Invasive Spartina alterniflora-induced factors affecting epibenthos distribution in coastal salt marsh, China

Artificially introduced cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, rapidly colonized the intertidal flats of the Jiangsu coast, eastern China. The epibenthos on an intertidal flat invaded by S. alterniflora were studied, to identify how local epibenthos species react to an altered environment. Epibenthic samples and surficial sediment samples were collected along a shore-normal profile in 50 quadrats at ten stations across the Spartina salt marsh; and five control quadrats for a station located on the barren sandy-mud flat. The grain size parameters of the surficial sediments show that S. alterniflora altered the grain size gradient along the profile of the intertidal zone by trapping fine-grained sediments. Spartina alterniflora could inhabit lower elevations than indigenous salt marsh vegetation, thus creating larger areas of finer surficial sediments, which was suitable for not only native epibenthic species but also species which do not exist on the barren sandy-mud flat. Correlation analyses show that the epibenthos were sensitive to sediment grain size and type, on the invaded S. alterniflora salt marsh. Further, there was an interspecific relationship affecting the distribution of epibenthos. The results show that epibenthos preferred ecological niches, within the Spartina salt marsh, even in the same sampling station.     

福建兴化湾围填海湿地景观生态影响研究

基于遥感与GIS技术,运用景观生态学的原理与方法,选取景观特征指数,通过历史回顾和类比分析,从景观自然性和景观破碎化两个方面,分析了兴化湾围填海工程对湿地景观生态造成的影响及其生态效应.历史上兴化湾围填海工程造成滩涂湿地景观萎缩、景观自然性急剧下降,斑块面积缩小、斑块隔离程度增大、景观破碎化程度加剧;兴化湾围填海规划的实施,将使得兴化湾湿地景观生态人工化与破碎化的趋势进一步加剧,其最终后果将可能导致兴化湾生物多样性下降、生态服务功能严重衰退.     

Distribution and spatial variation of hydrothermal faunal assemblages at Lucky Strike (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) revealed by high-resolution video image analysis

Whilst the fauna inhabiting hydrothermal vent structures in the Atlantic Ocean is reasonably well known, less is understood about the spatial distributions of the fauna in relation to abiotic and biotic factors. In this study, a major active hydrothermal edifice (Eiffel Tower, at 1690 m depth) on the Lucky Strike vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR)) was investigated. Video transects were carried out by ROV Victor 6000 and complete image coverage was acquired. Four distinct assemblages, ranging from dense larger-sized Bathymodiolus mussel beds to smaller-sized mussel clumps and alvinocaridid shrimps, and two types of substrata were defined based on high definition photographs and video imagery. To evaluate spatial variation, faunal distribution was mapped in three dimensions. A high degree of patchiness characterizes this 11 m high sulfide structure. The differences observed in assemblage and substratum distribution were related to habitat characteristics (fluid exits, depth and structure orientation). Gradients in community structure were observed, which coincided with an increasing distance from the fluid exits. A biological zonation model for the Eiffel Tower edifice was created in which faunal composition and distribution can be visually explained by the presence/absence of fluid exits.     

九龙江口鳗苗溯河生态与资源研究

九龙江口Ｌｉ苗１９９４￣１９９６年溯河期为１９９４年１１月２０至１９９５年４月底。１９９５年１２月２０日至１９９６年５月底。鳗苗溯河期水温范围１１．５￣２２．５℃,盐度１．９８￣２５．００,透明度０．２￣１．１ｍ,九龙江口打石坑－嵩屿断面溯河鳗苗资源量１９９５年１９３ｋｇ,１９９６年２０８ｋｇ;海澄断面１９９５年３５ｋｇ,１９９６年５５ｋｇ。     

Geophysiology and Parahistology of the Interactions of Organisms with the Environment*

Abstract. Ecology and Global Ecology (GE) are terms by which the relations between the organism (or living matter as a whole) and the environment (or Earth as a whole) have been treated for almost a century. Geophysiology and Parahistology (PH) are terms slowly replacing older scientific thoughts jointly with an increasing number of modifications and alterations of the Darwinian Evolution (DE) concept. Somehow Geophysiology and Parahistology seem to describe evolution in a non-Darwinian domain. According to V.I. Vernadsky (1929,1930,1988) - the great Russian naturalist and biogeochemist - the biogeochemical processes on Earth are controlled by the force of living matter rather than by species associations developing in and with individual ecosystems as expressed by darwinian evolutionary terms. He also claimed that Goethe was incorrectly regarded as a predecessor of DE by some authors (including Darwin) and that “Natur” (nature) and “Lebendige Natur” (the totality of creatures) are two very different things for Goethe. Detailed analyses of microbial mat systems in the German Wadden Sea and in artificial hypersaline WInogradsky columns have shown that the totality of creatures and matter around them i.e., the “lebendige Natur”sensu Goethe or “living matter”sensu Vernadsky of such environments control to a considerable extent the structure, stability. and (geo-)morphology of sediments and thereby the geological structure of the living Earth. These structures do not follow the rules of sedimentation formulated by the laws of Stokes They represent growth structures (Aufwuchs), whose physics and dynamics are controlled by complex fractal systems. The factors controlling the ultimate shape and stabilisation potential of the eventually resulting rocks and fossils are comparable to tissue development in macroorganisms. Also, certain microbial associations in the sub-recent and in the fossil record may be compared to metazoan tissues. Chemical gradients in the sedimentary column, regulated by the interplay of living matter and sluggish (slow-reactive to non-reactive) compounds, combine to create a pattern of porosity and structure of the resulting deposits that clearly indicates microbial influences and especially those of extracellular polymeric substances on the morphology and texture. The combined effects of microbiota or living matter on the sedimentary record are described as parahistology of sediments in analogy of the histology of tissue on a geological scale. This conceptual living tissue made up of microbially generated rocks and ore deposits cycled through metabolic processes and forced into tissue-like structures by microbial biofilms and mats may extend down to the upper mantle of Earth and far up into the stratosphere when Earth is regarded as a living entity over geological periods. We may have to conceive Earth as a living specimen, which is breathing at a frequency of thousands of years instead of the normal physiological breathing rate of man or an insect. Macroorganisms in all terrestrial systems represent the transport and logistic media, which, however, utterly depend on myriads of intra-, inter-, and extracellular microbial symbiotic partners.     

