Reproductive patterns in seventeen species of warmwater fishes in a Missouri River reservoir

Synopsis The timing of ovarian maturation and spawning of 17 warmwater fish species in Lake Oahe (South and North Dakota) was estimated from changes in the mean ovary indices (ratios of ovary weight to fish length). The onset of vitellogenesis varied within species (up to 2 months). Maturation of the ova took from 7.5 to 10 months, depending on species. Annual variations in the mean date of peak spawning of individual species during 1964–1971 were usually less than a week. There was little overlap of the annual mean peak spawning dates of the 17 species, and an established sequence of spawning among species was shown. A relatively high incidence of atresia in the shovelnose sturgeon, northern pike, and carp indicated that these species had apparently not yet adapted to the altered and variable spawning conditions in this reservoir. Regularity of spawning would seem to provide the best chance for spawning success in variable environments such as Lake Oahe.     

The effects of selective fish predation on the horizontal distribution of pelagic Cladocera in a southern French reservoir

A four-year study showed a clear seasonal succession of species within the cladoceran community of the large, oligotrophic Sainte-Croix reservoir (S.E. France). Diaphanosoma brachyurum and Ceriodaphnia pulchella were strictly limited to the warm stratified period (July to October), whereas Bosmina longirostris and Bosmina coregoni were dominant during spring and autumn. Daphnia longispina was the only species to occur throughout the year with higher densities in spring.In spring and late autumn, the discharge of the inflowing river Verdon was high and the abundance of all species showed a gradient over the whole lake with lower densities close to the inflow. During the stratified period, water inflow was very low and species showed different patterns. Densities of the small form Ceriodaphnia pulchella were similar all along the long axis of the lake, whereas Daphnia densities were significantly higher near the dam. The distribution pattern of Diaphanosoma, an intermediate-sized species, showed similar trends to that of Daphnia. The only planktivorous fish in the pelagic zone, the bleak (Alburnus alburnus), fed mostly on large-bodied species (> 1.0 mm) and was more abundant close to the inflow current. A comparison between the length frequency distributions of cladocera upstream and downstream provided a clear demonstration of the effects of size-selective predation on prey populations. Finally, the interactions between spatial heterogeneity and long-term development of the zooplankton community and the indirect effects of predation are discussed.     

Middle Ordovician reefs of Norway

The Middle Ordovician reefs of Norway were the first to develop in the western part of the Balto-scandian epicontinental sea and are the earliest coral-stromatoporoid reefs so far reported in Europe. Small patch reefs in the Steinvika Limestone, Langesund-Skien district, consist mainly of algae, echinoderms, corals and stromatoporoids. Bryozoans, molluscs, arthropods and brachiopods are also present. The reefs developed on pelmatozoan-rich substrates and are organically zoned, consisting of a pioneer community of stemmed echinoderms and sheet algae, a high-diversity intermediate community dominated by fasciculate corals and a low diversity climax community of massive corals and stromatoporoids. These communities are interpreted as the seral stages of an autogenic ecological succession. Small patch reefs are also present in the laterally equivalent Mjøsa Limestone, Toten and Nes-Hamar districts. These are organically very similar to those in the Steinvika Limestone and developed in an identical way. A large complex, consisting of several reefs, is also present in the Mjøsa Limestone. Unlike the reefs elsewhere, which developed within shallow inshore areas, this complex developed at the outer edge of the inshore shelf. The outstanding feature of the complex is the main reef forming the offshore limit which is totally dominated by stromatoporoids and lacks a sequential development. This is due to the influence of the harsher environment at the shelf edge.     

