Habitat and Fish Fauna Structure in a Subtropical Mountain Stream in Taiwan before and after a Catastrophic Typhoon

Habitats and fish populations of a subtropical mountain stream in Taiwan were surveyed before and after the hit of super-typhoon Herb in July 1996. There was a significant decrease in total pool area and an increase in total riffle area. Upper stream habitat was more susceptible to the disturbance. Relative abundance of the species was significantly correlated before and after the typhoon (rs=0.89, p<0.001). Morisita's index of similarity for the fish communities in June 1996 and October 1997 ranged between 0.82 and 1.02 for seven out of nine stations. Most common cyprinids decreased in densities after Herb, but recovered seventeen months after the typhoon. There were only minor changes in fish community fourteen months after the typhoon. Cyprinids that are smaller in size, such as Candidia barbata and Abottina brevirostris alticorpus were affected the most. Gobiid Rhinogobius nantaiensis that is well adapted to riffle habitat was unaffected throughout the surveys. The results of this study suggested that in subtropical mountain stream, severe typhoon may significantly alter the habitats, but the impact on fish populations could be relatively small due to features of these mountain species.     

Effects of dredge material placement on benthic macroinvertebrates of the Illinois River

Since the 1930s, dredge material has been removed from the Illinois River and placed along the main channel border in shallow depths to maintain a 2.7 m deep main channel for commercial navigation. Placement of this material changes the sediment composition from primarily silt/clay to primarily sand, and it buries pre-existing benthic invertebrates. During 1997 and 1998, the benthos of an 125 km reach of the middle Illinois River (La Grange Reach) was studied by extracting 1065 Ponar samples from randomly-selected sites which had never received dredge material, received dredge material one year previous, or received dredge material during the current year. Although total numbers of macroinvertebrates collected was lower in 1998 than in 1997, relative abundances of eight targeted taxa were highly similar between years. Chironimidae were most abundant and comprised >66% of all macroinvertebrates collected both years. Differences in densities of Chironomidae, Ephemeroptera, Sphaeriidae, Corbicula fluminea (Muller, 1774), Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771), Odonata, and Gastropoda among the three classes of dredge material placement were all significant (P< 0.05). For all taxa, densities were highest at sites that had never received dredge material; and, for all taxa except Chironimidae, densities were lowest at sites that received dredge material during the current year. No significant recovery by macroinvertebrates was noticed on dredge areas of this reach after one year (P>0.05). Future operations to maintain a channel for navigation should consider preexisting densities of macroinvertebrate taxa. Because benthic macroinvertebrates are an important component of the food web and shifting sand does not support diverse macroinvertebrate communities, strategic placement of dredge material by avoiding islands or other areas of high macroinvertebrate diversity could improve overall system productivity and biotic integrity of large river-floodplains.     

Modelling Recolonisation of Heterogeneous River Floodplains by Small Mammals

Riverine landscapes are characterised by recurrent flooding events and successional landscape mosaics with high habitat heterogeneity, providing species-specific patterns of suitable and unsuitable biotopes. Landscape characteristics, like distance, barriers and their specifications (e.g. cumulative barrier width, barrier number) and the spatial arrangement of suitable habitat areas, are expected to affect the dispersal of animals in landscapes. The distribution of voles, shrews and mice in a floodplain was monitored for 2 years using live traps. Recolonisation was found to be a slow process, resulting in a heterogeneous distribution of small mammals in the floodplains. Microtus arvalis was found just after the floods in low densities and on or near non-flooded areas only. From summer to autumn densities gradually increased, and specimens could be observed on larger distances from the non-flooded areas. The density development pattern of Crocidura russula was similar to that of M. arvalis, but densities increased faster. In contrast, Clethrionomys glareolus and Sorex araneus could immediately be observed in the former flooded areas just after the floods, but throughout the year these species were not trapped on distances further than 120 m from the non-flooded areas. Micromys minutus and Apodemus sylvaticus were trapped only occasionally in spring and summer after which those species could be found throughout the floodplain in larger densities in autumn. To analyse the influence of landscape characteristics on recolonisation, the floodplain was classified into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat landscape units for each of the small mammal species, based on the trapping results. Landscape characteristics relating to monitoring sites were measured from an aerial photograph using a geographic information system. After that, presence and recolonisation time of small mammals at monitoring sites could be described by multiple regression models based on these measured landscape characteristics. The predictive power of these models was tested in another floodplain by determining the species distribution after 35 weeks. Multiple regression models appeared to be useful in analysing recolonisation patterns and determining the importance of landscape characteristics for recolonisation by small mammals after flooding events. Available distribution data suggest three different types of recolonisers: (1) Gradual, density induced colonisers; (2) Active dispersers and (3) Long-distance dispersers after a lag. Results of regression models confirmed that M. arvalis could be characterised as a type 1 and A. sylvaticus as a type 3 species. The classification of the other species was not possible due to the relatively short time available for recolonisation.     

