Ecosystem based modeling and indication of ecological integrity in the German North Sea—Case study offshore wind parks

Human exploitation and use of marine and coastal areas are apparent and growing in many regions of the world. For instance, fishery, shipping, military, raw material exploitation, nature protection and the rapidly expanding offshore wind power technology are competing for limited resources and space. The development and implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) strategies could help to solve these problems. Therefore, suitable spatial assessment, modeling, planning and management tools are urgently needed. These tools have to deal with data that include complex information on different spatial and temporal scales. A systematic approach based on the development of future scenarios which are assessed by combining different simulation models, GIS methods and an integrating set of ecological integrity indicators, was applied in a case study in the German North Sea. Here, the installation of huge offshore wind parks within the near future is planned. The aim was to model environmental effects of altered sea-use patterns on marine biota. Indicators of ecological integrity were used to assess altering conditions and possible ecosystem shifts ranging from systems’ degradations to the development of highly productive and diverse artificial reef systems. The results showed that some ecosystem processes and properties and related indicators are sensitive to changes generated by offshore wind park installations while others did not react as hypothesized.     

Ecosystem Health and Sustainability创刊

<正>2015年3月18日,Ecosystem Health and Sustainability(EHS,ISSN:2332-8878)创刊,为全球生态学科技工作者提供了又一个高水平的出版平台。EHS由中国生态学学会与美国生态学会共同出版,是全球第一本由不同国家生态学会合作出版的学术期刊。EHS希望运用现代出版技术和理念,打破国家和学科壁垒,为全世界,特     

Ecosystem Health and Sustainability创刊

<正>2015年3月18日,Ecosystem Health and Sustainability(EHS,ISSN:2332-8878)创刊,为全球生态学科技工作者提供了又一个高水平的出版平台。EHS由中国生态学学会与美国生态学会共同出版,是全球第一本由不同国家生态学会合作出版的学术期刊。EHS希望运用现代出版技术和理念,打破国家和学科壁垒,为全世界,特别是发展中国家和新兴经济体的生态学家提供一个高水平的国际学术交流平台,促进发展中国家与发达国家生态学研究成果的学术交流。     

Ecosystem Health and Sustainability创刊

<正>2015年3月18日,Ecosystem Health and Sustainability(EHS,ISSN:2332-8878)创刊,为全球生态学科技工作者提供了又一个高水平的出版平台。EHS由中国生态学学会与美国生态学会共同出版,是全球第一本由不同国家生态学会合作出版的学术期刊。EHS希望运用现代出版技     

Ecosystem Health and Sustainability创刊

<正>2015年3月18日,Ecosystem Health and Sustainability(EHS,ISSN:2332-8878)创刊,为全球生态学科技工作者提供了又一个高水平的出版平台。EHS由中国生态学学会与美国生态学会共同出版,是全球第一本由不同国家生态学会合作出版的学术期刊。EHS希望运用现代出版技术和理念,打破国家和学科壁垒,为全世界,特     

Ecosystem Health and Sustainability征稿

正Ecosystem Health and Sustainability(EHS,ISSN 2332-8878),一本全新的、开放获取、在线出版国际期刊。由美国生态学会(ESA)与中国生态学学会(ESC)合作出版。EHS于2015年3月创刊,主要报道宏观生态学和可持续性科学。重点关注人类活动如何影响生态系统的变化,特别关注如何将生态学应用到可持续发展决策中的系统性方法。EHS的国际顾问委员会由23位科学家组成,其中包括多位泰勒奖和沃尔沃奖获得者、     

Observations on the relationship between “chloride-type” and “pseudobranch-type” cells in the gills of a fish,Oligocottus maculosus

Summary Chloride cells in gill epithelium of Oligocottus maintained in sea water have a much branched system of agranular cytoplasmic tubules, numerous mitochondria, and a prominent apical crypt. The mitochondria are randomly dispersed and do not show preferential orientation with respect to the tubules.After brief exposure of fish to sea water diluted 1/100 with glass distilled water, the mitochondria and tubules become rearranged into parallel arrays and the apical crypts disappear. The appearance of these cells is similar to that of pseudobranch cells in Fundulus heteroclitus (Copeland and Dalton, 1959).These data suggest that chloride cells and pseudobranch cells represent different adaptive forms of a single cell type and that transformation from the chloride cell configuration to that of pseudobranch cells can be induced by osmotic stress.This work was performed in 1963 when the author was enrolled in the Fine Structure Training program of the Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington. Financial aid was provided by the United States Public Health Service (Grant No. 5T1 GM-136).     

