洱海冬季水鸟群落结构与水位变化的潜在关系

水深是影响水鸟栖息地利用最重要的因素,而湿地的水位波动会导致水深发生变化。为研究水位波动对水深岸陡型高原湖泊冬季水鸟群落的影响,本研究以云南大理洱海为研究地点,在水位下降前后,即2014年和2017年的冬季(11月至次年1月)对洱海北部湖湾5个观察点各进行10次和8次水鸟统计调查,结果 2014年冬季共记录到22个物种,11 611只个体;2017年冬季共记录到30个物种,17 278只个体。对比涉禽、钻水鸭、潜水类三类功能集团的变化,发现水位下降后钻水鸭和潜水类的物种丰富度和多度都有所增加,而涉禽的物种丰富度不变,多度下降,这一结果与浅水滩地型湿地的响应变化规律不同。6种钻水鸭2017年冬季同时在洱海出现,说明可能为共同的环境因素所吸引。研究结果说明水位下降是洱海钻水鸭类物种丰富度和多度增加的必要条件。     

Monitoring waterbird abundance in wetlands: The importance of controlling results for variation in water depth

Wetland use by waterbirds is highly dependent on water depth, and depth requirements generally vary among species. Furthermore, water depth within wetlands often varies greatly over time due to unpredictable hydrological events, making comparisons of waterbird abundance among wetlands difficult as effects of habitat variables and water depth are confounded. Species-specific relationships between bird abundance and water depth necessarily are non-linear; thus, we developed a methodology to correct waterbird abundance for variation in water depth, based on the non-parametric regression of these two variables. Accordingly, we used the difference between observed and predicted abundances from non-parametric regression (analogous to parametric residuals) as an estimate of bird abundance at equivalent water depths. We scaled this difference to levels of observed and predicted abundances using the formula: ((observed − predicted abundance)/(observed + predicted abundance)) × 100. This estimate also corresponds to the observed:predicted abundance ratio, which allows easy interpretation of results. We illustrated this methodology using two hypothetical species that differed in water depth and wetland preferences. Comparisons of wetlands, using both observed and relative corrected abundances, indicated that relative corrected abundance adequately separates the effect of water depth from the effect of wetlands.     

Recent shoreline evolution and beach erosion along the central Adriatic coast of Italy: the case of Molise region

A study on the modern dynamics and shoreline changes from 1954 to 2014 of the Molise coast (central Adriatic Sea) has been carried out. Short to long-term shoreline changes and associated surface area variations have been assessed in GIS environment for the study coast, subdivided in nine coastal segments (S1-S9), by using 100-m regularly spaced transects. In addition, the possible influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, especially of climatic variability and engineered shoreline defense structures, has been investigated. The Molise coast has experienced notable long-term erosion (period 1054-2014) that caused an overall coastal land loss of approximately 940,000 m². Erosion was, yet, limited to coastal segments S1 and S7, nearest to the mouths of major rivers, namely Trigno and Biferno, while the major part of the study coast has remained essentially stable or even advanced. Increased shoreline protection by defense structures has generally favoured shoreline stability and frequently generated shoreline advance, except for segments S1 and S7. Observed differences in shoreline change rates over time at the decadal to interannual scale, have not find a response in the analysis of available data on meteo-marine conditions of the Molise coast and climate variability indices, pointing out the need to improve knowledge on meteomarine conditions and on climatic variability forcing of the study area. From 2004 to 2014, the Molise shoreline remained essentially stable. Nonetheless, most recent shoreline changes (period 2011-2014) and modern shoreline dynamics indicate that erosion has become more widespread, involving at least part of segments S2-S3 and S8-S9, located south of the river mouth segments. The localized long-term shoreline retreat and most recent shoreline erosion appear to be primarily related to channel adjustments of the Biferno and Trigno rivers that occurred since the 1950s under the control of human interventions on the rivers, especially the construction respectively of a dam and a check dam along their lower courses, that trap of most of their solid load, affecting so adversely the sediment budget of the river mouths areas and adjacent beaches. Overall data acquired on the recent shoreline evolution and modern shoreline dynamics of the Molise coast and on related causal factors provide a good basic knowledge for regional coastal management purposes, and for further scientific purposes. Particularly, they suggest the opportunity to deepen a number of aspects such as the relationship between the coast and river catchments feeding it, the possible influences on the Molise shoreline dynamics of the neighbouring coasts, the efficiency/obsolescence of defense structures and the present-day vulnerability to coastal erosion of the Molise coast.     

