The temperature stratification and related characteristics of Chilean lakes in midsummer

Temperature profiles in summer (February/March 1990) were measured in 24 lakes along a latitudinal transect from central Chile (32° S) to Patagonia (47° S), and on Easter Island (27° S). The lakes of the temperature zone, between 47° S and 38° S, are warm monomictic with surface and deep-water temperatures ranging from 12 °C to 21 °C and from 5.5 °C to 10 °C respectively. The heat content per unit area in midsummer was found to vary with lake area. The local stability of stratification (N ²) varied by more than two orders of magnitude, declining with increasing latitude, altitude, and depth. The lakes can be classified according to morphometric and temperature characteristics, mixing depth, stability of stratification and glacial turbidity. Lago General Carrera (463 m) was found to be almost as deep as Lago Nahuel Huapi (464 m), which is considered to be the deepest lake in South America.     

Extended larval development compensates for sublethal effects of fish predation in a mayfly population (Rhithrogena semicolorata, Ephemeroptera)

Many predation experiments in streams are carried out in enclosures. Hence, the relevance of their results to predict population dynamics is often unclear due to the relatively small spatial and temporal scale of the experiments. To enhance the transferability of experimental results on the ecosystem scale the impact of fish predators on a prey population was observed in a reach scale approach over 2 years in a natural stream. A 400-m reach inhabited by the small benthivorous fishes gudgeon (Gobio gobio) and stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) was compared with a fishless reference reach.It was shown that fish predation may affect the population of the grazing mayfly Rhithrogena semicolorata on the ecosystem scale. Although the larvae grew slower in the fish reach than in the fishless reach, the adults reached the same size and fecundity because they emerged 2–3 weeks later. By this compensation, the prey species avoided a reduction of their individual fecundity. On the other hand, the extended exposure to the fish predators resulted in an enhanced mortality and a reduced density of adult mayflies. Thus, there was obviously a trade-off between maximising fecundity and minimising mortality from fish predation.The observed differences were almost certainly caused be fish predation and not by natural differences of the reaches. This was concluded from results gained after eliminating all benthivorous fish from the former fish reach.With the help of scenario analyses based on our empirical data and simple model assumptions we could demonstrate that compensating the potential loss in fecundity by extending development time led to higher average fitness of the prey population than emerging at an earlier fixed time to avoid additional predation losses. Therefore, we concluded that this strategy was adaptive in the presence of benthivorous fish.     

长江流域外来鲟入侵风险评估、适生区预测及影响因素分析

长江流域外来鲟的养殖规模庞大,养殖逃逸成为外来鲟进入长江流域的主要途径,影响本地鲟种群生存。根据世界鱼类数据库(FishBase),10种主要养殖的外来鲟中,西伯利亚鲟已被列为德国和奥地利的入侵物种,匙吻鲟已被列为白俄罗斯的入侵物种。为了评估长江流域外来鲟的入侵风险,量化流域内入侵风险最高的外来鲟的适生区,本文使用水生物种入侵性筛查工具(AS-ISK)评估10种主要养殖的外来鲟和5种相关鱼类(虹鳟、尼罗罗非鱼、斑点叉尾鮰、鲮和丁鱥)的入侵风险;使用最大熵算法,基于当前和未来时期(2021—2040年)气候模式下的生物气候变量以及海拔,对于入侵评分最高的外来鲟在流域内的适生区进行预测与分析。结果表明,匙吻鲟在外来鲟中入侵评分最高,表明其在长江流域入侵风险最高。适生区预测时,最热季降水量、年降水量、最热月份最高温度、最冷月份最低温度、昼夜温差的月平均值和降水季节性变异系数是影响匙吻鲟在长江流域分布的主要变量。当前时期,匙吻鲟在长江流域中下游地区具有较大范围的适生区,主要包含湖南、湖北、安徽和江西等省份的部分地区,其中Ⅲ级适生区(高适生区)面积约为2996.8 km²;...     

