Growth, carcass composition and plasma growth hormone levels in cyclically fed rainbow trout

Growth, body composition and plasma growth hormone levels were recorded weekly for 24 weeks in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss . Underyearling rainbow trout were individually identified using coded tags and placed on either a cyclic feeding regime of 3 weeks of deprivation followed by 3 weeks of feeding or a daily feeding regime. No significant difference was found in standard length and mass among the cyclically fed and daily fed fish at the end of the experiment. For cyclically fed fish, the absolute specific growth rate and condition factor reached a maximum during the last week of refeeding. Cyclically fed fish had a significantly higher moisture and protein content and lower lipid levels relative to fish fed daily. Absolute mass and fat loss in the deprivation phase of the feeding cycle decreased in intensity with subsequent feeding cycles, indicating that the fish were acclimatizing to the feeding regime. It was proposed that this response was an adaptation against possible adverse effects in the adults ( e.g. locomotor performance, bone ossification rates, fat deposition rate, growth rate and age at sexual maturity). Plasma growth hormone concentrations were not affected by cyclic feeding indicating that variations in plasma growth hormone concentration are not the cause of compensatory growth in rainbow trout.     

A comparison of shallow Danish and Canadian lakes and implications of climate change

1. Winter temperatures differ markedly on the Canadian prairies compared with Denmark. Between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2002, average weekly and monthly temperatures did not drop below 0 °C in the vicinity of Silkeborg, Denmark. Over this same time, weekly average temperatures near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, often dropped below −10 °C for 3–5 weeks and the average monthly temperature was below 0 °C for 2–4 months. Accordingly, winter ice conditions in shallow lakes in Canada and Denmark differed considerably. 2. To assess the implications of winter climate for lake biotic structure and function we compared a number of variables that describe the chemistry and biology of shallow Canadian and Danish lakes that had been chosen to have similar morphometries. 3. The Danish lakes had a fourfold higher ratio of chlorophyll‐a: total phosphorus (TP). Zooplankton : phytoplankton carbon was related to TP and fish abundance in Danish lakes but not in Canadian lakes. There was no significant difference in the ratio log total zooplankton biomass : log TP and the Canadian lakes had a significantly higher proportion of cladocerans that were Daphnia. These differences correspond well with the fact that the Danish lakes have more abundant and diverse fish communities than the Canadian lakes. 4. Our results suggest that severe Canadian winters lead to anoxia under ice and more depauperate fish communities, and stronger zooplankton control on phytoplankton in shallow prairie lakes compared with shallow Danish lakes. If climate change leads to warmer winters and a shorter duration of ice cover, we predict that shallow Canadian prairie lakes will experience increased survivorship of planktivores and stronger control of zooplankton. This, in turn, might decrease zooplankton control on phytoplankton, leading to ‘greener’ lakes on the Canadian prairies.     

Regional productivity mediates the effects of grazing disturbance on plant cover and patch‐size distribution in arid and semi‐arid communities

Patch‐size distribution and plant cover are strongly associated to arid ecosystem functioning and may be a warning signal for the onset of desertification under changes in disturbance regimes. However, the interaction between regional productivity level and human‐induced disturbance regime as drivers for vegetation structure and dynamics remain poorly studied. We studied grazing disturbance effects on plant cover and patchiness in three plant communities located along a regional productivity gradient in Patagonia (Argentina): a semi‐desert (low‐productivity community), a shrub‐grass steppe (intermediate‐productivity community) and a grass steppe (high‐productivity community). We sampled paddocks with different sheep grazing pressure (continuous disturbance gradients) in all three communities. In each paddock, the presence or absence of perennial vegetation was recorded every 10 cm along a 50 m transect. Grazing effects on vegetation structure depended on the community and its association to the regional productivity. Grazing decreased total plant cover while increasing both the frequency of small patches and the inter‐patch distance in all communities. However, the size of these effects was the greatest in the high‐productivity community. Dominant species responses to grazing explained vegetation patch‐ and inter‐patch‐size distribution patterns. As productivity decreases, dominant species showed a higher degree of grazing resistance, probably because traits of species adapted to high aridity allow them to resist herbivore disturbance. In conclusion, our findings suggest that regional productivity mediates grazing disturbance impacts on vegetation mosaic. The changes within the same range of grazing pressure have higher effects on communities found in environments with higher productivity, markedly promoting their desertification. Understanding the complex interactions between environmental aridity and human‐induced disturbances is a key aspect for maintaining patchiness structure and dynamics, which has important implications for drylands management.     

Continental‐scale syntheses of Australian pyromes – misclassification of south‐western eucalypt woodlands misinforms management

Global and continental‐scale analysis of ecological phenomena can offer important insights through the identification of patterns and associations not detectable at smaller scales. However, using proxies for ecological phenomena, such as vegetation mapping for spatially projecting fire regime niches and post‐fire plant responses, require critical examination of predictions to determine utility. Using local studies in south‐western Australia, we demonstrate that while this approach has been largely successful in mallee woodland and shrubland, it has failed in eucalypt woodland, with the consequence that values for a range of fire‐related parameters from the continent‐wide approaches, if adopted in informing management, would result in undesirable conservation outcomes for the world's largest extant temperate woodland.     