Mechanistic analysis of interspecific competition using foraging trade-offs: implications for duck assemblages

The role of interspecific competition and resource partitioning in determining the composition of species assemblages is often controversial. In many cases data on species co-occurrence or resource use (prey or habitat) have been interpreted without a clear understanding of how, or even whether, phenotypic differences constrain performance to allow resource partitioning or how these constraints and the density of resources and competitors should shape resource selection by each species. Instead, predictions have been based on assumed constraints, possibly leading to conflicting results. One such controversy involves the role of bill morphology in mediating resource partitioning among dabbling ducks (Anas spp.). To determine whether incorrect assumptions may have contributed to this controversy, I constructed mechanistic models that predict filter-feeding performance for seven species of ducks directly from bill morphology and kinetics and compared these predictions to those of earlier studies that tested the bill morphology hypothesis. The models predicted that species should share a preference for their most profitable (primary) prey while partitioning their less profitable (secondary) prey by size. Consequently, ducks should forage in the same habitats and exhibit high overlap in prey size when competitor/resource ratios are either high or low. In contrast, earlier studies expected that resource partitioning should always be evident, which implicitly assumes that species partition their primary resources. The models also predicted that the ecological similarity of species in assemblages should increase as prey abundance and size variability declines, contrary to the expectations of an earlier study. A more consistent understanding of the mechanisms regulating assemblages of dabbling ducks, and other species, might emerge if patterns of resource use and species co-occurrence were predicted directly from a mechanistic understanding of how performance trade-offs affect resource selection in the context of varying resource and competitor densities.     

Estimating Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis migration using a mass balance model expressed by hydrological distribution parameters in a major limpid river basin in Japan

We examined the influence of several hydrological and meteorological parameters on the migratory movements of ayu Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis in central Japan. When comprehensively evaluating rivers and ayu behaviour on a catchment scale, the subjects of analysis typically include human activities and hydrological and meteorological phenomena. However, limiting analyses to such factors may be too restrictive when human activities are being conducted. Accordingly, we incorporated a biological viewpoint into the evaluation method, analysing hydrological data (river discharge, river water temperature, sea water temperature) to determine watershed characteristics and examining the relationship between these characteristics and the habitat conditions of ayu. Then we constructed a numerical model for ayu migratory runs that incorporated ayu ecology and watershed characteristics. Analyses of ayu movements from a lower estuarine dam demonstrated that downstream displacements were associated with high water flows of more than 200 m³ s⁻¹ at the beginning of summer. We conclude that it is important to consider the effects of environmental parameters on the movements of different fish species to understand the causes of spatial variation in fish distribution in lowland rivers.     

Impact of minimum winter temperatures on the population dynamics of Dendroctonus frontalis.

Predicting population dynamics is a fundamental problem in applied ecology. Temperature is a potential driver of short-term population dynamics, and temperature data are widely available, but we generally lack validated models to predict dynamics based upon temperatures. A generalized approach involves estimating the temperatures experienced by a population, characterizing the demographic consequences of physiological responses to temperature, and testing for predicted effects on abundance. We employed this approach to test whether minimum winter temperatures are a meaningful driver of pestilence from Dendroctonus frontalis (the southern pine beetle) across the southeastern United States. A distance-weighted interpolation model provided good, spatially explicit, predictions of minimum winter air temperatures (a putative driver of beetle survival). A Newtonian heat transfer model with empirical cooling constants indicated that beetles within host trees are buffered from the lowest air temperatures by approximately 1-4 degrees C (depending on tree diameter and duration of cold bout). The life stage structure of beetles in the most northerly outbreak in recent times (New Jersey) were dominated by prepupae, which were more cold tolerant (by >3 degrees C) than other life stages. Analyses of beetle abundance data from 1987 to 2005 showed that minimum winter air temperature only explained 1.5% of the variance in interannual growth rates of beetle populations, indicating that it is but a weak driver of population dynamics in the southeastern United States as a whole. However, average population growth rate matched theoretical predictions of a process-based model of winter mortality from low temperatures; apparently our knowledge of population effects from winter temperatures is satisfactory, and may help to predict dynamics of northern populations, even while adding little to population predictions in southern forests. Recent episodes of D. frontalis outbreaks in northern forests may have been allowed by a warming trend from 1960 to 2004 of 3.3 degrees C in minimum winter air temperatures in the southeastern United States. Studies that combine climatic analyses, physiological experiments, and spatially replicated time series of population abundance can improve population predictions, contribute to a synthesis of population and physiological ecology, and aid in assessing the ecological consequences of climatic trends.     

