Seasonal variation of plankton communities influenced by environmental factors in an artificial lake

We evaluated the seasonal variation in plankton community composition in an artificial lake. We conducted microscopic analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified partial 16S rRNAand 18S rRNAgenes to characterize the plankton community. The clustering of unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) was then used to investigate the similarity of these plankton communities. DGGE fingerprinting revealed that samples collected at the different sites within a season shared high similarity and were generally grouped together. In contrast, we did not observe any seasonal variation based on microscopic analysis. Redundancy analysis (RDA) of the plankton operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in relation to environmental factors revealed that transparency was negatively correlated with the first axis (R=-0.931), and temperature and total phosphorus (TP) were positively correlated with the first axis (R=0.736 and R=0.660, respectively). In conclusion, plankton communities in the artificial lake exhibited significant seasonal variation. Transparency, phosphorus and temperature appear to be the major factors driving the differences in plankton composition.     

Ecology of macrozoobenthic communities in two plateau lakes of Southwest China

Ecological studies on macrozoobenthos were conducted in two small plateau lakes in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Southwest China： Xingyun Lake （XL）, a eutrophic lake whose main source of primary production was phytoplankton （Chl α=99.76±24.01 μg/L）, and Yangzong Lake （YL）, a mesotrophic lake. Sampling was carried out from October 2002 to May 2004. Altogether 23 benthic taxa were identified in XL and 21 taxa in YL. The density of benthos in XL was much lower than that in YL, but the biomass was about equal in the two lakes, being I 423 ind/m^2 and 8.71 g/m^2 in XL and 4 249 ind/m^2 and 8.60 g/m^2 in YL. The dominant species were Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, Branchiura sowerbyi, Aulodrilus pluriseta and Chironomus sp. in XL and Limnodrilus hoffrneisteri, Aulodrilus pluriseta and Bellamya sp. in YL. Seasonal fluctuation occurred, showing richer species in summer and winter, but the density and biomass varied in different ways in the two lakes. Analyses on functional feeding groups indicate that collector-gatherers were predominant, but the relative abundances of other groups were different. Stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the water depth, conductivity and chlorophyll a were the key factors affecting macrozoobenthic abundance in the lakes.     

Ecology of macrozoobenthic communities in two plateau lakes of Southwest China

The original version of this article contains a mistake in font setting on p.350. The last part of Table 3 note, i.e. "biomass…molluscs (Liang et al., 1995)" should belong to the paper body. Therefore, the last sentence in     

Bacterial communities fluctuate in abundance and diversity under simulated oil-contaminated seawater conditions

Marine bacteria have recently been identified as a potent solution for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation in response to hazardous oceanic oil spills. In this study, a mesocosm experiment simulating a petroleum spill event was performed to investigate changes in the abundance, structure, and productivity of bacterial communities in response to oil pollution. Cultured heterotrophic bacteria and total bacteria showed a consistent trend involving an immediate decrease in abundance, followed by a slight increase, and a steady low-level thereafter. However, the changing trend of bacterial productivity based on bacterial biomass and bacterial volume showed the opposite trend. In addition, the density of oil-degrading bacteria increased initially, then subsequently declined. The change in the bacterial community structure at day 0 and day 28 were also analyzed by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis(ARDRA), which indicated that the species diversity of the bacterial community changed greatly after oil pollution. Alphaproteobacteria(40.98%)replaced Epsilonproteobacteria(51.10%) as the most abundant class, and Gammaproteobacteria(38.80%)became the second most dominant class in the whole bacterial community. The bacterial communities in oil-contaminated seawater(32 genera) became much more complex than those found in the natural seawater sample(16 genera). The proportion of petroleum-degrading bacteria in the oil-contaminated seawater also increased. In this study, culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches were combined to elucidate changes in both bacterial productivity and community structure. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of the role that bacteria play in material cycling and degradation in response to oil pollution.     