淠河流域河源溪流鱼类空间分布格局及主要影响因素

淠河是安徽省内淮河右岸最大的支流,也是淮河中游重要的水源地.为了解淠河流域河源溪流鱼类的空间分布格局及其主要影响因素,本研究于2015年4—5月对6条河源溪流鱼类及其环境因子进行了调查.研究结果表明,6条溪流共采集鱼类19种,其中杂食性种类占57.9%,肉食性和植食性种类分别占26.3%和15.8%.所有种类中,宽鳍鱲(Zacco platypus)是主要优势种,绿太阳鱼(Lepomis cyanellus)为研究区域首次报道的外来入侵种.就6条溪流各样点的平均值而言,淠河西部3条溪流鱼类种类数及个体数均明显高于东部3条溪流,但重量却并没有类似趋势.Sorensen相似性分析表明,6条溪流鱼类组成具有较高相似性,且相对较小值主要位于高、低海拔溪流之间.除趋势对应分析二维空间排序与相似性分析结果一致.Pearson相关分析表明,影响鱼类种类数的主要是局域栖息地参数(包括海拔、流速、底质、水深、河宽和电导率)和溪流的空间位置参数(溪流级别、流量量级和下游量级);影响鱼类个体数和重量的均仅有局域栖息地参数中的底质因素.本研究结果可为淠河流域鱼类的保护和管理提供重要的基础资料.     

Field observations on the production of rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss) under high concentrations of water-borne iron

Effluents from brown coal mines are frequently rich in iron, the water being red-brown in colour and turbid. For several years a fish farm in the Lusatia (Brandenburg, Germany) has used such mine effluents for rearing rainbow trout. The total iron content of this water varies between 5 and 10 mg/l with pH ranging from 6.7 to 7.4. Water turbidity is high with a transparency of 10 to 40 cm at the most due to the substantial ferric hydroxide concentrations. Until 1989 trout have been reared in net cages within concrete settling basins destined for settling the ferric hydroxide mud. The cages were stocked with fingerlings in autumn, reaching portion size in the spring of the following year. Specific growth rate was 0.98% per day, comparable to that of trout in another farm unpolluted by iron but stocked at higher densities. The results show that fingerling rainbow trout may live in water containing more than 5 mg/l total iron but in the absence of Fe²⁺. These concentrations of water-borne iron seem to have only a limited detrimental effect on fish growth and feed conversion and do not prevent trout culture in principle.     

Inorganic and methylmercury: do they transfer along a tropical coastal food web?

Methylmercury (MeHg) and inorganic mercury (Hg_inorg) were evaluated in the water of a Brazilian estuary, with two size classes of plankton and seven fish species of different feeding habits. Water partition coefficients (PCs) in microplankton were fourfold higher for MeHg than for Hg_inorg; and water PCs in mesoplankton were 26 times higher for MeHg than Hg_inorg. Difference between microplankton and mesoplankton MeHg bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was higher (0.60 log units) than Hg_inorg BAF (0.24 log units), indicating that trophic transfer of MeHg between planktonic organisms is more efficient than Hg_inorg transference. MeHg concentrations, proportion of mercury as MeHg and its biotransference factors (BTFs) in the microplankton, mesoplankton and fish increased with increasing trophic level while biotic concentrations of Hg_inorg and proportion of mercury as Hg_inorg decreased thus indicating that MeHg was indeed the biomagnified species of mercury. MeHg reflected the vertical trophic guilds distribution, due to the fact that the top predator fish presented the highest concentration (0.77 μg g⁻¹ d.w.), followed by the less voracious species (0.43 μg g⁻¹ d.w.); while planktivorous fish presented the lowest concentrations (0.044 μg g⁻¹ d.w.). Hg_inorg did not present the same behavior. Results suggest that feeding habits and trophic guild are important parameters, influencing biotransference and biomagnification processes.     

A multicatchment analysis of headwater and downstream temperature effects from contemporary forest harvesting

Stream temperature is a key physical water‐quality parameter, controlling many biological, chemical, and physical processes in aquatic ecosystems. Maintenance of cool stream temperatures during summer is critical for high‐quality aquatic habitat. As such, transmission of warm water from small, nonfish‐bearing headwater streams after forest harvesting could cause warming in downstream fish‐bearing stream reaches with negative consequences. In this study, we evaluate (a) the effects of contemporary forest management practices on stream temperature in small, headwater streams, (b) the transmission of thermal signals from headwater reaches after harvesting to downstream fish‐bearing reaches, and (c) the relative role of lithology and forest management practices in influencing differential thermal responses in both the headwater and downstream reaches. We measured summer stream temperatures both preharvest and postharvest at 29 sites—12 upstream sites (4 reference, 8 harvested) and 17 downstream sites (5 reference, 12 harvested)—across 3 paired watershed studies in western Oregon. The 7‐day moving average of daily maximum stream temperature (T_7DAYMAX) was greater during the postharvest period relative to the preharvest period at 7 of the 8 harvested upstream sites. Although the T_7DAYMAX was generally warmer in the downstream direction at most of the stream reaches during both the preharvest and postharvest period, there was no evidence for additional downstream warming related to the harvesting activity. Rather, the T_7DAYMAX cooled rapidly as stream water flowed into forested reaches ~370–1,420 m downstream of harvested areas. Finally, the magnitude of effects of contemporary forest management practices on stream temperature increased with the proportion of catchment underlain by more resistant lithology at both the headwater and downstream sites, reducing the potential for the cooling influence of groundwater.     