Intergenerational effects of climate generate cohort variation in lizard reproductive performance

An evaluation of the link between climate and population dynamics requires understanding of climate effects both within and across generations. In ectothermic vertebrates, demographic responses to climate changes should crucially depend on balancing needs for heat and water. Here, we studied how temperature and rainfall regimes experienced before and during adulthood influenced reproductive performances (litter size, offspring size, and survival) in a natural population of the live-bearing common lizard, Lacerta vivipara, monitored continuously from 1989 to 2004. Rainfall regime, but not temperature, had both immediate and delayed effects on these reproductive performances. Rainfall during the first month of life was positively correlated with juvenile survival. Females experiencing more rainfall during gestation produced smaller neonates that showed greater survival when controlling for the positive effect of body size on survival. Furthermore, females that experienced heavier rainfall when in utero produced fewer but longer neonates during adulthood. These demographic effects of rainfall on adult reproductive traits may come from maternal effects of climate conditions and/or from delayed effects of rainfall on the environment experienced early in life. Irrespective of the precise mechanism, however, this study provides evidence of intergenerational climate effects in natural populations of an ectothermic vertebrate.     

Waterbird Communities and Habitat Relationships in Coastal Pastures of Northern California

We examined waterbird assemblages (diversity, composition, and species' densities) in 20 pastures near Humboldt Bay, California, in relation to habitat characteristics (vegetation height, soil penetrability, water depth), abundance of invertebrates (worms and other invertebrates), and presence of livestock. From October 1991 to May 1992 we observed 29 species and 10,776 birds, most (78%) of which foraged. Nonrandom pasture use by birds resulted in a highly clumped spatial distribution (s²:{ovbar>x} ratio = 42.1). Habitat characteristics of pastures correlated with this nonrandom pattern: waterbird diversity and densities of three sandpiper species and one gull species correlated negatively ( r = −0.61 and r = −0.44 to −0.67, respectively) with vegetation height; densities of two plover species correlated negatively ( r = −0.39 and −0.45) with soil penetrability; and waterfowl densities correlated positively with water depth ( r = 0.97). Species composition varied among pastures. Wading birds used pastures with tall vegetation, shorebirds and gulls frequented short-grass pastures, and waterfowl used flooded pastures of waterbirds and their densities increased in association with livestock.In coastal areas where much intertidal habitat has been reclaimed as postureland, pastures offered valuable habitats to nonbreeding waterbirds. We suggest that grazing in coastal pastures can be used to provide a mosaic of vegetation heights, which would yield greater waterbird diversity as well as higher densities of some species.     

The effect of summer drought on the predictability of local extinctions in a butterfly metapopulation

The ecological impacts of extreme climatic events on population dynamics and community composition are profound and predominantly negative. Using extensive data of an ecological model system, we tested whether predictions from ecological models remain robust when environmental conditions are outside the bounds of observation. We observed a 10-fold demographic decline of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) metapopulation on the Åland islands, Finland in the summer of 2018 and used climatic and satellite data to demonstrate that this year was an anomaly with low climatic water balance values and low vegetation productivity indices across Åland. Population growth rates were strongly associated with spatiotemporal variation in climatic water balance. Covariates shown previously to affect the extinction probability of local populations in this metapopulation were less informative when populations were exposed to severe drought during the summer months. Our results highlight the unpredictable responses of natural populations to extreme climatic events.     