Aquatic molluscs in high mountain lakes of the Eastern Alps (Austria): Species-environment relationships and specific colonization behaviour

Mountain lakes represent essential stages for aquatic species on their way colonizing habitats of more elevated regions. Despite extensive biological and chemical study, only little has been reported about the species number and density of freshwater molluscs in these waters. The article presented here elucidates the dispersal of aquatic gastropods and bivalves in 12 mountain lakes that are commonly situated in the Eastern Alps, Austria. Molluscs were recorded at 120 sample points, where a total of 13 species (8 gastropods and 5 bivalves) could be determined. Species distribution data as well as results from contemporarily conducted physico-chemical factor recording were subject to weighted average analysis. In addition, a global marginality coefficient indicating the particularity of a habitat inhabited by a focal species as well as a global tolerance coefficient expressing the width of a niche occupied by this species were computed. Species-environment relationships exhibited that species number and specific density decrease with increasing geographic altitude, declining water temperature, and decreasing amount of submerged vegetation. Whilst waters of the montane altitude level are partly charcterized by high number of mollusc species (> 10), lakes of the subalpine altitude level commonly bear 1 or 2 species with <<1 ind./m2. As proposed by the results of statistics, 9 of the 13 mollusc species are characterized by a pronounced behaviour as specialists with respect to most environmental factors. The four remaining species, Pisidium casertanum, Galba truncatula, Radix labiata, and Radix balthica, act as generalists which increases their pioneering role in the long-term occupation of the Central-alpine region.     

An indicator-based approach to assess village-level social and biophysical vulnerability of agriculture communities in Uttarakhand,India

With the growing recognition to myriad forms of current and future threats in the mountain agriculture systems,there is a pressing need to holistically understand the vulnerability of mountain agriculture communities.The study aims to assess the biophysical and social vulnerability of agriculture communities using an indicator-based approach for the state of Uttarakhand,India.A total of 14 indicators were used to capture biophysical vulnerability and 22 for social vulnerability profiles of15285 villages.Vulnerability analysis was done at village level with weights assigned to each indicator using Analytical Hierarchical Process(AHP).The results of the study highlight the presence of very high biophysical vulnerability(0.82 ± 0.10) and high social vulnerability(0.65 ± 0.15) within the state.Based on the results,it was found that incidences of high biophysical vulnerability coincide with presence of intensified agriculture land and absence of dense forest.Higher social vulnerability scores were found in villages with an absence of local institutions(like Self Helping Groups(SHGs)),negligible infrastructure facilities and higher occupational dependence on agriculture.A contrast was observed in the vulnerability scores of villages present in the three different altitudinal zones in the study area,indicating respective vulnerability generating conditions existing in these three zones.Biophysical vulnerability was recorded to be highest in the villages falling in the lower zone and lowest in the upper zone villages;whereas,social vulnerability was found to be highest in the middle zone villages and lowest in lower zone villages.Our study aids policy makers in identifying areas for intervention to expedite agriculture adaptation planning in the state.Additionally,the adaptation programmes in the region need to be more context-specific to accommodate the differential altitudinal vulnerability profiles.     

Comparison of copepod collection efficiencies by three commonly used plankton nets: A case study in Bohai Sea,China

Selection of net with a suitable mesh size is a key concern in the quantitative assessment of zooplankton, which is crucial to understand pelagic ecosystem processes. This study compared the copepod collecting efficiency of three commonly used plankton nets, namely, the China standard coarse net(505 μm mesh), the China standard fine net(77 μm), and the WP-2 net(200 μm). The experiment was performed at six stations in the Bohai Sea during the autumn of 2012. The coarse net substantially under-sampled small individuals(body widths 672 μm) and led to the lowest species number in each tow, whereas the fine net collected all small copepod species but failed to collect rare species. The WP-2 net appeared to be a compromise of the two other nets, collecting both small copepods and rare species. The abundance of copepods collected by the coarse net(126.4 ± 86.5 ind m~(-3)) was one to two orders of magnitude lower than that by the WP-2 net(5802.4 ± 2595.4 ind m~(-3)), and the value of the fine net(11117.0 ± 4563.41 ind m~(-3)) was nearly twice that of the WP-2 net. The abundance of large copepods(i.e., adult Calanus sinicus) in the three nets showed no significant differences, but the abundance of small copepods declined with decreasing mesh size. The difference in abundance resulted from the under-sampling of small copepods with body widths 672 μm and 266 μm by the coarse and WP-2 nets, respectively.     

