gradient from inland to coast. Patterns of species composition and richness at Tortuguero Park appeared to agree well with earlier models of factors influencing temperate zone stream fishes. Headwaters have low aquatic primary productivity and contain small colonizing fish species subject to large fluctuations in local densities and intermittent competition. Lagoons contain both large and small species, the latter being restricted largely to shallow edge habitats by predation. Lagoons exhibit more lentic environmental conditions, experience relatively fewer periodic disturbances than headwaters, and their assemblages are inferred to be under relatively greater influence of biotic factors. Fish assemblages of rivers and caños (swampy side channels and braids) appear to be under less abiotic control than headwaters and influenced less by biotic factors than lagoons.     

Feeding of tropical freshwater fishes: seasonality in resource availability and resource use

Summary Food resources in the environment and in the diets of small fish inhabiting two water bodies in a tropical savanna were studied during both wet and dry seasons. During the wet season (high water, abundant food) most fish species in both habitats fed predominantly on vegetation-dwelling invertebrates. Most fish species switched to alternative foods (algae and detritus) following the drastic decline in invertebrate food available towards the end of the dry season. In one habitat, this change in diet was accompanied by an increase in the volume of food intake. In the second habitat, only two larger species foraged intensively, while smaller species showed low food intake or almost ceased feeding. These differences may be explained by the high risk of predation for small fish in the second habitat. Dietary overlaps among fish species were high at the end of the dry season and moderate in the wet season. However, critical analysis of such factors as food abundance, the size and number of shared prey, and diet breadth showed that all significant overlaps were ecologically unimportant i.e. there was only weak competition for food.     

Risk of predation and feeding rate in tropical freshwater fishes: field evidence

Summary In a previous study (A. Prejs and K. Prejs in press) we found that at the end of the dry season small fish species trapped together with piscivorous fish in small, shallow pool varied in their level of food intake. The two smallest of these species fed little, whereas larger species fed at high rate. By examining the species and size composition of the diet and gape limitations of predatory species, I found that the decreased feeding rate of small fish was in response to a high risk of predation by gape-limited predators. The reduction of feeding rate was very substantial when compared to that of the same species in predator free area.