Analysis of the landsat remote sensing images of the types of habitats of Yangtze alligators

The Chinese “Yangtze” alligator is a rare reptile that has been listed as an “endangered species” by the United Nations, so its preservation has become an urgent task. A study of its habitats through analysis of their Landsat images will provide a scientific basis for the government departments concerned to select the best locations for its breeding. The Chinese alligator is a subtropical reptile of freshwater rivers, lakes and ponds. Found only in China, it is now distributed only in the border region between the three provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. On the basis of previous investigations by Chinese scientists, and from an analysis and interpretation of their Landsat images, we made a special study, review, and classification of the natural environment of the alligator’s present habitats (and the modern changes in the natural background of these hatitats) so that the government departments concerned with the preservation of the reptiles may have a scientific basis for determining the best locations for the breeding and propagation of the alligator. This paper was published in Chinese inOcean. Linn. Sin. 16(1): 35–41, 1985.     

Species composition and diversity of pelagic fishes based on a longline fishery catch in the North Pacific Ocean

Evaluation of spatial-temporal variability of species composition and diversity in oceanic ecosystems is not easy because it is usually difficult to obtain sufficient data quantifying such variability.In this study,we examined pelagic species diversity indicators,species richness,Shannon-Wiener index of diversity and Hurlbert’s species evenness,for fish assemblages from two areas(north and south) in the North Pacific Ocean(2°±12°N,178°E±165°W) during May±July 2008.The assemblages were based on data collected by an onboard scientific observer during a commercial longline fishing trip.The species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of fish assemblages in the northern area were slightly higher than those in the southern area,although these differences were not significant(t test,P.0.05).Non-parametric multidimensional scaling and analysis of similarities indicated that there were significant differences in fish assemblages between the two areas(P,0.01).     

Impact of microzooplankton and Calanus sinicus (Brodsky, 1962) on phytoplankton in the Yellow Sea during early summer

Dilution incubations and Calanus sinicus addition incubations were simultaneously conducted at five stations in the Yellow Sea in June of 2004 to evaluate the impact of microzooplankton and Calanus sinicus on phytoplankton based on the Chlorophyll a (Chl-a) levels. The Chl-a growth rates (k) ranged from 0.60–1.67 d⁻¹, while microzooplankton grazed the Chl-a at rates (g) of 0.29–0.62 d^t-1. The addition of C. sinicus enhanced the Chl-a growth rate (Z) by 0.004–0.037 d⁻¹ ind.⁻¹ L. C. sinicus abundance ranged from 84.1–160.9 ind. m⁻³, which occupied 90.7%–99.1% of the copepod (>500 μm) population. The in-situ increase in phytoplankton by C. sinicus community was estimated to be 0.000 4–0.005 9 d⁻¹. These results showed that microzooplankton were the main grazers of phytoplankton, while C. sinicus induced a slight increase in the levels of phytoplankton.     

R／S AND WAVELET ANALYSIS ON EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC DISPARITY IN CHINA DURING PAST 50 YEARS

1INTRODUCTIONThere have been many literatures about the regional disparity of economic development in China since the late 1970s. Some scholars argue that disparity of re-gional development in China has been expanded since 1978, but others find it has reduced since 1978. The findings of some scholars show that the evolutionary process of the disparity of regional economic develop-ment in China follows the inverted U shape, but some others do not think so. What is the true tendency, and i…     

Optimal salinity for dominant copepods in the East China Sea, determined using a yield density model

From 1997 to 2000, four field surveys were conducted in the East China Sea (ECS) (23°30′–33°00′N, 118°30′–128°00′E). A field data yield density model was used to determine the optimal salinities for 19 dominant copepod species to establish the relationship between surface salinities and abundance of those species. In addition, ecological groups of the copepods were classified based on optimal salinity and geographical distribution. The results indicate that the yield density model is suitable for determining the relationship between salinity and abundance. Cosmocalanus darwini, Euchaeta rimana, Pleuromamma gracilis, Rhincalanus cornutus, Scolecithrix danae and Pareucalanus attenuatus were determined as oceanic species, with optimal salinities of >34.0. They were stenohaline and mainly distributed in waters influenced by the Kuroshio or Taiwan warm current. Temora discaudata, T. stylifera and Canthocalanus pauper were nearshore species with optimal salinities of <33.0 and most abundant in coastal waters. The remaining 10 species, including Undinula vulgaris and Subeucalanus subcrassus, were offshore species, with optimal salinity ranging from 33.0–34.0. They were widely distributed in nearshore, offshore and oceanic waters but mainly in the mixed water of the ECS.     

