Feasible mechanisms for algal digestion in the king angelfish

To determine the ability of the king angelfish Holacanthus passer to digest algae, three algal species were immersed in acidic conditions similar to that found in the stomach of fish. Only one of them was not susceptible to acidic lysis; two were affected after 40 and 60 min at pH 2·0. King angelfish have an expanded region of the intestine called here the hindgut chamber (HC) containing populations of micro-organisms. Some of these micro-organisms have the capacity to grow in cellulose, agar, and alginic acid; the main components of algal cell walls. Micro-organisms grew in carboxymethylcellulose cultures under aerobic and micro-aerobic conditions. The HC is highly vascularized, which could increase absorptive efficiency of material digested in it.     

Adaptations for feeding on rock surfaces and sandy sediment by the fiddler crabs (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) Uca tetragonon(Herbst, 1790) and Uca vocans(Linnaeus, 1758)

Two species of fiddler crab, Uca tetragonon(Herbst, 1790) and Uca vocans(Linnaeus, 1758), which belong to the subgenus Gelasimus, dwell on rocky shores and muddy–sandy tidal flats, respectively, in Phuket Is., Thailand. We investigated their feeding ecology in relation to the morphology of their feeding organs: minor food-handling chelipeds and maxillipeds. U. tetragononfed chiefly on rocks covered by filamentous green algae. U. vocansfed on the emerged sand and in shallow water along the shoreline and in pools. While feeding, both crabs made sand pellets beneath their mouthparts and discarded them, indicating that they divided the matter scooped up with their minor chelipeds into edible and inedible fractions by using the maxillipeds in the water passing through their buccal cavity. The morphology of maxillipeds hardly differed between the two species, which means that both species are flotation-feeders. The morphology of their minor chelipeds, however, differed: the tips of the dactyl and pollex were flat in U. tetragononand pointed in U. vocans.When the minor cheliped was closed, U. tetragononhad a hemispherical space in the distal one-fourth of the gape, which was closed by the framing keratin layers and a few setae of the dactyl and pollex. On the other hand, U. vocanshad an ellipsoidal space in the distal half of the gape. We consider these morphological characters to be adaptations to the different feeding substrates for retaining more food-laden sediment. We discuss the role of the setae on the minor chelipeds on the basis of the morphological differences between populations of U. tetragononin Phuket Is. and East Africa where the crab inhabits muddy–sandy tidal flats.     

Amphibious behaviour and feeding ecology of the four-eyed blenny (Dialommus fuscus, Labrisomidae) in the intertidal zone of the island of Santa Cruz (Galapagos, Ecuador)

The labrisomid Dialommus fuscus , endemic to the Galapagos archipelago, is a predator of crustaceans, which moves up and down the intertidal zone with the tides. Its divided eye and elongated body permit it to forage in the wet sections of the intertidal habitat during low tide, both on the rocks and below the water line and in tide pools. Compared with other intertidal fishes (e.g. Bathygobius sp.), it was present on the rock flat in significantly smaller tide pools nearer to the water line during low tide.     

Historical shrub–grass transitions in the northern Chihuahuan Desert: modeling the effects of shifting rainfall seasonality and event size over a landscape gradient

We use a spatially explicit landscape model to investigate the potential role of rainfall on shrub–grass transitions in the Jornada Basin of southern New Mexico during the past century. In long‐term simulations (1915–1998) along a 2700 m transect running from a dry lake bed to the foothills of a small mountain, we test two hypotheses: (i) that wetter winters and drier summers may have facilitated shrub encroachment in grasslands, and (ii) that increases in large precipitation events may have increased soil water recharge at deeper layers, thus favoring shrub establishment and growth. Our model simulations generally support the hypothesis that wetter winters and drier summers may have played a key role, but we are unable to reproduce the major shifts from grass‐ to shrub‐domination that occurred in this landscape during the early part of the 1900s; furthermore, the positive shrub response to wetter winters and drier summers was only realized subsequent to the drought of 1951–1956, which was a relatively short ‘window of opportunity’ for increased shrub establishment and growth. Our simulations also generally support the hypothesis that an increase in the number of large precipitation events may also have favored shrub establishment and growth, although these results are equivocal, depending upon what constitutes a ‘large’ event and the timing of such events. We found complex interactions among (i) the amount/seasonality of rainfall, (ii) its redistribution in the landscape via run‐on and runoff, (iii) the depth of the soil water recharge, and (iv) subsequent water availability for the growth and reproduction of shrubs vs. herbaceous plants at various landscape positions. Our results suggest that only a mechanistic understanding of these interactions, plus the role of domestic cattle grazing, will enable us to elucidate fully the relative importance of biotic vs. abiotic factors in vegetation dynamics in this semiarid landscape.     

