Is the analysis of plant community structure better than common species-diversity indices for assessing the effects of livestock grazing on a Mediterranean arid ecosystem?

Grazing in arid Mediterranean ecosystems brings about changes in species diversity, but the best way to measure such changes is unclear. In this study we compared various methods in order to identify indicators that might be useful for the management and conservation of grazed arid Mediterranean ecosystems.Changes in community structure and composition were compared along a previously studied grazing gradient in Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park. Plant diversity was measured by calculating diversity (Shannon information index), evenness (Pielou index) and richness (species number). Rarefaction curves were used to measure plant species richness and the results were compared with traditional richness values. Community structure was measured as the percentage of bare ground and the coverage of overall perennial grasses, Stipa tenacissima L., perennial shrubs and annual plants. Our results showed that the proportion of bare ground, the cover of perennial shrubs and the relative abundance of S. tenacissima are good indicators of grazing effects on vegetation. Overall plant community structure was more sensitive to the grazing gradient than were the diversity indices. Finally, the adequacy of standardized methods for comparing species richness (i.e. rarefaction curves) along a grazing gradient are discussed.     

Diversity and large-scale biogeography of Paramesochridae (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) in South Atlantic Abyssal Plains and the deep Southern Ocean

Multicorer samples for meiofaunal study were obtained within the framework of the international project CeDAMar, at 21 stations occupied during the DIVA and ANDEEP campaigns (2000, 2002 and 2005) to the southern Atlantic Ocean (Guinea, Angola and Cape Basins) and the Southern Ocean (Weddell and Scotia Seas), respectively. A total of 311 adult Paramesochridae Lang, 1944 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) was extracted from 437 cores obtained during 83 deployments of the corer at depths between 1107 and 5655 m. All specimens were determined to species based on morphological characteristics. They belonged to 19 species and four genera (Kliopsyllus Kunz, 1962, Leptopsyllus T. Scott, 1894, Paramesochra T. Scott, 1892 and Scottopsyllus Kunz, 1962). Eleven species were restricted to single regions, whereas the others showed a much wider distribution. For example, Kliopsyllus andeep Veit-Köhler, 2004 and Kliopsyllus diva Veit-Köhler, 2005, were both collected from Guinea, Angola and Weddell Abyssal Plains, and Kliopsyllus schminkei Veit-Köhler & Drewes, 2009 occurred in the three West-African basins. This study provides a first insight into the large-scale biogeography of deep-sea harpacticoids, represented by the Paramesochridae, and indicates that distribution ranges, at least in this family, may extend across South Atlantic and Southern Ocean Abyssal Plains.     

ANALYSIS OF HABITAT PATTERN CHANGE OF RED—CROWNED CRANES IN THE LIAOHE DELTA USING SPATIAL DIVERSITY INDEX

1INTRODUCTIONThewildlifehabitatlossandfragmentationhavebeenlinkeddirectlytointensivehumandisturbance.Manyecologistshavefocusedonanalysisofwildlifehabitatpatternchangeandconservationofsuitablehabitat.Ingeneral,landscapepatterniscloselylinkedtoecologi-calfunction,andnumerouspatternindiceshavebeencitedtodescribehabitatpatternandsuitability(FRANKLINandFORMAN,1987;HANSENandURBAN,1992;SCHUMAKER,1996;RIITTERSetal.,1997;PEARSONetal.,1999;CHENetal.,1999).WiththeapplicationofG…     

大兴安岭地幔橄榄岩中熔体的多样性及其成因

本文报道了大兴安岭第四纪火山岩中的地幔橄榄岩中橄榄石、单斜辉石和斜方辉石颗粒内部熔体产状(囊体、包裹体和反应边)和成分(低硅熔体和高硅熔体)的多样性,初步讨论了不同熔体的成因。低硅熔体囊体是在地幔深部玄武岩浆与橄榄岩中单斜辉石发生交代反应的产物,斜方辉石反应边的高硅熔体是橄榄岩被捕获上升过程中玄武岩浆与斜方辉石反应的产物,高硅熔体包裹体是地幔中存在的交代熔体。     