三峡水库运行期间原生动物群落的时空异质性

于2010年10月—2011年6月三峡水库正常运行周期内对库区干流原生动物进行调查,研究其空间分布及水库周期排蓄期间的变化。共检测到原生动物99种,蓄水后纤毛虫有增多的趋势。水库运行的不同阶段优势种不同,大致演变为:砂壳纤毛虫(蓄水期)—非砂壳类纤毛虫(高位运行期间)—有壳肉足虫(低位运行期间)。不同水域优势种也存在差异,从上游到下游特征指示种变化为:有壳肉足虫(变动回水区)—纤毛虫(湖泊区)。结果表明,三峡水库原生动物的分布具有明显的时空异质性(P0.05),影响原生动物时空分布的主要因素有透明度、温度、电导率和叶绿素a。原生动物平均密度为952.19个/L,平均生物量为8.14μg/L。蓄水期上游现存量高于下游,低位运行期间则低于下游。原生动物Marglef和Shannonn-Weiver多样性指数平均值分别为3.78和2.18,1月份最低,6月份最高。蓄水175 m后上游变动回水区原生动物具有较高的丰度。水库冬蓄夏排的运行模式模糊了河流本身的季节变化,使原生动物的种类和现存量更多的受水库水动力学的影响,使水体理化因子和水文特征呈现明显的时空差异,最终形成原生动物种群的时空异质性分布。     

三峡库区人类活动强度与景观格局的耦合响应

人类活动和景观格局是人地系统中两大要素的重要表征,探析人类活动强度与景观格局的耦合变化特征对揭示区域人地关系的演变意义重大。为弥补当前对人类活动强度与景观格局耦合响应研究的不足,构建了山区人类活动强度与景观格局耦合演变模型,提出了综合显性—隐性人类活动强度指数,定量评价了三峡库区腹地奉节县2000—2020年的人类活动强度,并通过双变量空间自相关模型探讨了综合人类活动强度与景观格局的空间耦合特征。研究表明：(1)奉节县的综合人类活动强度在时间上由2000年的11.59%增加为2020年的12.48%,在空间上表现为整体收缩,局部增强的特点,另外人类活动强度和景观格局的空间分布与奉节县的地形梯度密切相关;(2)奉节县的人类活动强度与景观格局空间耦合变化表现出协调型、拮抗型、逐渐协调型和逐渐拮抗型四种类型;(3)影响奉节县综合人类活动强度与景观格局的耦合变化的重要因子为距聚落距离、距县行政中心距离、高程等,社会经济因素逐渐成为区域社会生态系统演变主导因素;(4)三峡库区腹地人类活动强度与景观格局存在耦合响应,且其耦合响应具有一定的多样性和特殊性。三峡库区腹地通过沟谷土地集约化来换取山区的生...     

三峡库区9种植物种子萌发特性及其在植被恢复中的意义

三峡大坝蓄水后形成的库区消涨带面临植被消亡、生态退化等问题。为了筛选出适用于库区消涨带植被恢复的植物, 将9种1年生植物种子放置在库区消涨带不同海拔进行水淹(W 165-8 m, 121 d;W 155-18 m, 230 d;W 147-26 m, 271 d), 然后在实验室条件下进行萌发, 研究在消涨带淹水胁迫下这些种子的萌发特性。结果表明: (1) 除马唐(Digitaria sanguinalis)、小蓬草(Conyza canadensis)、金色狗尾草(Setaria glauca)种子在各条件下萌发率都较低外, 不同水淹条件对萌发率影响不同: 与新鲜种子相比, W 165水淹后, 旱稗(Echinochloa hispidula)和婆婆针(Bidens bipinnata)种子萌发率显著上升, 其余种子萌发率均显著下降; W 155水淹后, 所有种子的萌发率都显著下降且只有鱧肠(Eclipta prostrate)、黄花蒿(Artemisia annua)、合萌(Aeschynomene indica)3个物种有萌发, 萌发率分别为11.0%、7.3%和2.7%; W 147水淹后, 旱稗和婆婆针种子萌发率显著上升, 鱧肠种子无显著差异, 其余种子萌发率显著下降。(2) 鱧肠、黄花蒿、婆婆针和旱稗种子比其它物种更耐水淹。W 165水淹后, 鱧肠、黄花蒿、婆婆针、旱稗种子萌发率分别为44.7%、42%、20.7%和4.3%, W 147水淹后分别为76.3%、23%、15%和26.3%, 高于其他物种。(3) 水淹后种子萌发时间格局也受到影响, 大部分种子起始萌发时间推迟、萌发速度变慢。鱧肠、黄花蒿、婆婆针和旱稗的种子对三峡库区消涨带的水淹胁迫具有一定的适应能力, 可根据它们对水淹条件适应能力的差异在消涨带不同海拔高度进行植被恢复。     

