Response of harpacticoid copepods to habitat structure at a deep-sea site

Given the quiescent physical environment and the low rates of bioturbation in the deep sea, biologically produced structures, such as animals tubes, may play an important role in creating habitat heterogeneity. In San Diego Trough, the cirratulid polychaete Tharyx luticastellus builds and inhabits a robust mud concretion (a mudball). Mudballs are abundant and persist after the worm has died or abandoned them. Our analysis of twelve 6.6-cm-diameter cores from 32° 51.02 N, 117° 46.97 W, taken with the submersible SEA CLIFF, indicate that one of 29 species of harpacticoids common in San Diego Trough is associated with Tharyx mudballs. This species (of the genus Heteropsyllus) responded only to mudballs containing worms, suggesting that any effects of the inanimate structure were not the cause of the association. We could detect no difference in bacterial numbers in sediments between control and occupied-mudball samples. This result suggests that the response does not result from gross differences in food levels near a mudball, but the possibility that there are differences in some preferred food cannot be discounted. An univestigated possibility is that Heteropsyllus responds to occupied mudballs because the worm's presence deters some (presumably small) predator.     

水库鲢鳙鱼生长状况的评价预测

一.引言一般生物受许多环境因素的约束和作用。我们根据有关生物学理论、专家意见和调查材料,结合河北省抚宁县洋河水库现状材料和拟议中筹建的河北省青龙县桃林口水库建库后水质、生态环境的预测,应用层次分析法和综合评定法,对上述两水库的鲢、鳊鱼生长状况.进行评价和预测。     

Habitat alteration and its effects on native fishes in the upper Tennessee River system, east-central U.S.A.

The upper Tennessee River drainage, which includes portions of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, supports an exceptionally diverse fish fauna. Recent reductions in abundance and geographic ranges of several freshwater fishes have promulgated the imposition of protective measures for about 115 species among the three states, with nearly half of those species occurring in the upper Tennessee River. Most protected species are darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) or minnows (Cyprinidae), and are typically small, benthic invertivores. Major impacts on the fish fauna have resulted from dams, introduced species, toxic spills, mining and agriculture. An important cumulative effect of these impacts is fragmentation of the watershed; nearly 40% of the riverine habitat in major tributaries is either impounded or altered by tailwater discharges. The isolation and stress imposed on tributaries of the river have caused and will continue to cause extirpations of fishes, mussels and other aquatic fauna. Numerous federal, state, and private organizations are co-operating in efforts to protect rare species and habitats, improve agricultural and coal-producing practices, and enforce regulations for industrial and municipal effluents.     

The fish community structure in Tjeukemeer in relation to fishery and habitat utilization

The fish community in Tjeukemeer was monitored from 1971 to 1988 by trawling, and during the summer of 1988 the distribution of the more abundant species was determined in relation to size and location. Bream, pikeperch and smelt were the most dominant fishes, whereas roach, white bream, perch and ruffe comprised <10% of the total catches. After the termination in 1977 of the intensive gillnet fishery both pikeperch >50 cm and bream >30 cm increased in biomass, but roach >15 cm and perch >15 cm virtually disappeared and pikeperch <50 cm substantially decreased. Only smelt, ruffe, white bream and bream <30 cm hardly changed in biomass. Bream, pikeperch, perch and smelt were restricted to the open water zone, but roach <15 cm and 0 + bream were confined to the littoral zone. White bream and ruffe did not show a distinct habitat preference. Because the recruitment of smelt is largely dependent on immigration from the IJsselmeer, a feed-back between the smelt and pikeperch population is lacking. Because the carrying capacity of the pikeperch population is mainly determined by smelt, the other fish <15 cm are very vulnerable to predation when the smelt population is consumed, before a new year-class of smelt is recruited, or when the smelt fails to recruit. The vulnerability to predation of the different species and their feeding habits are discussed in relation to their distribution.     

Spatial and temporal distributions of salmonids in two ponds in Newfoundland, Canada

