Dialysis culture as an indicator of changes in water resources

Data of monitoring of the state of the aquatic ecosystem obtained during registration of changes in spatial and temporal parameters of whole cells and their external structures using internal reflection spectroscopy are considered. Dialysis culture of microalgae with a controlled “external environment” was used as a bioindicator.     

珠三角河网链状硅藻物种组成及生态特征

珠三角河网水域是珠江之水流入南海的必经之地,于2012年和2015年对该水域的链状硅藻的时空特征及其影响因素进行了分析。共发现链状硅藻18种(包括变种和变型),颗粒沟链藻是该水域的绝对优势种,也是该区域水体富营养化的重要指示物种。总生物量的时间变化模式呈现枯水期差异较大,丰水期差异较小的特点,主要是受到径流量、透明度和水温差异的影响;空间特征主要表现为广州市周边站位的生物量明显偏高,主要受水体富营养化的影响。不同链状硅藻的相对百分组成显示,颗粒沟链藻是绝对优势种,变异直链藻易在枯水期与其形成竞争优势。沟链藻属的链长一般大于直链藻属,这主要得益于其形态结构较稳固的优势;此外,透明度、营养盐和pH值等也是影响链长的重要因素。     

宏观生态学研究的特点与方法

宏观生态学是研究生态系统以上层次的生态学,研究对象为大尺度复杂系统,研究内容和方法都具有不同于传统生态学的明显特点。重视对空间异质性的研究,重视人类的生态作用,注意运用等级结构理论,其研究结果常常是非实验性和非稳定性的。遥感和地理信息系统是空间数据采集和管理、分析的主要手段,景观分析和景观模型是宏观生态研究的重要方法,定位观测试验的网络研究则是实现宏观整体研究的必由之路。     

河西走廊水生植物多样性格局、群落特征及影响因素

水生植物是湿地生态系统重要组成部分,研究水生植物多样性分布格局及其影响因素对地区水生植物资源保护具有重要意义。通过野外调查并结合气候等环境因素,研究了河西走廊主要水生植物群落类型、数量特征、水生植物多样性分布格局及影响因素,并对中域效应假说进行了验证。研究结果表明:(1)河西走廊地区共有水生植物29科42属84种,群落的聚类分析可将河西走廊水生植物群落划分为15个主要群落类型;(2)河西走廊水生植物群落类型主要受到水温、海拔、经纬度等环境因子影响,群落物种多样性指数与盐度以及溶解性固体总量呈显著性相关;(3)河西走廊水生植物多样性空间格局呈现出"∩"型的单峰格局,中域效应模型能较好地解释该地区水生植物多样性水平的纬度格局及海拔垂直分布格局,对该区域水生植物物种丰富度在纬度和海拔梯度上的变异解释率分别为57.56%、63.5%。分析表明,河西走廊水生植物物种丰富度格局由几何(边界)限制和随机过程及其他未知因素共同控制,且几何(边界)限制和随机过程贡献率较大;同时本研究中未考虑的环境异质性、气候、人为干扰等因素也对河西走廊水生植物多样性空间分布产生重要影响。     

Evaluation of geographic,geomorphic and human influences on Great Lakes wetland indicators: A multi-assemblage approach

Developing effective indicators of ecological condition requires calibration to determine the geographic range and ecosystem type appropriate for each indicator. Here, we demonstrate an approach for evaluating the relative influence of geography, geomorphology and human disturbance on patterns of variation in biotic indicators derived from multiple assemblages for ecosystems that span broad spatial scales. To accomplish this, we collected abundance information on six biotic assemblages (birds, fish, amphibians, aquatic macroinvertebrates, wetland vegetation, and diatoms) from over 450 locations along U.S. shorelines throughout each of the Great Lakes during 2002–2004. Sixty-six candidate taxon- and function-based indicators analyzed using hierarchical variance partitioning revealed that geographic (lake) rather than geomorphic factors (wetland type) had the greatest influence on the proportion of variance explained across all indicators, and that a significant portion of the variance was also related to response to human disturbance. Wetland vegetation, fish and bird indicators were the most, and macroinvertebrates the least, responsive to human disturbance. Proportion of rock bass, Carex lasiocarpa, and stephanodiscoid diatoms, as well as the presence of spring peepers and the number of insectivorous birds were among the indicators that responded most strongly to a human disturbance index, suggesting they have good potential as indicators of Great Lakes coastal wetland condition. Ecoprovince, wetland type, and indicator type (taxa vs function based) explained relatively little variance. Variance patterns for macroinvertebrates and birds were least concordant with those of other assemblages, while diatoms and amphibians, and fish and wetland vegetation were the most concordant assemblage pairs. Our results strongly suggest it will not be possible to develop effective indicators of Great Lakes coastal wetland condition without accounting for differences among lakes and their important interactions. This is one of the first attempts to show how ecological indicators of human disturbance vary over a broad spatial scale in wetlands.     

