A Markov approach for describing post-fire succession of vegetation

Vegetation dynamics in the coastal area of the Seto Inland Sea region in Japan, where wild fires occur frequently, were described using a stationary Markov model. In this region, vegetation types ofMiscanthus-Pleioblastus grassland,Lespedeza-Mallotus scrub,Pinus-Rhododendron forest andCrassocephalum-Erechtites community have been identified, and these show cyclic succession under the influence of fires. The model uses parameters determining fire frequency and rate of successional change to analyze the effect of variation in these parameters on the areal ratio of each vegetation type at equilibrium and on the time taken for one vegetation type to succeed another (elapsed successional time). The effect of fire frequency differs between hypothetical habitats with high and low productivity. A policy for vegetation management in areas of high and low productivity is proposed. The advantages and limitations of applying Markov models to studies of vegetation succession are also discussed.     

The faunal structure of a mid-Cretaceous rudist reef core

The macrofaunal distribution of the mid-Cretaceous El Abra Limestone reef core is quantified from two measured sections in Taninul Quarry, San Luis Potosi, central Mexico. The faunal structure is transitional between typical Lower Cretaceous reefs dominated by corals with low-density rudist bivalve packing; and densely-packed, rudist-dominated Upper Cretaceous reefs. The macrofauna is predominantly associations of unconnected individuals of caprinid rudists, with a low diversity of other shelly mollusks and corals. An examination of the alternation of paleocommunities defined by the dominant caprinid taxa reveals no pattern of biotic succession within the reef core. Large-scale sedimentologic features of mud and debris content, coupled with rudist growth type, suggest that paleocommunities may have been physically controlled.     

The convergent trajectories of bird communities along ecological successions in european forests

Summary There is much more variation in the composition of bird communities in the earlier open and semi-open seral stages of ecological successions in forested landscapes of Europe than later on in preforested and forested climactic stages. The demonstration of this trend is achieved from the study of four habitat gradients, two in the mediterranean region (Provence and Corsica) and two in central Europe (Burgundy, France and Poland). A multivariate analysis has been used to illustrate the dynamics of communities along these succession. Displays of the results in bivariate space as well as an illustration of the distributional profiles of some of the most characteristic species show that: i) there is a discrimination between the two mediterranean gradients and the two medioeuropean ones and ii) each succession starts with a very distinct set of species and then the four gradients regularly converge in the last climactic stage where there is almost no discrimination between communities. These results are discussed in the light of the history of European biotas during the Pleistocene. The reason why there is more variation in species composition in the earlier seral stages than in the later forested stages are discussed according to current theories on the role of habitat selection on speciation processes.     

Queen succession in the primitively eusocial tropical waspRopalidia marginata (Lep.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Females of the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata can be classified into three behavioral groups: Sitters, Fighters, and Foragers. It has been speculated that both Sitters and Fighters may be hopeful queens and that the Foragers may have little or no opportunities for direct reproduction. Here we show that in 9 of 12 queen-removal experiments where such a behavioral differentiation could be discerned, the individual that became a queen (the potential queen) was a Sitter in 6 cases, a Fighter in 2 cases, and a Forager in only 1 case. Although potential queens spent significantly more time absent from the nest and showed significantly higher rates of dominance behavior compared to the mean values for nonqueens in their colonies, they were intermediate with respect to all behaviors and age when compared to the range of values for nonqueens in their colonies. Potential queens were not necessarily the highest-ranking individuals among the nonqueens. The pattern of queen succession in this species appears to be quite different from the temperate pattern, where an old and active forager of high dominance rank is the potential queen. Although somewhat similar to the tropical pattern of a relatively younger female that has performed relatively little foraging being the potential queen, it is perhaps more accurate to describe the potential queens of R. marginata as unspecialized intermediates.     