Water quality assessment of benthic diatom communities for water quality in the subalpine karstic lakes of Jiuzhaigou,a world heritage site in China

Jiuzhaigou, characterized by its magnificent waterscapes and subalpine karstic features, is both a World Heritage Site and a World Biosphere Reserve in southwestern China. In recent years, this unique ecosystem has shown signs of stress due to increasing tourism activities within the reserve. The various routine methods, which monitor physical and chemical properties, do not fully reflect water quality in the subalpine and alpine lakes, while the indicators using aquatic organisms to evaluate the water quality or status of the subalpine lakes are poorly reported. Thus, in this study, benthic diatoms from multiple habitats in Jiuzhaigou were sampled and assessed for water quality monitoring. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that the canonical coefficients for elevation, water temperature and total nitrogen on the first Canonical Correspondence Analysis axis were -0.84, 0.78 and -0.53, respectively, environmental variables associated with the distribution patterns of benthic diatoms. The dominance of diatom taxa indicative of nutrient enrichment indicates a clear trend toward eutrophication in the Pearl Shoal and Colorful Lake, two of the sites mostly visited by tourists. It was observed that the effect of the type of substratum on diatom community composition is not significant in subalpine lakes. The most dominant species in Jiuzhaigou lakes are the genera Achnanthes, Fragilaria, Cymbella, Cocconeis, Diatoma and Denticula. In combination with dominant and sensitive species in the benthic diatom communities, CCA and CA methods can be used to evaluate the impact of human activities on subalpine karstic lakes. The dominance of diatom taxa is indicative of nutrient enrichment and the results of CCA and CA indicate a clear trend toward eutrophication in the Pearl Shoal and Colorful Lake, two of the sites mostly visited by tourists.     

Turbulence and Fossil Turbulence in Oceans and Lakes

Turbulence is defined as an eddy-like state of fluid motion where the inertial-vortex forces of the eddies are larger than any of the other forces that tend to damp the eddies out. Energy cascades of irrotational flows from large scales to small are non-turbulent, even if they supply energy to turbulence. Turbulent flows are rotational and cascade from small scales to large, with feedback. Viscous forces limit the smallest turbulent eddy size to the Kolmogorov scale. In stratified fluids, buoyancy forces limit large vertical overturns to the Ozmidov scale and convert the largest turbulent eddies into a unique class of saturated, non-propagating, internal waves, termed fossil-vorticity-turbulence. These waves have the same energy but different properties and spectral forms than the original turbulence patch. The Gibson (1980, 1986) theory of fossil turbulence applies universal similarity theories of turbulence and turbulent mixing to the vertical evolution of an isolated patch of turbulence in a stratified fluid as its growth is constrained and fossilized by buoyancy forces. Quantitative hydrodynamic-phase-diagrams (HPDs) from the theory are used to classify microstructure patches according to their hydrodynamic states. When analyzed in HPD space, previously published oceanic datasets showed their dominant microstructure patches are fossilized at large scales in all layers. Laboratory and field measurements suggested phytoplankton species with different swimming abilities adjust their growth strategies by pattern recognition of tur-bulence-fossil-turbulence dissipation and persistence times that predict survival-relevant surface layer sea changes. New data collected near a Honolulu waste-water outfall showed the small-to-large evolution of oceanic turbulence microstructure from active to fossil states, and revealed the ability of fossil-density-turbulence patches to absorb, and vertically radiate, internal wave energy, information, and enhanced turbulent-mixing-rates toward the sea surface so that the submerged waste-field could be detected from a space satellite (Bondur and Filatov, 2003).     

