Sulfur stable isotopes separate producers in marine food-web analysis

Ecological applications of stable isotope analysis rely on different producers having distinct isotopic ratios to trace energy and nutrient transfer to consumers. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) are the usual elements analysed. We tested the hypothesis that producers unable to be separated using C and N would be separated by sulphur (S), by reviewing estuarine and marine food web studies using all three elements (total of 836 pairwise comparisons between producers). S had a wider range of values across all producers than C and N (S: 34.4, C: 23.3, N: 18.7), and a higher mean difference among producers (S: 9.3, C: 6.5, N: 3.3). We varied from 1 to 10 the distance producers must be apart to be considered separate. For each of these gap distances, S-separated producers tied on C and N in 40% or more of cases. Comparing the three elements individually, S had fewer tied pairs of producers for any gap distance than C or N. However, S also has higher within-producer variability. Statistical tests on simulated data showed that this higher variability caused S to be less effective than C for analysing differences among mean producer values, yet mixing models showed that S had the smallest confidence intervals around mean estimates of source contributions to consumers. We also examined the spatial and temporal scales over which S isotope signatures of the saltmarsh plant Spartina alterniflora varied. Differences between samples taken within tens of metres were smallest, but between samples hundreds of metres apart were as different as samples thousands of kilometres apart. The time between samples being taken did not influence S signatures. Overall, the use of S is recommended because it has a high probability of distinguishing the contribution of different producers to aquatic food webs. When two elements are employed, the combination of S and C separates more producers than any other combination.     

Eelgrass recovery after nutrient enrichment reversal

Mumford Cove, a 48 ha Connecticut embayment on Long Island Sound, has a history of excessive nutrient inputs and corresponding eutrophic conditions with concomitant eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) loss. From 1945 to 1987, a municipal wastewater treatment facility discharged into the cove. In 1987, when the wastewater outfall was diverted to another location, the cove supported a near monoculture of the green algae Ulva lactuca L., covering 74% of the bottom. By 1988, macroalgal areal cover in Mumford Cove had declined to 9%. When we first sampled the cove in 1992, Z. marina and Ruppia maritima L. were present. By 1999, areal distribution of Z. marina and R. maritima had expanded to cover a third of the bottom. Periodic summertime surveys from 2002 through 2004 indicated that Z. marina was present in approximately half of the cove; R. maritima was sparse. Fifteen years after termination of nutrient enrichment, this cove had recovered from 40 years of point source anthropogenic nutrient input, returning from an Ulva-dominated to a Zostera-dominated state.     

Biotic communities of freshwater marshes and mangroves in relation to saltwater incursions: implications for wetland regulation

An ecosystem-level study was conducted in the Guandu wetlands insubtropical coastal Taiwan to examine how salinity influences the abundance,diversity, and structure of biotic communities. We surveyed eight permanentstudy sites, spanning freshwater marshes, to the gate on the dyke, andmesohaline mangroves representing a gradient of the extent of saltwaterincursions. Analyses of abiotic variables showed that salinity was the primarydetermining factor for discriminating habitat types in the wetlands, butcommunities differed in their sensitivity to salinity. The composition of plantand insect communities was most affected by the salinity gradient, suggestingthe utility of these communities for ecological monitoring of saltwaterincursions. However, spatial changes in communities at higher trophic levels,including macrobenthos, mollusks, fish, and birds, could not be explained simplyby the salinity gradient. Instead, changes in these communities were morerelevant to the composition of other biotic communities. Our results show thatspecies richness and diversity of plant communities were higher in the marshesthan in the mangroves. Nevertheless, insect communities censused in themangroves had higher diversity, despite lower abundance and species richness.Macrobenthos surveyed in the mangroves showed higher biomass and number of taxa.Mollusks and fish were also more abundant at sites near the gate compared to themarsh sites. This suggests that maintaining a tidal flux by means of gateregulation is necessary for conserving the spatial heterogeneity andbiodiversity of coastal wetlands.     

