广州大学城湾咀头湿地保护与生态恢复研究

分析了广州大学城湾咀头湿地现状,研究了其湿地保护与生态恢复工程,旨在通过有效措施保护湿地鸟类、提升湿地生物多样性、净化区域珠江水质,形成集湿地保护、生态恢复和自然观赏于一体的广州特色湿地。     

A Review of the Tetrapod Track Record in China,with Special Reference to Type Ichnospecies:Implications for Ichnotaxonomy and Paleobiology

<正>"Splitting" and "lumping" are perpetual problems in vertebrate,especially dinosaur, ichnotaxonomy.Chinese dinosaur ichnotaxonomy,which began in 1940,provides a series of interesting case studies,highlighting the dual problems of historical and dubious ichnotaxonomy. Chinese Mesozoic tetrapod track types have been placed into 63 ichnospecies(one Triassic,28 Jurassic,and 34 Cretaceous),exclusive of other,non-type ichnospecies or ichnotaxa identified from China.Fifty-two(～83%) of these 63 tetrapod ichnospecies were placed in monospecific ichnogenera. At the ichnogenus level,we prune—either by recognizing nomina dubia or by synonymy—17 from the list of 53 dinosaurian ichnogenera(a 32%reduction),leaving 36 ichnotaxa that we consider valid. Most of the cuts affect Jurassic theropod ichnotaxa,which are reduced from 23 to only nine because most ichnogenera are subjective junior synonyms of Grallator and Eubrontes.Fewer Chinese Cretaceous ichnotaxa(only six of 21 ichnogenera) are obvious nomina dubia or subjective synonyms, suggesting greater east Asian endemism during this time.Because ichnospecies differences are subtle, we provisionally retain ichnospecies as valid pending detailed comparative analyses of congeneric ichnospecies.This synthesis is long overdue and is necessary to address problems of historical and provincial ichnotaxonomy,which severely hamper comparisons of tetrapod ichnofaunas in space and time.     

Temporal variability in predator presence around a fin fish farm in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Recently, aquaculture has generated worldwide interest as a result of the overexploitation of wild stocks combined with a growing international demand for fish and seafood products. Wild fish attracted to the marine fish farms, together with the presence of the farmed fish, are powerful attractants to predators that normally feed on similar or identical fish stocks in nature. This 9‐year study describes for the first time in Mediterranean waters the temporal variability of mammalian and avian predators in a coastal fin fish farm. In all, 99 months (1062 days during 36 consecutive seasons) were spent in the field. By examining the results of this study, it is clear that species as seagulls, shags, bottlenose dolphins and grey herons (considered to cause economic loss in aquaculture owing to direct predation) interact regularly with the fish farm. Although bottlenose dolphins and grey herons were not the most important of all predator species, predatory interactions with the fish farm occurred with what seems to be increasing regularity. Another result observed is the possible bottlenose dolphins’ attraction caused by the harvesting operations in the fish farm. The fish farm offers an alternative food source for predators; hunting at fish farms usually requires less effort on the part of the predator, and becomes a more attractive option than hunting wild fish over wide ranges. During the period of this study, individually identified dolphins feeding were regularly observed feeding on discarded fish from fish farm workers during harvesting operations, supporting the possibility that some individuals are habituated to this food supply. Based on the evidence presented in this paper, it is recommended that strategies for the management of both the aquaculture industry and marine mammal populations should take the results of this study into consideration.     

Effects of laughing gull and shorebird predation on the intertidal fauna at Cape May,New Jersey

The intertidal flats of the Cape May, New Jersey shore of Delaware Bay are populated by large numbers of laughing gulls and migrating shorebirds during the spring and early summer. Exclusion of birds from a shallow slough and a sand bar had only minor effects on the infaunal benthic invertebrate assemblage at either site. The Cape May beaches provide a rich source of food in the form of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs; foraging on this item may be more profitable than probing the sediment for infauna. Gemma gemma, a small, thick-shelled bivalve, composed over 98% of the benthic infauna at both sites in 1980, and this species may be resistant to predation by certain shorebirds, as suggested by Schneider (1978).     

兴凯湖湿地保护区鸟类多样性调查

黑龙江兴凯湖国家级自然保护区位于黑龙江省东部。地理位置为131°58′30″～133°07′30″E,45°01′～45°34′30″N。总面积为222488hm2。其中水域面积为1370km2,沼泽面积为300km2。采用样点、样线调查法和总数量调查法,从2003年3月10日至6月2日共历时73d,对保护区鸟类种类、数量、分布及资源现状进行了全面调查。共观察统计到鸟类7目32科123种,总数量达77万只。其中辨别出种类的为90000多只,未辨别出种类的鸭类60多万只,雁类8万多只;有13种为保护区新记录。为保护区进行鸟类管理及保护提供了科学依据。     

Patterns of Avian Population Density,Habitat Use,and Flocking Behavior in Urban and Rural Habitats During Winter*

This study examined the use of urban and rural habitats by woodland bird species in winter in the vicinity of Athens, Georgia, USA. Population densities of most species on urban sites were either comparable to or greater than those on rural sites, and most species were flexible in their habitat use patterns. On urban sites, only the golden-crowned kinglet consistently avoided vegetation that had been opened either by felling trees or clearing undergrowth. Nuthatches and chickadees flocked together less often at urban than at rural sites.     