Spatio-temporal changes of ≥ 10°C accumulated temperature in northeastern China since 1961

The objective of this study was to provide reliable basis for decision making for national food security and layout and structure adjustment of grain production in the northeastern China. The data of mean daily air temperature of 1961-2009 from 106 meteorological stations in the northeastern China were chosen in this study. Using statistical methods and isoline method, the spatio-temporal changes of various decadal ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature and the climatic means of ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature were studied in this paper. The results showed that 1) The geo-graphical distribution of ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature in the northeastern China could be influenced directly by the latitude, longitude and altitude. If latitude moved one degree northward, the average decrease amplitude of the climatic means was 101.9℃ in the study area. 2) The means of decadal ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature rose since the 1980s, and their increase amplitudes became larger in the 1990s and the 2010s obviously. Compared with those of the 1980s, ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature increased by about 100℃ in the mountainous and plain areas in the 1990s; compared with those of the 1990s, ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature increased by about 200℃ in the Hulun Buir High Plain and the Songnen Plain, and 100℃ in the Sanjiang Plain and the Liaohe Plain in the 2010s. 3) The means of the decadal ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature for 106 meteorological stations in the northeastern China increased with the rate of 145.57℃/10yr in 1961-2009. 4) The climatic means of ≥ 10℃ accumulated temperature increased from 1961-1990 to 1971-2000 and 1981-2009. Compared with the climatic mean of 1971-2000, that of 1981-2009 had increased by above 50℃ in most of the study area, even up to 156℃. Compared with the climatic mean of 1961-1990, that of 1981-2009 increased by above 100℃ in most parts of the study area, even up to 200℃. 5) The maximum northward shift, eastward and westward extension amplitudes of 3100℃, 3300℃ and 3500℃ isolines were larger among all isoli-nes for the climatic means of the three phases. Compared with the positions of the isolines of 1961-1990, those ampli-tudes of 3100℃ isoline of 1981-2009 were 145 km, 109 km and 64 km, respectively; those of 3300℃ isoline were 154 km, 54 km and 64 km, respectively; and the maximum northward shift of 3500℃ isoline was about 100 km.     

Studies of community structure and seasonal dynamics of planktonic copepods in saline-alkaline ponds

Abstracts Species abundance and seasonal succession of copepods in saline-alkaline ponds were studied in Zhaodian Fish Farm, Gaoqing County, Shandong Province, from 5 April 1997 to 1 September 1998. The results indicated that in the conditions of salinity ranging from 1.36 to 20 g/L, total alkalinity changing from 2.4 to 7.2 mmol/L and pH 8-9, zooplankton in saline-alkaline ponds was composed of freshwater salt-tolerated species or halophile species, some of which are halobiont species and usually occurs in freshwater. In our study, copepods were predominant in many fish-culture ponds and all control ponds without fishes in spring, late autumn and early winter. Dominant species of copepods were Sinocalanus tenellus, Cyclops vicinus, Thermocyclops taihokuensis. The biomass of copepods in the control ponds without fishes was higher than that of the fish-culture ponds.     

Amino acid composition and functional properties of giant red sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) collagen hydrolysates

Giant red sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) is an under-utilized species due to its high tendency to autolysis.The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional properties of collagen hydrolysates from this species.The degree of hydrolysis (DH),amino acid composition,SDS-PAGE,emulsion activity index (EAI),emulsion stability index (ESI),foam expansion (FE),and foam stability (FS) of hydrolysates were investigated.The effects of pH on the EAI,ESI FE and FS of hydrolysates were also inves-tigated.The results indicated that the β and α1 chains of the collagen were effectively hydrolyzed by trypsin at 50℃ with an En-zyme/Substrate (E/S) ration of 1:20 (w:w).The DH of collagen was up to 17.3% after 3 h hydrolysis with trypsin.The hydrolysates had a molecular weight distribution of 1.1 17 kDa,and were abundant in glycine (Gly),proline (Pro),glutamic acid (Glu),alanine (Ala) and hydroxyproline (Hyp) residues.The hydrolysates were fractionated into three fractions (< 3 kDa,3 10 kDa,and > 10 kDa),and the fraction of 3 10 kDa exhibited a higher EAI value than the fraction of > 10 kDa (P<0.05).The fraction of > 10 kDa had higher FE and FS values than other fractions (P<0.05).The pH had an important effect on the EAI,ESI,FE and FS.All the fractions showed undesirable emulsion and forming properties at pH 4.0.Under pH 7.0 and pH 10.0,the 3 10 kDa fraction showed higher EAI value and the fraction of > 10 kDa showed higher FE value,respectively.They are hoped to be utilized as functional ingredients in food and nutraceutical industries.     