Mapping forest-cover disturbances in Papua New Guinea with AVHRR data

Abstract. Land management and land-use planning in a forested country such as Papua New Guinea, which is subject to various anthropogenic pressures, requires an accurate mapping of forest-cover disturbances. The central hypothesis of this study was that remote sensing indicators of forest-cover conditions can be used to measure and map the impact of long-term forest-cover disturbances. This was tested with single year NOAA's Advanced Very-High Resolution Radiometer sensor (AVHRR) data at 1.1 km resolution. First, an ordinal scale of forest-cover disturbance was defined from field observations, a set of thematic maps and high spatial resolution satellite sensor data. Secondly, we analysed the relationship between the forest-cover disturbance scale and several biophysical indicators derived from AVHRR data at two seasons. Thirdly, a statistical analysis identified the optimal combination of biophysical indicators and observation dates to discriminate between the forest disturbance levels defined previously. A forest-cover disturbance map was then produced over part of Papua New Guinea. Finally, a regionalization of the study area in terms of aggregate degree of disturbance was produced and the spatial patterns of forest disturbances were interpreted for each region in terms of broad processes of forest-cover change. The overall accuracy of the forest-cover disturbance map was 79%. Nine regions, homogeneous in regard to the distribution and spatial pattern of disturbance categories, were identified.     

Investigating the distribution of prairie dogs in an urban landscape

Habitat fragmentation is a prevalent threat to biological diversity, and urbanization is a primary agent of fragmentation and a leading cause of species endangerment. Landscape biogeographic and local habitat characteristics can be important determinants of the distribution of species in habitat patches in urban landscapes. However, the specifics of which characteristics are most critical to maintaining biological diversity are not fully known for prairie ecosystems, especially in fragmented urban habitat. This study focuses on black-tailed prairie dogs along an urban gradient in Denver, CO. Prairie dogs have declined precipitously throughout the region and are an essential part of the prairie ecosystem, making them excellent study subjects. We identified a series of habitat fragments along a gradient of urbanization in the fully urbanized areas and south suburbs of Denver, CO, both containing and not containing prairie dogs. Local characteristics, including fragment slope and vegetative cover, and landscape characteristics, including fragment size, age and connectivity, were measured on each fragment. We used likelihood-based methods to explore which variables most accurately predicted prairie dog occurrence within our study area. Multiple factors influenced the distribution of prairie dogs in urban settings, with colony connectivity the strongest predictor of occupancy. Large and recently isolated fragments near other prairie dog colonies, flat areas and those with high graminoid cover were most likely to support prairie dog populations. Our study provides the first attempt to model prairie dog occurrence in highly fragmented urban habitat and has important implications for the management and conservation of prairie dogs.     

Deadwood in Relation to Stand Management and Forest Type in Central Apennines (Molise,Italy)

Deadwood is an important component for conserving carbon stock and maintaining species diversity. Scarce information is, at present, available concerning the amount and composition of deadwood in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. In this study, 21 sites were chosen to characterize different forest types among representative managed and unmanaged stands in the Central Apennines (Molise, Italy). Data were collected to assess living tree and deadwood volumes, and the relative abundance of different deadwood components in decay classes. The information gathered was related to human-induced disturbances on a regional scale. There were substantial differences in the deadwood volumes between managed and unmanaged stands, although this was not the case in the living tree volumes. Deadwood volumes were larger in unmanaged than in managed stands. In particular, large amounts of deadwood were found in managed Mediterranean and Anatolian fir forests, probably due to minimal management practices. Dead downed trees were less represented in managed forests as they are normally removed to facilitate logging activities. Logs occurred more frequently in managed stands as logging residues left on site. Most deadwood material belonged to early decay classes. Proportionally larger amounts of deadwood ascribed to class 1 in managed stands correlated with recent cutting activities. The relatively large amounts of deadwood attributed in unmanaged stands to class 3 demonstrate its longer persistence in unmanaged forests. This study represents a first systematic analysis of deadwood occurrence in a typical Mediterranean forest area, and should be useful in defining important objectives for sustainable forest management.     

