A regression analysis of the summer population dynamics of Polyarthra vulgaris in a northern Michigan bog lake

The population dynamics of a planktonic rotifer (Polyarthra vulgaris) were examined in a brown water, acid lake in northern Michigan, U.S.A. Predation by Chaoborus punctipennis and low food (Navicula spp. and Cyclotella spp.) concentrations were the main factors limiting P. vulgaris populations of all factors examined. The data presented here support a hypothesis for zooplankton limitation by an invertebrate predator.     

Estimating Competition in Cladocerans Using Data on Dynamics of Clutch Size and Population Density

Negative correlations between clutch size and population density are proposed to be considered as indices of intra- and interspecific competition in cladocerans if they are revealed while analyzing population dynamics and clutch size and time lags are taken into account. The proper correlation analysis of summer populations of Diaphanosoma brachyurum, Bosmina coregoni, Daphnia cucullata and D. galeata from mesotrophic Lake Glubokoye (Moscow Region) in 1975, 1978, and 1979 indicates the important role of competition of both types for the community studied. High niche overlap in food and space in the four populations was also observed.     

农业面源氮污染控制措施滞后效应形成机理与评估方法研究进展

推广实施最佳管理措施(BMPs)被认为是防治农业面源污染的有效途径,然而许多流域实施BMPs后通常难以在预测的时间内实现水质改善目标,导致人们对BMPs的有效性提出质疑。受流域内养分遗留效应影响,BMPs实施后的环境质量改善效益可能不会立刻显现(也即“滞后期”),这是由于过去人为活动输入的过量营养物质在流域水文传输和生物地球化学转化过程中的积累所致,当来自外部的污染负荷减少时,这部分营养物质的汇集和释放可能掩盖治理措施对于水质改善的影响。鉴于遗留的营养物质在延迟水质改善方面的关键作用,滞后期的量化评估对于全面分析污染成因,科学配置BMPs,有效治理流域农业面源污染,提升水质改善效率非常重要。以农业面源氮控制措施的滞后效应形成机理和评估方法为主线,概述了流域尺度氮累积和滞后效应产生的主要机理,述评了氮污染滞后效应的量化评估方法,提出目前大多数流域模型尚不能很好的表述滞后效应以及缺乏解决水文和生物地球化学遗留效应的能力,并对未来BMPs优化配置研究提出建议：(1)摸清流域水文传输过程和生物地球化学转化过程对BMPs控氮效益滞后期的影响,分析污染负荷削减的时空响应规律;(2)构建包含土壤、浅...     

Stability in chemostat equations with delayed nutrient recycling

The growth of a species feeding on a limiting nutrient supplied at a constant rate is modelled by chemostat-type equations with a general nutrient uptake function and delayed nutrient recycling. Conditions for boundedness of the solutions and the existence of non-negative equilibria are given for the integrodifferential equations with distributed time lags. When the time lags are neglected conditions for the global stability of the positive equilibrium and for the extinction of the species are provided. The positive equilibrium continues to be locally stable when the time lag in recycling is considered and this is proved for a wide class of memory functions. Computer simulations suggest that even in this case the region of stability is very large, but the solutions tend to the equilibrium through oscillations.Work performed within the activity of the research group Equazioni di evoluzione e applicazioni Fisico-Matematiche, MPI (Italy), and under the auspices of GNFM, CNR (Italy)     

Using branch and basal trunk sap flow measurements to estimate whole-plant water capacitance: a caution

Thermometric sap flow sensors are widely used to measure water flow in roots, stems and branches of plants. Comparison of the timing of flow in branches and stems has been used to estimate water capacitance of large trees. We review studies of sap flow in branches and present our own data to show that there is wide variation in the patterns and timing of sap flow of branches in different parts of the crown, owing to the course of daily solar illuminance. In contiguous forest, east-facing and upper branches are illuminated earlier than west-facing and lower branches and most capacitance studies do not include adequate information about branch sampling regimes relative to the overall pattern of crown illuminance, raising questions about the accuracy of capacitance estimates. Measuring only upper branches and normalising these results to represent the entire crown is dangerous because flows at the stem base likely peak in response to maximum crown illuminance (and transpiration) and this will differ compared to the timing of peak flows in upper branches. We suggest that the magnitude of flow lags between branches and stems needs further study, with careful attention to branch position and method application before a robust understanding of capacitance, particularly in woody tissues of large trees, can be formed. We did not detect flow lags in the world’s tallest and largest tree species Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoiadendron giganteum, despite measurement along large pathlengths (∼57 and 85 m), which raises questions as to why large flow lags are often recorded for much smaller species. One conspicuous possibility is the different methods used among studies. Constant-heating methods such as the thermal dissipation probe (and also heat balance methods) include heat capacitance behaviour due to warming of wood tissues, which delays the response of the sensors to changing sap flow conditions. We argue that methods with intrinsic heat-capacitance present dangers when trying to measure water-capacitance in trees. In this respect heat pulse methods hold an advantage.     

Effect of competition on the demography of planktonic cladocerans — Daphnia and Diaphanosoma

Summary Isolated and mixed continuous cultures of Daphnia hyalina and Diaphanosoma brachyurum in lake water were maintained under laboratory conditions to elucidate demographic effects of competition. Population dynamics curves were obtained. Interspecific competition was revealed by the decrease in the average density of animals in the mixed versus isolated cultures and by the extinction of one species in the presence of the other. Within the first 50 days either Diaphanosoma (4 cases) or Daphnia (1 case) was the superior competitor, depending on the initial conditions. Further cultivation resulted in the extinction of Diaphanosoma in the mixed cultures. There were no statistically significant differences between the maximum rates of population increase (r _m ) in Daphnia and Diaphanosoma at the concentration of edible algae about 2·10⁵ m³ml^-1(0.293 and 0.286 days^-1, respectively). Time lags for density-dependent parameters of the populations were evaluated by means of rank cross-correlations. Regardless of the species identity the time lags of fecundity, birth rate, and the rate of population growth were significantly higher in the superior competitor. The initial conditions of culturing affected the time lags which in their turn influenced the outcome of the interaction. Enhanced competitive ability due to the maximized time lags in Daphnia was not associated with the loss of population stability. Conversely, it brought about destabilization of Diaphanosoma populations which seemed to be the ultimate cause of its extinction observed in the end of the experiment. Time lag of the population growth rate was well predicted based on the half-sum of time lags in birth and death rates (r²=0.80, P<0.001). Daphnia responded to competition with a sharp shortening of the time lags of fecundity, birth rate, and the population growth rate. It increased clutch size and showed inverse relationship between the fecundity time lag and average fecundity even though it was strongly suppressed by Diaphanosoma. The competitive ability was not related to the percentage of adults in the populations. In contrast to the current belief the major result of interspecific competition in the experiment was not a decrease in the rate of population growth but was a reduction in population time lags.     

Local network parameters can affect inter-network phase lags in central pattern generators

Weakly coupled phase oscillators and strongly coupled relaxation oscillators have different mechanisms for creating stable phase lags. Many oscillations in central pattern generators combine features of each type of coupling: local networks composed of strongly coupled relaxation oscillators are weakly coupled to similar local networks. This paper analyzes the phase lags produced by this combination of mechanisms and shows how the parameters of a local network, such as the decay time of inhibition, can affect the phase lags between the local networks. The analysis is motivated by the crayfish central pattern generator used for swimming, and uses techniques from geometrical singular perturbation theory.