Differences in tree species diversity and soil nutrient status in a tropical sacred forest ecosystem on Niyamgiri hill range, Eastern Ghats, India

We have quantitatively analyzed the tree species diversity with respect to soil nutrient status in three sites of a sacred forest ecosystem of Niyamgiri hill range,Eastern Ghats,India.Extensive field surveys and sampling were conducted in 3 sites of the hill range:Site 1 Pterocarpus dominated forest(PTF)(19°40’02.2" N and 83°21’23.1" E),Site 2 Mangifera dominated forest(MAF)(19°40’02.8" N and 83°21’40.8" E) and Site 3 Mixed forest(MIF)(19°36’47.1" N and 83°21’02.7" E).A total of 28 families,42 genera,46 tree species,and 286 individual trees were recorded on an area of 0.6 ha.Tree density varied between 470 and 490 individuals ha-1 and average basal area between 3.16 and 10.04 m2 ha-1.Shannon Index(H’) ranged from 2.34 to 4.53,Simpson’s Index ranged from 0.07 to 0.09,and equitability Index ranged from 0.7 to 1.34.The number of individuals was highest in the girth at breast height(GBH) class of 50-70 cm.The soil nutrient status of the three forest types was related to tree species diversity.The soil pH value of the three sites reflected the slightly acidic nature of the area.Species diversity was positively correlated with organic carbon and phosphorus and negatively with nitrogen,EC and pH.The results of the current study may be helpful to further develop a conservation planfor tree species in tropical sacred forest ecosystems.     

Biodiverse rotifer assemblage(Rotifera: Eurotatoria) of floodplain lakes of the Brahmaputra basin of lower Assam,northeast India: composition and ecosystem diversity

The study aims to ascertain the hypothesis on the rich rotifer biodiversity of the floodplain lakes(beels) of the Brahmaputra river basin and to use these metazoans to assess trophic status or to characterize habitat variations of wetlands. The plankton samples collected from four beels of lower Assam revealed 160 Rotifera species belonging to 35 genera and 19 families. The richness is of biodiversity value as ~38.0% and ~57.0% of the rotifer species known till date from India and northeast India(NEI), respectively. One species each is new to the Oriental region and NEI, and three species are new to Assam; 23 species merit global biogeography interest and several exhibit distribution values in the Indian sub-region. The diverse Lecanidae Brachionidae Lepadellidae Trichocercidae and speciose littoral-periphytic L ecane Lepadella Trichocerca, and richness of Brachionus spp. following removal of aquatic macrophytes are noteworthy. Overall rotifer composition showed homogeneity amongst beels while lower monthly richness and community similarities affirmed heterogeneity within individual beels. We propose L/B quotient based on L ecane : Brachionus species ratios to characterize habitat variations of the sampled wetlands. Sláde?ek's B/T quotient based on B rachionus : T richocerca species ratios affirmed general 'meso-trophic' status of diff erent beels. Our results provided little insight on the influence of individual abiotic factors but the canonical correspondence analyses asserted higher cumulative influence of ten abiotic parameters on Rotifera richness in each beel.     

