BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Recent Advances in Anaerobic Bacteriology (1987). Edited by S.P. Borriello, J.M. Hardie, B.S. Drasar, B.I. Duerden, M.J. Hudson & R.J. Lysons.
Current Topics in Medical Mycology (1988). Volume 2. Edited by M.R. McGinnis
Advances in Biotechnological Processes Vol. 6 (1986). Edited by Avshalom Mizrahi
The Health Service Use of Ethylene Oxide Sterilization. Edited by G.A.J. Ayliffe, N.F. Cripps, C.E.A. Deverill & R.H. George
Biotechnology of Waste Treatment and Exploitation (1987). Edited by John M. Sidwick & Roger S. Holdom
Animal Cell Technology, Principles and Products (1987). By M. Butler
Methods in Aquatic Bacteriology (1988). Edited by B. Austin
Homeostatic Mechanisms in Microorganisms (1988). Edited by R. Whittenbury, G.W. Gould, J.G. Banks & R.G. Board
Lecture Notes on Medical Virology (1987). By D.J. Jeffries
Urinary Tract Infections (1987). By J.R. Dalton & E.J. Bergquist
Quality Control and Assurance in Clinical Laboratories (1988). Edited by A.D. Farr
Disinfection in Veterinary and Farm Animal Practice (1987). Edited by A.H. Linton, W.B. Hugo & A.D. Russell     

喀麦隆塞玛岭地区溪流中的水生丝孢菌区系

Aquatic hyphomycetes on submerged fallen leaves and deadwoods have been numerously reported in fast running streams in temperate countries(Ingold,1976;Ingold,1979;Chauvet,1990;Barlocher & Rosset,1987;Barlocher et al.,1995;Descals et al.,1995).However,documented information is considerably limited in African countries(Ingold,1956;Dixon,1959;Le-John,1965;Ferreira et al.,1981),and unavailable in Cameroon,a country mostly covered with heavy tropical forests(Loung,1980).This paper is to present a list of aquatic and aeroaquatic hyphomycetes identified from foam samples collected in Cameroon during a two-year survey.     

Book reviews

Serruya, C. (Ed.) (1978) Lake Kinneret .
Reay, P.J. (1979) Aquaculture .
Neff, J.M. (1979) Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Aquatic Environment. Sources, Fates and Biological Effects .
Thorp J.H. and Gibbons J.W. (Eds) (1978) Energy and Environmental Stress in Aquatic Systems .
Mordukhai-Boltovskoi, Ph.D. (1979) The River Volga and its Life .
Welcomme, R.L. (1979) Fisheries Ecology of Floodplain Rivers .
Heller, H. (Ed.) (1978) Verhandlungen, Gesellschaft für Ökologie, Kiel 1977 .
Elliott J.M. & Mann K.H. (1979) A key to the British freshwater leeches with notes on their life cycles and ecology .
Merritt R.W. & Cummins K.W. (Eds) (1978) An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America .     

Habitat selection of the globally threatened Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola at the western margin of its breeding range and implications for management

The globally threatened Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola is an umbrella species for fen mires and is at risk of extinction in its westernmost breeding population due to severe habitat loss. We used boosted regression trees to model Aquatic Warbler habitat selection in order to make recommendations for effective management of the last remnant habitats. Habitat data were collected in the years 2004–2006 in all remaining breeding sites in Pomerania (eastern Germany and western Poland) as well as in recently abandoned sites. Models were validated using data from similar Aquatic Warbler habitats in Lithuania. The probability of occurrence of Aquatic Warblers in late May/early June was positively associated with low isolation from other occupied sites, less eutrophic conditions, a high proportion of area mown early in the preceding year, high availability of vegetation 60–70 cm high, high prey abundance and high habitat heterogeneity. Early summer land management is needed in the more productive sites to prevent habitat deterioration by succession to higher and denser vegetation. As this also poses a serious threat to broods, management that creates a mosaic of early and late used patches is recommended to preserve and restore productive Aquatic Warbler sites. In less productive sites, winter mowing can maintain suitable habitat conditions. Aquatic Warbler‐friendly land use supports a variety of other threatened plant and animal species typical of fens and sedge meadows and can meet the economic interests of local land users.     

