Ecological implications of possible enteropneust faecal casts in tertiary deposits near castlepoint,New Zealand

Unusual “spiral” faecal casts from mid‐Tertiary beds of the Castlepoint area of North Island, New Zealand, are described and compared with modern enteropneust casts photographed at abyssal depths in the south‐west Pacific. Evidence suggests that the fossil casts originated in relatively shallow depths, and this discrepancy emphasises the caution required in the use of trace fossils for palaeoecological interpretations.     

Spatial variation and commercial fishing of New Zealand abalone (Haliotis iris and H. australis)

The New Zealand abalone fishery produces about 1200 t annually, mostly from southern New Zealand. The fishery, based on Haliotis iris, is managed over broad management areas within which fishing intensity is spatially dispersed. The size composition of the commercial catch depends on location within a management area but is similar for divers fishing individual populations of H. iris and reflects the size composition of natural populations. For most populations, length‐frequency distributions of abalone were normally distributed: the mean shell length of H. iris was found to vary within populations over small spatial scales (100s m). The relative abundance of juvenile H. iris was low in relation to adults suggesting, at least for exposed populations, that rates of recruitment to populations of H. iris may be low. The relative abundance and mean shell length of juveniles and adults of H. australis was much less than that of H. iris. The scarcity of H. australis and the lack of separate catch quotas for the two species are factors which explain the low to zero catch of H. australis. The spatial variation in the size composition of H. iris suggests that management would be more appropriate over spatial scales which reflect local populations rather than the large spatial areas which are used to manage the New Zealand abalone fishery.     

Energy contents of some New Zealand freshwater animals

Energy contents of several freshwater animal species collected from Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, were determined by bomb calorimetry. Values are shown to vary seasonally and between size classes. Because of this variability the use of a single energy value of an organism in an energetics study is not recommended.     

The food and feeding of seven fish species from the Campbell Plateau,New Zealand

The food and feeding habits of hoki (Macruronus novaezelandiae), southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis), javelin fish (Lepi‐dorhynchus denticulatus), ling (Genypterus blacodes), smooth rattail (Coelorinchus aspercephalus), silverside (Argentina elongata), and small‐scaled notothenid (Notothenia microlepidota) sampled from the Campbell Plateau in 1979 were examined. The importance of prey items in the diet has been assessed by an ‘index of relative importance’, which combines measurements of frequency of occurrence, number, and weight of prey. Hoki, southern blue whiting, and javelin fish are pelagic feeders. Hoki preyed largely on natant decapod crustaceans, amphipods, and myctophid and photichthyid fishes. The main prey of southern blue whiting were amphipods, natant decapods, and euphausiids. Javelin fish fed on natant decapods, amphipods, and small squid. Seasonal and regional differences in feeding, and dietary changes with length of fish were evident. Ling, smooth rattail, silverside, and small‐scaled notothenid are predominantly benthic feeders. Ling preyed on natant decapods, macrourid fishes, and small hoki. The diet of rattail comprised natant decapod crustaceans, opal fishes (Hemerocoetes spp.), and poly‐chaetes. Silverside fed almost solely on salps. Salps, amphipods, brachyuran crustaceans, and opal fishes were the main prey of small‐scaled notothenid.     

Genetic differentiation between the New Zealand and Falkland Islands populations of southern blue whiting Micromesistius australis

The southern blue whiting Micromesistius australis (Norman, 1937) is found in two geographically distinct areas, the South Atlantic and south‐west Pacific Oceans. To date there has been no appraisal of the genetic relationships between the populations in these two areas. Here, we present analyses of New Zealand and Falkland southern blue whiting using mini‐ and microsatellite loci. Two out of six loci show highly significant allele frequency heterogeneities between the two areas, strongly suggesting genetically distinct populations.     

闽江河口区盐—淡水梯度下芦苇沼泽土壤有机碳特征

为了阐明盐—淡水梯度下河口潮汐沼泽土壤有机碳特征,对闽江河口盐—淡水梯度下芦苇(Phragmites australis)沼泽土壤有机碳含量、储量及其影响因子进行了测定与分析。结果表明,随着芦苇沼泽由淡水向半咸水沼泽演替,沼泽土壤粘粒和粉粒组成都在增加,土壤pH、容重和砂粒组成则在减小;尤溪洲湿地、蝙蝠洲湿地和鳝鱼滩湿地上分布的芦苇沼泽0～60cm土壤的有机碳含量分别为11.56～14.72g/kg、14.01～19.72g/kg和20.93～22.89g/kg,其平均值分别为12.47g/kg、16.62g/kg和21.97g/kg;3个采样点的0～60cm深度各层土壤有机碳储量范围分别为1408.71～1670.31t/km2、1328.44～1659.80t/km2和1319.93～1677.96t/km2,其平均值分别为1534.13t/km2、1548.12t/km2和1569.22t/km2;3块湿地芦苇沼泽0～60cm土壤的总有机碳储量分别为9204.79t/km2、9288.71t/km2和9415.35t/km2。在盐—淡水梯度下,芦苇沼泽土壤有机碳含量和储量都表现为随着盐度的增加而升高;盐—淡水梯度下沼泽土壤有机碳含量受到多个因子的调控。     

