Spatial analysis of water quality and its suitability in farming giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in Negeri Sembilan region,Peninsular Malaysia

Finding potential sites for resilient prawn production in the tropical environment that also prevents wastage of natural resources is not an easy task. The purpose of this study is to evaluate water quality suitability for prawn farming in Negeri Sembilan of Peninsular Malaysia based on Geographic Information System (GIS). To achieve this goal, numerous criteria including sources of water, water temperature, water pH, sources of pollution, salinity, soil texture and availability of phytoplankton criteria were considered for the modelling process. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique was performed to standardize the criteria and the weighting process. The weighted overlay of indicators and results were accomplished by applying the Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method in GIS. It was indicated that the Negeri Sembilan area has potential for prawn farming. The results showed that about 25 per cent (163 056.93 ha) of the area was most suitable for prawn farming, about 58 per cent (384 656.88 ha) was considered moderately suitable, while 18 per cent (117 633.49 ha) was regarded as least suitable. The study concluded that the multi‐criteria decision analysis of water quality for prawn farming is vital for regional economic planning in the Negeri Sembilan area and also significant when establishing a model for aquaculture development.     

Bathymetry,substrate and fishing areas of Southeast Atlantic high-seas seamounts

Most of the Southeast Atlantic Ocean is abyssal, and global bathymetries suggest that only ～3.2% of the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ; also known as the high seas, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]) are shallower than 2 500 m. This study mapped bathymetry and characterised substrates in selected seamount summit areas, including several that have been or may become fishing areas. The southernmost location, the Schmitt-Ott Seamount, has exposed volcanic bedrock with surrounding flats covered by thin biogenic sediments and/or coral rubble that appears ancient. At Wüst, Vema, Valdivia and Ewing seamounts the basaltic base appears to be overlain by coral caps and other coral substrates (sheets, rubble). Adjacent summit plains have biogenic sediments of varying thickness. Vema has a flat, roughly circular summit, <100 m deep, with the shallowest point being a 22-m-deep summit knoll; the upper slopes have ancient coral framework, but the summit has a mixture of coralline and volcanic rock and coarse sediments, including extensive areas with coralline algae and kelp forests. Valdivia Bank is a 230-m-deep, flat, rocky area (～11 × 5 km), protruding steeply from the extensive multi-summit Valdivia subarea of the Walvis Ridge. The distribution of past fisheries in the Convention Area of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) was considered in relation to the new information on bathymetry and substrate.     

Effects of current climate,paleo-climate,and habitat heterogeneity in determining biogeographical patterns of evergreen broad-leaved woody plants in China

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Understanding biogeographic patterns and the mechanisms underlying them has been a main issue in macroecology and biogeography, and has implications for...     

Integration of InVEST-habitat quality model with landscape pattern indexes to assess mountain plant biodiversity change: A case study of Bailongjiang watershed in Gansu Province

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Mountains in western China, hosted rich biodiversity and millions of people and inhabitant with vital ecosystem services, had experienced the most serious...     

Method‐dependent influence of environmental variables on reef fish assemblages when comparing trap and video surveys

Despite substantial survey effort and a large body of literature on abiotic and biotic factors in temperate reef ecosystems, knowledge of the complex and interactive effects of environmental variables on those communities is limited. Various survey methods have been developed to study environmental predictors of biodiversity, but there remains a gap in our understanding of how survey results are influenced by environmental factors. Here, we surveyed the fish assemblage associated with southeastern U.S. temperate marine reefs with simultaneous, paired trap, and camera gears throughout a ~50,000 km² area during 2011–2013 and assessed the influence of environmental variables on the trap‐ and video‐surveyed assemblages. Predictor variables in the multivariate general linear models included depth, temperature, month, year, location, substrate relief, percent sessile biota, biota type, and turbidity. Depth and latitude had the greatest influence on the fish assemblage for both gears. The influence of habitat variables differed between methods and percent biota explained more variation in the fish assemblage when assessed by traps, while substrate relief and biota type explained more variation in the fish assemblage when assessed by video. In general, habitat complexity was positively related to the abundance of fishes in the video survey, but there was a negative relationship in the trap survey. Differences between gears were species‐specific and the influences of environmental variables were similar for some species such as Haemulon plumierii and Hyporthodus niveatus. The methods presented here can be used to assess method‐dependent differences in fish assemblages, which is a necessary precursor to assess the effect of environmental variables on the accuracy of surveys.     

我国瓯江口和珠江口凤鲚洄游模式和生境利用研究

Habitat use of the tapertail anchovy(Coilia mystus Linnaeus, 1758) from the Oujiang River Estuary and the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary was studied by examining the environmental signatures of Sr and Ca in otoliths using electron probe microanalysis. Individuals from the Oujiang River had higher and varied Sr:Ca ratios(expressed as(Sr:Ca)×1 000, 3.83–13.0 average) in the otolith core regions, suggesting that they were born in brackish or sea waters, and that a freshwater habitat might not be necessary for egg hatching and larval growth.While, individuals from the Zhujiang River had lower Sr:Ca ratios(0.39–2.51 average) in the core regions,suggesting a freshwater origin. After hatching, anchovies from the Zhujiang River migrate downstream to the river estuary close to brackish water. Our results demonstrated varied habitat use for spawning during stages of early life history between the two populations, and suggested that such variations are promoting diversity of life history strategies of this species.     