The efficiency and effectiveness of different sea urchin removal methods for kelp forest restoration

Sea urchin overgrazing has caused widespread phase shifts from kelp forests to “urchin barrens” on many temperate reefs, reducing habitat complexity, productivity, and biodiversity. Sea urchin removal is increasingly used for kelp restoration; however, few studies have quantified the efficiency and effectiveness of different removal methods, resulting in limited understanding of their practicality. In this study, the efficiency (removal rate) and effectiveness (proportion removed) of four removal methods were evaluated in northeastern New Zealand. We compared culling or collecting sea urchins by either SCUBA or freediving in 128 small-scale plots (25 m²). We also evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of culling in four large (1.6–2 ha) barren areas, scales relevant for restoration. On average, culling sea urchins was 1.9–4.4 times faster than collecting, and SCUBA was 1.5–3.3 times faster than freediving. Removal rates increased with sea urchin density, especially for culling on SCUBA, while freediving removal rates increased with experience. Effectiveness was lower in large-scale removals (86–93% of sea urchins ≥40 mm removed) compared to small-scale removals (98–99%), but sufficient for restoration objectives. Estimated time per area (using SCUBA culling) was similar across large-scale removals (49–57 hours/ha), despite an almost 2-fold variation in initial sea urchin densities (approximately 4–8 urchins/m²), suggesting area may better predict total removal time than simply number of sea urchins across low-density ranges. While sea urchin removal provides a rapid, feasible, and effective approach to restoring kelp in urchin barrens, restoration plans need to also address the causes of sea urchin overpopulation to ensure long-term benefits.     

Litter processing in diffuse and conduit springs

We used bedrock geology and prior water chemistry data to classify and choose 4 conduit and 4 diffuse flow springs in a karst region of southeast Minnesota. Decomposition processes and chemical/physical conditions were compared between spring classes during two seasons (May and September, 1987).Although large storms and conduit run-in events did not occur during our sampling, baseline water chemistry supported our a priori spring classification. Baseline nitrate and atrazine levels were significantly higher in conduit than in diffuse springs. During a minor run-in event, atrazine levels increased significantly to at least 1.2 µg L^–1 in all conduit systems, but remained unchanged in diffuse systems.Decay rates of the two predominant litter sources in the springs (watercress [Nasturtium officinale R.Br.] in May and box elder [Acer negundo L.] in September) were used to assess differences in biological activity between the spring classes. During May, watercress decayed (1 mm coarse mesh bags) at approximately the same rate in conduit and diffuse systems, k = 0.094 and 0.099 respectively. This result was unexpected since shredder colonization was much greater on litter bags in diffuse systems. In September, boxelder decay rate was significantly higher in diffuse (k = 0.018) than in conduit (k = 0.013) springs; and decay rates seemed to reflect significantly higher shredder colonization on bags in diffuse systems. Microbial activity on watercress and boxelder litter, measured as electron transport system (ETS) activity, was seldom significantly different between spring classes. Also, both watercress and boxelder litter decay rates for fine mesh bags (240µm) were similar between conduit and diffuse springs, suggesting that microbial processing did not differ greatly between spring classes.In conduit springs, low shredder colonization was apparently the result of low benthic shredder densities. Shredders and other macroinvertebrates may be adversely affected by discharge fluctuations from conduit run-in events. We suspect that, during times of low flow, watercress standing stock was also an important influence on shredder abundance.     

有机物料对喀斯特地区石灰土有效N、Fe、Zn含量的影响

为研究不同有机物料对喀斯特石灰土元素有效性的影响,采用40 d的室内培养实验,比较了单独添加不同比例（1%、3%、5%）的生物质炭、鸡粪肥、羊粪肥对喀斯特石灰土有效N、Fe、Zn含量的影响。结果表明：添加生物质炭提高了喀斯特石灰土的pH值,而添加鸡粪肥和羊粪肥降低了喀斯特石灰土的pH值;添加3种有机物料均增加了喀斯特石灰土的有机质含量,大小关系为：生物质炭 > 鸡粪肥 > 羊粪肥,但添加鸡粪肥和羊粪肥土壤有机质的化学活性和微生物活性更高。受pH、有机质活性、碳氮比等因素的影响,添加鸡粪肥和羊粪肥能增加土壤有效N含量,但两种有机肥对土壤有效N的提高效果相差不大,而添加生物质炭反而降低了土壤有效N的含量;3种有机物料均能提高土壤的有效Fe和有效Zn含量,其中鸡粪肥效果最佳,其次为羊粪肥和生物质炭。当3种有机物料的添加比例为5%时,生物质炭处理土壤的有效N、Fe、Zn含量分别是对照处理的0.92、1.13、1.21倍;鸡粪肥处理土壤的有效N、Fe、Zn含量分别是对照处理的1.22、1.63和3.39倍;羊粪肥处理土壤的有效N、Fe、Zn含量分别是对照处理的1.27、1.34和2.59倍。所以,相对于生物质炭,有机粪肥对喀斯特地区的石灰土有更好的改良效果。     

