Human disturbance and trophic status changes in Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, USA

The paleolimnology (sediment chemistry, ²¹⁰Pb dating, pollen, and diatoms) of Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, USA was studied to investigate the impact of European settlement on lake trophic status. Pollen clearly indicates a vegetational shift from Quercus dominance to Ambrosia. ²¹⁰Pb dating suggests that the Ambrosia rise likely occurs around the 1840's, which is consistent with historical records on the European settlement in this area. Coincident with the vegetational shifts, several diatom species, Cyclotella meneghiniana, Fragilaria crotenensis, Asterionella formosa and Tabellaria fenestrata, all increase while C. comta decreases after the settlement. However, C. comta and Aulacoseira ambigua, two dominant species, remain abundant throughout the entire core. Their relative abundances at the surface sediments reach presettlement levels. It is hypothesized that Crystal Lake, a glacial lake rich in CaCO₃, may have been able to assimilate increases of phosphorus by coprecipitating phosphorus with CaCO₃. Such a 'buffering mechanism may be responsible for the lake's resistance to trophic changes or recovery following disturbance.     

Benthic macrofauna–habitat associations in Willapa Bay, Washington, USA

Estuary-wide benthic macrofauna–habitat associations in Willapa Bay, Washington, United States, were determined for 4 habitats (eelgrass [Zostera marina], Atlantic cordgrass [Spartina alterniflora], mud shrimp [Upogebia pugettensis], ghost shrimp [Neotrypaea californiensis]) in 1996 and 7 habitats (eelgrass, Atlantic cordgrass, mud shrimp, ghost shrimp, oyster [Crassostrea gigas], bare mud/sand, subtidal) in 1998. Most benthic macrofaunal species inhabited multiple habitats; however, 2 dominants, a fanworm, Manayunkia aestuarina, in Spartina, and a sand dollar, Dendraster excentricus, in subtidal, were rare or absent in all other habitats. Benthic macrofaunal Bray–Curtis similarity varied among all habitats except eelgrass and oyster. There were significant differences among habitats within- and between-years on several of the following ecological indicators: mean number of species (S), abundance (A), biomass (B), abundance of deposit (AD), suspension (AS), and facultative (AF) feeders, Swartz's index (SI), Brillouin's index (H), and jackknife estimates of habitat species richness (HSR). In the 4 habitats sampled in both years, A was about 2.5× greater in 1996 (a La Niña year) than 1998 (a strong El Niño year) yet relative values of S, A, B, AD, AS, SI, and H among the habitats were not significantly different, indicating strong benthic macrofauna–habitat associations despite considerable climatic and environmental variability. In general, the rank order of habitats on indicators associated with high diversity and productivity (high S, A, B, SI, H, HSR) was eelgrass = oyster ≥ Atlantic cordgrass ≥ mud shrimp ≥ bare mud/sand ≥ ghost shrimp = subtidal. Vegetation, burrowing shrimp, and oyster density and sediment %silt + clay and %total organic carbon were generally poor, temporally inconsistent predictors of ecological indicator variability within habitats. The benthic macrofauna–habitat associations in this study can be used to help identify critical habitats, prioritize habitats for environmental protection, index habitat suitability, assess habitat equivalency, and as habitat value criteria in ecological risk assessments in Willapa Bay.     

近海陆架硅藻古生态研究

对大陆架及沿岸地区现代硅藻生态组划分、近百年来陆架海和沿海以及第四纪时期的陆架地区硅藻的国内外研究进行了综述,并着重探讨了研究中存在的一些问题。由于陆架地区水动力较强、沉积环境复杂,海洋硅藻的保存问题是研究陆架地区的重要限制因子,硅藻的保存主要受到破碎和溶蚀作用的影响,在未来的研究中可以与生物标记物和分子研究进行学科交叉结合。同时,硅藻古生态研究中大量转换函数的应用也存在较多问题,包括假设的硅藻组合对关键环境因子的线性响应、关键环境因子以及其他环境变量对硅藻组合的影响不随时间和空间发生变化等。因此,在未来转换函数的应用中需要更加谨慎,结合多指标综合分析的方法,以期获得较为可信的环境重建结果。     

