Fish assemblages and rapid colonization after enlargement of an artificial reef off the Algarve coast (Southern Portugal)

Artificial reefs (ARs) have been deployed in Algarve (Southern Portugal) coastal waters to contribute to the sustainability of local nearshore fisheries. Herein, we describe the colonization process of the recently deployed Faro/Ancão AR, and assess the time until the fish assemblage reaches stability and their seasonal patterns. In addition, we compare the results from the present study with those previously reported for an older AR. The fish assemblages were monitored monthly over a 2‐year period by means of visual census. A rapid increase in fish colonization occurred within the first 4 months. After this initial period the assemblage structure showed high similarity (> 73%). The high rate of colonization of the AR was related to the maturity already achieved by the nearby 14‐year‐old AR and to the fish migration from the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nearby nursery habitat. The reef fish assemblage structure showed a seasonal pattern, mainly associated with recruitment episodes of occasional demersal species (Boops boops, Trachurus trachurus and Pagellus spp.) in spring and summer. A total of 66% of the species found in AR are of commercial and recreational importance. The overall mean density and biomass were 2.8 ind·m^?3 and 207 g·m^?3. The occasional demersal species accounted for 42% of the fish density. The most important species in terms of biomass belong to the Sparidae family along with Dicentrarchus labrax. The fish assemblage of the new ARs showed higher mean number of species, diversity, density and biomass values than those reported for the older AR. This result was associated with enlargement of the AR area and with the fishing exploitation of the isolated, small and patchy old AR. Moreover, the high biomass values recorded in the new ARs were mainly due to the increased density of D. labrax after AR enlargement. The results of the present study are used to define guidelines for suitable management strategies for the AR areas that are exploited by the local commercial and recreational fisheries.     

基于淡水蚌类的生物学特征预测种群局部定居率和灭绝率--以鄱阳湖为例

淡水蚌类是全球最受威胁的动物群之一.加强淡水蚌类灭绝机制的研究,对促进野生淡水蚌类生物多样性的保护和管理具有重要的意义.淡水蚌类具有独特的生活史,发育过程中的钩介幼虫必须依赖于宿主鱼才能完成变态发育.淡水蚌局部种群之间的交流是通过宿主鱼的迁移和幼虫漂流来实现的.通过对鄱阳湖12个采样地点调查,计算了39种淡水蚌的局部定居率和灭绝率,利用一般线性模型,通过比较最低赤池信息准则和许瓦兹贝叶斯准则来评估淡水蚌类的8个生物学特征对预测种群局部定居率和灭绝率的可行性.结果表明:淡水蚌类的生物学特征与局部定居率和灭绝率存在相关性,可以用来预测种群局部定居和灭绝,其中种群结构和繁殖时期这两个生物学特征是预测局部定居率的最佳组合模型,分布密度、繁殖能力、保护现状和运动能力是预测局部灭绝率的最佳结合模型.就鄱阳湖淡水蚌类而言,局部灭绝率显著超过局部定居率,表明局部种群隔离程度正在加重,面临着严重的种群灭绝危机.     

Comparison of two sampling methods when studying periphyton colonization in Lam Tsuen River, Hong Kong, China

We used standard periphyton samplers to examine the colonization pattern of periphytic algae on artificial substrates (glass slides) in Lam Tsuen River, Hong Kong, in dry (winter) and wet (summer) seasons. In each season, six replicated slides were retrieved randomly and replaced by new slides at weekly intervals over a period of 6 weeks. We thus obtained two batches of slides, both with a series of different exposure times (1 to 6 weeks): one batch was set up at the same time (start of the sampling) and the other was harvested at the same time (end of the sampling). Changes in taxonomic composition, species diversity (Shannon-Wiener diversity index), standing crop (in terms of cell density and cell biovolume), and abundance of the abundant algal species were monitored and compared between the two batches of slides. The succession patterns of the periphytic algae were similar between the two batches in each season, while more remarkable differences were observed between the two seasons, suggesting that either batch would be suitable for a colonization study of periphytic algae. The cell density was dominated by diatoms in both seasons, while the cell biovolume was dominated by diatoms in winter and by green algae in summer. The cell density and biovolume attributed to blue green algae was relatively small. Most of the diatom species exhibited similar colonization patterns throughout the experiment, while green algae showed different succession patterns in different seasons or sampling methods, indicating that diatoms are better bio-indicators than green algae for a periphyton colonization study. In general, the diversity indices and the standing crops reached their maximums at around week 4, and they were higher in summer than in winter.     