Changes of palaeozonation patterns within Miocene coral reefs, Gebel Abu Shaar, Gulf of Suez, Egypt

The Gebel Abu Shaar represents the southern end of a tilted fault-block consisting of Precambrian basement upon which a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate platform developed during mid-Miocene time. The Miocene sequence contains coral reefs and reef facies. Palaeozonation patterns of the Miocene coral reefs were assessed on the well-preserved outcrops of the Gebel Abu Shaar by recording both qualitative and quantitative data of reef-building assemblages. The various patterns of palaeozonation were analysed and compared at different spatial and temporal scales, including both within-reef and between-reef variations. The palaeozonal changes recorded within these fossil reefs are similar to those described from present-day living coral reefs and involve contraction or extension, fusion or splitting, replacement and omission of reef-builder zones. Depending on the scale concerned, the nature and importance of changes affecting the palaeozonation pattern vary. Spatial variations of the palaeozonal pattern appear mainly controlled by local changes of ecological conditions while temporal variations are related to regional and global environmental changes.     

Using diatom life-forms and ecological guilds to assess organic pollution and trophic level in rivers: a case study of rivers in south-eastern France

The European Union’s Water Framework Directive has set a target of achieving good ecological status for all aquatic environments in Europe by 2015. In order to determine the quality of aquatic environments, biological indicators such as diatoms are often used. However, biotic diatom indices can be difficult and time consuming to use because of complexity of species determination. We investigated whether the biological traits of diatoms in rivers (life-forms, size classes and ecological guilds) could be used to assess organic pollution and trophic level. We worked on a data set comprising 315 diatom species, determined at 328 river stations of south-east France and a variety of parameters. The abundances of some biological traits differed significantly between the different organic pollution and trophic levels, particularly stalked diatoms, and the motile and low-profile guilds.     

Uncertainties in biotic indicators and a corrigendum to : Implications for biomonitoring

Many bioindicators based on species composition have been proposed during the past 30 years in both terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Kelly (2011) raised the need to better communicate the usefulness and meaning of the indices and their uncertainties. A survey of European bioindicators of freshwater ecosystems has recently highlighted that most indices have not even considered uncertainties. While recording errors have sometimes been taken into account into the calculation of index uncertainties, the reliability of biotic indices in terms of causality and predictability between a given environmental pressure and bioindicator response have seldom been considered. This has led to serious misunderstanding of what bioindicators may be able to achieve. Here a correction to Ponader et al. (2007) is presented showing that the tolerance (ecological niche) of individual species of diatoms along nutrient enrichment gradients is much wider than formerly presented. The correction, together with the comments by Kelly (2011) and recent whole ecosystem experiments seriously question the reliability of diatoms as nutrient indicators, similarly to recent findings with aquatic macrophytes. A more mechanistic basis for biomonitoring is needed based on current ecological science, rather than early 20th century community ecology.     

Concordance among stream assemblages and spatial autocorrelation along a fragmented gradient

