Effects of vegetation and sewage load on mangrove crab condition using experimental mesocosms

Constructed wetlands, especially mangroves, have been studied for their usefulness in sewage treatment but the effects of mangrove vegetation and a sewage load on mangrove macrofauna have been given little attention. Ocypodid crabs are important components of mangrove forests and constitute good bioindicators of the functioning of the ecosystem as a whole. In constructed mangrove mesocosms, three vegetation treatments (bare substratum, and Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata seedlings) were subjected to 0, 20, 60 and 100% sewage loads from a nearby hotel. The physiological condition of introduced Uca annulipes and Uca inversa was evaluated in terms of their RNA/DNA ratio after one, five and twelve months, and used as an indicator of ecological function in the system. Crab condition in 0% sewage load was similar to that of wild crabs throughout, suggesting no significant effects of the mesocosms on their RNA/DNA ratio. Overall, both species coped well with the administered sewage loads, suggesting good ecological function in the system. Both species manifested similar patterns in RNA/DNA ratio, being more affected by seasonal fluctuations than by sewage load and vegetation presence and type. Higher RNA/DNA ratios were recorded in the long compared to the short rainy season. Sewage enhanced crab condition in the bare substratum and R. mucronata treatments, especially after one year, probably as a result of enhanced food availability. Uca inversa may be more sensitive to sewage pollution than U. annulipes. In A. marina, no difference in crab condition was observed between sewage loads, and this mangrove yielded the best reduction in sewage impacts. Our results support the usefulness of constructed mangrove areas in sewage treatment, especially if planted with A. marina and inhabited by physiologically healthy ocypodid crabs to enhance the system's performance.     

Difficulties in separating hurricane induced effects from natural benthic succession: Hurricane Isabel,a case study from Eastern Virginia,USA

Hurricane Isabel reached the Eastern seaboard of North America on 18 September 2003 causing estimated damage >3 billion US dollars and the death of ∼50 people. Isabel is considered to be one of the most significant tropical cyclones to affect Virginia, since the Chesapeake Potomac Hurricane of 1933 and Hurricane Hazel in 1954. A study of the temporal changes in the benthic fauna pre- and post-hurricane was conducted on an intertidal sandflat within the dynamic barrier island system near Wachapreague, Eastern Virginia. Replicate sediment cores were collected 3 weeks before Isabel made landfall and further samples were collected on 5 occasions over the following 20 months. An immediate effect of Isabel was a doubling in the number of species, a significant increase in invertebrate species diversity (H′) and a rise in opportunistic species and deposit feeders, but a non-significant increase in the total number of organisms. Changes in infauna occurred such that by the end of the study there were significantly increased numbers of species, faunal abundances and community diversity measures, as compared with pre-hurricane samples, suggesting a potentially positive medium-term effect of this hurricane perturbation. The most notable direct effects of the hurricane were on the relative abundances of feeding guilds with a reduction in interface feeders from 87% pre-hurricane to 64% post-hurricane, and an increase in surface deposit feeders from 7% pre-hurricane to 20% post-hurricane. The study highlights potential problems in interpreting post-perturbation data when insufficient pre-perturbation data exist.     

Long-term numerical evolution of the nitrogen bulk content in the Mediterranean Sea

The behavior of the Mediterranean ecosystem in response to realistic riverine inputs and dissolved matter exchange is investigated. The strategy is to evaluate the stability of the ecosystem subjected to various atmospheric inputs.     

Circulation and dispersion in a cancellate coast: The rivers,bays and estuaries of central Maine

The glacially carved central coast of Maine is incised by river systems with interconnecting channels, offshore-trending submarine ridges, and narrow passages between nearshore islands and headlands. The tidal range exceeds 3 m, leading to complex and vigorous circulation patterns with strong flows in narrow channels, near river mouths, and between islands. The spongiform coastal morphology allows enhanced exchange between offshore waters, estuaries and internecine bays, resulting in rapid dispersal of nutrients, larvae and contaminants throughout the region. A fine-grid numerical circulation model has been used to examine the influences of the tides, river flows and winds on the dispersion of lobster larvae and pollutants in the nearshore and riverine environment. This paper describes the model application, presents a few salient features of the circulation patterns, and examines some implications for the coastal environment. For example, under realistic tides and variable southwest summer winds, about 80% of neutral near-surface particles introduced near the offshore islands (a proxy for stage IV lobster larvae from offshore sources) remain within a few km of the islands over a two-week period. On the other hand, a persistent, periodic sea breeze can remove more than two-thirds of the particles from the domain over the same period. Tidal mixing disperses pollutants entering the upper Kennebec River to the offshore and through internecine passages in about one week.     

