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.     

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.     

Ecosystem health assessment of Honghu Lake Wetland of China using artificial neural network approach

Honghu Lake, located in the southeast of Hubei Province, China, has suffered a severe disturbance during the past few decades. To restore the ecosystem, the Honghu Lake Wetland Protection and Restoration Demonstration Project (HLWPRDP) has been implemented since 2004. A back propagation (BP) artificial neural network (ANN) approach was applied to evaluatinig the ecosystem health of the Honghu Lake wetland. And the effectiveness of the HLWPRDP was also assessed by comparing the ecosystem health before and after the project. Particularly, 12 ecosystem health indices were used as evaluation parameters to establish a set of three-layer BP ANNs. The output is one layer of ecosystem health index. After training and testing the BP ANNs, an optimal model of BP ANNs was selected to assess the ecosystem health of the Honghu Lake wetland. The result indicates that four stages can be identified based on the change of the ecosystem health from 1990 to 2008 and the ecosystem health index ranges from morbidity before the implementation of HLWPRDP (in 2002) to middle health after the implementation of the HLWPRDP (in 2005). It demonstrates that the HLWPRDP is effective and the BP ANN could be used as a tool for the assessment of ecosystem health.     

THE CHINESE ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH NETWORK

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基于参与式制图方法的景观服务评估与空间结构研究

景观服务评估核心是人与环境之间复杂的动态关系,基于利益相关者的参与式制图方法是建立景观服务分类体系和量化指标的有效途径。本文采用参与式制图方法,以九寨沟自然保护区为例,根据景观服务分类研究成果,并结合九寨沟自然资源特点和景观服务使用者半结构式访谈数据,提出了适用于九寨沟的景观服务指标体系。本研究方法以管理局工作人员、居民和游客等服务使用者作为参与式调研对象,分别就其需求和景观服务感知程度进行半结构式访谈,并利用GIS技术将数据空间位置和功能属性结合,得到九寨沟有3大类景观服务和17个相关指标,以及737个景观服务点。通过研究结果可知,当地村落建筑与众多景观服务指标（包括观鸟场所、野营旅游、民俗与节庆等13个指标）具有极强的空间关联性。同时,景观服务使用者感知的景观价值在空间上属于聚集分布形式,主要围绕着开放生态旅游的3条沟谷分布,并向外围扩散。其中景观服务的“高—高”空间聚集区主要分布在沟口等与人类需求密切联系的区域,而景观服务的“低—低”空间聚集区则主要分布在原始森林等与人类居住、活动相距较远的区域。综上,基于参与式制图方法建立的景观服务分类和空间分析,发现九寨沟景观服务的空间位置与使用者紧密相关,其景观价值的空间结构特征是服务使用者与环境长期互动的结果,该结果可以用来引导并进一步优化九寨沟的功能分区规划。     

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...     

基于参数空间分布的海洋生态系统模拟

在模拟大尺度海洋生态系统时,由于子区域的生态系统有着各自的特征,导致参数值在空间上存在差异,因此参数在整个研究区域取常数的做法必须改进.基于此,使用气候模式FOAM的气侯态背景场驱动一个简单的三维海洋生态系统模型,并引入参数的空间分布,在全球尺度上通过伴随方法同化SeaWiFS叶绿素资料.引入参数空间分布后,同化结果得到很大改进:浮游植物表层生物量(氮)的平均差从0.155 3减小至0.060 6 mmol·m-3,下降了60.9%,有效地降低了模拟值与观测值在空间上的差异;浮游植物表层生物量平均值也从0.103 1上升至0.125 2 mmol·m-3,更接近SeaWiFS观测.实验结果表明通过引入参数的空间分布来改进海洋生态系统的模拟是可行的.     

干旱半干旱地区草原灌丛荒漠化及其生物地球化学循环

干旱和半干旱地区草地生态系统木本植物入侵及其导致的草原灌丛化已经成为全球范 围普遍发生的现象, 是草地沙化和荒漠化的一个重要标志。干旱生态系统中, 此种类型的植被变 化将对区域和全球生物地球化学循环产生显著影响。过度放牧、区域气候干旱化和自然火过程是 导致灌丛入侵和发展的主要控制因子。草原灌丛化过程中, 草地生态系统分布较为均匀的土壤养 分及相关元素在水平和垂直方向发生分异, 关键生命元素C、N、P 、S 生物地球化学循环的变化 将对全球气候变化产生显著作用。全球气候变化与草原灌丛荒漠化之间存在潜在的反馈机制, 人 类扰动的影响将使这种反馈作用变得更加迅速和灵敏。