珠三角工业城市污染物入河量空间特征分析

以东莞市第一次全国污染源普查成果为数据基础,调查估算2010年东莞市33个镇街和25个水功能区的COD、氨氮入河量,并应用GIS技术及相关分析法分析污染物入河量空间分布特征及其影响因素。研究发现：①东莞市各镇街及水功能区的污染物入河量呈明显不均匀分布,人口、GDP是影响污染物入河量空间分布的主要因素。②河网区、非河网区镇街的工业污染物入河量与GDP均呈较好的正相关关系,但非河网区单位污染物入河量GDP产出拟合曲线斜率是河网区的31倍,显示河网区镇街每增长单位污染物入河量所产生的GDP远远小于非河网区,河网区镇街往往付出巨大的污染代价而经济增长却非常有限。     

Protected area characteristics that help waterbirds respond to climate warming

Protected area networks help species respond to climate warming. However, the contribution of a site's environmental and conservation-relevant characteristics to these responses is not well understood. We investigated how composition of nonbreeding waterbird communities (97 species) in the European Union Natura 2000 (N2K) network (3018 sites) changed in response to increases in temperature over 25 years in 26 European countries. We measured community reshuffling based on abundance time series collected under the International Waterbird Census relative to N2K sites’ conservation targets, funding, designation period, and management plan status. Waterbird community composition in sites explicitly designated to protect them and with management plans changed more quickly in response to climate warming than in other N2K sites. Temporal community changes were not affected by the designation period despite greater exposure to temperature increase inside late-designated N2K sites. Sites funded under the LIFE program had lower climate-driven community changes than sites that did not received LIFE funding. Our findings imply that efficient conservation policy that helps waterbird communities respond to climate warming is associated with sites specifically managed for waterbirds.     

Effects of recreational disturbance on tidal wetlands: supporting the importance of undisturbed roosting sites for waterbird conservation

In coastal wetlands, the increasing level of disturbance from recreational activities could threaten waterbird populations, which overall are showing decreasing trends. Despite the crucial contribution of waterbirds to biodiversity, empirical studies measuring the effects of disturbance on them remain scarce, especially in terms of the impact upon their roosting sites. We developed an experimental treatment to measure the effects of a pedestrian walking on a site used by overwintering waterbirds in a wetland of international importance. We registered 156 events (88 at high tide) of flushing birds, totaling 4,018 individuals. Each treatment drove the flushing of 1?C5?% of the wintering populations of nearly all species present during high tide. In addition, 1.5?% of the Eurasian curlew wintering population was driven to change site. All the effects were found to be reduced during other tidal periods. Therefore, allowing recreational use in a previously undisturbed area can systematically increase daily energy expenditure of significant percentages of different waterbird populations during high tide, and even cause birds to avoid a site completely. These effects will probably be even worse given that our results were derived only from a disturbance source of low magnitude and frequency. We recommend that, prior to developing recreational areas close to the shoreline, coastal wetland managers should study the habitat use of waterbirds during high tide in relation to total waterbird populations using the wetland.     

Moss species benefits from breakdown of cyclic rodent dynamics in boreal forests

Bryophytes have increased in abundance in northern regions, and climate changes have been proposed to account for this change. However, changes in the population dynamics of microtine rodents may also contribute to changes in bryophyte abundance. New evidence indicates a tendency for microtine rodent population oscillations to change from periodicity of 3-5 years to become irregular or acyclic. The impact on ecosystem functioning is potentially great. We study the impact of variation in microtine rodent population characteristics, such as cycle length and amplitude, on the population dynamics of the boreal, clonal moss Hylocomium splendens. We use experimental and observational demographic data to construct 127 scenarios representing all combinations of disturbance type (gap formation and/or clipping), period (cyclic with 4, 6, 12, or 24 years between rodent peaks; or acyclic with constant or stochastically varying annual disturbance severity) and disturbance severity (fraction of individuals affected by disturbance in each year relative to the maximum disturbance carried out in the field experiment; seven levels). Population data collected in the field during 13 years were used as a baseline scenario. By subjecting all scenarios to stochastic matrix modeling, we demonstrate considerable impact of microtine rodent on the population dynamics of H. splendens, most notably when rodent populations fluctuate with short periods and high peak disturbance severities. Under the same average disturbance severity, H. splendens population growth rates are highest in acyclic scenarios and are progressively reduced with increasing peak disturbance severities (i.e., with increasing period). Stochastic elasticity analyses show that in less variable environments mature segment survival contributes more to the population growth rate, while in more variable environments the regeneration pathway (branching of older parts of the plant) plays a stronger role, inevitably leading to lower population fitness. Our results support the hypothesis that breakdown of cyclic rodent population dynamics accentuates increase in the abundance of H. splendens and other large bryophytes in boreal forests in Norway, observed empirically in recent years and primarily ascribed to climatic change.     