长江口日本鳗鲡幼体色素发育时相及其体型变化

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长江口外赤潮频发海区水文分布特征分析

对长江口外赤潮频发区的水文特征的分析表明,在这个海区,春,夏季由于长江入海径流量大,长江冲淡水在西南-东北向流的作用下发生转向;上升流一般发生在从第一个转向点到长江口外深槽顶端的西侧斜坡上,春季这个转向点偏北,夏季偏南,秋季因长江入海径流量小,似无转向点存在,春,夏季余流的分布特点是羽状锋区附近是表,底层流辐合区,涌升区的表层余流呈现辐散的特征,底层余流具有顺槽进入长江口或向长江口辐合的特征.     

刀鲚和凤鲚的分子鉴定及其在仔鱼种类鉴定中的应用

使用mtDNA Cyt b基因序列作为分子标记,基于400 bp左右的序列分析长颌鲚、短颌鲚及凤鲚成鱼的遗传关系。结果显示长颌鲚和短颌鲚间的遗传距离在0—0.5%之间;凤鲚与长颌鲚、短颌鲚的遗传距离分别在7.9%—8.9%和7.7%—8.6%之间。用Kimura双参数模型构建的NJ分子系统树显示,长颌鲚和短颌鲚不能形成彼此独立的分支,而是混合聚在一起形成一个分支;凤鲚则形成另一个分支。对长江口沿岸区域的鲚属仔鱼Cyt b基因片段序列分析发现,仔鱼个体之间的遗传距离为0—0.7%,仔鱼与长颌鲚、短颌鲚的遗传距离在0.1%—0.5%之间,而与凤鲚的遗传距离为8.3%—8.8%。在Kimura双参数模型构建的NJ分子系统树中,仔鱼与长颌鲚、短颌鲚聚为一类,而与凤鲚分开,表明分析的仔鱼样品不包括凤鲚个体。由于长江口一般没有短颌鲚分布,这些仔鱼应该都是长颌鲚。     

长江口两种重要石首鱼类的摄食习性

通过对2006年夏、秋季在长江口及其毗邻海域采集的575尾白姑鱼(Argyrosomus argentatus)和1089尾小黄鱼(Pseudosciaena polyactis)胃含物样品的分析,利用多元统计分析方法,研究了它们的摄食习性以及随栖息地、季节和体长的变化规律。结果表明:该水域的白姑鱼是底栖动物食性,小黄鱼是混合动物食性,甲壳类在它们食物中均占83%以上的比例,2种石首鱼类的食物重叠系数为0.55。由于摄食的优势饵料种类的差异,使这2种石首鱼类之间不存在严重的食物竞争。与20世纪80年代的研究结果相比,两种石首鱼类所摄食的鱼类的比例均有所下降。结果还表明:白姑鱼的摄食习性较为稳定,受栖息环境、季节以及体长变化的影响较小;而小黄鱼随栖息环境、季节以及体长的变化较大,且109mm是其发生食性转换的一个关键的临界体长。     

Hydrological Forecasting in the Oder Estuary using a Three- Dimensional Hydrodynamic Model

A three-dimensional operational hydrodynamic model, developed at the Institute of Oceanography, University of Gdańsk was used to forecast hydrological conditions in the Oder Estuary. The model was based on the coastal ocean circulation model known as the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). Because of wind-driven water backup in the Oder mouth, a simplified operational model of river discharge, based on water budget in a stream channel, was developed. Linking these two models into a single system made it possible to forecast water levels, currents, water temperature, and salinity in the estuary. A good fit between the observed and computed data allowed to consider the model as a reliable environmental tool. Obtaining a hydrological forecast via a quick website access gives potential users an opportunity to predict the day-by-day course of processes that may affect different areas of human life and activities, e.g., navigation, port operations, flood protection of coastal areas; the predictions may also be used in studies of coastal processes in the estuary.     