Estimation of surface chlorophyll on an exposed mudflat using digital colour-infrared (CIR) photography

The usefulness of field-based digital Colour-InfraRed (CIR) photography to quantify concentrations of chlorophyll on the surface of exposed mudflats is investigated. Multiple images, each 626 mm by 467 mm, were acquired during Austral summertime using a Duncantech three-band CIR camera from two areas of mudflat in the upper reaches of Sydney Harbour. Sediment samples were obtained from within the field of view of the camera and their chlorophyll concentration was estimated spectrophotometrically. After the camera images were normalised to compensate for the effects of variations in the intensity of downwelling solar radiation, chlorophyll was estimated for each 0.9 mm square pixel using a suite of five different vegetation indices. Regression analysis was used to determine the strength of the relationship between the index values and the estimates of chlorophyll from the in situ samples. Indices constructed from near-infrared and red bands were found to have the strongest relationships with in situ chlorophyll estimates (R² ranging from 0.28 to 0.79) and indices derived from near-infrared and green bands the weakest (R² ranging from 0.16 to 0.22). The vegetation indices highlighted complex small-scale variability in chlorophyll distribution that was not evident in the original camera images. These findings indicate that field-based CIR photography will provide a useful tool for the non-destructive determination of benthic chlorophyll.     

A Benthic Terrain Classification Scheme for American Samoa

Coral reef ecosystems, the most varied on earth, continually face destruction from anthropogenic and natural threats. The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force seeks to characterize and map priority coral reef ecosystems in the U.S./Trust Territories by 2009. Building upon NOAA Biogeography shallow-water classifications based on Ikonos imagery, presented here are new methods, based on acoustic data, for classifying benthic terrain below 30 m, around Tutuila, American Samoa. The result is a new classification scheme for American Samoa that extends and improves the NOAA Biogeography scheme, which, although developed for Pacific island nations and territories, is only applicable to a maximum depth of 30 m, due to the limitations of satellite imagery. The scheme may be suitable for developing habitat maps pinpointing high biodiversity around coral reefs throughout the western Pacific.     

Diet and food resource partitioning in koaro,Galaxias brevipinnis (Günther), and juvenile rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss (Richardson), in two Taupo streams,New Zealand

This study examined the diet of sympatric populations of migratory juvenile rainbow trout and landlocked koaro in the Waipehi and Omori Streams, Lake Taupo, New Zealand. In both species, diet was dominated, both numerically and by weight, by aquatic prey: Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, and Diptera larvae were the most numerous prey items. Adult koaro and juvenile rainbow trout both fed on small koaro. Terrestrial prey items were present in low numbers in the diets of both koaro and juvenile rainbow trout, but were more important in terms of weight. Resource partitioning was weak although koaro consumed more small benthic invertebrates such as chironomid larvae, whereas the diet of rainbow trout contained more Ephemeroptera larvae and terrestrial insects. In the Waipehi Stream, koaro consumed both rainbow trout ova and koaro ova; in Omori Stream, trout ova were important in the diet of juvenile rainbow trout. Since the diets of koaro and juvenile rainbow trout in some Taupo tributaries are similar, populations may co‐exist by temporal and/or spatial partitioning of food resources, whereas trout predation on small koaro may be a limiting factor for koaro populations.     

Water Flow, Trophic Depletion, and Benthic Macrofauna Impoverishment in a Submarine Cave from the Western Mediterranean

Abstract. Biotic zonation and severe impoverishment of benthic macrofauna are two of the most conspicuous features of submarine caves. The prevailing explanation assumes trophic depletion caused by reduction of water flow. However, no isolation of water was found in the studied Catalan submarine cave, even in the wall microlayer. Fluorescein diffusion was so fast that it was detectable everywhere in the cave already only a few minutes after the injection. The rate of dissolution of plaster spheres was even greater in the cave than in a nearby tunnel – without benthic macrofauna impoverishment – showing a considerable water flow. The oxygen concentration of water in dialysis bags placed at varying distances from the cave walls showed that no wall microlayer gradients were present.
Biochemical gradients did not indicate any decrease in food supply. Although photosynthetic pigment concentration generally decreased inside the cave, and although the gradients were not linear but formed different patterns throughout the cave, the BOD₅, the POM, the C:N ratio, the [³H]-thymidine incorporation rate, and the ETS activity were higher in the inner part of the cave. There was an accumulation of detritic material and bacteria in the inner parts that constitute a plausible food supply for benthic macrofauna.
If neither water motion nor food supply can be invoked, research into the causes of zonation and disappearence of benthic macrofauna is proposed to be carried out on biotic interactions and behavioural processes.     