Radionuclides and mercury in the salt lakes of the Crimea

90 Sr concentrations,resulting from the Chernobyl NPP accident,were determined in the salt lakes of the Crimea(Lakes Kiyatskoe,Kirleutskoe,Kizil-Yar,Bakalskoe and Donuzlav),together with the redistribution between the components of the ecosystems.The content of mercury in the waters of the studied reservoirs was also established.Vertical distributions of natural radionuclide activities( 238 U,232 Th,226 Ra,210 Pb,40 K) and anthropogenic 137 Cs concentrations(as radiotracers) were determined in the bottom sediments of the Koyashskoe salt lake(located in the south-eastern Crimea) to evaluate the longterm dynamics and biogeochemical processes.Radiochemical and chemical analysis was undertaken and radiotracer and statistical methods were applied to the analytical data.The highest concentrations of 90 Sr in the water of Lake Kiyatskoe(350.5 and 98.0 Bq/m 3) and Lake Kirleutskoe(121.3 Bq/m 3) were due to the discharge of the Dnieper water from the North-Crimean Canal.The high content of mercury in Lake Kiyatskoe(363.2 ng/L) and in seawater near Lake Kizil-Yar(364 ng/L) exceeded the maximum permissible concentration(3.5 times the maximum).Natural radionuclides provide the main contribution to the total radioactivity(artificial and natural combined) in the bottom sediments of Lake Koyashskoe.The significant concentration of 210 Pb in the upper layer of bottom sediments of the lake indicates an active inflow of its parent radionuclide—gaseous 222 Rn from the lower layers of the bottom sediment.The average sedimentation rates in Lake Koyashskoe,determined using 210 Pb and 137 Cs data,were 0.117 and 0.109 cm per year,respectively.     

Downstream Decreasing Channel Capacity of a Monsoon-dominated Bengal Basin River: A Case Study of Dwarkeswar River,Eastern India

Downstream changes in channel morphology and flow over the ephemeral Dwarkeswar River in the western part of the Bengal Basin, eastren India were investigated. The river stretches from the Proterozoic Granite Gneiss Complex to the recent Holocene alluvium, forming three distinctive geomorphological regions across the river basin: the pediplane and upper and lower alluvial areas. Sixty cross-sections from throughout the main trunk stream were surveyed and the bankfull width, depth, cross-sectional area, and maximum depth were measured. Sediment samples from each location were studied and the flow velocity, stream power, Manning's roughness coefficient, and shear stress were estimated. The results show that the bankfull channel cross-section area, width, width-to-depth ratio, and channel capacity increased between the beginning and middle of the river. Thereafter, the size of the river started to decrease in the lower alluvial area. This was characterized by gentle gradients, cohesive bank materials with grass cover, and channel switching. Within the lower part of the river, the channel capacity was observed to diminish as the drainage area increased. This increased the bankfull flow frequency and accelerated large floodwater losses in the floodplain via overbank flows and floodways.     

Temporal and spatial distribution of virioplankton in large shallow freshwater lakes

Virioplankton dynamics at seven sample sites (from two freshwater lakes) with different trophic states were monitored over the period of a year. Water was sampled monthly from August 2004 to July 2005, and the abundances of viruses and bacteria were measured using direct epifluorescence microscopy counting. Results indicated that both natural and anthropogenic factors could influence the distribution of virioplankton. Temporally, viral abundance was significantly correlated to bacterial density and water temperature. Spatially, viral abundance was significantly correlated to trophic state. This in turn indicated that viral abundance was directly dependant on host abundance in eutrophic lakes, while trophic state and temperature could drive the distribution of virioplankton. The virus-bacteria ratio was significantly lower in less productive water-bodies. The result implied that the control of virioplankton on their hosts may change according to the host density.     

Hydroacoustic estimates of fish biomass and spatial distributions in shallow lakes

We conducted acoustical surveys with a horizontal beam transducer to detect fish and with a vertical beam transducer to detect depth and macrophytes in two typical shallow lakes along the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang(Yangtze) River in November 2013. Both lakes are subject to active fish management with annual stocking and removal of large fish. The purpose of the study was to compare hydroacoustic horizontal beam estimates with fish landings. The preliminary results show that the fish distribution patterns dif fered in the two lakes and were af fected by water depth and macrophyte coverage. The hydroacoustically estimated fish biomass matched the commercial catch very well in Niushan Lake, but it was two times higher in Kuilei Lake. However, acoustic estimates included all fish, whereas the catch included only fish 45 cm(smaller ones were released). We were unable to determine the proper regression between acoustic target strength and fish length for the dominant fish species in the two lakes.     