Patterns of spatial autocorrelation of biota and distributional similarity (concordance) between assemblages of different organism groups have important implications in both theoretical ecology and biodiversity conservation. Here we report environmental gradients and spatial distribution patterns of taxonomic composition among stream fish, benthic macroinvertebrate, and diatom assemblages along a fragmented stream in south‐western France. We quantified spatial patterns of lotic assemblage structure along this stream, and we tested for concordance in distribution patterns among the three taxonomic groups. Our results showed that both environmental characteristics and stream assemblages were spatially autocorrelated. For stream fish and diatom assemblages, these patterns reflected assemblage changes along the longitudinal stream gradient, whereas environmental variables and benthic macroinvertebrates exhibited a more patchy spatial pattern. Cross‐taxa concordance was significant between stream fish and diatoms, and between stream fish and benthic macroinvertebrates. The assemblage concordance between stream fish and diatoms could be attributed to similar responses along the longitudinal gradient, whereas those between stream fish and benthic macroinvertebrates may result from biotic interactions. Based on potential dispersal capacities of taxa, our results validated the hypotheses that weakly dispersing taxa exhibit greater concordance than highly dispersing ones and that dispersal capacities affect how taxonomic groups respond to their local environment. Both diatoms and highly dispersing stream fish were affected by stream fragmentation (i.e. the number of dams between sites), while the effect of fragmentation was not significant for invertebrates that fly well in their adult stage, thus emphasizing the importance of the way of dispersal. These results suggest that addressing the effects of dispersal capacity on stream assemblage patterns is crucial to identifying mechanisms behind patterns and to better understanding the determinants of stream biodiversity.     

Comparative investigation of the differentiation capability of bone-marrow- and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells by qualitative and quantitative analysis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) hold promise for cell-based therapy in regenerative medicine. To date, MSCs have been obtained from conventional bone marrow via a highly invasive procedure. Therefore, MSCs are now also isolated from sources such as adipose tissue, cord blood and cord stroma, a subject of growing interest. As the characterization and differentiation potential of adipose-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) and bone-marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) have not been documented, we have evaluated and compared the characteristics of both MSC types by qualitative and quantitative analyses. Both cell types show similar morphology and surface protein expression, being positive for stromal-associated markers and negative for hematopoietic and endothelial markers. The colony-forming potential of AD-MSCs is distinctly higher than that of BM-MSCs. Nonetheless, similar adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation is observed in both groups of MSCs. Cytochemical qualitative analysis and calcium mineralization demonstrate higher levels toward osteogenic differentiation in BM-MSCs than in AD-MSCs. On the contrary, the percentage of Nile red oil staining for differentiated adipocytes is higher in AD-MSCs than in BM-MSCs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction shows similar patterns of osteogenic- and adipogenic-associated gene expression in both cell types. Each of the MSCs respond in functional analysis by exhibiting unique properties at the differentiation level according to their micro-environmental niche. Thus, quantitative analysis might be a valuable means of describing stem cell multipotency, in addition to qualitative investigation.     

BIODIVERSITY PATTERN AND CONSERVATION OF AQUATIC VASCULAR PLANTS IN THE YANGTZE RIVER BASIN,CHINA北大核心CSCD

The Yangtze River is the largest river in China. It is a priority conservation area for biodiversity of the world, with its main river, branches and wetlands. As an essential part of freshwater ecosystem, aquatic vegetation has been well studied by Chinese researchers since 1950s, but large-scaled analysis on the biodiversity pattern is lacked. Based on published studies, we analyzed spatial and temporal pattern of aquatic plant diversity in the Yangtze River Basin, and calculated the suitable habitat area and underlying influence of environmental factors using MaxEnt software. A total of 298 species are recognized, belonging to 121 genera in 52 families, which is 57.6% of the total aquatic vascular plants in China. The Yangtze River Basin is the key area for aquatic plant diversity of China, especially the subregions of middle reaches. The elevation and land use are the key environmental variables to the spatial pattern of aquatic plants. The separation among water systems have weak influence on the spatial pattern of diversity in aquatic vascular plants, but potamo-lacustrine habitats facilitated the species homogenization of the flora in a sub-basin scale. The network consists of Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake, Tai Lake, and the middle and lower mainstream is the suitable area for the aquatic plants based on the MaxEnt model. In the past half century, the decline or loss of aquatic vegetation occurred in plenty of lakes in the Yangtze River Basin. We suggested that the protection of aquatic vegetation should be incorporated into the integrated conservation of the middle and lower Yangtze River. © 2019, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.     