The trophic ecology of arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Ellidavatn, a small lake in Southwest Iceland

In the lake Ellidavatn, southwest Iceland, fish samples were collected with gillnets of one mesh-size once or twice a month for two years. Stomach samples of 961 Arctic char and 429 brown trout were analysed. The annual diet of char consisted of chironomid larvae (31%), cladocerans Eurycercus lamellatus (19%), bivalves Pisidium spp. (16%), water snails Lymnaea peregra (15%), chironomid pupae (8%) and char eggs (5%) and that of trout consisted of sticklebacks (76%), salmonids (7%) and L. peregra (6%). The average percentage of indigestible plant remains and gravel in the stomach content was much higher for the char (14%) than trout (3%). There were large seasonal changes in the diet of char: char eggs were consumed in autumn, chironomid larvae mostly from autumn to spring, chironomid pupae in summer and E. lamellatus from summer to autumn. No seasonal changes in the diet of trout were seen. The diet overlap of char and trout was very low, usually about 10%, reaching a maximum of about 30% in late summer 1976 when the common diet was mainly E. lamellatus and chironomid pupae. The resource partitioning in Ellidavatn indicates that char are better adapted to preying on small benthic invertebrates than piscivorous trout. The segregation in the diet of the two species indicated competition for restricted food supply, which was also consistent with slow growth and low condition factor of char (0.8–1.0) and trout (1.0) in Ellidavatn. The prey of trout were two orders of magnitude larger than the prey of char which may explain why adult char grew more slowly (2 cm y⁻¹) than adult trout (4 cm y⁻¹) and reached sexual maturity at a smaller size (30 cm) than trout (40 cm).     

Anthropogenic land-use signals propagate through stream food webs in a California,USA, watershed

Human development of watersheds can change aquatic ecosystems via multiple pathways. For instance, human rural development may add nutrients to ecosystems. We used naturally occurring stable isotopes in stream food webs to investigate how land use affects stream ecosystems across a gradient of land development in the San Lorenzo watershed, California. Road density was used as a proxy for land development. We found that streams in watersheds with higher road densities had elevated concentrations of phosphate and nitrate. Furthermore, algal δ¹⁵N values increased as a function of nitrate concentration, but saturated at approximately 6‰. This saturating pattern was consistent with a two-source mixing model with anthropogenic and watershed sources, fit using Bayesian model fitting. In sites that had >2.6 km roads km⁻², anthropogenic sources of N were estimated to represent >90% of the N pool. This anthropogenic N signal was propagated to stream consumers: rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), signal crayfish (Pacifasticus leniusculus), and benthic invertebrate δ¹⁵N were positively correlated with algal δ¹⁵N. Even relatively low density rural human land use may have substantial impacts on nutrient cycling of stream ecosystems.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in commercial fish and lobsters from the coastal waters of Madagascar following an oil spill in August 2009

Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined in species of commercial fish and lobsters following an oil-spill just off the protected Madagascan coastline. Samples were collected along the coastline within and outside the affected area. Summed PAH concentrations ranged from 1.9 μg kg⁻¹ to 63 μg kg⁻¹ wet weight, but with no higher molecular weight PAHs (>202 Da) being detected. All concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene, benz[a]anthracene and dibenz[a,h]anthracene were <0.1 μg kg⁻¹ wet weight, well within the EU and UK set limits for the protection of human health. Additionally, samples were calculated as the benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalency quotient (TEQ) and found to be well below the level of concern in relation to health of human consumers. Evaluation of the biota PAH data indicated the origin of PAH was predominantly petrogenic with >80% arising from oil sources. Profile studies indicate a low-level multisource petrogenic contamination probably representing a pre-spill background for the area.     

Eutrophication and hypoxia in four streams discharging in Guanabara Bay, RJ, Brazil, a case study

Four streams in the city of São Gonçalo, were sampled to evaluate their potential as sources of nutrients to Guanabara Bay aiming to contribute with the government program to decrease the levels of pollution in this area. Imbuaçu, Guaxindiba, Marimbondo and Brandoas streams were sampled in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The streams revealed to be hipereutrophic with severe limitation of primary production by nitrogen, as shown by the N/P molar ratio. Phosphate levels were abnormally high varying between 4.35 and 130.82 μM, whereas nitrate and nitrite ranged from 0.06 to 54.05 μM and from 0.28 to 19.23 μM, respectively. The streams also presented severe hypoxia and anoxia, with oxygen values varying from non-detected to 3.72 ml l⁻¹. Heavy loads of particulate suspended material were recorded in the studied streams, ranging between 6.00 and 400.00 mg l⁻¹. The streams were considered inexorable sources of nutrients, enhancing the severe eutrophication process in Guanabara Bay.     