Keeping your vascular integrity: What can we learn from fish?

The cardiovascular system has the life-providing task of delivering oxygen and any flaw in this system can be life-threatening. This has encouraged extensive studies to elucidate the mechanisms behind cardiovascular development/homeostasis. The zebrafish has emerged as a formidable tool to speed up this quest, as illustrated in a recent issue of Nature Genetics.1 Baculovirus IAP repeat c2 (BIRC2), also termed cellular inhibitor of apoptosis (cIAP)-1, was found to specifically prevent endothelial cells (ECs, lining the inside of vessels) from going into suicide mode ('apoptosis') and so preserve vessel integrity. Here, we summarize the factors determining vascular integrity and elaborate on the suitability of the zebrafish to study this phenomenon.     

Ecosystem resilience and threshold response in the Galápagos coastal zone

Background

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a conservative estimate on rates of sea-level rise of 3.8 mm yr⁻¹ at the end of the 21^st century, which may have a detrimental effect on ecologically important mangrove ecosystems. Understanding factors influencing the long-term resilience of these communities is critical but poorly understood. We investigate ecological resilience in a coastal mangrove community from the Galápagos Islands over the last 2700 years using three research questions: What are the ‘fast and slow’ processes operating in the coastal zone? Is there evidence for a threshold response? How can the past inform us about the resilience of the modern system?

Methodology/Principal Findings

Palaeoecological methods (AMS radiocarbon dating, stable carbon isotopes (δ¹³C)) were used to reconstruct sedimentation rates and ecological change over the past 2,700 years at Diablas lagoon, Isabela, Galápagos. Bulk geochemical analysis was also used to determine local environmental changes, and salinity was reconstructed using a diatom transfer function. Changes in relative sea level (RSL) were estimated using a glacio-isostatic adjustment model. Non-linear behaviour was observed in the Diablas mangrove ecosystem as it responded to increased salinities following exposure to tidal inundations. A negative feedback was observed which enabled the mangrove canopy to accrete vertically, but disturbances may have opened up the canopy and contributed to an erosion of resilience over time. A combination of drier climatic conditions and a slight fall in RSL then resulted in a threshold response, from a mangrove community to a microbial mat.

Conclusions/Significance

Palaeoecological records can provide important information on the nature of non-linear behaviour by identifying thresholds within ecological systems, and in outlining responses to ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ environmental change between alternative stable states. This study highlights the need to incorporate a long-term ecological perspective when designing strategies for maximizing coastal resilience.     

Feeding biomechanics in Acanthostega and across the fish–tetrapod transition

Acanthostega is one of the earliest and most primitive limbed vertebrates. Its numerous fish-like features indicate a primarily aquatic lifestyle, yet cranial suture morphology suggests that its skull is more similar to those of terrestrial taxa. Here, we apply geometric morphometrics and two-dimensional finite-element analysis to the lower jaws of Acanthostega and 22 other tetrapodomorph taxa in order to quantify morphological and functional changes across the fish–tetrapod transition. The jaw of Acanthostega is similar to that of certain tetrapodomorph fish and transitional Devonian taxa both morphologically (as indicated by its proximity to those taxa in morphospace) and functionally (as indicated by the distribution of stress values and relative magnitude of bite force). Our results suggest a slow tempo of morphological and biomechanical changes in the transition from Devonian tetrapod jaws to aquatic/semi-aquatic Carboniferous tetrapod jaws. We conclude that Acanthostega retained a primitively aquatic lifestyle and did not possess cranial adaptations for terrestrial feeding.     