Phosphorus nutrition of rice in relation to flooding and temporary loss of soil-water saturation in two lowland soils of Cambodia

In the rainfed lowlands, temporary loss of soil-water saturation during crop growth is a common factor limiting rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield but its effects on phosphorus (P) availability are poorly understood. Rice plants were transplanted into pots containing soils that were either continuously flooded, maintained at field capacity or flooded and then dried to field capacity for 3 weeks during the vegetative stage. A black clay soil (Kandic Plinthaquult) and a sandy soil (Plinthustalf) from south-east Cambodia were compared with or without amendments by rice straw and P fertilizer. Under continuously flooded conditions, the growth of rice was vigorous without straw addition and there was a strong response of rice growth to the addition of P fertilizer. The soil underwent reduction, which increased pH from 4.2 to 5.5 or 6.0, in the black clay or sandy soil, respectively. By contrast, a loss of soil-water saturation 3 weeks before panicle initiation (PI) markedly impaired the growth of rice. This was not through any effect of water stress, and the growth reductions were not as strong as with continued loss of soil-water saturation from transplanting to PI. Fluctuations in soil pH and Eh corresponded closely to changes in soil-water regimes. Growth reductions were attributed to reduced shoot P levels resulting from the decline in P availability during the loss of soil-water saturation. The addition of rice straw stimulated soil reduction and lessened changes in soil pH and Eh during the loss of soil-water saturation in both soils. Straw addition enhanced P uptake by the rice plants during loss of soil-water saturation, but its beneficial effects could not be attributed to the direct addition of P, N or K to the soils. Thus the application of rice straw may be effective in lessening the effects of temporary loss of soil-water saturation on rice growth in lowland rice soils by minimising the decline in P availability. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Stream power influence on southern Californian riparian vegetation

Abstract. Mechanical damage by floodwaters is frequently invoked to explain the distribution of riparian plant species, but data have been lacking to relate vegetation to specific estimates of flood damage potential. This research uses detailed estimates of unit stream power (an appropriate measure of the potential for mechanical damage) in conjunction with vegetation cover data to test this relationship at 37 valley-bottom sites in the Transverse Ranges of Southern California. A computer program, HEC-2, was used to model the slope and the variation in flow depth and velocity of the 20-yr flood across the sites. Regression models tested the influence of stream power (and of height above the water table) on the woody species composition of 393 4-m cross-section segments of the valley-bottom sites. Results indicate that unit stream power does have a significant effect on the riparian vegetation, but that the amount of that influence and its importance relative to the influence of height above the water table varies between watersheds. Some species are found primarily in locations of high stream power, while others are limited to portions of the valley bottom that experience only low stream power.     

Forest Pattern, Fire, and Climatic Change in the Sierra Nevada

In the Sierra Nevada, distributions of forest tree species are largely controlled by the soil-moisture balance. Changes in temperature or precipitation as a result of increased greenhouse gas concentrations could lead to changes in species distributions. In addition, climatic change could increase the frequency and severity of wildfires. We used a forest gap model developed for Sierra Nevada forests to investigate the potential sensitivity of these forests to climatic change, including a changing fire regime. Fuel moisture influences the fire regime and couples fire to climate. Fires are also affected by fuel loads, which accumulate according to forest structure and composition. These model features were used to investigate the complex interactions between climate, fire, and forest dynamics. Eight hypothetical climate-change scenarios were simulated, including two general circulation model (GCM) predictions of a 2 × CO₂ world. The response of forest structure,species composition, and the fire regime to these changes in the climate were examined at four sites across an elevation gradient. Impacts on woody biomass and species composition as a result of climatic change were site specific and depended on the environmental constraints of a site and the environmental tolerances of the tree species simulated. Climatic change altered the fire regime both directly and indirectly. Fire frequency responded directly to climate's influence on fuel moisture, whereas fire extent was affected by changes that occurred in either woody biomass or species composition. The influence of species composition on fuel-bed bulk density was particularly important. Future fires in the Sierra Nevada could be both more frequent and of greater spatial extent if GCM predictions prove true. Received 5 May 1998; accepted 4 November 1998.     

The "school trap": a mechanism promoting large-amplitude out-of-phase population oscillations of small pelagic fish species

Small coastal pelagic marine fishes often form mixed schools containing two or more species. Individuals of a less abundant species, which are entrained in schools that are dominated numerically by a more abundant species, may be adversely impacted. This may help to account for an observed pattern of strong alternations in dominance between sardines and anchovies in a number of regions of the world's oceans.     

浑太流域洪涝灾害及其治理方略

抚顺、鞍山、辽阳等在内的中部城市群提供年用水量７．０×１０９ｍ３的７０％［５］,对辽宁经济发展与生态环境建设具有至关重要的作用．本文试图剖析浑河、太子河洪涝灾害问题,找出其成因与特点,从生态与工程结合角度提出治理方略,为防洪减灾,振兴经济服务．２　洪涝灾害成因分析２．１　洪涝灾害的一般分析　　洪涝灾害是天降暴雨和下垫面综合作用的结果．它通常依赖气象、水文地理和生态环境三方面因素．气象因素主要指暴雨,包括雨量、雨强和降雨落区．暴雨主要受大气环境制约,目前人类难以左右．然而,通过人工控制增减局地降雨…