Accuracy of Short‐Term Demographic Data in Projecting Long‐Term Fate of Populations

Short‐term surveys are useful in conservation of species if they can be used to reliably predict the long‐term fate of populations. However, statistical evaluations of reliability are rare. We studied how well short‐term demographic data (1999–2002) of tartar catchfly (Silene tatarica), a perennial riparian plant, projected the fate and growth of 23 populations of this species up to the year 2010. Surveyed populations occurred along a river with natural flood dynamics and along a regulated river. Riparian plant populations are affected by flooding, which maintains unvegetated shores, while forest succession proceeds in areas with little flooding. Flooding is less severe along the regulated river, and vegetation overgrowth reduces abundance of tartar catchfly on unvegetated shores. We built matrix models to calculate population growth rates and estimated times to population extinction in natural and in regulated rivers, 13 and 10 populations, respectively. Models predicted population survival well (model predictions matched observed survival in 91% of populations) and accurately predicted abundance increases and decreases in 65% of populations. The observed and projected population growth rates differed significantly in all but 3 populations. In most cases, the model overestimated population growth. Model predictions did not improve when data from more years were used (1999–2006). In the regulated river, the poorest model predictions occurred in areas where cover of other plant species changed the fastest. Although vegetation cover increased in most populations, it decreased in 4 populations along the natural river. Our results highlight the need to combine disturbance and succession dynamics in demographic models and the importance of habitat management for species survival along regulated rivers. Precisión de Datos Demográficos de Corto Plazo en la Proyección del Destino de Poblaciones a Largo Plazo     

通波塘水量水质一维动态模拟及水环境容量

本文在研究通波塘水文特征和水质特征的基础上,推导出通用性较好的一维动态水量水质数学模型。该模型基本反映了通波塘水量水质的时变情况。文章对通波塘水环境容量作了计算,并提出了改善水质的建议。     

论我国水生态的保护与修复:任务与对策

本文聚焦我国水生态保护与修复工作,结合长期实践,分析当前的形势和任务,指出了当前要着力解决的水生态问题主要是:在大坝上游,河流变湖库,生境变化导致生物物种变化;水库水流流速变缓,水体自净能力降低,导致富营养化及藻类水华。在大坝下游,清水下泄,冲刷下游河道导致局部河道河势变化较大;水库蓄水使坝下游春季水温下降、秋季水温升高,水温变化过程滞后;水库蓄水导致大坝下游的水文过程改变,水的流量、流速、流态发生变化。在河道(航道)整治工程中,裁弯取直,缩短水流在河道中的停留时间,河岸衬砌和硬化,减少水向沿河堤岸的渗透,在大降水和洪水时易造成涝灾和洪灾。在涉湖工程中,阻隔河湖,填湖造地。在明确存在问题和迫切需求的基础上,提出了切实可行的对策建议。当前水生态保护与修复要围绕一条主线,即"人要发展,鱼要生存"的"人鱼线",要采取"调、控、退、通、改、拆"的综合措施,即生态调度,控制水污染,退建还水、退田还湖,河湖连通,对已建涉水工程进行生态化改造,对在保护区、重点风景名胜区、特有鱼类栖息地修建的小型工程要采取坚决措施拆除,恢复原貌。     

Emergence cues of a mayfly in a high-altitude stream ecosystem: potential response to climate change.