Monitoring and assessment of mercury pollution in the vicinity of a chloralkali plant. III. Concentration and genotoxicity of mercury in the industrial effluent and contaminated water of Rushikulya estuary, India.

Aquatic mercury pollution of the Rushikulya estuary in the vicinity of the chloralkali plant at Ganjam, India was monitored over a period from October 1987 to May 1989. The concentrations of aquatic mercury in the water samples taken from the effluent channel and from different sites along the course of the estuary covering a distance of 2 km were periodically recorded and ranged from 0 to 0.5 mg/l. The bioconcentration and genotoxicity of aquatic mercury in the samples were assessed by the Allium micronucleus (MNC) assay. The frequency of cells with MNC was highly correlated not only with bioconcentrated mercury (root mercury) but also with the levels of aquatic mercury. The threshold assessment values such as effective concentration fifty (EC50) for root growth, lowest effective concentration tested (LECT), and highest ineffective concentration tested (HICT) for induction of MNC in Allium MNC assay for the present aquatic industrial mercury were determined to be 0.14, 0.06 and 0.02 mg/l, respectively.     

Commercially cut reed as a new and sustainable habitat for the globally threatened Aquatic Warbler

The Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) is a song bird breeding in fen mires and similarly structured other wetlands with a water depth of 1–10 cm. Widespread in central-European wetlands at the beginning of the 20th century, the species is now globally threatened. The westernmost and genetically distinct Pomeranian population is even on the verge of extinction. The major challenge in the conservation of remaining habitat is the cost-efficient removal of biomass. About 50% of the Pomeranian population survives in a valley fen near Rozwarowo in Northwest Poland, where between 1993 and 2007 a conspicuous change in breeding habitat has taken place from summer grazed sedge meadows to commercial winter cut reed beds. We compared vegetation structure, site conditions, and potential prey abundance with the distribution and abundance of Aquatic Warblers in Rozwarowo Marshes and studied temporal changes and the compatibility of conservation and reed cutting interests. Aquatic Warblers now occur almost exclusively in sparsely growing, low reed with abundant Thelypteris palustris, Carex elata, and Lysimachia vulgaris. This vegetation type provides more potential prey for Aquatic Warblers than the higher productive tall reed, whereas the patches of sedge vegetation have become too small following succession after abandonment. Currently, commercial reed cutting maintains suitable Aquatic Warbler breeding habitat. Considering the impending changes in the reed market, there is a need for flexible agri-environmental schemes (AES) to ensure that stripes are left uncut and to prevent eutrophication by high and long flooding of the site.     

Rapid deterioration of Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola habitats at the western margin of the breeding range

In the last German breeding area of the rapidly declining “Pomeranian” population of the Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola), the Lower Oder Valley National Park, we investigated changes in habitat suitability between 1993 and 2006 by combining monitoring results with repeated assessments of vegetation structure and composition, site conditions, and land use. Sites with recent Aquatic Warbler records showed shorter and sparser vegetation, a thinner litter layer, and a higher total plant species richness and cover of small and least competitive (CSR) species than abandoned or unoccupied sites. On a long-term study plot, during a period of late mowing and subsequent cessation of land use, vegetation height increased, the cover of CSR species decreased, and the site became abandoned by Aquatic Warblers. The probability of Aquatic Warbler occurrence was dependent on elevation and increased with the proportion of early mown or grazed area in the preceding year, with early use being most important on slightly higher elevated sites. This rapid deterioration of eutrophic habitats by delayed or discontinued land use is atypical for the majority of Aquatic Warbler breeding habitats. We conclude that both late or no land use and land use during the breeding season negatively affect the Pomeranian breeding sites and that a more sophisticated and flexible land management is urgently needed.     