Study of phytoplankton community in the channel from Dongting Lake to Changjiang River, China

1 INTRODUCTION Dongting Lake (28°18'–29°45'N, 111°35'– 113°18'E) is the second largest freshwater lake in China, and directly connected with the Changjiang River (Yangtse River) through the channel. The sur- face area was about 2 740 km2 (at the low     

Mesoscale structure of the central South China Sea detected by SCSMEX Buoy and Argo float

We addressed the mesoscale structure variation of the central South China Sea (SCS) with the measurements by a long-lived Argo float and a high-resolution ATLAS buoy during 1998–2002. T-S diagram indicates cooling and freshening events in 2000 and 2001 with lower salinity (0.5–0.8) and lower temperature (1–1.7°C). Significant decrease in the net heat flux and increase in the precipitation suggest that the cooling and freshening is due to extra forcing by the atmosphere. Additional to large year-to-year changes, intraseasonal variability is moderate in the research area. The axis of the maximum intraseasonal temperature and salinity signals are mainly located on the thermocline. Typically, amplitude and period of intraseasonal temperature is about 2°C and 40–60 days, and that of salinity is 0.3–0.5 and 35–60 days. Rapidly-changing winds, heat flux, and precipitation are critical in controlling the intraseasonal fluctuations of the mixed layer of the area. Studies on heat and freshwater balance in the mixed-layer further suggest that horizontal advection plays an important role in intraseasonal fluctuation in the upper ocean. In addition, the energetic mesoscale propagation radiated from the east boundary is linked to the intraseasonal variability in winter.     

Transformation of Carbon and Nitrogen by Earthworms in the Decomposition Processes of Broad-leaved Litters

Earthworms are the important constituents in the decayed food web and the main ecological conditioners in the process of decomposition and nutrient mineralization. The transformation of organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) in the broad-leaved litters ingested by earthworms was researched by means of a laboratory experiment. Experimental samples were collected from broad-leaved Korea Pine mixed forest in Liangshui National Natural Reserve (47°10′50″N, 128°53′20″E) in the northeastern Xiao Hinggan Mountains of Northeast China. The contents of organic C and total N in earthworms, leaf litters and earthworm faeces were analyzed. Results show that the organic C content was in the fol- lowing order: leaf litters>faeces>earthworms, while total N content was contrary to that of the organic C. The organic C contents in the different leaf litters were in the following order: Tilia amurensis>Betula costata>Acer mono, whereas the total N contents in the different leaf litters were: Betula costata>Tilia amurensis>Acer mono. The contents of organic C and total N in the faeces from the different leaf litters were almost consistent with the contents of the leaf litters. After the leaf litters were ingested by earthworms, the organic C, which was transformed to increase earthworms' weights, ac- counted for 3.90%-13.31% of the total ingestion by earthworms, while that in the earthworm faeces accounted for 6.14%-13.70%. The transformed organic C through the other metabolism (e.g., respiration) of earthworms accounted for 75.04%-89.92%. The ingested organic C by earthworms was mostly used for metabolic activities. The N ingested by earthworms was less than organic C. It is estimated that 37.08% of total N was transformed to increase the earthworm's weight, 19.97% into earthworm faeces and 47.86% for the consumption of the earthworm's activities. The earthworms not only increased the content of organic C and total N in the soil, but also decreased the values of C/N in the soil and leaf litters. Earthworms play a major role in the leaf litters' decomposition and transformation.     

