Changes in the patterns of inorganic nitrogen and TN/TP ratio and the associated mechanism of biological regulation in the shallow lakes of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

The changes of NH3-N, NO3-N, NO2-N and TN/TP were studied during growth and non-growth season in 33 subtropical shallow lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. There were significant positive correlations among all nutrient concentrations, and the correlations were better in growth season than in non-growth season. When TP>0.1 mgL-1, NH3-N increased sharply in non-growth season with increasing TP, and NO3-N increased in growth season but decreased in non-growth season with TP. These might be attributed to lower dissolved oxygen and low temperature in non-growth season of the hypereutrophic lakes, since nitrification is more sensitive to dissolved oxygen and temperature than antinitrification. When 0.1 mgL-1>TP>0.035 mgL-1, TN and all kinds of inorganic nitrogen were lower in growth season than in non-growth season, and phytoplank-ton might be the vital regulating factor. When TP<0.035 mgL-1, inorganic nitrogen concentrations were relatively low and NH3-N, NO2-N had significant correlations with phytoplankton, indicating that NH3-N and NO2-N might be limiting factors to phytoplankton. In addition, TN/TP went down with decline in TP concentration, and TN and inorganic nitrogen concentrations were obviously lower in growth season than in non-growth season, suggesting that decreasing nitrogen (especially NH3-N and NO3-N) was an important reason for the decreasing TN/TP in growth season. The ranges of TN/TP were closely related to trophic level in both growth and non-growth seasons, and it is apparent that in the eutrophic and hypertrophic state the TN/TP ratio was obviously lower in growth season than in non-growth season. The changes of the TN/TP ratio were closely correlated with trophic levels, and both declines of TN in the water column and TP release from the sediment were important factors for the decline of the TN/TP ratio in growth season.     

Tropical high Andes lakes: A limnological survey and an assessment of exotic rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Tropical high Andes lakes are aquatic ecosystems with peculiar limnological characteristics that are related to their geographical location and high altitude, yet they remained understudied. We present the results of a standardized survey of morphometric, physico-chemical and biotic variables in 32 high altitude lakes of the Cordillera del Tunari (Eastern Andes of Bolivia). Based on the variables measured, we identified three lake types. One group of lakes differed from the other lakes by a relatively high pH and biological productivity (as evidenced from higher densities of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish). A second group of lakes consisted of relatively large and deep water bodies with neutral to slightly acid pH and with a relatively high occurrence of the large cladoceran Daphnia pulex. The third group contained relatively small, shallow, and acid lakes with no Daphnia. Rainbow trout occurred in more than half of the lakes and catch yields were very variable. Overall, the abundances of different organism groups tended to be positively associated (e.g. phytoplankton, copepods, rotifers, fish) indicating the existence of a major productivity gradient. We found no negative associations between trout catches and densities of any of the major zooplankton groups, suggesting moderate to low top-down effects of trout on the zooplankton communities.     

An evaluation of the role of daphnids in controlling phytoplankton biomass in clear water versus turbid shallow lakes

Phytoplankton and zooplankton were monitored during 2 years in four eutrophic shallow lakes (two turbid and two clear water) from two wetland reserves in Belgium. In each wetland, phytoplankton biomass was significantly higher in the turbid lake than in the clear water lake. Although total macrozooplankton biomass and the contribution of daphnids to total zooplankton biomass was comparable in the clear water and the turbid lakes, the grazing pressure of macrozooplankton on phytoplankton as estimated from zooplankton to phytoplankton biomass ratios was higher in the clear water lakes. Estimated grazing by daphnids in the clear water lakes was always high in spring. In summer, however, daphnid biomass was low or daphnids were even absent during prolonged periods. During those periods phytoplankton was probably controlled by smaller macrozooplankton or by submerged macrophytes through nutrient competition, allelopathic effects or increased sedimentation rates in the macrophyte vegetation.     