Prolonged copulation, sperm reserves and sperm competition in the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola

The Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola has a quasi-promiscuous mating system with high levels of multiple paternity and, thus, intense sperm competition. The duration of copulation in the Aquatic Warbler is unusually long. In hand-reared, captive birds the duration of mounting was 23.7 ± 11.8 min (mean ± s.d.). On average, six cloacal contacts (inseminations) occurred during each copulation. Between inseminations the male remained in contact with the female, either on top of or directly behind her. Protracted copulation may be a form of contact mate guarding, a behaviour not previously recorded in birds. Copulation was most frequent during the evening and early morning. Male Aquatic Warblers also exhibit extreme morphological adaptations of their reproductive system compared with other Acrocephalus species and other birds: their testes, cloacal protuberance and seminal glomera (which contain 198 × 10⁶ spermatozoa) are all relatively large. Frequent insemination during protracted copulation and contact mate guarding may be alternatives to paternity guarding found in other birds.     

Improving Aquatic Warbler Population Assessments by Accounting for Imperfect Detection

Monitoring programs designed to assess changes in population size over time need to account for imperfect detection and provide estimates of precision around annual abundance estimates. Especially for species dependent on conservation management, robust monitoring is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of management. Many bird species of temperate grasslands depend on specific conservation management to maintain suitable breeding habitat. One such species is the Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola), which breeds in open fen mires in Central Europe. Aquatic Warbler populations have so far been assessed using a complete survey that aims to enumerate all singing males over a large area. Because this approach provides no estimate of precision and does not account for observation error, detecting moderate population changes is challenging. From 2011 to 2013 we trialled a new line transect sampling monitoring design in the Biebrza valley, Poland, to estimate abundance of singing male Aquatic Warblers. We surveyed Aquatic Warblers repeatedly along 50 randomly placed 1-km transects, and used binomial mixture models to estimate abundances per transect. The repeated line transect sampling required 150 observer days, and thus less effort than the traditional ‘full count’ approach (175 observer days). Aquatic Warbler abundance was highest at intermediate water levels, and detection probability varied between years and was influenced by vegetation height. A power analysis indicated that our line transect sampling design had a power of 68% to detect a 20% population change over 10 years, whereas raw count data had a 9% power to detect the same trend. Thus, by accounting for imperfect detection we increased the power to detect population changes. We recommend to adopt the repeated line transect sampling approach for monitoring Aquatic Warblers in Poland and in other important breeding areas to monitor changes in population size and the effects of habitat management.     

Distribution characteristics of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms and their responses to external nitrogen and carbon in sediments of a freshwater reservoir,China

Aquatic Ecology - Ammonia oxidation driven by ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) plays a significant role in the nitrogen cycle, but the mechanism of this important action...     

Conference announcement (Windsor,Ontario)

Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society

Conference announcement (Windsor, Ontario)     

Conference announcement (Blacksburg,Virginia)

Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society

Conference announcement (Blacksburg, Virginia)     

Conference announcment (Windsor,Ontario) and registration form

Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society

Conference announcment (Windsor, Ontario) and registration form     

Modelling the winter distribution of a rare and endangered migrant, the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola

The Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola is one of the most threatened Western Palearctic passerine species, classified as globally Vulnerable. With its breeding grounds relatively secure, a clear need remains for the monitoring and protection of the migration and wintering grounds of this rare and endangered migrant. Recent research has shown that the Aquatic Warbler migrates through northwest Africa in autumn and spring. The wintering grounds are apparently limited to wetlands of sub-Saharan West Africa, with records from only about 20 localities in Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and Ghana. Given the lack of knowledge of its whereabouts, we decided to use the available data to predict the wintering distribution of the Aquatic Warbler with the help of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We used a novel approach to model the distribution of rarely recorded species, which is based on a combination of presence-only and presence–absence modelling techniques. Using the program BIOMOD, we thus generated four progressively more conservative predictions of where the Aquatic Warbler overwinters in Africa. Whereas the most permissive model predicts the Aquatic Warbler to be found in a latitudinal band stretching from the Senegal river delta all the way to the Red Sea coast, the most restrictive model suggests a much smaller area concentrated within the regions around the Senegal river delta in northern Senegal and southern Mauritania and around the Niger inundation zone in southern Mali and eastern Burkina Faso. Such model predictions may be useful guidelines to focus further field research on the Aquatic Warbler. Given the excellent model predictions in this study, this novel technique may prove useful to model the distribution of other rare and endangered species, thus providing a means to guide future survey efforts.     