On the cultivation of free-living marine and estuarine nematodes

Although a large body of literature exists on the systematics and ecology of free-living marine and brackish-water nematodes, key questions on the nature and magnitude of interactions between nematodes and other organisms in the benthos remain unanswered. Relatively few authors have investigated live nematodes in food web studies or in experiments dealing with the nematodes’ response to a varying environment. It is mainly for the latter purpose that attempts have been made to maintain, rear and cultivate selected species. This paper describes the methodology used for the maintenance, rearing, and eventual permanent agnotobiotic cultivation of a variety of estuarine nematodes. Spot plates, where small samples of sediment or macrophyte material are inoculated on a sloppy agar layer, have been used for the purpose of maintenance and initial cultivation. Those species that reproduce on spot plates are then selected for monospecific cultivation on agar layers with different nutrient enrichments and with micro-organisms cotransferred from the spot plates as food. Mixtures of bacto and nutrient agar prepared in artificial seawater were specifically suitable for the xenic cultivation of nine bacterivorous and, when supplied with Erdschreiber nutrients, two algivorous/bacterivorous nematode species. Up to three generations of five other nematode species have been reared under laboratory conditions, and several more were kept alive and active for variable periods of time on agar. Generation times observed on spot plates forAdoncholaimus fuscus andOncholaimus oxyuris were substantially shorter than previously published estimates and suggest a correspondingly higher predatory and scavenging potency for these and related enoplids. A procedure for the long-term storage of nematodes at −80°C with glycerol as a cryoprotectant was successfully used forDiplolaimella dievengatensis, Panagrolaimus sp. 1, andPellioditis marina, but not forDiplolaimelloides meyli. The authors have also summarized the existing literature on the cultivation of marine and brackish-water nematodes. Continuous cultivation appears to have been successful mainly for Aufwuchs and epiphytic nematodes; only few sediment-dwellers have been established in permanent culture. Of only just over 30 species that have ever been cultivated, more than half belong to one family (Monhysteridae) and three are Rhabditida, an order poorly represented in the marine environment. Four species have been grown in monoxenic and one in axenic culture, the latter though with limited success. It is concluded that our understanding of the basic nutritional requirements of marine nematodes is as yet insufficient, and that the culture techniques which have so far mainly deployed agar or liquid substrates, while being suitable for the cultivation of Aufwuchs and epiphytic nematodes, do not accurately enough mimic gradients specific of the natural habitat of many sediment-dwellers.     

Landscape-level seagrass–sediment relations in a coastal lagoon

We investigated the relationships between sediment (subaqueous soil) properties and eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) distribution to develop landscape-level soil-based strategies for choosing eelgrass restoration locations. Subaqueous soils were sampled and eelgrass cover determined for 14 soil-landscape units within a 116 ha area of Ninigret Pond, a coastal lagoon in Rhode Island, USA. Of the 14 soil-landscape units sampled for eelgrass cover, 52% had virtually no eelgrass cover (<10%), while 18% had high eelgrass cover (>90%). The Lagoon Bottom, Shallow Lagoon Bottom, Flood-tidal Delta Slope, and Barrier Cove subaqueous soil-landscape units had the highest eelgrass cover (66–100%). A weak relationship between eelgrass cover and water depths (r² = 0.10) was observed suggesting that properties other than water depth may also control eelgrass distribution. Subaqueous soils on landscapes with >60% eelgrass cover had relatively high levels of acid-volatile sulfides (>90 μg/g), high soil salinity levels (34–44 ppt), fine textures (silt loam), and relatively high total nitrogen levels (>0.15%). Four principal components accounted for 81% of the variability in eelgrass cover. The first component reflected particle-size distribution (i.e. sand, silt, and clay contents) effects and accounted for 43% of the variability. The other components suggested that eelgrass cover is correlated to carbonaceous remains, non-calcareous rock fragments and soil salinity. These data suggest that the current distribution of eelgrass within the study area is strongly influenced by physical and chemical subaqueous soil characteristics. Soil survey techniques proved useful for the delineation of sediment characteristics (e.g. texture, salinity) that influence eelgrass distribution patterns at landscape-level scales.