Modeling a habitat suitability index for the eastern fall cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii in the central North Pacific Ocean

The eastern fall cohort of the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, has been commercially exploited by the Chinese squid jigging fleet in the central North Pacific Ocean since the late 1990s. To understand and identify their optimal habitat, we have developed a habitat suitability index (HSI) model using two potential important environmental variables - sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) - and fishery data from the main fishing ground (165°-180°E) during June and July of 1999-2003. A geometric mean model (GMM), minimum model (MM) and arithmetic weighted model (AWM) with different weights were compared and the best HSI model was selected using Akaike’s information criterion (AIC). The performance of the developed HSI model was evaluated using fishery data for 2004. This study suggests that the highest catch per unit effort (CPUE) and fishing effort are closely related to SST and SSHA. The best SST- and SSHA-based suitability index (SI) regression models were SISST-based = 0.7SIeffort-SST + 0.3 SICPUE-SST, and SISSHA-based = 0.5SIeffort-SSHA + 0.5SICPUE-SSHA, respectively, showing that fishing effort is more important than CPUE in the estimation of SI. The best HSI model was the AWM, defined as HSI=0.3SISST-based+ 0.7SISSHA-based, indicating that SSHA is more important than SST in estimating the HSI of squid. In 2004, monthly HSI values greater than 0.6 coincided with the distribution of productive fishing ground and high CPUE in June and July, suggesting that the models perform well. The proposed model provides an important tool in our efforts to develop forecasting capacity of squid spatial dynamics.     

A new pomfret species,Pampus minor sp. nov. (Stromateidae) from Chinese waters

Thirty-two 63.0–134.4 mm standard length specimens collected during 1954–1990 from the coastal waters of the South China Sea and the continental coast of the Taiwan Strait were identified as a new species,Pampus minor Liuet Li, sp. nov. Contribution No. 3329 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Study supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences Special Grant for Biota Research.     

A taxonomical and ecological survey of rotiffer communities in Krottensee (Austria)

The composition and distribution of benthic, periphytic and planktonic rotifers in different habitats in Krottensee were investigated. Sixty-five rotifer taxa were identified, their relative abundance estimated. Classification of the data set by cluster analysis allowed the recognition of distinct habitat groups confined to acid bog ponds, macrophytes, sediments and open water. Five groups of rotifer taxa were identified on the basis of their habitat preferences and the occurrence of the taxa. Highest diversities were found on macrophytes and in acid bog ponds.     

Preliminary studies on the role of protozoa in the food web of Donghu Lake

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＪｏｈａｎｎｅｓ (1 965)ｆｉｒｓｔｓｈｏｗｅｄｔｈｅｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｃｅｏｆｐｒｏｔｏｚｏａａｓｒｅｍｉｎｅｒａｌｉｚｅｒｓｉｎｍａｒｉｎｅｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔｓ.Ｔｈｅｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｃｅｏｆｐｒｏｔｏｚｏａｉｎｔｈｅｆｒｅｓｈｗａｔｅｒｆｏｏｄｗｅｂｈａｓｂｅｅｎｋｎｏｗｎｆｏｒｔｈｅｐａｓｔ2 0ｙｅａｒｓ.Ｐｒｏｔｏｚｏａｉｓａｍａｉｎｐｒｅｄａｔｏｒｏｆｐｌａｎｋｔｏｎｉｃｂａｃｔｅｒｉａａｎｄｐｈｙｔｏｐｌａｎｋｔｏｎ ,ａｎｄａｌｓｏａｆｏｏｄｓｏｕｒｃｅｏ…     

Spatial and Temporal Changes of Floating Population in China Between 1990 and 2000

By studying the county-level census data of 1990 and 2000, we analyzed the spatial and temporal changes in the floating population in China between 1990 and 2000. The results of the analysis revealed the following characteris- tics. First, the spatial distribution of the migrants (referred to as 'floaters' in this paper) became increasingly concentrated in the cities during the 1990s. Second, the number of floaters increased rapidly during this period, and the area in which the floaters settled expanded quickly into four population explosion belts: the coast, the Changjiang River Delta, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and national border belts. Third, the number of inter-province floaters increased rapidly and exceeded that of intra-province floaters in the 1990s. In addition, to obtain a quantitative relationship between the number of floaters and 10 socio-economic variables by using statistical methods and also to find the chiefly important pulling factors of the migration destination, the authors selected approximately 100 cities with the largest population of floaters. Consequently, we found that four factors-GDP, passenger trips per 10,000 persons, per capita GDP and foreign direct investment-could provide an explanation for 83.7% of the number of floaters in 2000. The GDP showed the highest correlation with the number of floaters, suggesting that a highly developed economy is the most important factor that attracts floaters. Furthermore, a fairly close relationship between the number of floaters and the GDP was also found in 2000 for all the counties.     