接种丛枝菌根真菌对云南石漠化土壤呼吸的影响

为探明“丛枝菌根(Arbuscular mycorrhiza, AM)真菌-植物-土壤”耦合作用对石漠化土壤呼吸季节动态的影响,采用LI-6400-09土壤呼吸室和便携式光合作用测量系统,对圆柏(Sabina chinensis)接种摩西斗管囊霉(Funneliformis mosseae,FM)、根内根孢囊霉(Rhizophagus intraradices,RI) 2种AM菌种处理下土壤呼吸季节动态进行野外连续定位观测,并探究AM真菌接种处理下石漠化土壤呼吸速率与植物生长、土壤理化性质之间的关系。结果表明：(1)相较于对照,接种AM真菌对石漠化生境土壤呼吸季节动态产生了显著影响(P<0.01)。AM真菌处理具有较高的土壤呼吸季节变化幅度,即根内根孢囊霉处理土壤呼吸速率(1.55—9.10μmol m^-2 s^-1)显著高于摩西斗管囊霉(1.62—8.29μmol m^-2 s^-1)和对照(1.23—4.46μmol m^-2 s^-1);(2)AM真菌接...     

基于地表水与地下水分割校正的漓江流域水供给服务时空格局研究

喀斯特区域水循环过程与其他地区存在显著区别,其水供给服务也具有独特的空间分布特征。然而,目前针对喀斯特地区产水量的时空变化研究较少考虑喀斯特生态系统的特殊性,导致产水量的空间模拟结果存在一定偏差。根据喀斯特地貌形态和地下水补径排泄特征提出了一种产水量分割方法,并基于水量平衡原理建立了地表水与地下水分割校正概念模型。选取喀斯特山区典型区域漓江流域为研究区,通过上述方法校正了InVEST模型产水量模拟结果,从栅格、地貌分区和子流域3个尺度分析了漓江流域2000—2020年产水量校正前与校正后时空分布格局。研究结果表明：(1)漓江流域2000—2020年InVEST模型产水量呈现先减后增再减的趋势,水供给服务空间分布格局为北高南低。产水深度在岩溶区和非岩溶区几乎没有差异,但在岩溶区内部差异明显：裸露型岩溶区产水深度高于覆盖型和埋藏型,峰林平原产水深度高于峰丛洼地。子流域分区平均产水深度排序为漓江上游区>漓江中游区>恭城河区>荔浦河区>漓江下游区。(2)利用地表与地下水分割校正后,水供给服务空间分布格局为四周高于中部,西北部高于东南部。非岩溶区产水深度明显高于岩溶区,埋...     

漓江流域喀斯特综合干扰评价及其空间特征

喀斯特地区具有特殊的地质结构,生态环境脆弱性较高,辨识和量化人为、自然多重干扰是减少人类干扰影响及制定喀斯特景观管理政策的重要依据。基于漓江流域喀斯特发育地貌特征,旨在建立包括地貌、水文、气候、生物、社会5类因素以及15个具体干扰指标的喀斯特综合干扰指数,并通过空间相关分析探究地理因子对综合干扰解释力以及因子与指标间交互作用力的特征。结果显示：(1)漓江流域中游综合干扰指数高于上下游,自然地形地貌本底以及不同类型喀斯特景观分布的地带性是分异的主要原因;(2)干扰等级为显著干扰,综合干扰指数为0.336,空间上呈现出东部与北部低、西部与南部高的分布特征,具有明显的空间异质性;(3)地理环境和社会经济因素对综合干扰具有较强解释力,采石采矿、各类灾害、生产活动等多项干扰指标以及海拔高度具有较强空间关联关系。评估了漓江流域喀斯特综合干扰并分析其空间特征,研究结果对喀斯特生态环境保护及景观资源可持续发展政策制定具有重要参考价值。