三江源牧户参与草地生态保护的意愿

牧民对环境保护的响应是生态保护战略有效实施的关键,主体参与意愿直接影响生态保护项目实施的成效和可持续性,是区域生态经济可持续发展的前提。通过对三江源地区约283户藏族牧民通过翻译进行结构式访谈,采用Logistic模型从主体角度探讨了牧户愿意参与生态保护行为响应的主要影响因素。结果表明:(1)三江源区域约87%的牧户认为生态保护对牧户有好处,但受各种内外部因素的影响只有近70%的牧户是在政府主导下基于有限理性而被动的参与生态保护行为响应。(2)三江源牧户参与生态保护行为响应的意愿主要受当地政府的保护力度及牧户对生态保护外部性的认知水平、生计水平、外界接触程度、工作机会的正影响,并受牧户的年龄、离中心城镇的距离和区域气候恶劣情况等因素的负影响,系数依次为:2.22、3.98、1.93、2.26、1.48、-1.63、-2.43、-0.92。(3)牧户的生计水平、退化感知和外部性认知是影响三江源牧户参与生态保护意愿的关键因素,牧户参与生态保护意愿的概率不仅仅是牧户出于自身利益和未知风险考虑下被动的响应,更是当地政府的环境知识宣传和保护投入影响下个体的抉择结果。(4)创造更多的就业机会和解决牧户的单一化生计问题,构建完善地生态补偿机制让牧户分享生态保护的外部性效益,并激励牧户主动参与生态保护行为响应,才能最终实现区域生态保护、牧户幸福和生态经济可持续发展的多赢局面。     

结合生态系统服务供需和人类福祉的区域规划

生态系统服务与人类福祉的和谐关系是区域规划的基石。现有的区域规划较少同时考虑生态系统服务的供需和流域居民的福祉差异。以城市化流域——官厅水库流域为例,应用改进后的CASA模型、IPCC清单法、SolVES模型和问卷调查量化食物供给、碳固持和文化服务以及人类福祉,再结合服务的供需关系及人类福祉水平开展聚类分区,并针对各区情况提出规划建议。结果显示,官厅水库流域内食物供给和文化服务供大于求,而碳固持服务供不应求。流域福祉位于中等水平,分值为3.44(满分5分)。其中,居民的基本物质需求分值最高(3.64),收入分值(3.00)明显低于流域整体水平。除此之外,居民认为供水、医疗条件和收入这些福祉要素仍有待改善。流域可分为城市发展区、城郊休闲区、生态涵养区和文化建设区。在各区需采用因地制宜的方式,通过增大植被覆盖面、开展文旅产业和推动冰雪项目等形式,提高居民生活质量和维持区域可持续性。     

三江源区生态系统和土壤保持服务对未来气候变化的响应特征

气候变化条件下的生态系统响应特征对生态系统服务的提升和生态环境保护具有重要意义。现有气候变化评估多以全球或区域大尺度研究为主,不适合局地小尺度。以2015年为基准,根据局地特征改进了综合顺序分类系统（CSCS）,模拟了未来不同温室气体排放模式下三江源地区自然植被分布,同时分析了植被覆盖度及土壤保持功能的时空变化。研究结果表明：①在2080年的不同排放情境下,三江源地区的降水和气温增长主要发生在生长季（5—9月）和半湿润地区,其中,高排放情境的增幅最大（42.21 mm和4.93℃）;②三江源地区潜在自然植被主要由草地转化为森林,植被覆盖度和土壤保持服务在不同排放情境下均呈现由西北向东南增加的趋势,与水热规律一致,其中高排放情境的增幅最大,低排放最小;③ 利用三江源地区原生裸地演替特点和多年NPP改进的CSCS模型,模拟精度提高了24%。研究成果为局地小尺度生态系统气候响应特征提供了必要的手段和规律认识。