To understand the consequences of human accelerated environmental change, it is important to document the effects on natural populations of an increasing frequency of extreme climatic events. In stream ecosystems, recent climate change has resulted in extreme variation in both thermal and hydrological regimes. From 2001 to 2004, a severe drought in western United States corresponded with earlier emergence of the adult stage of the high-altitude stream mayfly, Baetis bicaudatus. Using a long-term database from a western Colorado stream, the peak emergence date of this mayfly population was predicted by both the magnitude and date of peak stream flow, and by the mean daily water temperature, suggesting that Baetis may respond to declining stream flow or increasing water temperature as proximate cues for early metamorphosis. However, in a one-year survey of multiple streams from the same drainage basin, only water temperature predicted spatial variation in the onset of emergence of this mayfly. To decouple the effects of temperature and flow, we separately manipulated these factors in flow-through microcosms and measured the timing of B. bicaudatus metamorphosis to the adult stage. Mayflies emerged sooner in a warmed-water treatment than an ambient-water treatment; but reducing flow did not accelerate the onset of mayfly emergence. Nonetheless, using warming temperatures to cue metamorphosis enables mayflies to time their emergence during the descending limb of the hydrograph when oviposition sites (protruding rocks) are becoming available. We speculate that large-scale climate changes involving warming and stream drying could cause significant shifts in the timing of mayfly metamorphosis, thereby having negative effects on populations that play an important role in stream ecosystems.     

The challenge of providing environmental flow rules to sustain river ecosystems.

Accounting for natural differences in flow variability among rivers, and understanding the importance of this for the protection of freshwater biodiversity and maintenance of goods and services that rivers provide, is a great challenge for water managers and scientists. Nevertheless, despite considerable progress in understanding how flow variability sustains river ecosystems, there is a growing temptation to ignore natural system complexity in favor of simplistic, static, environmental flow "rules" to resolve pressing river management issues. We argue that such approaches are misguided and will ultimately contribute to further degradation of river ecosystems. In the absence of detailed empirical information of environmental flow requirements for rivers, we propose a generic approach that incorporates essential aspects of natural flow variability shared across particular classes of rivers that can be validated with empirical biological data and other information in a calibration process. We argue that this approach can bridge the gap between simple hydrological "rules of thumb" and more comprehensive environmental flow assessments and experimental flow restoration projects.     

近40年来海南省三大河下游水体的含沙量特征及影响因素

利用海南省水文局提供的1960—2000年水文资料,对近40年来海南省三大河下游水体的含沙量特征及影响因素进行了分析。结果表明,南渡江、昌化江和万泉河下游水体4—11月份的含沙量一般都较大,而1、2、3、12月份的含沙量都很小,夏秋两季的含沙量明显高于冬春两季,这也跟三大河下游地区的不同月份和季节性平均降雨量分布规律基本相一致,说明降雨在一定程度上决定着三大河流域的土壤侵蚀状况。从年平均含沙量来看,昌化江的含沙量整体明显高于南渡江和万泉河,这可能是昌化江流域原始森林的破坏引起水土流失等自然灾害向下游输送泥沙的结果。     

Context-dependent species identity effects within a functional group of filter-feeding bivalves

We asked whether species richness or species identity contributed more to ecosystem function in a trait-based functional group, burrowing, filter-feeding bivalves (freshwater mussels: Unionidae), and whether their importance changed with environmental context and species composition. We conducted a manipulative experiment in a small river examining the effects of mussel assemblages varying from one to eight species on benthic algal standing crop across two sets of environmental conditions: extremely low discharge and high water temperature (summer); and moderate discharge and water temperature (fall). We found strong species identity effects within this guild, with one species (Actinonaias ligamentina) influencing accrual of benthic algae more than other species, but only under summer conditions. We suspect that this effect is due to a combination of the greater biomass of this species and its higher metabolic and excretion rates at warm summer temperatures, resulting in increased nitrogen subsidies to benthic algae. We also found that Actinonaias influenced the condition of other mussel species, likely through higher consumption, interference, or both. This study demonstrates that species within trait-based functional groups do not necessarily have the same effects on ecosystem properties, particularly under different environmental conditions.