青藏高原近25年来河流、湖泊的变迁及其影响因素

结合20世纪70年代中期的MSS图像和90年代末期的ETM 图像解译,对近25年来青藏高原河流、湖泊的分布现状及其变迁进行了分析。研究表明,青藏高原河流总体上变化不明显,部分地区外流水系个别河段略有摆动,内流水系少数河段发生改道、断流,入湖河流河口段发生延伸、退缩等变化。青藏高原多数天然湖泊变化较大,主要是部分湖泊面积缩小或扩大;少数湖泊解体或归并;有的已干涸的湖泊又重新汇水,有的湖泊则接近干涸。导致河流、湖泊演变的主要影响因素有气温变化、降水变化及冰川变化、气候雪线变化等。     

Circulation in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon using numerical tracers and in situ data

Numerical hydrodynamic models of the northeastern Queensland shelf, forced by regional winds and modelled boundary currents in the northern Coral Sea, are used to provide improved estimates of general flow trajectories and water residence times within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) shelf system. Model performance was checked against a limited set of current metre records obtained at Lark Reef (16°S) and the Ribbon Reefs (15.5°S). Estimates of water parcel trajectories are derived from a series of numerical tracer experiments, with daily releases of neutrally buoyant, un-reactive particles at 320 sites along the coast between Cape York (10.7°S) and Hervey Bay (25°S). Flow trajectories and residence times for tracer particles introduced to the GBR lagoon in the southern—ca. 22°S, central—19°S, and northern reef—14°S are emphasised. For purposes of the analysis, the year was divided into two seasons based on mean alongshore current direction. Most coastal sourced tracers entering the central GBR lagoon between 16° and 20°S during the northward-current season (January–August) primarily encounter the outer-shelf reef matrix after exiting the lagoon at its northern “head” (nominally 16°S), after 50–150 days. Up to 70% of tracer particles entering in the southward-current season (August–December) eventually crossed the lagoon to the outer-shelf reef matrix, with median crossing times between 20 and 330 days. During favourable wind conditions, tracers introduced at the coast may move rapidly across the lagoon into the reef matrix. The tracer experiments indicate that most coastal-sourced tracers entering the GBR lagoon remain near the coast for extended periods of time, moving north and south in a coastal band. Residence times for conservative tracer particles (and implied residence times for water-borne materials) within the GBR shelf system ranged from ca. 1 month to 1 year—time frames that are very long relative to development times of planktonic larvae and cycling times for nutrient materials in the water column, implying they are transformed long before reaching the outer reef matrix.     

Influence of the turbulence closure scheme on the finite-element simulation of the upwelling in the wake of a shallow-water island

A three-dimensional finite-element model is used to investigate the tidal flow around Rattray Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Field measurements and visual observations show both stable eddies developing at rising and falling tide in the wake of the island. The water turbidity suggests intense upwelling able to carry bed sediments upwards. Based on previous numerical studies, it remains unclear at this point whether the most intense upwelling occurs near the centre of the eddies or off the island's tips, closer to the island. All these studies resorted to a very simple turbulence closure, with a zero-equation model whereby the coefficient of vertical viscosity is computed via an algebraic expression. In this work, we aim at studying the influence of the turbulence closure on model results, with emphasis on the prediction of vertical motions. The Mellor and Yamada level 2.5 closure scheme is used and an increase in the intensity of vertical transport is observed. This increase is partly explained by the fact that the Mellor and Yamada model takes into account the hysteresis effect in the time variation of turbulence variables. The influence of the advection of turbulence variables is estimated to be negligible. By a better representation of transient coastal phenomena, the Mellor and Yamada level 2.5 turbulence closure improves the model to a significant degree.     

Temporal relations between meander deformation,water discharge and sediment fluxes in the floodplain of the Rio Beni (Bolivian Amazonia)

The Andean Cordillera and piedmont significantly influence river system and dynamics, being the source of many of the important rivers of the Amazon basin. The Beni River, whose upper sub‐catchments drain the Andean and sub‐Andean ranges, is a major tributary of the Madeira River. This study examines the river in the south‐western Amazonian lowlands of Bolivia, where it develops mobile meanders. Channel migration, meander‐bend morphology and ox‐bow lakes are analysed at different temporal and spatial scales. The first part of this study was undertaken with the aim to link the erosion–deposition processes in the active channel with hydrological events. The quantification of annual erosion and deposition areas shows high inter‐annual and spatial variability. In this study, we investigate the conditions of sediment exportation in the river in relation to three hydrological parameters (flood intensity, date of discharge peak and duration of the bank‐full stage level). The second part of this study, focusing on the abandoned meanders, analyses the cutoff processes and the post‐abandonment evolution during 1967–2001. This approach shows the influence of the active channel behaviour on the sediment diffusion and sequestration of the abandoned meanders and allows us to build a first model of the contemporary floodplain evolution. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.