海洋生态系统健康评价的底栖生物指数法研究进展

海洋大型底栖无脊椎动物能对自然和人为活动导致的水和沉积物质量变化做出可预测的响应,因此利用底栖生物作为海洋生态环境监测的生物指标和进行系统健康度量的生物指数已经得到了广泛的认可.本文比较分析了几种常用的和正在发展的海洋生态系统健康和生态环境质量状况评估的底栖生物指数,包括指示生物法、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、BI指数、AMBI指数和Bentix指数,总结了这几种生物指数的应用和特性,探讨了底栖生物指数在实际应用中可能存在的问题和解决的办法,以期为我国海洋生态系统健康评估工作提供参考.     

A coupled ice-ocean ecosystem model for 1-D and 3-D applications in the Bering and Chukchi Seas

Primary production in the Bering and Chukchi Seas is strongly influenced by the annual cycle of sea ice. Here pelagic and sea ice algal ecosystems coexist and interact with each other. Ecosystem modeling of sea ice associated phytoplankton blooms has been understudied compared to open water ecosystem model applications. This study introduces a general coupled ice-ocean ecosystem model with equations and parameters for 1-D and 3-D applications that is based on 1-D coupled ice-ocean ecosystem model development in the landfast ice in the Chukchi Sea and marginal ice zone of Bering Sea. The biological model includes both pelagic and sea ice algal habitats with 10 compartments： three phytoplankton （pelagic diatom, flagellates and ice algae： D, F, and Ai） , three zooplankton （copepods, large zooplankton, and microzooplankton ： ZS, ZL, ZP） , three nutrients （ nitrate ＋ nitrite, ammonium, silicon ： NO3 , NH4, Si） and detritus （Det）. The coupling of the biological models with physical ocean models is straightforward with just the addition of the advection and diffusion terms to the ecosystem model. The coupling with a multi-category sea ice model requires the same calculation of the sea ice ecosystem model in each ice thickness category and the redistribution between categories caused by both dynamic and thermodynamic forcing as in the physical model. Phytoplankton and ice algal self-shading effect is the sole feedback from the ecosystem model to the physical model.     

人地系统耦合下生态系统服务与人类福祉关系研究进展与展望

21世纪以来生态系统服务退化与人类需求提升间的矛盾愈发激烈,如何有效推进生态系统服务与人类福祉的协调平衡成为当前可持续发展的核心主题.论文通过梳理生态系统服务与人类福祉关系研究的阶段演进发现,现有研究主要从服务对福祉的影响与福祉对服务的反馈切人,逐步聚焦到供需关系与空间流动、权衡/协同的利益博弈、文化服务的价值化、生态...     

Separate and interactive effects of eutrophication and climate variables on the ecosystem elements of the Gulf of Riga

There is currently a critical knowledge gap in how eutrophication and climate variables separately and interactively impact the dynamics of marine ecosystems. Based on long-term monitoring data we quantified the separate and combined impacts of nutrient loading, temperature, salinity, and wind conditions on zooplankton, zoobenthos and fish inhabiting a brackish water ecosystem in the Gulf of Riga. Changes in zoobenthos communities and herring stock were largely explained by climate variables. Zooplankton species were related to both eutrophication and climate variables, and models combining all environmental variables explained additional variation in zooplankton data compared to the separate models of climate and eutrophication. This suggests that zoobenthos communities and herring stock are largely driven by weather conditions, whereas the combined effect of weather and nutrient loads are likely the cause for dynamic zooplankton communities in the Gulf of Riga.     

滤食性贝类在对虾综合养殖生态系统中的作用

就混养虾池中滤食性贝类如何影响虾池整个生态系统这个问题，综合了国内外这方面的文献，从滤食性贝类对混养虾池的水质、底质和其中的浮游植物、浮游动物的影响，以及混养对养殖效益的影响这几个方面作了探讨。     

基于生态系统的上海崇明东滩海岸带生态系统退化诊断

海岸带是资源与环境条件最为优越的区域,也是与人类发展关系最为密切的区域之一。本文选择上海崇明东滩海岸带生态系统为研究示范区,在对崇明东滩海岸带生态系统结构分析的基础上,基于"压力-状态-响应"模型构建海岸带生态系统退化诊断指标体系,定量评估了崇明东滩海岸带生态系统退化状况。结果表明,从2000年至2008年,崇明东滩海岸带生态系统整体上表现为健康,局部区域表现为轻微退化,轻微退化的面积分别为25.71km2(2000)、16.66km2(2003)、18.16km2(2005)和40.46km2(2008)。自然湿地生态系统是崇明东滩海岸带中一个重要的生态系统类型,2000年至2008年,崇明东滩自然湿地生态系统大部分面积保持在健康的状态,大规模的围垦工程和外来物种互花米草入侵是造成自然湿地生态系统退化的主要原因。2000年至2008年,崇明东滩农业生态系统整体上表现为健康状态,产业结构不合理和由于化肥、农药使用造成的环境恶化等问题,是造成崇明东滩海岸带农业生态系统局部区域发生退化的主要原因。人口增长和经济发展引起的现有资源的过度使用和环境恶化等问题,使得城镇生态系统健康面临巨大挑战,在2005年表现为轻微退化。本文的研究方法可为我国其它地区海岸带生态系统管理和建设提供理论依据和示范案例。