Assessment of the effectiveness of natural coral fragmentation as a dispersal mechanism for coral reef‐boring sponges

Eastern Pacific reefs are mostly made up of interlocking coral branches of Pocillopora, which are easily broken by physical forces associated with heavy swells and winds. In this study we investigated the potential of these coral fragments to enable propagation of boring sponges. For this, we quantified the frequency of occurrence and diversity of boring sponges in fragments of corals recently trapped among the branches of live colonies, and later tested the hypothesis that these sponges colonize new branches of corals. Nearly 80% of the coral colonies investigated had coral fragments among their branches, and 69% of these coral fragments contained boring sponges (11 species), some of these sponges in reproduction (23% of them carried oocytes). To test whether sponges inhabiting coral fragments could colonize new branching corals we transplanted them to healthy branches, and to branches whose living tissue was mechanically eliminated to simulate damage produced by grazing and death after bleaching and other causes of coral tissue mortality. All the transplanted coral fragments cemented to each new colony by means of calcification, and of the three sponge species tested (Cliona vermifera, Cliona tropicalis and Thoosa mismalolli) only C. vermifera was able to colonize both new living branches (26.9%) and cleaned branches (65.5%). The apparent capability of C. vermifera to colonize by direct contact may be another key ability of this species to maintain high frequency of occurrence in Pacific coral reefs. However, although C. tropicalis and T. mismalolli were not able to colonize new coral substrata by direct contact, coral fragments have the potential to contribute to local persistence of these sponges and to their dispersal, both by asexual (fragments) and sexual means (transport of sexual products). The present findings may partly explain the current increase of excavating sponges on deteriorating reefs with a large availability of dead branching corals.     

Use of colonization baskets for the investigation of disturbance phenomena in streams under model conditions

Seminatural substrates were used to mimic conditions of a denuded stream bed after a substrate-moving spate. For this purpose gravel-filled wire baskets were placed on the sediment surface of the Ilm river (Thuringia, Germany). Invertebrates colonized these structures very rapidly. The results indicate that resilience of the stream benthos after physical disturbances, such as spates is high. Colonization patterns of numerous taxa differed significantly between summer and winter exposures. Seasonally varying colonization rates indicate that the disturbance response of taxa varies throughout the year and throughout the life cycle of lotic invertebrates. If these changes are correlated with seasonal discharge dynamics, they can be interpreted as an adjustment to the disturbance regime. Findings are discussed in regard to the practicability of small-scale experiments for the investigation of disturbance phenomena in streams.     

THE ODYSSEY OF JAPANESE COLONISTS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC*

ABSTRACT. In an agreement formalized with the Japanese government in 1956, Generalissimo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina of the Dominican Republic extended an offer of refuge for Japanese immigrants seeking to improve their fortunes in the late 1950s by taking up residence in Trujillo's vaunted “Paradise of the Caribbean.” The provision of sites ultimately unfavorable for colonization, lack of infrastructure, failure of the Japanese government to address the complaints of the colonists, and political instability within the Dominican Republic led to the abandonment of five of the eight colonies. By 1962 only 276 of the 1,319 original colonists remained; the rest had either returned to Japan or sought refuge in South America. Although the fortunes of these Japanese families fell far short of their expectations, Trujillo could hardly have envisioned the contributions to Dominican society to be made by their descendants. The experiences of this relatively small number of migrants reflect the difficulties encountered when racial and geopolitical concerns take precedence over judicious plans for colonization.     

印度洋-西太平洋海洋动物谱系地理演化格局

印度洋和西太平洋海域,拥有大量浅海大陆架、边缘海和岛屿,孕育了全球最丰富的初级生产力和渔业资源,尤其是作为该区域陆源物质输入、两大洋能量汇聚中心和生物多样性中心的东印度三角,在全球海洋生物分布和进化中扮演了重要角色.本文结合物理海洋和化学海洋环境,通过线粒体基因和核基因等分子标记研究结果,归纳分析了印度洋和西太平洋区域...     

Colonization process by macrobenthic infauna after a managed coastal realignment in the Bidasoa estuary (Bay of Biscay, NE Atlantic)

The colonization process by macrobenthic infauna after the completion of managed realignment on the fertile plain of Jaitzubia, along the Bidasoa estuary, is assessed here. The benthic invertebrate fauna was sampled annually for three years in the newly recovered intertidal areas. The results show a rapid colonization process. Six months after the completion of the restoration works, all the stations exhibited a large number of small opportunistic benthic species, as well as some large individuals of Hediste diversicolor, that dominated the biomass of the community. One year later, a new stage of development or succession towards the settlement of the Scrobicularia plana–Cerastoderma edule community was observed, showing a reduction of both abundance and species richness, and an increase in biomass, mainly due to the presence of individuals of S. plana (which were absent previously). The following year, a further reduction in the abundance and number of species was observed, as well as an increase in biomass, but on this occasion S. plana was the main contributor to community biomass. Evidence of the importance of passive or active dispersion in the adult stage of the species H. diversicolor and S. plana in the recovery process was also observed.