Development of a phytoplankton indicator system for the ecological assessment of brackish coastal waters (German Baltic Sea coast)

The implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires the development of ecologically-based classification systems for anthropogenically-induced eutrophication in all types of water bodies. Due to the inherent high temporal and spatial variability of hydrological and geochemical parameters of the coastal waters of the southern Baltic Sea, discrimination between anthropogenic impact and natural variability is necessary. The development of statistical methods for this discrimination was the main aim of this study. These methods were used to derive indicative phytoplankton parameters for different stages of eutrophication for the investigation area. For this purpose, a long-term phytoplankton data series was analysed, which covered a broad salinity and eutrophication gradient. In order to detect eutrophication effects, the analysis was restricted to phytoplankton spring bloom events and to the salinity range between 5 and 10 psu, i.e. superimposing seasonal and hydrodynamic effects were eliminated. An artificial abiotic degradation vector was developed based on four typical water quality parameters. A total of 11 potentially indicative phytoplankton parameters on different taxonomical levels arose from a correlation analysis with this degradation vector. These indicators were then tested for their ability to discriminate between three eutrophication levels. Finally, seven phytoplankton indices could be proposed: total phytoplankton biovolume, the percentage of diatoms and the biovolume of different size ranges of diatoms and one indicative species (Woronichinia compacta). Guest editors: A. Razinkovas, Z. R. Gasiūnaitė, J. M. Zaldivar & P. Viaroli European Lagoons and their Watersheds: Function and Biodiversity     

Seasonal and spatial hydrological variability drives aquatic biodiversity in a flood‐pulsed,sub‐tropical wetland

1. Flood‐pulsed wetlands make vital contributions to local and global biodiversity. However, the patterns and controls of spatial and temporal variation in aquatic biodiversity in flood‐pulsed wetlands are not well understood. We analysed the relationship between variation in hydrological regime and the patterns of aquatic biodiversity in a large pristine flood‐pulsed wetland, the Okavango Delta, Botswana. 2. Surveys of water chemistry, diatoms and macroinvertebrates were conducted over the seasonal phases of the flood pulse. Hydrological variables of flood frequency and hydroperiod class were collated from 16 years of satellite images. Multivariate regression trees and generalised least squares regression were used to determine the chief controls of community composition and taxon richness. 3. Hydroperiod class, phase of the flood and conductivity explained 32% and 43% of the variation in diatom and invertebrate taxon richness, respectively. There was a negative relationship between hydroperiod class and invertebrate taxon richness on the rising, peak and receding flood, whereas at low flood there was no significant relationship. Multivariate regression tree analysis revealed hydroperiod class, phase of the flood and conductivity as the dominant forces shaping invertebrate and diatom community composition. 4. Seasonal and spatial variation in hydrological conditions are the principal drivers of variation in aquatic biodiversity in flood‐pulsed wetlands. In pristine flood‐pulsed wetlands, increased productivity caused by the arrival of the flood waters appears to override disturbance and connectivity in shaping taxon richness and community composition. Thus, these data suggest that the maintenance of a rich mosaic of habitats covering a broad range of hydroperiod is the key to preserving aquatic biodiversity and natural ecosystem function in flood‐pulsed wetlands.     

草地生态系统植被变化的自然与人为因素定量区分方法

定量区分导致草地生态系统植被变化的自然和人为因素,是生态系统科学管理和保育的关键。因此,综述当前应用较为广泛的定量区分方法,包括主成分分析法、层次分析法、残差趋势法和模型差值法等,比较不同方法的计算原理、优势及误差来源,进而结合典型区域或典型生态系统,对不同方法进行对比和分析。总体而言,每种方法各有其优势和缺点,当前采用同一方法在不同区域或生态系统类型应用的研究较多,但针对方法本身改进或优化的研究较少。此外,针对同一区域开展的不同区分方法间的结果也存在差异。定量区分的结果除受方法本身算法的局限外,也受数据源的时空连续性及分辨率的影响。未来定量区分方法将强调：(1)在指标的选取上,要兼顾全面、多角度、不冗余等原则;(2)进行多源数据与多时空尺度融合,在更高时空分辨率定量区分自然与人为因素,从单一因子的贡献率区分到更多综合性指标的贡献率区分;(3)对定量区分方法本身的改进,这是当前的重点与难点。以期为生态系统适应性管理与关键生态功能的针对性保育提供科学依据和政策导向。     