Disturbance history influences the distribution of stream invertebrates by altering microhabitat parameters: a field experiment

1. We investigated the effects of local disturbance history and several biotic and abiotic habitat parameters on the microdistribution of benthic invertebrates after an experimental disturbance in a flood‐prone German stream. 2. Bed movement patterns during a moderate flood were simulated by scouring and filling stream bed patches (area 0.49 m²) to a depth of 15–20 cm. Invertebrates were investigated using ceramic tiles as standardized substrata. After 1, 8, 22, 29, 36 and 50 days, we sampled one tile from each of 16 replicates of three bed stability treatments (scour, fill and stable controls). For each tile, we also determined water depth, near‐bed current velocity, the grain size of the substratum beneath the tile, epilithic algal biomass and standing stock of particulate organic matter (POM). 3. Shortly after disturbance, total invertebrate density, taxon richness and density of the common taxa Baetis spp. and Chironomidae were highest in stable patches. Several weeks after disturbance, by contrast, Baetis spp. and Hydropsychidae were most common in fill and Leuctra spp. in scour patches. The black fly Simulium spp. was most abundant in fill patches from the first day onwards. Community evenness was highest in scour patches during the entire study. 4. Local disturbance history also influenced algal biomass and POM standing stock at the beginning of the experiment, and water depth, current velocity and substratum grain size throughout the experiment. Scouring mainly exposed finer substrata and caused local depressions in the stream bed characterized by slower near‐bed current velocity. Algal biomass was higher in stable and scour patches and POM was highest in scour patches. In turn, all five common invertebrate taxa were frequently correlated with one or two of these habitat parameters. 5. Our results suggest that several ‘direct’ initial effects of local disturbance history on the invertebrates were subsequently replaced by ‘indirect’ effects of disturbance history (via disturbance‐induced changes in habitat parameters such as current velocity or food).     

1976-2013年三江平原景观生态风险变化及驱动力

受自然过程和人类活动的影响,三江平原景观生态风险格局发生了明显变化。采用GIS和RS技术构建景观风险指数,结合网格分析法和地理探测器分析1976-2013年三江平原景观生态风险变化及驱动力。结果表明,从时间上看,1976-2013年三江平原农田、草地和湿地的景观损失度逐渐降低,林地和居民用地景观损失度不断升高,生态风险呈逐渐降低趋势;从空间上看,1976年以高风险区为主,2013年则以低风险区为主,1976-2013年低风险、较低风险和中风险区不断向三江平原西部和西南部扩张,高风险和较高风险区逐渐向北部的黑龙江和乌苏里江沿岸及保护区退缩,生态风险整体向西南方向运移,风险质心向西南转移37.8 km;三江平原景观生态风险格局变化受海拔、地貌、居民点、保护区距离和人为干扰度影响明显,其中人为干扰度、居民点以及保护区距离对景观生态风险解释力最为显著,1995年人为干扰度（71.2%）、居民点距离（64.6%）和保护区距离（43.7%）的因子解释力明显高于地貌类型（11.2%）和流域类型（8.9%）,2013年地貌类型（23.5%）解释力大于保护区距离（23.3%）。该研究为湿地保护和恢复提供科学参考。     

漓江大型底栖动物功能摄食类群时空分布及生态效应

基于2009年9月至2012年8月期间对漓江上中下游3个河流区段的4次采样调查,分析了漓江大型底栖动物功能摄食类群的组成与时空分布状况及其对河流生境变化的响应情况。结果表明:漓江大型底栖动物以刮食者占据绝对优势,其次依次是滤食者、收集者、捕食者和撕食者。刮食者中优势种为中华园田螺和黑龙江短沟蜷,滤食者中优势种为河蚬和纹石蚕,收集者中优势种为小蜉和摇蚊幼虫,捕食者中优势种为扁舌蛭和蜻蜓幼虫,撕食者中优势种为泥甲。根据功能摄食类群参数对河流生境以及人类活动影响的评价表明,人类居住生活对生境稳定性的影响显著大于旅游观光带来的影响,环境因子中溶解氧(DO)、pH、电导率(EC)、温度(Temp)、浊度(Tur)、化学需氧量(COD)和总氮(TN)等环境因子与漓江大型底栖动物功能摄食类群的相关性均较强。