Deep‐Sea Diversity: Overlooked Messages from Shallow‐Water Sediments

Abstract. Much of the discussion of high deep‐sea diversity has assumed that asymmetric inter‐specific competition will rapidly lead to the elimination of many species unless restrained by extensive differentiation of niches, or the action of predation and/or environmental disturbance. This is true for some habitats, including rocky shores. However, experimental studies indicate that marine soft sediment communities do not function like this. In shallow‐water sediments, competition is usually symmetric and relatively weak. Asymmetric competition that leads to the elimination of one species by another on time scales shorter than one generation is rare, apart from interactions that involve large‐scale modification or disturbance of the sediment. Competition is therefore relatively unimportant as a process structuring communities and the impact of predation is usually to reduce rather than enhance diversity. These results have been largely ignored by the literature on deep‐sea diversity. If deep‐sea communities function in similar ways, coexistence of many species within small areas on short time scales does not need further explanation. We do , however, need to explain why abundances of all species remain bounded on large spatial scales and time scales of several generations. The model of diversity maintenance proposed by Huston (1979) and applied to the deep sea by Rex (1983) achieves this by implicit intra‐specific, density‐dependent processes that increase the population growth rate of species that have become locally rare. This would give robust maintenance of diversity, but there is no evidence for density dependence of this type in the deep sea, and no plausible mechanisms by which it could occur. Alternative models require either spatial heterogeneity on a scale much larger than that envisaged by the grain‐matching hypothesis or the placing of a cap on the abundance of common species, perhaps by frequency‐dependent predation. Arbitrating between these possibilities will require assessments of the population dynamics and spatial distribution of individual species on spatial and temporal scales much greater than those usually considered in the deep sea.     

The Determination of Relationship between Zooplankton and Abiotic Factors Using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) in the Ova Stream (Ankara/Turkey)

In this study totally 25 rotifer species, 3 cladocerus species, and 2 copepoda species were identified in Ova Stream. Among zooplankton rotifer species were dominant. Population densities of planktonic organisms were calculated as individual per cubic meter and the relationship of the planktonic organisms with physicochemical parameters was determined applying canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Also diversity index has been calculated according to the sampling stations. According to the results, the diversity index changes between stations and sampling time. The CCA results show that the rotifer species Keratella, Notholca showed negative correlation with the increasing chemical parameters and temperature but Brachionus, Mytilina, Colurella, and Testudinella have positive correlation with increasing temperature.     

Potential responses of oligochaetes (Annelida, Clitellata) to global changes: Experimental fertilization in a lowland stream of Argentina (South America)

One of the possible consequences of climatic change for streams and rivers in the pampean region of South America is an increment in nutrient loads. To analyze this possible perturbation on a biological scale, the response of oligochaetes to an experimental eutrophication of the La Choza Stream, Argentina was studied. We proposed that the addition of nutrients could increase the abundance, biomass, and species composition of the stream. Two stretches (Control and Treatment sites) were selected, with bimonthly samples being taken (March 2007 through February 2009) in two habitat types: the sediments and the aquatic vegetation. On each sampling occasion the environmental variables were measured. The nutrient addition consisted in the continuous dissolution of a commercial fertilizer. The oligochaete mean density and total biomass, the taxonomic richness, the Shannon diversity (H′), and the evenness (E) were calculated and the BACI ANOVA design used to compare the differences between the sites. Thirty-three species of the families Naididae (Naidinae, Pristininae, Tubificinae, and Rhyacodrilinae), Opistocystidae, Enchytraeidae plus Aphanoneura Aeolosomatidae were collected. The oligochaete abundance and biomass increased significantly in the sediments and on the aquatic vegetation, especially among the Naidinae and Pristininae during their asexual reproductive phase. The diversity and evenness varied significantly in the sediments with the nutrient addition. Significant differences in the species richness and diversity were found on the aquatic vegetation, with both increasing at the treatment site after the fertilization. A significant correlation (Spearman) was observed between the oligochaete density in the sediments and the NO₃-N and NH₄-N concentration in the water. The increment in the naidines resistant to the fertilizer throughout the experiment could be explained by the greater nutrient availability, their mode of reproduction, and their short life cycles. The results of our study suggested that the incorporation of nutrients modified the composition of the oligochaete assemblage in favor of herbivores and detrivores. The usefulness of these indicator organisms in monitoring freshwater systems is subsequently discussed.     