鱼类摄食生态研究的理论及方法

综合分析了鱼类摄食生态研究的理论，方法及其应用中的诸多问题：胃含物分析法，营养生境及食物重叠，食物链与食物网，营养结构与营养级，摄食器官的形态特征与摄食行为的关系，食物选择以及生理生太因子对鱼类摄食的影响；提出了食物排序的概念、优势度指数Ｄ及其判定公式，并以此比较客观地建立了摄食生态相似的鱼类群落主次食物的划分标准。     

Ex situ cultivation of Aplysinaaerophoba close to in situ conditions: ecological, biochemical and histological aspects

Sponges provide the largest number of biologically active natural products known from the marine environment and continue to be a very well studied phylum of marine fauna. The Mediterranean sponge Aplysina aerophoba accumulates brominated isoxazoline alkaloids such as Aplysinamisin-1, Aerophobin-2, Isofistularin-3 and the biotransformation product Aeroplysinin-1, which possesses, for example, antibiotic and cytotoxic properties. Until now, it is still being discussed which organisms – the sponge itself or associated microorganisms – are responsible for metabolite production. For cultivating Aplysina individuals under ex situ conditions, we surveyed relevant ecological factors in situ and controlled them in our aquarium system. We maintained A. aerophoba for more than 9 months and analysed changes of metabolite content and composition, microbial association as well as morphology in situ and ex situ under different light exposure. Although sponges showed slight reduction during maintenance, ex situ cultivation similar to in situ conditions provides a promising method to keep sponges and obtain their bioactive metabolites.     

Biogeographic assessments: A framework for information synthesis in marine spatial planning

This paper presents the Biogeographic Assessment Framework (BAF), a decision support process for marine spatial planning (MSP), developed through two decades of close collaborations between scientists and marine managers. Spatial planning is a considerable challenge for marine stewardship agencies because of the need to synthesize information on complex socio-ecological patterns across geographically broad spatial scales. This challenge is compounded by relatively short time-frames for implementation and limited financial and technological resources. To address this pragmatically, BAF provides a rapid, flexible and multi-disciplinary approach to integrate geospatial information into formats and visualization tools readily useable for spatial planning. Central to BAF is four sequential components: (1) Planning; (2) Data Evaluation; (3) Ecosystem Characterization; and (4) Management Applications. The framework has been applied to support the development of several marine spatial plans in the United States and Territories. This paper describes the structure of the BAF framework and the associated analytical techniques. Two management applications are provided to demonstrate the utility of BAF in supporting decision making in MSP.     

Population connectivity of an overexploited coastal fish,Argyrosomus coronus (Sciaenidae), in an ocean-warming hotspot

The West Coast dusky kob Argyrosomus coronus is a commercially exploited fish with a distribution confined to the Angola–Benguela Frontal Zone (ABFZ) of the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. A previous study revealed that during a recent period of local warming the species extended its distribution into Namibian waters, where it hybridised with the resident and congeneric Argyrosomus inodorus. Environmental changes are a major threat to marine biodiversity and when combined with overfishing have the potential to accelerate the decline of species. However, little is known regarding the evolutionary history and population structure of A. coronus across the ABFZ. We investigated genetic diversity, population structure and historical demographic changes using mtDNA control region sequences and genotypes at six nuclear microsatellite loci, from 180 individuals. A single, genetically homogeneous population was indicated across the distributional range of A. coronus (φ_ST = 0.041, F_ST = 0.000, D = 0.000; p > 0.05). These findings imply that the oceanographic features within the ABFZ do not appear to significantly influence population connectivity in A. coronus, which simplifies management of the species. However, reconstruction of the demographic history points to a close link between the evolutionary history of A. coronus and the environmental characteristics of the ABFZ. This outcome suggests the species’ vulnerability to the rapid environmental changes being observed across this region, and highlights a pressing need for transboundary management to mitigate the impacts of climate change in this global hotspot of seawater temperature changes.     

基于生态足迹的近海坛紫菜养殖可持续发展评估——以福建晋江为例

紫菜养殖业是福建传统近海渔业养殖类型,具有很高的经济收益.采用生态足迹成分法对晋江近海紫菜养殖生态足迹和生态足迹指数进行了估算,以评估其可持续发展程度.结果表明,2015年该海区紫菜养殖生态足迹为197.313 ghm2,其中人工、能源、基建是对生态足迹贡献的主要因素,相比于鱼和虾的精养、半精养的水产养殖模式,紫菜养殖无需投入饲料,对环境的压力较小.紫菜养殖人均生态足迹为0.009 ghm2/人,生态足迹指数为76.76%,是一种"绿色化"的强可持续发展养殖模式.依据受损和未受损两种情况对生态补偿政策提出建议,需要市场、政府两种转移支付手段配合使用,通过具体措施鼓励和促进紫菜可持续发展模式的发展和优化.