A comparison of fishery biology of jumbo flying squid, Dosidicus gigas outside three Exclusive Economic Zones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

Although many studies on the fishery biology of jumbo flying squid, Dosidicus gigas, have been conducted in the coastal areas within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of various countries due to its commercial and ecological importance, limited biological information is available from waters outside these EEZs. In this paper, we examined D. gigas fishery biology from waters outside Chilean, Peruvian and Costa Rican EEZs, based on the fishery data collected by Chinese jigging vessels during 2006 to 2010. The dominant mantle lengths of D. gigas were 350–450 mm, 250–400 mm and 250–350 mm outside Chilean, Peruvian and Costa Rican EEZs, respectively. Size structure analysis show that a medium-sized group existed mostly in the waters outside the Chilean and Peruvian EEZs, whereas a small-sized group occurred mainly in the waters outside the Costa Rican EEZ. The longevity of the squid outside the Costa Rican EEZ was less than 10 months, while most of those outside Chilean and Peruvian EEZs were about 1–1.5 years and very few large individuals were 1.5–2 years old. A higher percentage of mature individuals existed outside Costa Rican EEZ implying the region as a potential spawning ground, while lower proportions of mature squid outside the Peruvian and Chilean EEZs indicated that spawning may be occurring outside our study area. Spatial differences in sizes at maturity of the squid are thought to be result from different environmental factors especially different temperature and nutrition among the three areas. Stomach-content analysis showed that cannibalism was important in the diet of D. gigas. Stress generated by jigging may increase the incidence of cannibalism.     

Distribution and abundance of pelagic tunicates in the North Yellow Sea

In this paper, the distribution patterns and abundance of pelagic tunicates in the North Yellow Sea of China during the period 2006-2007 were analyzed. Zooplankton samples were obtained with vertical towing from bottom to surface using a WP2 plankton net(200 μm mesh size; mouth area: 0.25 m2). Five species belonging to two classes were identified: Oikopleura dioica, O. longicauda and Fritillaria borealis belonging to class Appendicularia; Salpa fusiformis and Doliolum denticulatum of class Thaliacea. O. dioica and O. longicauda were the dominant species, occurring in the samples of all four seasons, with different distribution patterns. Their maximum abundance were 1664.7 ind. m-3(spring) and 1031.7 ind. m-3(spring) respectively. Following Oikopleura spp. were D. denticulatum, which was found only in autumn with an average abundance of 149.6 ind. m-3, and S. fusiformis, which was detected all the year long except for autumn with low abundance(max. abundance 289.4 ind. m-3 in summer). Only a very small amount of F. borealis was detected in summer samples, with an average abundance of 2.7 ind. m-3. The relationship between tunicates abundances and the environmental factors was analyzed using the stepwise regression model for each species. The variation of appendicularian abundance showed a significant correlation with the surface water temperature and with the concentration of Chl-a. No relationship was found between tunicates abundance and salinity, likely due to the slight changes in surface salinity of the studied area during the four seasons. Salps abundance and that of doliolids were significantly correlated to bottom water temperature, indicating that these two species(S. fusiformis and D. denticulatum) migrate vertically in the water column. In particular D. denticulatum, known to be a warm water species, showed not only an important correlation with water temperature, but also a spatial distribution connected to the warm currents in the North Yellow Sea. The occurrence of D. denticulatum represents an interesting result never found in past research work. Water temperature, algal distribution and currents were the most relevant environmental factors influencing the tunicate abundance and distribution in the North Yellow Sea. Further research is needed in order to get more information on the ecology of these organisms and to better understand their role in the ecosystem including the oceanic food web.