A SYNOPTIC CLIMATOLOGY OF MOISTURE STRESS GRADIENTS IN THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES REGION

Surface pressure distributions and 500 millibar flow patterns are identified for summer season days with a moisture stress gradient across the western Great Lakes region that may be related to the location of the prairie-forest ecotone. Results indicate that days with moisture stress gradients are a characteristic feature of the summer climate in the area and that these days are associated with unique, nonrandom groupings of mid-tropospheric flow patterns. SW-NE and W-E stress gradients, those that appear to contribute most to defining and reinforcing the location of the ecotone, occur most frequently, and the modal 500-mb flow direction for these transect groups, an azimuth of 290°, is the same as the mode for the entire population of summer season flow directions. We conclude that the modal mid-tropospheric circulation of the summer season plays a significant role in determining the surface weather conditions that regulate the most common moisture stress patterns within the western Great Lakes region.     

Distribution of trace elements in subcellular fractions of three aquatic birds

This study investigated the subcellular distribution of Cu, Zn, Cd and Ag in liver of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), spot-billed duck (A. poecilorhyncha) and great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) to better understand metal fractionation and dynamics in avian liver. Most of the total Cu, Zn, Cd and Ag were present in hepatocytosol, and their concentrations increased with total hepatic levels in all the three avian species. Copper, Zn and Cd in hepatocytosol were present mostly in metallothionein fractions (MTs), and Cu and Cd contents in this fraction were positively correlated with hepatocytosol levels in all the species. Silver was observed mostly in both high-molecular weight and MT fractions in hepatocytosol in mallard and great cormorant, whereas it was present in both low-molecular weight and MT fractions in spot-billed duck, suggesting that distribution of Ag in the hepatocytosol was species-specific. The elution profile of metals in MT fractions revealed six metallic peaks in mallard and spot-billed duck, and three peaks in great cormorant, implying the presence of multiple MT isoforms in the liver of these avian species. The present study demonstrated that MTs are closely associated with metal regulation, especially Cu and Cd, in these three aquatic birds.     

Variation in the mobilization of mercury into Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus chicks in coastal saltpans,as revealed by stable isotopes

Causes of variation in mobilization of mercury into Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus chicks were studied through analysis of stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen. Blood and breast feathers were collected from chicks in coastal saltpans during successive breeding seasons. Detritus samples and potential prey (macroinvertebrates) were also collected. Total mercury concentrations and stable isotope signatures were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy and isotope ratio mass spectrometry respectively. Mercury levels in Chironomidae, Corixidae and Hydrophilidae correlated with mercury levels in chick feathers. Differences of δ¹⁵N signatures between macroinvertebrate groups indicated that they belong to different trophic levels. δ¹⁵N signatures of invertebrates correlated with mercury levels in invertebrates and chicks, but not with δ¹⁵N signatures in chicks. Between-group and between-site differences of δ¹⁵N signatures and mercury levels in invertebrates suggested that they contribute differently to mercury mobilization into chicks, and their relative contribution depends on prey availability in each site. Inter-site differences in the biomagnification factor reinforced that idea. δ¹³C signatures in invertebrates marked a larger range of carbon sources than just detritus. Variation of water inflow regime and prey availability may cause between-group and between-site differences of δ¹³C signatures in prey. Discrepancies between feather and blood for δ¹³C signatures in Praias-Sado and Vaia suggested that temporal variation of prey availability may be the main factor affecting mercury mobilization into chicks in both those cases, since their water inflow regimes are the same. The lowest levels of δ¹³C signatures in Vau suggested that water inflow regime may be the main factor in this case, since no discrepancy existed in δ¹³C signatures between blood and feather.     

Methane levels in shallow subtropical lake sediments: Dependence on the trophic status of the lake and allochthonous input

The vertical sediment profiles (10 cm) of the margins of three shallow subtropical lakes (Rio Grande, Brazil) with different trophic states and surrounding areas were evaluated to identify the effects of the allochthonous input on the methane concentration in the sediment. Sediment cores were collected to quantify the organic matter content (OM) and total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP) and methane (CH₄) concentrations.The three lakes were distinguished according to the trophic status and classified as oligotrophic, dystrophic and eutrophic. The natural characteristics of the dystrophic and eutrophic lakes have been changed due to the allochthonous input of leaves and twigs (Eucalyptus sp.) and the excreta of birds, respectively. In the eutrophic lake, the allochthonous input contributed to high autochthonous production. The highest values of OM, TC, TN and TP were found in the superficial sediments of the dystrophic and eutrophic lakes. The accumulation of allochthonous organic matter in the littoral zone promoted changes in the vertical sediment profiles and contributed to increases in the CH₄ concentrations in the sediment.