Spatial and temporal distributions of salmonids were examined in Junction Pond, Northeast River, Placentia and Conne Pond, Conne River, Newfoundland using Lundgren multiple-mesh experimental gillnets. Both ponds contain populations of Atlantic salmon and brook trout with Junction Pond also possessing brown trout and resident Arctic charr. For salmon parr there was a significant month effect in distribution of catch rates in both ponds, and in Junction Pond, there was a significant diel effect. There was also significant variation in catch rates by lentic zone. For brook trout, there was a significant lentic zone × month interaction in Junction Pond; in Conne Pond, the main effects lentic zone and month were significant. Highest benthic catch rates of Atlantic salmon parr occurred in the littoral zone of both ponds. Most captures of brook trout also occurred benthically in both ponds; similar to salmon parr, littoral zone catch rates were higher than those of the deeper benthic area in Conne Pond but the reverse was true for Junction Pond. For both salmon parr and brook trout, the deeper benthic area and the pelagic area were relatively important rearing habitats in each pond. The distribution of catches for brown trout (few in number relative to the other species) in Junction Pond was similar to that of brook trout while Arctic charr were found mainly pelagically. Within the benthic area, most Arctic charr were caught at depths beyond the littoral zone. There was a tendency for Altantic salmon parr and brook trout found in the deeper benthic area and the pelagic area to be significantly larger and older than those in littoral zone in each pond. Sizes of Arctic charr did not differ significantly among lentic zones.     

Flower heliotropism in an alpine population of Ranunculus acris (Ranunculaceae): effects on flower temperature,insect visitation,and seed production

Some plants in arctic and alpine habitats have heliotropic flowers that track the sun. This results in a heating of the flower's interior, which may improve the possibilities for insect pollination and seed production. Here, I examine whether flower heliotropism in an alpine population of the self-incompatible Ranunculus acris L. (Ranunculaceae) enhances pollinator visitation and seed production. Flowers of Ranunculus acris tracked the sun during the day. Tracking accuracy was greatest during the middle of the day. The temperature elevation in flowers was negatively correlated with the flower's angle of deviation from the sun. Despite the increased temperature, insects did not discriminate among flowers on the basis of their angle of deviation from the sun, or tend to stay longer in the flowers aligned closest towards the sun. A tethering experiment was conducted on three groups of plants flowering at different times in the 1993 season and on one group the following season. Manipulation plants were constrained not to track the sun, whereas control plants tracked the sun naturally. Solar tracking had no effect on seed:ovule ratio, seed mass, or abortion rate in any of the groups. There is probably a very narrow range of weather conditions (cold, sunny, and calm) where flower heliotropism may enhance visitation rate to flowers and their seed production.     

Habitat utilization patterns of sympatric populations of Pseudomys gracilicaudatus and Rattus lutreolus in coastal heathland: A multivariate analysis

Abstract Habitat usage characteristics of two species of native murid rodents, Pseudomys gracilicaudatus and Rattus lutreolus were investigated on an area of coastal heathland at Myall Lakes National Park. A grid of 151 trap stations comprising 17 traplines was positioned across a mosaic of habitats. At each trap station 19 structural vegetation and physical variables known to affect the microdistribution of small mammals were measured. Multivariate statistical procedures identified those microhabitat variables that contribute to individual species' habitat use and habitat partitioning, and reduce potential competition for space. Cluster analysis classified trap stations into one of six habitat types that were mapped on the study area, identifying a heterogeneous assemblage of interlocking habitats. The pattern is a consequence of topographic variation on the site and, to a lesser extent, its fire history. Trapping results show P. gracilicaudatus and R. lutreolus exhibit similar macrohabitat selection, preferring topographically low habitats, with both species predominantly occupying short dense heath with dense sedge cover. The high overlap in macrohabitat use is greatly reduced when considered trap station by trap station, so that discriminant function and multiple regression analyses demonstrate marked microhabitat selection. Elevation was a highly significant variable, accounting for 41% and 27% of the variance in the habitat used by P. gracilicaudatus and R. lutreolus, respectively. This variable represents a soil moisture gradient that determines changes in the floristic and structural components of the biotic environment. Two other structural vegetation variables and vegetation height contributed 30% of the variance in P. gracilicaudatus distribution. Sedge cover was found to be significant and explained 13% of the variance in R. lutreolus distribution. Within-habitat separation was explained best with a linear combination of variables in a discriminant function, rather than by any single variable. Differential microhabitat selection, interference competition and diet separation appear to be the major factors facilitating coexistence of these two species.     

不同生境区稻田节肢动物群落相似性分析

根据不同生境区稻田节肢动物群落系统调查结果,应用组平均聚类分析法及主成分分析法,讨论节肢动物群落的相似（相异）性问题。结果表明：生境条件及管理措施的差异对群落的结构影响较为明显,不同生境区的稻田节肢动物群落,都能在一定距离取值时聚合成一类,而水稻品种对此影响较小。主成分分析结果由二维图表达已基本满足要求。结果说明大八镇生境区稻田节肢动物群落与岗列镇生境区稻田节肢动物群落差异较大,分别列于两个极端。海陵镇生境区稻田介于两者之间,而与岗列镇生境区稻田节肢动物群落重叠。与聚类分析结果有所差异。这可能与主成分分析法损失部分信息有关。