The plankton community in Norwegian coastal waters—abundance, composition, spatial distribution and diel variation

The purpose of the present study was to explore the composition and variation of the pico-, nano- and micro-plankton communities in Norwegian coastal waters and Skagerrak, and the co-occurrence of bacteria and viruses. Samples were collected along three cruise transects from Jæren, Lista and Oksøy on the south coast of Norway and into the North Sea and Skagerrak. We also followed a drifting buoy for 55 h in Skagerrak in order to observe diel variations. Satellite ocean color images (SeaWiFS) of the chlorophyll a (chl a) distribution compared favorably to in situ measurements in open waters, while closer to the shore remote sensing chl a data was overestimated compared to the in situ data. Using light microscopy, we identified 49 micro- and 15 nanoplankton sized phototrophic forms as well as 40 micro- and 12 nanoplankton sized heterotrophic forms. The only picoeukaryote (0.2-2.0 μm) we identified was Resultor micron (Pedinophyceae). Along the transects a significant variation in the distribution and abundance of different plankton forms were observed, with Synechococcus spp and autotrophic picoeukaryotes as the most notable examples. There was no correlation between viruses and chl a, but between viruses and bacteria, and between viruses and some of the phytoplankton groups, especially the picoeukaryotes. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between nutrients and small viruses (Low Fluorescent Viruses) but a positive correlation between nutrients and large viruses (High Fluorescent Viruses). The abundance of autotrophic picoplankton, bacteria and viruses showed a diel variation in surface waters with higher values around noon and late at night and lower values in the evening. Synechococcus spp were found at 20 m depth 25-45 nautical miles from shore apparently forming a bloom that stretched out for more than 100 nautical miles from Skagerrak and up the south west coast of Norway. The different methods used for assessing abundance, distribution and diversity of microorganisms yielded complementary information about the plankton community. Flow cytometry enabled us to map the distribution of the smaller phytoplankton forms, bacteria and viruses in more detail than has been possible before but detection and quantification of specific forms (genus or species) still requires taxonomic skills, molecular analysis or both.     

Impact of urbanization on the ecology of Mukuvisi River,Harare, Zimbabwe

The main objective in this study was to compare the physico-chemical characteristics and biota of a river (Mukuvisi) passing through an urban area to that of a non-urbanised river (Gwebi). Five sites in the Mukuvisi River and five sites in the Gwebi River were sampled for water physico-chemical parameters (pH, conductivity, DO, BOD, TDS, ammonia, Cl, SO₄²⁻, PO₄²⁻, NO₃³⁻, F⁻, Pb, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cr) once every month between August, 2012–August, 2013. Cluster analysis based on the physico-chemical parameters grouped the sites into two groups. Mukuvisi River sites formed their own grouping except for one site which was grouped with Gwebi River sites. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to extract the physico-chemical parameters that account for most variations in water quality in the Mukuvisi and Gwebi Rivers. PCA identified sulphate, chloride, fluoride, iron, manganese and zinc as the major factors contributing to the variability of Mukuvisi River water quality. In the Gwebi river, sulphate, nitrate, fluoride and copper accounted for most of the variation in water quality. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to explore the relationship between physico-chemical parameters and macroinvertebrate communities. CCA plots in both Mukuvisi and Gwebi Rivers showed significant relationships between macroinvertebrate communities and water quality variables. Phosphate, ammonia and nitrates were correlated with Chironomidae and Simulidae. Gwebi River had higher (P < 0.05, ANOVA) macroinvertebrates and fish diversity than Mukuvisi River. Clarias gariepinus from the Mukuvisi River had high liver histological lesions and low AChE activity and this led to lower growth rates in this river.