Trophic interactions of the pelagic ciliate Stentor spp. in North Patagonian lakes

The zooplankton of oligotrophic lakes in North Patagonia is often dominated by mixotrophic ciliates, particularly Stentor amethystinus and Stentor araucanus. Therefore, we tested whether Stentor spp. (i) is an important food for juvenile endemic (Cheirodon australe, Galaxias maculatus, Odontesthes mauleanum, Percichthys trucha) and introduced (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fish species, and (ii) represents a remarkable grazer of bacteria. Ingestion rates of fish estimated by disappearance of Stentor in feeding experiments ranged between 8 (G. maculatus) and 53 (C. australe) ciliates per fish and day, and assimilation rates measured by using radioactively labelled Stentor ranged between 3 (P. trucha) and 52 (C. australe) ciliates per fish and day. However, although we detected the consumption of Stentor by fish, the daily consumption amounted to at most 0.2% of the fish biomass which can not cover the energy requirement of the fish. Furthermore, the daily consumption was equivalent to a maximum of 1.6% of the Stentor standing stock so that fish predation does not seem to be an important mortality factor for the ciliates. The clearance rate of Stentor sp. on natural bacteria was on average 3.8 μl cil⁻¹ h⁻¹. The daily ingestion (mean 3.9 ng C cil⁻¹ d⁻¹) was about 3.5% of the individual biomass of Stentor sp. Therefore, bacteria ingestion might explain a ciliate growth rate of appr. 1% d⁻¹, which was about 17% of the photosynthesis of endosymbiotic algae. The maximum density of Stentor sp. in the lake could ingest about 1 μg C L⁻¹ d⁻¹ bacteria which is only 3% of average bacterial production. Thus, grazing by Stentor sp. does not seem to be a main loss factor for the bacteria.     

The effect of riparian land use on transport hydraulics in agricultural headwater streams located in northeast Ohio,USA

This study examined if riparian land use (forested vs agricultural) affects hydraulic transport in headwater streams located in an agriculturally fragmented watershed. We identified paired 50‐m reaches (one reach in agricultural land use and the other in forested land use) along three headwater streams in the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed in northeast Ohio, USA (40° 51′42″N, 81° 50′29″W). Using breakthrough curves obtained by Rhodamine WT slug injections and the one‐dimensional transport with inflow and storage model (OTIS), hydraulic transport parameters were obtained for each reach on six different occasions (n = 36). Relative transient storage (A_S:A) was similar between both reach types (As: A = 0·3 ± 0·1 for both agricultural and forested reaches). Comparing values of F_med²⁰⁰ to those in the literature indicates that the effect of transient storage was moderately high in the study streams in the Upper Sugar Creek Watershed. Examining travel times revealed that overall residence time (HRT) and residence time in transient storage (T_STO) were both longer in forested reaches (forested HRT = 19·1 ± 11·5 min and T_STO = 4·0 ± 3·8 min; agricultural HRT = 9·3 ± 5·3 min and T_STO = 1·7 ± 1·4 min). We concluded that the effect of transient storage on solute transport was similar between the forested and agricultural reaches but the forested reaches had a greater potential to retain solutes as a result of longer travel times. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effectiveness of different types of block ramps for fish upstream movement

Rivers are worldwide highly fragmented due to human impacts. This fragmentation has a negative effect on fish movement and dispersal. Many artificial barriers such as river bed sills and small weirs are nowadays replaced by block ramps in order to reestablish longitudinal connectivity for fish in rivers and streams. We studied the upstream passage of several fish species on different types of block ramps with slopes between 3.6 and 13.4 %. We conducted translocation experiments in the field based on mark-recapture and on the use of PIT-tags. Temporal movement patterns were observed by an instream antenna. Hydraulic and morphological characteristics of block ramps were measured and compared with fish passage efficiency. Our results clearly showed that upstream passage efficiency differs between fish species, size classes and block ramps. We observed that brown trout (Salmo trutta fario) performed better than bullhead (Cottus gobio) and several cyprinid species on the same block ramps. Passage efficiency of brown trout and chub (Leuciscus cephalus) was size-selective, with small-sized individuals being less successful. For brown trout, size-selectivity became more relevant with increasing slope of ramp. We conclude that block ramps with slopes of >5 % are ineffective for the small-sized cyprinid species and that vertical drops within step-pool ramps can hinder successful upstream passage of bullhead.     