Conservation of disappearing cultural landscape’s biodiversity: are people in Belarus willing to pay for wet grassland restoration?

Abandonment of traditional farming practices, such as hay-making and pasturing, has resulted in rapid loss of open wet grassland habitats in Europe. The globally threatened Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola L.) is a bird species that occurs almost exclusively in open fen mires, which have virtually disappeared in Western Europe, but still persist locally in Eastern Europe. Focusing on the world’s most important breeding site for Aquatic Warbler, the Zvaniec fen mire in Belarus, we estimated Belarusian citizens’ willingness-to-pay for adequate conservation management of this fen mire and its focal species the Aquatic Warbler. Results from a discrete choice experiment indicated that Belarusian citizens were willing to pay for appropriate conservation programmes of the Zvaniec fen mire. Scything and mechanical mowing were preferred compared to controlled burning, and especially over herbicide treatment of encroaching shrubs. Conservation management was preferred over legal protection of wetland areas without management. Respondents considered such passive conservation to be insufficient to maintain open fen mire habitat and gave a higher priority to active conservation management programmes. These preferences are consistent with evidence-based knowledge about what is effective conservation management for the Aquatic Warbler. Given the gradual disappearance of Europe’s traditional cultural landscapes, we discuss the challenge to fund the maintenance of this biocultural biodiversity legacy.     

An unavoidably short history of inland aquatic animal diversity research in the US Virgin Islands

Aquatic Ecology - The first freshwater species from the US Virgin Islands (USVI) was described 190 years ago, but research on inland aquatic animals, particularly invertebrates, remains...     

Book reviews

Barnes R.S.K. & Mann K.H. (Eds) ( 1980 ) Fundamentals of Aquatic Ecosystems .
Brown, D.S. ( 1980 ) Freshwater Snails of Africa and their medical importance .     

Effects of stream-crossing by a pipeline on the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of a small mountain stream

Aquatic environmental impact associated with stream-crossing by a pipeline was monitored at Archibald Creek, B.C. for two years. Water chemistry and benthic macroinvertebrates were used as monitoring tools. Results indicated that impacts arising from stream-crossing were short-term and non-residual.Funded by a contract from Canadian Arctic Gas Study Limited, calgary, to Aquatic Environments Limited, Calgary.Aquatic Environments Limited, Calgary.Aquatic Environments Limited, Calgary.     

Identifying autumn migration routes for the globally threatened Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola

The migration strategy of the globally threatened Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola needs to be known to ensure that effective action is taken to conserve its principal stopover sites. Using data from ringing stations during the autumn migration of reedbed warblers, we developed an index that allowed countries and sites to be compared in terms of their numerical importance to migrating Aquatic Warblers. According to this index, there was no significant decline in the number of Aquatic Warblers migrating through Europe during the 1990s. France appears to receive the largest numbers of this species in autumn compared with other European countries. Within France, only coastal regions are visited by the species (but not in the Mediterranean), with the largest numbers occurring in Normandy and Loire, while Brittany receives large numbers in some years but not in others. We also identified some French sites that are of major importance to migrating Aquatic Warblers depositing reserves on migration. France therefore plays a very important part in providing stopover sites for Aquatic Warblers, which means that France should play a major role in undertaking conservation measures for this threatened species.