闽江河口湿地互花米草与芦苇光合特性及适应性研究

互花米草在闽江河口鳝鱼滩湿地中潮滩的入侵及快速扩张,已严重威胁到鳝鱼滩湿地的生物多样性及土著种沼泽植物生态系统的结构与功能。为了从植物光合速率的角度分析互花米草入侵及快速扩张的生理生态学机制,利用Li-6400便携式光合作用仪测定了互花米草与土著种芦苇的光合速率日进程及光合光响应曲线。结果表明,互花米草净光合速率的日均值与最大值均大于芦苇,互花米草可积累更多的光合作用产物,使其具有更快的生长速率和初级生产力。根据两种植物的光合光响应曲线可以看出,互花米草利用光合有效辐射的能力更强,显示出互花米草的高适应性。     

基于高分辨率遥感影像的湿地互花米草-芦苇混合交错带提取方法

互花米草是中国东部河口滩涂湿地主要入侵物种之一,其与本地物种芦苇竞争生长,形成了大范围的混合交错带。该交错带是研究湿地生态系统动态变化的重要信息,但因2种物种光谱的相似性及其在交错带的组成复杂性,使利用遥感技术提取交错带难度较大。因此,本文提出了一种将二者生长物候差异与其光谱特征相结合,考虑二者海陆位置分布差异,运用实测剖面观测数据确定光谱指标和阈值的综合提取方法。运用高分一号多光谱遥感数据,通过分析不同时相互花米草与芦苇冠层光谱差异,确定用来提取混合交错带的高分遥感影像,实现了研究区互花米草-芦苇混合交错带的提取。结果表明：不同时相宜选用不同的提取指标,本研究中在春季选择了近红外波段反射率,而秋季则选择了红波段反射率;2个时相的混合交错带范围存在明显差异,客观反映了互花米草与芦苇在不同季节的竞争状况。     

基于Sentinel-1A雷达影像的崇明东滩芦苇盐沼植被识别提取

为研究芦苇盐沼植物在一个生长周期不同生长季节的雷达后向散射系数变化特征,对芦苇分布信息进行提取,探究Sentinel-1A卫星数据在长江口湿地植被监测中的应用前景。以对长江河口崇明东滩南部为研究区域,利用2016年11个时相的Sentinel-1A雷达卫星影像VV（vertical transmit/vertical receive）+VH（vertical transmit/horizontal receive）双极化数据,分析潮滩地带芦苇、白茅、海三棱藨草、水体和光滩在植被生长周期内的雷达后向散射强度变化特征,对芦苇盐沼植被进行识别提取。结果表明：相较于VH极化方式,VV极化方式下不同地物的后向散射强度差异更为明显,芦苇的后向散射强度在枯叶期下显著高于其他地物;进行芦苇植被提取时,需要对植被枯萎期不同潮位状况下的雷达影像进行组合运算,芦苇提取精度可达到88.7%;对芦苇植被雷达后向散射强度和临近时相的光学遥感归一化植被指数（normalized difference vegetation index,I_NDV）进行相关性分析,发现两者呈良好的正相关关系,相关系数为0.78。     

科尔沁沙地典型生境下芦苇的生长特征分析

对科尔沁沙地两类典型生境下芦苇根茎生长及生物量等特性进行了分析研究。结果表明,固定样地芦苇株高、分蘖株数、不定芽数、根茎节数及根茎总长均大于半流动样地。从半流动样地到固定样地,芦苇根茎表现出节间长度缩短,节间直径变粗的趋势。固定样地芦苇叶长、叶宽明显大于半流动样地,并且固定样地芦苇叶间距是半流动样地上的近3倍。与半流动样地相比,固定样地根茎生物量在总生物量中所占比例有所增加,而地上生物量所占比例减小。芦苇根茎生长及生物量分配在两类样地间的变化特征与土壤质地、紧实度以及养分含量等因素有密切的联系,同时也反映了芦苇对不同沙生生境的适应对策。