Fish Assemblage Responses to a Low-head Dam Removal in the Lancang River

Dam removal is becoming an effective approach for aquatic biodiversity restoration in damming river in order to balance the aquatic ecosystem conservation with large-scale cascade damming. However, the effects of dam removal on fish communities in Asian mountainous rivers, which are dominated by Cypriniformes fishes, are still not well known. To determine whether dam removal on a mountainous river benefit restoration of fish diversity, we investigated the response of fish assemblage to dam removal using a before-after-control-impact design in two tributaries of the Lancang River(dam removal river: the Jidu River, and control river: the Fengdian River). Fish surveys were conducted one year prior to dam removal(2012) and three years(2013–2015) following dam removal. We observed rapidly and notably spatio-temporal changes in fish biodiversity metrics and assemblage structure, occurring in the Jidu River within the first year after dam removal. Overall, fish species richness, density and Shannon-Wiener diversity all increased immediately in above-and below-dam sites, and maintained a stable level in subsequent years, compared to unchanged situation in the control river. All sites in the Jidu River experienced shifts in fish composition after dam removal, with the greatest temporal changes occurred in sites below-and above-the former dam, resulting in a temporal homogenization tendency in the dam removed river. These findings suggest that dam removal can benefit the recovery of habitat conditions and fish community in Asian mountainous rivers, but the results should be further evaluated when apply to other dammed rivers since the dam age, fluvial geomorphology and situation of source populations could all affect the responses of fish assemblages.     

Towards new applications of underwater photogrammetry for investigating coral reef morphology and habitat complexity in the Myeik Archipelago,Myanmar

Photogrammetry represents a non-destructive, cost-effective tool for coral reef monitoring, able to integrate traditional remote sensing techniques and support researchers’ work. However, its application to submerged habitats is still in early stage. We present new ways to employ Structure from Motion techniques to infer properties of reef habitats. In particular, we propose the use of Digital Surface Models and Digital Terrain Models for assessing coral colonies extension and height and discriminating between seabed and coral cover. Such information can be coupled with digital rugosity estimates to improve habitat characterization. DTM, DSM and orthophotos were derived and used to compute a series of metrics like coral morphologies, reef topography, coral cover and structural complexity. We show the potentialities offered by underwater photogrammetry and derived products to provide useful basic information for marine habitat mapping, opening the possibility to extend these methods for large-scale assessment and monitoring of coral reefs.     

新疆大红柳滩伟晶岩型锂矿深部结构与区域成矿模型解释

为揭示花岗岩- 伟晶岩型锂等稀有金属矿成矿系统的深部结构,对西昆仑造山带大红柳滩伟晶岩型锂矿集区开展了大地电磁测深法(MT)探测。通过MT三维反演电阻率模型,探测到两个0~20 km深度范围的高阻体,反映了出露于地表的大红柳滩复式花岗岩基和半隐伏的大红柳滩东花岗岩基;20~80 km深度范围内发现的大范围高导异常,则反映了深达上地幔的地壳重熔形成的大规模长英质岩浆储库。可见,成矿母岩大红柳滩花岗岩基是有根的,而且是规模巨大深达上地幔的岩浆储库,它们为超大型大红柳滩伟晶岩型锂矿的形成提供了物源和热源。与松潘- 甘孜甲基卡超大型伟晶岩型锂矿集区对比,尽管川西甲基卡地区地表出露的花岗岩有限,但MT三维反演电阻率模型显示,其也存在深达上地幔的大范围高导异常,同样反映了大规模长英质岩浆储库的存在,只是剥蚀深度浅,上侵的花岗岩未被剥蚀出来而已。从而,深剥蚀的大红柳滩地区表现为大面积花岗岩出露的“热隆”特征,而浅剥蚀的甲基卡地区则表现为花岗岩围岩“片麻岩穹隆”热变质构造特征。西昆仑- 松潘- 甘孜伟晶岩型锂等稀有金属巨型成矿带两端的晚三叠世超大型矿床是大规模地壳重熔长英质岩浆作用中心的产物,由于锂等稀有金属的喜水性,H2O的饱和度是造就伟晶岩型锂超常富集的关键,并在长英质岩浆储库、上侵花岗岩和伟晶岩不同分异演化阶段,锂的“预富集”为大规模伟晶岩型锂矿成矿奠定了重要基础。     

多变量分位数回归构建印度洋大眼金枪鱼栖息地指数

以0～300m水层加权平均水温、50～150m水层的温差和氧差及其交互变量为影响因子,运用分位数回归法,寻找出环境变量与大眼金枪鱼(Thunnus obesus)延绳钓钓获率的最佳上界分位数回归方程,计算出栖息地指数(HSI),并应用地理信息系统(GIS)软件绘制各月HSI空间分布图。研究表明:大眼金枪鱼延绳钓钓获率(HR)依加权平均水温(x)、温差(y)、氧差(z)与的最佳上界分位数回归方程为HR0.70=-15.596+2.124x-0.003x3+0.033xyz-0.036y2z+0.107yz2-0.337z3;HSI空间分布为:16°S—10°N印度洋海域HSI高于0.7,HSI>0.8的海域随季节发生显著变化,马达加斯加外海至100°E、16°S—26°S海域常年存在一片HSI<0.4的区域,26°S—40°S海域的HSI介于0.4～0.5,40°S以南海域HSI<0.4,东非外海季节性地出现一片HSI<0.6的海域。利用多个环境变量的栖息地指数模型来预测分析大洋金枪鱼资源分布效果较好。