A quantitative investigation into the temporal and spatial variations in the emergence of adult blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) from the Breitenbach, a small upland stream in Germany

As a contribution to the long-term emergence studies carried out as part of the “Breitenbach ecosystem project”, this paper presents the results obtained on emergence patterns and population dynamics of blackflies from 1984 to 1988. The Breitenbach is a small first order stream near Schlitz/Hesse, running into the Fulda river. Adult blackflies were caught in 4 greenhouse emergence traps, each spanning the whole width of the stream for a length of 6 m. A manual and then a partly automated method for collecting trapped insects was applied for three years and one year, respectively. Sixteen blackfly-species of different origin were found in the traps: a) autochthonous species: Prosimulium tomosvaryi, Simulium vernum s.l., S. cryophilum s.l., S. ornatum s.l. (common); S. costatum, S. trifasciatum, S. monticola, S. argyreatum (rare); b) species of doubtful origin: S. lundstromi, S. angustitarse, S. angustipes, S. aureum (very rare); c) allochthonous species: S. lineatum, S. equinum, S. erythrocephalum, S. noelleri. It was shown that the last 4 species had not emerged from the Breitenbach but had flown into the traps as adults. In addition, females of autochthonous species with blood or with mature eggs were trapped, which were also considered to have flown in. Besides revealing a limitation of the trap construction, they supported the detailed interpretation of some intricated patterns of appearance. Variations in emergence patterns and specimen numbers between years and traps were pronounced, but only in a few cases could they be attributed to changes in abiotic factors such as water temperature or discharge. P. tomosvaryi had the most simple and regular life cycle, with one well synchronised emergence peak annually from April to May (or even to June). No gradient of specimen numbers along the stream was evident. The two closely related species S. vernum and S. cryophilum had quite similar emergence patterns: There were two broad peaks per year, extending mainly from March to June and from July to October or November. In some cases the number and separation of consecutive generations was not clear. The abundance of both species clearly decreased downstream, more so for S. cryophilum than for S. vernum. In a trap closest to a tributary spring, S. cryophilum was the dominant species during three of the four years examined. The adults of S. ornatum displayed an intricate pattern of appearance, with very low specimen numbers in spring and medium to very high numbers in July/August and September/October. S. ornatum is the only blackfly species that inhabits both the Breitenbach and the adjacent section of the Fulda river. It was shown that females emerging from the Fulda river regularly invade the Breitenbach valley in greatly varying numbers and oviposit there. This leads to overlapping larval cohorts with corresponding emergence peaks. Although S. ornatum was the most abundant species in one year in the lower traps (60 to 80% of all individuals), it remains uncertain whether it is a long-term, permanent member of the autochthonous blackfly fauna of the Breitenbach. Estimates of total numbers of flown-in adults, actual emergence, dry weight biomass, the ecological separation of the species and their life cycle strategies are discussed.     

Impact of human activity on the estuary of the Qiantang River and the reclamation of tidal flats and river regulation

The swing of the main channel of the Qiantang River is controlled by the high-water and low-water changes in the river, as well as the impact of large-scale reclamation of tidal flats. Its evolution in modern times is the result of the combined functions of natural and man-made factors. This paper analyzes the cause of the formation of the South Channel and Xisan Tidal Furrow and proposes the regulation principle of “To regulate the river and reclaim tidal flats by taking the advantage of local topography”. It is suggested to cut off the South Channel and Xisan Tidal Furrow completely to restrict the swing of the main channel and to increase the reclamation area of the tidal flat at the same time.     

Sediment Phosphorus Chemistry and Microbial Biomass along a Lowland New Zealand Stream

An evaluation of the distribution of P concentrations in streamflow, P fractions andthe microbial biomass P pool was made of bed and bank sediments along a lowlandstream in New Zealand. Agricultural intensification increased downstream. However,most P fractions decreased downstream (total P decreased from c. 400 to 250 mg kg^-1) in bed sediments, while P in streamflow remained relatively constant (generally < 0.005 mg l^-1) and sediment microbial P increased from 2 to 8 mg kg^-1. An investigation of P release from dried and rewetted sediments showed that solution P (CaCl2-P) increased, on average > 300%, and proportional to the size of the microbial biomass P pool before drying, except in sediments with much organic carbon (OC). When supplied with a P source (1 mg l^-1) and then simultaneously with a C source (glucose, 100 mg l^-1), all sediment behaved similarly and biotic sorption accounted for, on average, 27 and 34% of the total sediment uptake, respectively (maximum of 58%). The quantity of P taken up was related to the initial size of the microbial biomass P pool, and the availability of P as influenced by organic P complexes and OC. The sediment microbial biomass represents a transient, but small store of P could be useful to indicate bioavailable P inputs.     

