Effects of floods on fish assemblages in an intermittent prairie stream

1. Floods are major disturbances to stream ecosystems that can kill or displace organisms and modify habitats. Many studies have reported changes in fish assemblages after a single flood, but few studies have evaluated the importance of timing and intensity of floods on long‐term fish assemblage dynamics. 2. We used a 10‐year dataset to evaluate the effects of floods on fishes in Kings Creek, an intermittent prairie stream in north‐eastern, Kansas, U.S.A. Samples were collected seasonally at two perennial headwater sites (1995–2005) and one perennial downstream flowing site (1997–2005) allowing us to evaluate the effects of floods at different locations within a watershed. In addition, four surveys during 2003 and 2004 sampled 3–5 km of stream between the long‐term study sites to evaluate the use of intermittent reaches of this stream. 3. Because of higher discharge and bed scouring at the downstream site, we predicted that the fish assemblage would have lowered species richness and abundance following floods. In contrast, we expected increased species richness and abundance at headwater sites because floods increase stream connectivity and create the potential for colonisation from downstream reaches. 4. Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) was used to select among candidate regression models that predicted species richness and abundance based on Julian date, time since floods, season and physical habitat at each site. At the downstream site, AIC weightings suggested Julian date was the best predictor of fish assemblage structure, but no model explained >16% of the variation in species richness or community structure. Variation explained by Julian date was primarily attributed to a long‐term pattern of declining abundance of common species. At the headwater sites, there was not a single candidate model selected to predict total species abundance and assemblage structure. AIC weightings suggested variation in assemblage structure was associated with either Julian date or local habitat characteristics. 5. Fishes rapidly colonised isolated or dry habitats following floods. This was evidenced by the occurrence of fishes in intermittent reaches and the positive association between maximum daily discharge and colonisation events at both headwater sites. 6. Our study suggests floods allow dispersal into intermittent habitats with little or no downstream displacement of fishes. Movement of fishes among habitats during flooding highlights the importance of maintaining connectivity of stream networks of low to medium order prairie streams.     

基于亚像元估测的城市硬化地表景观格局分析

城市硬化地表不仅是影响城市生态环境质量重要因子,也是定量描述城市地表物理特征,进行城市景观分类的基础.基于多种分辨率遥感影像亚象元分类提取硬化地表成为近年来的研究热点.利用TM/ETM＋和Quickbird不同分辨率遥感数据,以北京市中心城区为研究区域,对比分析回归树法和多元回归法的估测精度,选出预测硬化地表指数（Impervious surface index,简称为ISI）最优估测模型,并进行景观分类与城市景观格局分析.结果表明：（1）回归树亚象元估测法是提取硬化地表信息的一种有效的方法（最大相关系数＝0.94）,不同季节遥感影像可以挖掘地物在不同时期光谱差异,提高分类精度.（2）根据硬化地表指数划分城市用地类型,提供了量化分类的依据;（3）北京城市硬化地表景观格局表现出极强的空间梯度性,从北京市中心到郊区,ISI逐渐降低：城市二环以内,ISI平均值为67.32%,集中分布在高于60%范围;二环-四环分布比较相似,平均值分别为65.91%、66.13%;四环-五环区域ISI下降迅速（ISI=46.42%）,存在两个高峰,分别是低于＜20%和＞70%;六环以外区域,非硬化地表成为主要类型（ISI=9.32%）;（4）北京市景观格局在不同区域差异巨大：从市中心到市郊,景观破碎化程度加强,平均斑块面积逐渐增加,高密度城市用地比例逐步下降,自然地表平均面积呈现U形分布;中等密度城市用地斑块密度最高,破碎度最高;城市用地形状比自然地表复杂,低密度城市用地形状最为复杂.（5）运用回归树亚象元估测法提取出北京中心城区硬化地表信息,为城市地表景观特征提取与高精度量化分类提供了新的研究方法与研究思路,在此基础上进行了景观分类及景观格局分析,进一步推广并论证了硬化地表在景观生态学研究中的应用价值.     