Succession of sessile organisms on experimental plates immersed in Nabeta Bay,Izu Peninsula,Japan V. An integrated consideration on the definition and prediction of succession

Successional changes of sessile organisms over about 3 years on concrete plates immersed at depths of 1.0, 2.5, 4.0 and 5.5 m in Nabeta Bay, Shimoda, Pacific coast of Japan, were investigated from their species composition, percentage cover, and the structure, metabolism, biomass and maturity of the community for the purpose of verifying the hypothesis of succession by Margalef (1968) and Odum (1969). The process of succession was divided into five stages from a cluster analysis based on Horn's (1966) similarity in community structure. The five stages were characterized from dominant, species and 18 community attributes in terms of structure, metabolism, biomass and maturity. With the advance of stages, two large-sized, long-lived species, the kelpEisenia bicyclis and the oysterCrassostrea nippona, dominated; 18 community attributes showed a directional succession ending in a constant community structure, low community metabolism, accumulation of community biomass except chlorophylla and an enhanced degree of community maturity. This directionality in succession of community attributes was valid for the prediction of Margalef and Odum, despite a tendency for estimated daily energy budget to be more heterotrophic in such an open system. From these results, it was suggested that the definition of succession by Odum (1969) should be interpreted as the regularity in shift of dominant species, not individual species, and as the control of system by feedback mechanism developing with succession rather than community-controlled mechanism.     

Taxonomic status of the species of the green algal genusNeochloris

Komárek has recently reviewed the various species assigned to the green algal genusNeochloris Starr (Chlorococcales, Chlorococcaceae) and removed those with uninucleate vegetative cells to a new genus,Ettlia. Watanabe & Floyd, unaware ofKomárek's work, also reviewed the species ofNeochloris and distributed them among three genera—Neochloris, Chlorococcopsis gen. nov., andParietochloris gen. nov.—on the basis of details of the covering of the zoospore and the arrangement of the basal bodies of the flagellar apparatus. This paper reconciles these two treatments and makes additional recommendations at the ranks of genus, family, order, and class.     

Succession of phytoplankton species in indoor reservoir models varying in sediment composition and water inlet site

Using four continuous-flow indoor reservoir models, the combined effects of varying water inlet depth and sediment composition on phytoplankton species composition and its succession pattern were studied. Species which are known to bloom in eutrophicated reservoirs were dominant in the species succession in each tank. At any one time, a step-like pattern was observed in the composition of the dominant species of each tank, wherein all the species which appeared in a tank with a lower phosphorus concentration were included in the species composition of the tank with a higher phosphorus concentration in an additive relationship.     

武汉东湖浮游植物各种成份分析与沉淀物中浮游植物活体碳、氮、磷的测定

本实验调查了武汉东湖浮游植物水华的各种成份以及水柱沉淀物内叶绿素α含量,根据碳与叶绿素α关系,给定了一回归方程,并计算出沉淀物中藻类活体相应的碳、氮、磷含量。从平均数值看,武汉东湖浮游植物水华的C,N,P含量分别为39.30,7.98及0.94(％);其干湿比为0.20,碳、氮比为5.10,碳、磷比为46.54,碳与叶绿素α之比则为133.32。 1983年东湖水柱沉淀物中浮游植物活体叶绿素α下沉量平均每天每平方米为43.8675微克(Ⅰ站)及35.5881微克(Ⅱ站)。利用东湖浮游植物水华各种成份含量及其各种比率计算出的东湖水柱沉淀物中浮游植物活体碳、氮、磷量,按顺序每天每平方米分别为2.53,0.50,0.05毫克(Ⅰ站)及2.09,0.41,0.04毫克(Ⅱ站)。     

Phytoplankton ecology in an unusually stable environment (Montezuma Well,Arizona, U.S.A.)

Relatively minor annual amplitudes of change in certain major nutrients, and especially pH and water temperature were measured in the spring-fed system of Montezuma Well, Arizona during a four year study. phytoplankton diversity was low but for the most part, composition was spatially and temporally constant; total seasonal phytoplankton density was significantly correlated with regional incident light. Phytoplankton species composition changed briefly during and for a short period following the summer monsoon. Ultraplankton (<5 µm diam.) numerically comprised nearly 80% of the phytoplankton community throughout most of the year. The limited residence time of water in the Well may have provided a competitive advantage for cells with high surface area:volume ratios and correspondingly rapid division rates. Nannochloris bacillaris Naum. and Coccomyxa minor Skuja were perennial dominants. Diatom populations did not increase with annual increases in vernal solar radiation. Low pH, high dissolved CO₂, and limited residence time for metabolic inhibitors are considered to be largely responsible for the reduced blue-green populations in the Well. The only flagellated photosynthetic group present in Montezuma Well was the Cryptophyta. Desmid populations were minimal, even though pH was consistently below circumneutral (6.5) and free CO₂ concentrations high. The role of grazing by an amphipod, Hyalella montezuma, on annual phytoplankton abundance is examined.