Phylogeny and Ecophysiology of Opportunistic “Snow Molds” from a Subalpine Forest Ecosystem

Mats of coenocytic “snow molds” are commonly observed covering the soil and litter of alpine and subalpine areas immediately following snow melt. Here, we describe the phylogenetic placement, growth rates, and metabolic potential of cold-adapted fungi from under-snow mats in the subalpine forests of Colorado. SSU rDNA sequencing revealed that these fungi belong to the zygomycete orders Mucorales and Mortierellales. All of the isolates could grow at temperatures observed under the snow at our sites (0°C and −2°C) but were unable to grow at temperatures above 25°C and were unable to grow anaerobically. Growth rates for these fungi were very high at −2°C, approximately an order of magnitude faster than previously studied cold-tolerant fungi from Antarctic soils. Given the rapid aerobic growth of these fungi at low temperatures, we propose that they are uniquely adapted to take advantage of the flush of nutrient that occurs at the soil–snow interface beneath late winter snow packs. In addition, extracellular enzyme production was relatively high for the Mucorales, but quite low for the Mortierellales, perhaps indicating some niche separation between these fungi beneath the late winter snow pack.     

Ecosystem engineering at the sediment–water interface: bioturbation and consumer-substrate interaction

In soft-bottom sediments, consumers may influence ecosystem function more via engineering that alters abiotic resources than through trophic influences. Understanding the influence of bioturbation on physical, chemical, and biological processes of the water–sediment interface requires investigating top-down (consumer) and bottom-up (resource) forces. The objective of the present study was to determine how consumer bioturbation mode and sediment properties interact to dictate the hydrologic function of experimental filtration systems clogged by the deposition of fine sediments. Three fine-grained sediments characterized by different organic matter (OM) and pollutant content were used to assess the influence of resource type: sediment of urban origin highly loaded with OM and pollutants, river sediments rich in OM, and river sediments poor in OM content. The effects of consumer bioturbation (chironomid larvae vs. tubificid worms) on sediment reworking, changes in hydraulic head and hydraulic conductivity, and water fluxes through the water–sediment interface were measured. Invertebrate influences in reducing the clogging process depended not only on the mode of bioturbation (construction of biogenic structures, burrowing and feeding activities, etc.) but also on the interaction between the bioturbation process and the sediments of the clogging layer. We present a conceptual model that highlights the importance of sediment influences on bioturbation and argues for the integration of bottom-up influence on consumer engineering activities. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Improving the “chain and tape” method: A combined topography index for marine fish ecology studies

The “chain and tape” method is used to quantify topographic complexity in reef ecology studies, consisting of the ratio of the linear distance between the start and end points of a chain moulded to the surface of the substrate to its stretched length, a measure known as the substrate rugosity (SR) index. This measure has several advantages in the field when compared to other methods, but some weaknesses have been pointed out. However, it is still one of the most frequently used topography measures in reef fish ecology. The present study proposes a combined topography index (CTI) that uses the “chain and tape” method in the field, with results that can match more complex methods, outperforming the traditional SR index. The CTI is structured as a weighted sum of 3 topographic features: SR index, number of corrugations (NC) and maximum vertical relief (MVR), where NC and MVR are given weight coefficients ranging from 0 to 1. In order to establish weight coefficients, fish assemblages were sampled at 6 training sites, representing a topographic complexity gradient. A series of candidate weight combinations were then selected so that CTI was optimally correlated with each one of several fish assemblage parameters. The list of possible solutions was then applied to nine previously published schematic profiles and compared with other methods. The final index was established as: CTI = (1 − SR) + NC/25 + MVR/25. Ultimately, the predictive performance of CTI and SR was tested by applying them to 11 new sites as predictors of species abundances in distance-based linear models. The CTI outperformed SR when added to 3 previously fitted variables (depth, percent cover of sand, percent cover of cobble), explaining 5.6% additional variation when using all species and 8.1% when using only cryptobenthic species, whereas SR showed no significant additional effects.     

Biological monitoring of fish and crustaceans in the Wadden Sea — potential and problems

Monitoring of fish and crustaceans in the Wadden Sea (WS) must cope with rapid changes in distribution patterns, access to certain areas and gear efficiency. Application and limitations of a variety of fishing devices (fyke nets, gill nets, enclosures, stow nets, purse seines, beam trawls, push nets, beach seines, bottom trawls, pelagic trawls) are discussed with regard to different objectives of monitoring. Furthermore, the validity of data from three current monitoring programmes is also discussed. Presented at the VI International Wadden Sea Symposium (Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Wattenmeerstation Sylt, D-2282 List, FRG, 1–4 November 1988)