Wood distribution in neotropical forested headwater streams of La Selva,Costa Rica

Surveys of wood along 30 forested headwater stream reaches in La Selva Biological Station in north‐eastern Costa Rica represent the first systematic data reported on wood loads in neotropical streams. For streams with drainage areas of 0·1–8·5 km² and gradients of 0·2–8%, wood load ranged from 3 to 34·7 m³ wood/100 m channel and 41–612 m³ wood/ha channel. These values are within the range reported for temperate streams. The variables wood diameter/flow depth, stream power, the presence of backflooding, and channel width/depth are consistently selected as significant predictors by statistical models for wood load. These variables explain half to two‐thirds of the variability in wood load. These results, along with the spatial distribution of wood with respect to the thalweg, suggest that transport processes exert a greater influence on wood loads than recruitment processes. Wood appears to be more geomorphically effective in altering bed elevations in gravel‐bed reaches than in reaches with coarser or finer substrate. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A fish-based typology of small temperate rivers in the northeastern lowlands of Germany

Fish assemblage data from 69 brooks and small streams were analysed to derive a fish-based typology of small lowland streams in the “Central Plains” ecoregion of northeastern Germany. Altogether 32 native, 1 non-native fish species and 2 lamprey species were detected in the lowland rivers studied. Species number and diversity varied significantly according to mean summer water temperatures and size of the watercourses. Summer-cold brooks contained on average 3-5 species, brooks with higher summer temperatures 5-8 species and small lowland rivers around 10-14 species. Small lowland brooks contained a significantly higher number of fish species when they flowed into or out of lakes: typically around 8-12.In the northeastern German lowlands the following three different river types were distinguished according to their fish assemblages: (1) The “lowland trout brook”, where brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) are reference species and accompanied by stone loach (Barbatula barbatula (L.)), brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri (Bloch)), three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.), ten-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius (L.)) and gudgeon (Gobio gobio (L.)); (2) The “perch- and roach-dominated lowland brook”, where perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and roach (Rutilus rutilus (L.)) are reference species, accompanied by pike (Esox lucius L.), three-spined stickleback and gudgeon; and (3) The “lowland lake connected brook” inhabited by higher numbers of fish species, with higher proportions of cyprinid fishes, and higher proportions of limnophilic fish. Apart from perch and roach, bleak (Alburnus alburnus (L.)), common bream (Abramis brama (L.)), silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna (L.)) and rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus (L.)) also occurred frequently.Further two observed fish-based types were not considered: The potential stone loach-dominated brook was not sufficiently represented in this study to be verified, and the stickleback brook was considered to represent degradation of lowland trout brooks.The correspondence between the fish-based typology and the morphology-based German stream typology was rather weak and requires further investigation.     

Flexibility in feeding periodicity of a grazing mayfly in response to different concentrations of benthivorous fish

Flexibility is an important adaptive attribute of the feeding periodicity of grazing mayfly larvae because most natural environments offer a wide variation in local predation risk in terms of space, time or predator species. In this study any changes of diel feeding periodicity and consumption rates of Baetis rhodani (Ephemeroptera) were analysed in response to different densities of benthivorous fish (Barbatula barbatula, Gobio gobio) by quantifying gut fullness using the fluorescence of algal pigments. Laboratory experiments with the grazer species B. rhodani were conducted by using different concentrations of chemical fish cues. In order to assess the transferability of the results to a larger scale, the experimental results were compared with field observations in two second order streams using different densities of freely foraging benthivorous fish. During the presence of chemical fish cues in the laboratory experiments the feeding periodicity of the B. rhodani larvae were mostly diurnal while in the absence of fish chemicals nocturnal feeding was observed. The same patterns could be detected in the field during the experiments with the different fish densities. These findings indicate that the larvae were able to assess variations in the predation risk and to alter their feeding habits by making flexible behavioural adjustments. The results from the laboratory experiments further suggested that the behavioural response is controlled by fish density. Behavioural changes were observed for medium and high concentrations of the fish cues but not for a very low concentration. In the field however, the mere presence of fish seemed to be sufficient to induce the observed behavioural shifts. Although the presence of benthivorous fish seemed to cause a lower consumption rate of the B. rhodani larvae in the field, such a reduction could not be found in the laboratory experiments. A conclusion from this study is that the identification of behavioural modifications is an essential component needed for a better understanding of complex trophic interactions in benthic communities. Accurate evaluation and detailed observation of direct and indirect effects cannot be made without the consideration of such behavioural mechanisms.