河口浮游植物生态学研究进展

综述了河口浮游植物种类组成、时空分布、初级生态及其影响因素等方面的主要研究进展,同时,对河口浮游植物在水环境监测中的作用以及河口浮游植物多样性与边缘效应进行了初步探讨。研究表明,通常河口区重要的浮游植物有硅藻、甲藻等,微型、超微型浮游植物在河口生态系统中占有重要地位。河口浮游植物种类组成、初级生产的时空变化明显,并受到光、温度、营养盐、动物摄食以及径流等因素的影响。     

The use of diatoms to assess past and present water quality

Abstract Diatoms possess a number of attributes which contribute to their suitability as biological indicators. They are highly sensitive to water chemistry changes, abundant in aquatic environments, largely cosmopolitan in distribution, less habitat dependent than macroinverte-brates and have a well-studied taxonomy and ecology. Furthermore, the preservation of diatom valves in lake sediments means that they can provide otherwise unavailable baseline data which can be used to assess and contextualize human impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The value of diatoms as bioindicators in contemporary and palaeolimnological studies has been well established overseas. Despite this, they have been under-utilized in Australia. This paper outlines some of the applications and potential for the use of diatoms as biological indicators in Australia.     

Vertical Distribution of a Soil Microbial Community as Affected by Plant Ecophysiological Adaptation in a Desert System

The spatial and temporal patterns of resource distribution in a desert system have been shown to influence a number of soil biota components and processes. The pattern of possible different resources supplied by two typical halophyte shrubs with different ecophysiological adaptations, Atriplex halimus and Hammada scoparia, was found to be the trigger in the present study on the microbial community temporal and spatial (vertical) scale. The uniqueness of A. halimus, a saltbush plant, is in the creation of ‘islands of salinity’ in its rhizosphere system and the relatively high percentage of organic matter beneath its canopy, whereas the H. scoparia shrub has a leafless stem with a relatively lower amount of organic matter accumulation beneath its canopy. Soil samples from 0 to 50 cm depths were collected at 10-cm intervals during each of the four seasons. The vertical distribution of the microbial community was measured in the vicinity of the above plant shrubs and in the open spaces between them. The results obtained from the field study demonstrated that plant ecophysiological adaptation played an important role in the temporal and spatial distribution of abiotic conditions and microbial community levels such as microbial biomass, CO₂ evolution, and colony-forming units (CFUs) of both bacteria and fungi. However, we did not find consistency in the positive effect of plant cover on the microbial community. The shrub effect was observed to have a major outcome on microbial variables not only on a temporal but also on a spatial (vertical) basis. This contributed to the understanding of the controversy regarding the difference between the shrubs.     

Temporal patterns of grazer-periphyton interactions in laboratory streams

SUMMARY. 1. The snail Juga silicuta (500 m^?2) and the caddisfly Dicosmoecus gilvipes (50 m^?2) were introduced into separate laboratory streams on days 1, 9, 16 and 28 of algal development. The mayfly Baetis spp. (500 m^?2) was introduced on days 1 and 16, and two streams did not receive grazers. We assessed the interaction between succession in the pcriphyton, herbivore type and time of encounter in a 40-day experiment. 2. In ungrazed streams, the chlorophyte Scenedesmus obliquus was the most abundant early colonizer. The relative abundance of diatoms increased after day 9, and at day 40 the algal assemblage consisted of a thick mat of diatoms and S. obliquus with an overstorey of filaments of the chlorophyte Stigeoclonium tenue. In general, introductions of grazers at any stage altered this pattern by removing biomass, accelerating the replacement of S. obliquus by diatoms, and suppressing the growth of filaments. Grazing also reduced the relative abundance of the larger diatom Nitzschia oregona but increased the relative abundance of the smaller adnate diatoms Nitzschia frustulum var. perpusilla and Navicula minima. 3. Dicosmoecus decreased algal biomass and altered successional trajectories to a greater degree than either Juga or Baetis. Dicosmoecus rapidly grazed the entire substrate, whereas Juga and Baetis only cleared patches in the assemblages. Little alteration in algal development was observed in the Baetis streams after day 16, probably because (he periphyton assemblages attained a size and structure that prevented effective grazing by Baetis. 4. The patchy grazing patterns of Juga and Baetis resulted in more diverse algal assemblages than either the Dicosmoecus grazed or ungrazed streams. In natural streams, the temporal and spatial pattern of grazing relative to the developmental stage of the periphyton may contribute to maintaining a mosaic of algal patches in different serai stages.