30~10 ka云南高山湖泊高分辨率生物记录与气候突变事件

通过对云南泸沽湖高分辨率沉积指标序列（硅藻、枝角类和孢粉）的对比分析,初步揭示了水生生物（硅藻、枝角类和水生孢粉）对末次冰盛期期间气候变化的快速响应过程。结果表明,硅藻群落组成首先响应末次冰盛期时期的开始变冷,枝角类滞后,水生孢粉则表现为渐进的响应过程。然而,泸沽湖沉积硅藻记录对末次冰期以来的短时间尺度气候快速变化的Heinrich和新仙女木事件并未有响应,揭示气候事件判别的准确性取决于指标直接响应气候的特征以及多指标的综合对比。综合西南季风区云南不同海拔湖泊沉积记录（硅藻、孢粉、摇蚊等）获得的2万年以来数据及序列表明,末次冰期千年尺度的气候突变事件（Heinrich 1、Bølling/Allerød暖期和新仙女木YD冷事件）在整个西南季风系统中都有反映,且气候事件变化区间及幅度存在区域差异,其根本原因是受不同气候系统、复杂地形（青藏高原）的制约。

     

辽东半岛大孤山一带沟谷埋藏泥炭的硅藻组合以及 古环境和全新世最高海平面*

在辽东半岛东部的大孤山一带,面向海岸平原的沟谷埋藏泥炭十分发育。通过对11个沟谷进行钻孔调查,确认了在被切割的丘陵台地的沟谷中,埋藏泥炭广泛地发育在海拔\{2~\}10余米的不同高度; 并对钻孔样品做硅藻分析,明确了基底海拔高度在\{4~\}2m的泥炭层之下的沉积物为海生种硅藻占优势的海相层,因而取得了海水广泛侵入大洋河平原并直达沟谷深处的微体古生物方面的证据。进一步对3个代表性的小沟谷平原从沟头到沟口连续钻孔取样以及地质剖面分析,研究沟谷埋藏泥炭在横向上的分布特征表明:沟谷埋藏泥炭是全新世高海面期以后,随着海水的退却而形成的沼泽和湖沼等环境下的溺谷型泥炭; 位于沟谷中沟头位置的海拔4m左右的泥炭底部的标高,大致代表了该区全新世最高海面期海水(平均高潮线)曾达到的位置和高度,其泥炭在沟头开始形成的时期大致代表该区全新世最高海平面期; 研究区约\{6000~\}5500年前达到全新世最高海面,当时海面高度比现在约高出1.7m。     

渤海湾西北岸中全新世埋藏牡蛎礁的硅藻记录及古环境意义

通过对渤海湾西北岸大吴庄牡蛎礁壳体内部的泥质填充物中硅藻组合的研究,试图探讨该区沉积硅藻组合变化指示的礁体古气候环境变化.分析结果表明,在 7 200～5 600 cal. a BP 整个礁体建造期间,沿岸种 Cyclotella stylorum 是含量最丰富的硅藻种类,其与海水种 Thalassionema nitzschioides 的含量变化指示了礁体生长区河流径流与海水相互作用的强弱波动,主要包括三个阶段:7 200～6 500 cal. a BP,礁体建造初期,礁体受海水影响显著;6 500～5 720 cal. a BP,礁体建造中期,礁体生长区的盐度降低,海水作用减弱,淡水作用增强;5 720～5 600 cal.a BP,礁体建造结束期,礁体生长区的盐度显著降低,礁体受海水影响进一步减弱.