Partitioning the diversity of riverine fish: the roles of habitat types and non-native species

1. Quantifying how biological diversity is distributed in the landscape is one of the central themes of conservation ecology. For this purpose, landscape classifications are being intensively used in conservation planning and biodiversity management, although there is still little information about their efficacy. 2. I used data from 158 running water sites in Hungary to examine the contribution of six a priori established habitat types to regional level diversity of fish assemblages. Three community measures [species richness, diversity (Shannon, Simpson indices), assemblage composition] were examined at two assemblage levels (entire assemblage, the native assemblage). The relative role of non‐native species was quantified to examine their contribution to patterns in diversity in this strongly human influenced landscape. 3. Additive diversity partitioning revealed the primary importance of beta diversity (i.e. among‐site factors) to patterns in species richness. Landscape‐scale patterns in species richness were best explained by between‐habitat type (beta₂: 41.2%), followed by within‐habitat type (beta₁: 37.7%) and finally within‐site (alpha: 21.1%) diversity. Diversity indices showed patterns different from species richness, indicating the importance of relative abundance distributions on the results. Exclusion of non‐natives from the analysis gave similar results to the entire‐assemblage level analysis. 4. Canonical analysis of principal coordinates, complemented with indicator species analysis justified the separation of fish assemblages among the habitat types, although classification error was high. Multivariate dispersion, a measure of compositional beta diversity, showed significant differences among the habitat types. Contrary to species diversity (i.e. richness, diversity indices), patterns in compositional diversity were strongly influenced by the exclusion of non‐natives from the analyses. 5. This study is the first to quantify how running water habitat types contribute to fish diversity at the landscape scale and how non‐native species influence this pattern. These results on riverine fish assemblages support the hypothesis that environmental variability (i.e. the diversity of habitat types) is an indication of biodiversity and can be used in large‐scale conservation designs. The study emphasises the joint application of additive diversity partitioning and multivariate statistics when exploring the contribution of landscape components to the overall biodiversity of the landscape mosaic.     

滇中高原湖泊鱼类多样性的研究

依据历年馆藏的鱼类标本和资料,采用多元逐步回归与多项式逐步回归的分析方法,系统分析了滇中6个高原湖泊鱼类的物种丰度、特有种以及属的数目与7个主要湖泊环境因子之间的关系。分析结果显示,控制湖泊鱼类物种丰度、特有种数和属数的关键湖泊环境因子是湖泊面积和湖岸线长度;其中与湖泊面积呈显著正相关,而与湖岸线长度呈负相关。分析不停留于这一常规的横向比较,而是从历史生物地理学的角度,更深入一步揭示了滇中6个湖泊鱼类多样性的演化实质上是受湖泊的发育阶段所控制的。     

Gradients in stream fish assemblages across a Mediterranean landscape: contributions of environmental factors and spatial structure

1. Despite wide recognition that fish assemblages are influenced by factors operating over a range of spatial scales, little effort has been devoted to quantifying large‐scale variation and the multiscale dependencies of assemblage patterns and processes. This is particularly true for Mediterranean streams, where seasonally predictable drying‐up may lead to a strong association between assemblage attributes and large‐scale factors affecting the distribution of population sources and extinction likelihood. 2. The contribution of large‐scale factors to stream fish assemblage variation was quantified across a Mediterranean landscape, in south‐west Portugal. Fish abundance and species composition were estimated at 166 sites across third‐ to sixth‐order streams, in March–July 1998. Variance partitioning by redundancy analyses was used to analyse assemblage variation against three sets of predictor variables: environmental (catchment position, and geomorphic and hydrological factors), large‐scale spatial trends and neighbourhood effects. 3. Environmental variables and spatial trends accounted for 34.6% of the assemblage variation across the entire region, and for 36.6 and 57.8% within the two largest catchments (Mira and Seixe). Neighbourhood effects were analysed at the catchment scale, increasing the explained variation to 56.1% (Mira) and 70.7% (Seixe). 4. A prevailing environmental gradient was reflected in an increase in the abundance of all species and size‐classes in relation to catchment position, with more fish present in larger streams and in downstream reaches. Variables describing geomorphic and hydrological settings were less important in explaining assemblage variation. 5. Spatial trends always accounted for the smallest fraction of assemblage variation, and they were probably associated with historical barriers to fish dispersal. The strong neighbourhood effects may be related to spatially autocorrelated habitat conditions, but they are also a likely consequence of fish emigration/extinction and colonisation processes. 6. These results emphasise that a substantial proportion of fish assemblage variation in Mediterranean streams may be explained by large‐scale factors, irrespective of microhabitats and local biotic interactions. It is suggested that this pattern results to a large extent from the seasonal drying‐up, with the summer shortage of surface water limiting fish occurrence in headwaters, and consequently the key core areas for fish concentrating in larger streams and tributaries adjacent to large streams because of neighbourhood effects.     