城市化对水系结构及其连通性的影响——以秦淮河中、下游为例

针对当前城市化所引起水系衰减、河流连通受阻以及由此所引起洪涝与水环境的问题,以秦淮河中、下游为例,选取1979和2006年两期流域遥感影像,分析了城市化影响下的下垫面变化特征;选取1980s和2009年的地形图对河流水系进行提取,借鉴景观生态学中河流廊道空间结构分析方法,通过不同时期水系分级,探讨了城市化对水系结构及其连通性的影响.结果表明:(1)城市化使得2006年城镇用地面积相比1979年增加84.54 km²,增加了9倍多,大量林草地、耕地以及水域转变成城镇用地;(2)河流长度在过去的30年里减少了41%,河道主干化趋势明显;河流发育呈现由多元到单一、由复杂到简单的趋势;(3)连通性参数连接率、实际结合度分别由原来的1.28、0.43下降到0.79、0.26,河流的连通性呈下降趋势.该研究将为城市化地区河流水系保护提供支持与参考.     

Synoptic circulation and stream discharge in the Great Lakes basin, USA

Impacts on water resources caused by human activity, natural climate variation and long-term climate change are unclear in the US Great Lakes region. Improved understanding of the impact of atmospheric circulation on stream discharge variability into the Lakes is thus important. In this analysis, monthly surface and mid-tropospheric circulation patterns suggest that surface pressure variations over Missouri and Illinois are most strongly correlated to discharge. The mid-tropospheric patterns most directly related to discharge place the Great Lakes in a trough-to-ridge flow pattern. The analysis confirms that at this scale, lee shore advection resulting in ‘lake-effect’ precipitation is not very important to regional discharge, and neither are variations in the Pacific–North American teleconnection.     

On the shot-noise streamflow model and its applications

In this paper we consider the shot-noise model of streamflow series. We show how design discharge can be obtained by the stochastic intensity of thinned Poisson processes describing the peaks over a threshold. The main result concerns the stationary distribution of peaks. We derive an explicit expression for this limit distribution in terms of its Laplace transform. Approximation formulas are developed making use of the saddle point method for the asymptotic evaluation of contour integrals and the Post-Widder formula for inversion of Laplace transforms. We illustrate this methods on the case of Gamma-distributed shots. The stationary peak distribution is used to approximate the maximum value distribution for larger time intervals.     

The system of the Milky Way, LMC and SMC

A simple sticky-particle numerical model has been developed in order to check whether extended structures of gas created due to the dynamical evolution of the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds system can be explained as remnants of a tidal interaction. Influence of dissipative nature of gaseous medium has been taken into account. The most remarkable features are: the Magellanic Stream, the common HI envelope surrounding both the LMC and SMC and the bridge extended between the Clouds. In contrast to previous works of Murai and Fujimoto (1980), Gardiner et al. (1994) and H and Rohlfs (1994) no presumptions were done on the actual galactocentric velocities of the Magellanic Clouds. The mean values of the LMC and SMC velocity vectors obtained from the Hipparcos proper motion measurements (Kroupa and Bastian, 1997) were used in order to verify whether they allow to reproduce the observed HI distribution. Numerical simulations showed that tidal forces are really significant for the evolution of extended structures such as the Magellanic Stream but this approach becomes unsufficient for the internal regions of galaxies where self-gravity and dissipative properties of the gas cannot be neglected. More precise proper motion measurements are urgently needed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geochemical mapping using a geomorphologic approach based on catchments

The Extended Sample Catchment Basin (ESCB) mapping technique, discussed in this paper, can be used to display the spatial distribution of geochemical variables measured in stream sediments taking into consideration the geomorphologic settings and the hydrographic patterns of surveyed areas. This approach is based on the association of an area of statistical representativeness with each sample, and on the assumption that the concentrations measured in the stream sediments can be considered as average reference values for this area.ESCBs can be easily identified considering the position of the sampling points within the hydrographic network and using the confluences between the streams of highest rank as break points for representing changes of the geochemical background. This approach, different from the traditional geostatistical and deterministic ones, does not consider the Euclidean distance among the sampling points as a measure of geochemical similarity but only refers to their functional relationship along the streams (following the water and the sediment flow) to measure their proximity.ESCBs can be seen as a specific development of previous techniques based on catchments and proves to be especially useful for supporting land planning in a preliminary survey phase while it is not specifically suitable for the identification of point sources of geochemical anomalies.Due to the fractal nature of the hydrographic network, all the procedures can be driven in a GIS environment by using digital terrain models apart from their spatial resolution.     

Determining the seasonality of groundwater recharge using water isotopes: a case study from the upper North Han River basin,Korea

The stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen were used to determine the seasonal contributions of precipitation to groundwater recharge at a forested catchment area in the upper North Han River basin, Korea. A comparison of the stable isotopic signatures of groundwater and precipitation indicates that the precipitations which occurred during both the dry and rainy seasons are the important source of groundwater recharge in this region. A stable isotopic signature shown in the stream waters at the upstream reaches is similar to that of groundwaters, indicating that stream waters are mostly fed by groundwater discharge. Reservoir waters in the downstream flood control dams have lower deuterium excess values or d-values compared with those of the upstream waters, indicating a secondary evaporative enrichment. These results can provide a basis for the effective management of groundwater and stream water resources in the North Han River basin.