Spatial distribution and abundance of small fishes in Xiaosihai Lake, a shallow lake along the Changjiang (Yangtze) River, China

Spatial distribution and abundance of small fishes were studied in autumn 2007 in the Xiaosihai Lake, a shallow lake along the middle reach of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. Based on the plant cover, the lake was divided into three major habitats: Myriophyllum spicatum habitat (MS habitat), Trapa bispinosa habitat (TB habitat), and non-vegetation habitat (NV habitat). A modified pop-net was used for quantitative sampling of small fishes in the three habitats, and the Zippin’s removal method was used for estimating densities of the small fishes. A total of 13 species belonging to 5 families were collected, with 11 species in MS habitat, 7 species in TB habitat, and 5 species in NV habitat. Habitat type had significant effect on the spatial distribution of small fishes. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index in the MS, TB and NV habitats were 1.28, 0.56 and 0.54, respectively. The total density and biomass of small fishes were significantly higher in the MS habitat (13.68 ind/m² and 4.44 g/m²) than in the TB habitat (1.41 ind/m² and 0.54 g/m²) and the NV habitat (1.08 ind/m² and 0.40 g/m²), and were not significantly different between the TB habitat and the NV habitat. Water depth had no significant effect on spatial distribution of the small fishes. It was suggested that vegetation type played an important role in habitat selectivity of small fishes, and the presence of submersed vegetation should be of significance in the conservation of small fish diversity.     

HETEROTROPHIC BACTERIOPLANKTON PRODUCTION IN THE EAST CHINA SEA

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＭｏｒｅｔｈａｎａｄｅｃａｄｅｈａｓｐａｓｓｅｄｓｉｎｃｅｂａｃｔｅｒｉａｗａｓｒｅｃｏｇｎｉｚｅｄａｓｑｕａｎｔｉｔａｔｉｖｅｌｙｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｃｏｎ ｓｕｍｅｒｓｏｆｏｒｇａｎｉｃｃａｒｂｏｎｉｎｍａｒｉｎｅｆｏｏｄｗｅｂｓａｎｄｍａｒｉｎｅｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｓ (Ｆｕｈｒｍａｎ ,1 992 ) .ＴｈｅｂａｓｉｃｉｎｆｏｒｍａｔｉｏｎｏｎｔｈｅｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｃｅｏｆｔｈｅｍｉｃｒｏｂｉａｌｆｏｏｄｗｅｂｗａｓｐｒｅｓｅｎｔｅｄｂｙＰｏｍｅｒｏｙ ( 1 974 ) ,ｗｈｏｐｉｅ…     

Soil organic carbon pools in particle-size fractions as affected by slope gradient and land use change in hilly regions, western Iran

This study was conducted to explore the effects of topography and land use changes on particulate organic carbon(POC),particulate total nitrogen(PTN),organic carbon(OC) and total nitrogen(TN) associated with different size primary particle fractions in hilly regions of western Iran.Three popular land uses in the selected site including natural forest(NF),disturbed forest(DF) and cultivated land(CL) and three slope gradients(0-10 %,S1,10-30 %,S2,and 30-50%,S3) were employed as the basis of soil sampling.A total of 99 soil samples were taken from the 0-10 cm surface layer in the whole studied hilly region studied.The results showed that the POC in the forest land use in all slope gradients was considerably more than the deforested and cultivated lands and the highest value was observed at NF-S1 treatment with 9.13%.The values of PTN were significantly higher in the forest land use and in the down slopes(0.5%) than in the deforested and cultivated counterparts and steep slopes(0.09%) except for the CL land use.The C:N ratios in POC fraction were around 17-18 in the forest land and around 23 in the cultivated land.In forest land,the silt-associated OC was highest among the primary particles.The enrichment factor of SOC,EC,was the highest for POC.For the primary particles,EC of both primary fractions of silt and clay showed following trend for selected land uses and slope gradients:CL> DF> NF and S3 > S2> S1.Slope gradient of landscape significantly affected the OC and TN contents associated with the silt and clay particles,whereas higher OC and TN contents were observed in lower positions and the lowest value was measured in the steep slopes.Overall,the results showed that native forest land improves soil organic carbon storage and can reduce the carbon emission and soil erosion especially in the mountainous regions with high rainfall in west of Iran.