The distribution of coastal fish eDNA sequences in the Anthropocene

Aim

Coastal fishes have a fundamental role in marine ecosystem functioning and contributions to people, but face increasing threats due to climate change, habitat degradation and overexploitation. The extent to which human pressures are impacting coastal fish biodiversity in comparison with geographic and environmental factors at large spatial scale is still under scrutiny. Here, we took advantage of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to investigate the relationship between fish biodiversity, including taxonomic and genetic components, and environmental but also socio-economic factors.

Location

Tropical, temperate and polar coastal areas.

Time period

Present day.

Major taxa studied

Marine fishes.

Methods

We analysed fish eDNA in 263 stations (samples) in 68 sites distributed across polar, temperate and tropical regions. We modelled the effect of environmental, geographic and socio-economic factors on α- and β-diversity. We then computed the partial effect of each factor on several fish biodiversity components using taxonomic molecular units (MOTU) and genetic sequences. We also investigated the relationship between fish genetic α- and β-diversity measured from our barcodes, and phylogenetic but also functional diversity.

Results

We show that fish eDNA MOTU and sequence α- and β-diversity have the strongest correlation with environmental factors on coastal ecosystems worldwide. However, our models also reveal a negative correlation between biodiversity and human dependence on marine ecosystems. In areas with high dependence, diversity of all fish, cryptobenthic fish and large fish MOTUs declined steeply. Finally, we show that a sequence diversity index, accounting for genetic distance between pairs of MOTUs, within and between communities, is a reliable proxy of phylogenetic and functional diversity.

Main conclusions

Together, our results demonstrate that short eDNA sequences can be used to assess climate and direct human impacts on marine biodiversity at large scale in the Anthropocene and can further be extended to investigate biodiversity in its phylogenetic and functional dimensions.     

Effects of fish predation on larval chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae) communities in an arctic ecosystem

Chironomid communities were analyzed in systems with three types of predator regimes to determine hierarchical effects of predation; ponds without fish present, lakes with slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) present, and lakes with slimy sculpin present along with burbot (Lota Iota) and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Samples were collected by coring bare sediment habitats in 4 systems of each type near the Toolik Lake field station in northern Alaska. Lakes with burbot and lake trout present in addition to slimy sculpin displayed significantly higher (P<0.05) biomass, density, richness, and diversity. This is likely due to the increased complexity of the predator regime. Ponds without fish had a significantly greater percentage of predacious chironomids present.     

Predictions of establishment risk highlight biosurveillance priorities for invasive fish in New Zealand lakes

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Impact of fish predation on cladoceran body weight distribution and zooplankton grazing in lakes during winter

1. It is well accepted that fish, if abundant, can have a major impact on the zooplankton community structure during summer, which, particularly in eutrophic lakes, may cascade to phytoplankton and ultimately influence water clarity. Fish predation affects mean size of cladocerans and the zooplankton grazing pressure on phytoplankton. Little is, however, known about the role of fish during winter. 2. We analysed data from 34 lakes studied for 8–9 years divided into three seasons: summer, autumn/spring and winter, and four lake classes: all lakes, shallow lakes without submerged plants, shallow lakes with submerged plants and deep lakes. We recorded how body weight of Daphnia and then cladocerans varied among the three seasons. For all lake types there was a significant positive correlation in the mean body weight of Daphnia and all cladocerans between the different seasons, and only in lakes with macrophytes did the slope differ significantly from one (winter versus summer for Daphnia). 3. These results suggest that the fish predation pressure during autumn/spring and winter is as high as during summer, and maybe even higher during winter in macrophyte‐rich lakes. It could be argued that the winter zooplankton community structure resembles that of the summer community because of low specimen turnover during winter mediated by low fecundity, which, in turn, reflects food shortage, low temperatures and low winter hatching from resting eggs. However, we found frequent major changes in mean body weight of Daphnia and cladocerans in three fish‐biomanipulated lakes during the winter season. 4. The seasonal pattern of zooplankton : phytoplankton biomass ratio showed no correlation between summer and winter for shallow lakes with abundant vegetation or for deep lakes. For the shallow lakes, the ratio was substantially higher during summer than in winter and autumn/spring, suggesting a higher zooplankton grazing potential during summer, while the ratio was often higher in winter in deep lakes. Direct and indirect effects of macrophytes, and internal P loading and mixing, all varying over the season, might weaken the fish signal on this ratio. 5. Overall, our data indicate that release of fish predation may have strong cascading effects on zooplankton grazing on phytoplankton and water clarity in temperate, coastal situated eutrophic lakes, not only during summer but also during winter.     

农业景观中环境因素对两栖类生物分布的影响

以黄河下游地区封丘县为研究区,在地理信息系统和R软件的支持下,在栖息地水平和景观水平上,分析了两栖类生物分布与栖息地变量(池塘水体溶解氧DO、电导率COND、浊度TURB、水体氨氮NH₃-N、池塘内植被盖度VEG_interior、池塘内挺水植物盖度EMER、池塘边缘植被盖度VEG_edge、两栖类幼虫捕食者PRE和池塘面积AREA)和采样点池塘250、500、1000、2000 m半径缓冲区内景观变量(池塘面积AP、与最近道路的距离DR、耕地面积AF、林地面积AW、Shannon多样性指数SHDI和蔓延度指数CONTAG)的关系.结果表明: 中华大蟾蜍的分布主要与栖息地变量中的PRE和较大缓冲区半径内的景观变量(AW2000、DR2000、SHDI1000、CONTAG1000)相关;黑斑侧褶蛙的分布与栖息地变量中的EMER和较小缓冲区半径内的景观变量(SHDI500)关系密切;金线侧褶蛙的分布主要与栖息地变量中的VEG_interior和PRE相关;泽陆蛙的分布主要与较大缓冲区半径内的景观变量(AF2000、SHDI2000)相关;两栖类生物总体上主要与栖息地变量中的EMER和较小缓冲区半径内的景观变量(SHDI500)相关.在农业景观中,保护两栖类生物应该保护永久性和半永久性池塘、提高池塘内部植被盖度、增强栖息地池塘之间的功能连通性.     

Development of a spatially universal framework for classifying stream assemblages with application to conservation planning for Great Lakes lotic fish communities

Classifications are typically specific to particular issues or areas, leading to patchworks of subjectively defined spatial units. Stream conservation is hindered by the lack of a universal habitat classification system and would benefit from an independent hydrology‐guided spatial framework of units encompassing all aquatic habitats at multiple spatial scales within large regions. We present a system that explicitly separates the spatial framework from any particular classification developed from the framework. The framework was constructed from landscape variables that are hydrologically and biologically relevant, covered all space within the study area, and was nested hierarchically and spatially related at scales ranging from the stream reach to the entire region; classifications may be developed from any subset of the 9 basins, 107 watersheds, 459 subwatersheds, or 10,000s of valley segments or stream reaches. To illustrate the advantages of this approach, we developed a fish‐guided classification generated from a framework for the Great Lakes region that produced a mosaic of habitat units which, when aggregated, formed larger patches of more general conditions at progressively broader spatial scales. We identified greater than 1,200 distinct fish habitat types at the valley segment scale, most of which were rare. Comparisons of biodiversity and species assemblages are easily examined at any scale. This system can identify and quantify habitat types, evaluate habitat quality for conservation and/or restoration, and assist managers and policymakers with prioritization of protection and restoration efforts. Similar spatial frameworks and habitat classifications can be developed for any organism in any riverine ecosystem.     

Effects of dynamic landscape elements on fish dispersal: the example of creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus)

Barriers along a watercourse and interconnections between drainage systems are dynamic landscape elements that are expected to play major roles in the dispersal and genetic structure of fish species. The objective of this study was to assess the role of these elements using creek chub ( Semotilus atromaculatus ) in the Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve (Québec, Canada) as model. Numerous impassable waterfalls and interconnections among drainage systems were inferred with geographic information systems and confirmed de visu . The analysis of 32 populations using seven nuclear microsatellites revealed the presence of three genetically distinct groups. Some groups were found upstream of impassable barriers and in adjacent portions of distinct drainage systems. Admixture among groups was also detected in some populations. Constraining phylogenetic procedures as well as Mantel correlation tests confirmed that the genetic structure is more likely to result from interconnections between the drainage systems than from the permanent network. This study indicates that landscape elements such as interconnections are of major importance for circumventing impassable barriers and colonizing lakes that are otherwise inaccessible. Such an approach could be relevant for determining the origins of fish species (i.e. native vs. introduced) in the context of conservation.     

Lake depth rather than fish planktivory determines cladoceran community structure in Faroese lakes – evidence from contemporary data and sediments

1. This study describes the environmental conditions and cladoceran community structure of 29 Faroese lakes with special focus on elucidating the impact of fish planktivory. In addition, long‐term changes in biological structure of the Faroese Lake Heygsvatn are investigated. 2. Present‐day species richness and community structure of cladocerans were identified from pelagial snapshot samples and from samples of surface sediment (0–1 cm). Multivariate statistical methods were applied to explore cladoceran species distribution relative to measured environmental variables. For Lake Heygsvatn, lake development was inferred by cladoceran‐based paleolimnological investigations of a ¹⁴C‐dated sediment core covering the last ca 5700 years. 3. The 29 study lakes were overall shallow, small‐sized, oligotrophic and dominated by brown trout (Salmo trutta). Cladoceran species richness was overall higher in the surface sediment samples than in the snapshot samples. 4. Fish abundance was found to be of only minor importance in shaping cladoceran community and body size structure, presumably because of predominance of the less efficient zooplanktivore brown trout. 5. Canonical correspondence analysis showed maximum lake depth (Z_max) to be the only significant variable in explaining the sedimentary cladoceran species (18 cladoceran taxa, two pelagic, 16 benthic) distribution. Multivariate regression trees revealed benthic taxa to dominate in lakes with Z_max < 4.8 m and pelagic taxa to dominate when Z_max was > 4.8 m. 6. Predictive models to infer Z_max were developed using variance weighted‐averaging procedures. These were subsequently applied to subfossil cladoceran assemblages identified from a ¹⁴C‐dated sediment core from Lake Heygsvatn and showed inferred Z_max to correspond well to the present‐day lake depth. A recent increase in inferred Z_max may, however, be an artefact induced by, for instance, eutrophication.     

中国潜在植被NPP的空间分布模拟

在对1980年以来气候要素进行空间化的基础上,利用分类回归树模型CART计算中国的潜在归一化植被指数(NDVI),采用改进的光能利用率模型(CASA)和潜在NDVI数据对中国的潜在植被净初级生产力(NPP)进行模拟。结果表明:中国潜在NDVI和潜在NPP均呈现出南高北低、东高西低的格局,低值多分布在沙漠、戈壁等干旱地带,高值多出现在低、中山平原区; 400 mm等降水量线是潜在NDVI和潜在NPP高值与低值的分界线;全国潜在NDVI和潜在NPP的平均值分别为0.396和319.31 g C·m-2;夏季潜在NPP的平均值最大,其次是春季,冬季最小;依据潜在NPP与2015年现实NPP的差异,可将中国植被恢复区划分为西部高潜力区、北部低潜力区和南部非潜力区3部分;潜在NDVI和潜在NPP的空间模拟可以将人类活动对自然生态系统的直接影响与气候变化的影响分离,量化了外界压力下真实的生态状况和潜在生态状况的差异,为制定差别化的生态恢复对策提供了科学依据。     

Effects of water-level regulation on the nearshore fish community in boreal lakes

The fish community in the littoral areas of eight regulated lakes and five reference lakes in Finland was sampled by electrofishing. No significant effect of winter drawdown on species richness was recorded across lakes. Total fish density for stony bottoms of the regulated and reference lakes averaged 19.3 and 32.7 individuals per 100 m², respectively, but this difference was not statistically significant. The combined proportion of littoral fish species, including minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), bullhead (Cottus gobio), alpine bullhead (Cottus poecilopus), nine-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), and stone loach (Barbatula barbatula), supplemented with zoobenthos feeders ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) and young burbot (Lota lota), was much lower in the regulated lakes than in the reference lakes. Besides winter drawdown, other variables, such as nutrient level and lake size, affected the fish community. Guest editors: K. M. Wantzen, K.-O. Rothhaupt, M. M?rtl, M. Cantonati, L. G.-Tóth & P. Fischer Ecological Effects of Water-Level Fluctuations in Lakes     

不同类型景观水体浮游动物群落差异及其影响因素

探明不同类型景观水体中环境敏感型浮游动物群落特征差异及影响因素对景观水体生物多样性维持和水生生态系统保护十分重要。于2014年5月在上海选取具代表性的8个景观水体共设置35个采样点进行浮游动物采样调查,并同步测定水体环境指标。本次调查采集并鉴定浮游动物40种,其中轮虫29种,枝角类7种,桡足类4种。基于浮游动物群落组成进行聚类分析,所有采样点聚为四种景观类型:天然湖泊(淀山湖)、人工湖泊(滴水湖)、AAAA级公园水体(共青森林公园和古猗园)和普通综合性公园水体(世纪公园、和平公园、长风公园和车镜公园)。两种公园水体浮游动物种类较为丰富,多样性较高,各自约有40%的种为生境特有种,而淀山湖特有种仅1种(为猛水蚤),滴水湖3种均为蛭态类。物种相似性方面,大型天然淀山湖与人工滴水湖相似性最高(37.5%),普通公园水体次之(33.3%),与AAAA公园水体相似度最低(20%)。后两者间的相似性较高(27.8%),且两者与滴水湖的相似度均较低(18.5%和12.0%)。四类水体仅有3个共有种/类群:角突臂尾轮虫(Brachionus angularis)、螺形龟甲轮虫(Keratella co...     

The Importance of Ecoregion Versus Drainage Area on Fish Distributions in the St. Croix River and its Wisconsin Tributaries

Aquatic ecoregions, based on regional landscape features, have been proposed as a model for aquatic resource management. The model assumes the existence of a typical biota associated with a given ecoregion and serves as the basis for biological assessment, reference site designation, and determination of stream potential, based on this biotic assemblage. Contrasting models for predicting stream ecosystem structure focus on the importance of local site conditions, including the regular and predictable changes that occur as a function of area draining to a site. In this study, a classification of 429 stream sites over an area of approximately 20000km² in the St. Croix River basin delineated three major species groups: redhorse/spotfin shiner; brook charr/sculpin; and mixed species. Numerical analyses revealed no relationship between the species communities and ecoregions. In contrast, there was a strong association between the species communities and the area draining to the site. Our study highlights the importance of accommodating the inherent structure associated with site drainage area when imposing a regionally-based ecological classification upon stream ecosystems. This structure is expressed in the systematic changes to the physical habitat that occur with increasing drainage area and are reflected by the species community at the site. Management models that currently incorporate ecoregions in the classification or prediction of stream ecosystem structure would benefit from the inclusion of specific components that incorporate drainage area measurements.now at Environment Protection Authority