Hematology and Some Biochemical Parameters of Wild Rodents in Pistachio Gardens of Kerman Province, Southeast Iran

Wild rodents were collected using live snap traps in pistachio gardens of Kerman Province, Southeast Iran from 2007 to 2009, then some physiological parameters of them were measured. The samples were identified as follow: Nesokia indica, Meriones persicus, Meriones lybicus and Tatera indica. Blood samples were obtained from the heart, then the blood parameters (glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, HDL, red and white blood cell number) in wild species of rodents and laboratory rat were compared. The results showed that there were no significant differences in serum glucose, triglyceride, HDL and total protein levels among different experimental groups. The concentration of cholesterol in T. indica was more than that in N. indica (P < 0.01). The total numbers of red blood cells also showed significant difference between wild garden rodent species and laboratory rat (P < 0.01), while the numbers of white blood cells showed no significant difference.     

Nitrogen saturation in stream ecosystems

The concept of nitrogen (N) saturation has organized the assessment of N loading in terrestrial ecosystems. Here we extend the concept to lotic ecosystems by coupling Michaelis-Menten kinetics and nutrient spiraling. We propose a series of saturation response types, which may be used to characterize the proximity of streams to N saturation. We conducted a series of short-term N releases using a tracer (15NO3-N) to measure uptake. Experiments were conducted in streams spanning a gradient of background N concentration. Uptake increased in four of six streams as NO3-N was incrementally elevated, indicating that these streams were not saturated. Uptake generally corresponded to Michaelis-Menten kinetics but deviated from the model in two streams where some other growth-critical factor may have been limiting. Proximity to saturation was correlated to background N concentration but was better predicted by the ratio of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) to soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), suggesting phosphorus limitation in several high-N streams. Uptake velocity, a reflection of uptake efficiency, declined nonlinearly with increasing N amendment in all streams. At the same time, uptake velocity was highest in the low-N streams. Our conceptual model of N transport, uptake, and uptake efficiency suggests that, while streams may be active sites of N uptake on the landscape, N saturation contributes to nonlinear changes in stream N dynamics that correspond to decreased uptake efficiency.     

Stream ecosystem response to chronic deposition of N and acid at the Bear Brook Watershed, Maine

The Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM) is a long-term, paired watershed experiment that addresses the effects of acid and nitrogen (N) deposition on whole watersheds. To examine stream response at BBWM, we synthesized data on organic matter dynamics, including leaf breakdown rates, organic matter inputs and standing stocks, macroinvertebrate secondary production, and nutrient uptake in treated and reference streams at the BBWM. While N concentrations in stream water and leaves have increased, the input, standing stocks, and breakdown rates of leaves, as well as macroinvertebrate production, were not responsive to acid and N deposition. Both chronic and acute increases of N availability have saturated uptake of nitrate in the streams. Recent experimental increases in phosphorus (P) availability enhanced stream capacity to take up nitrate and altered the character of N saturation. These results show how the interactive effects of multiple factors, including environmental flow regime, acidification, and P availability, may constrain stream response to chronic N deposition.     

The land-cover cascade: relationships coupling land and water

We introduce the land-cover cascade (LCC) as a conceptual framework to quantify the transfer of land-cover-disturbance effects to stream biota. We hypothesize that disturbance is propagated through multivariate systems through key variables that transform a disturbance and pass a reorganized disturbance effect to the next hierarchical level where the process repeats until ultimately affecting biota. We measured 31 hydrologic, geomorphic, erosional, and substrate variables and 26 biotic responses that have been associated with land-use disturbance in third- and fourth-order streams in the Blue Ridge physiographic province in western North Carolina (USA). Regression analyses reduced this set of variables to include only those that responded to land cover and/or affected biota. From this reduced variable set, hypotheses were generated that predicted the disturbance pathways affecting each biotic response following the land-cover-cascade design. Cascade pathways began with land cover and ended with biotic responses, passing through at least one intermediate ecosystem abiotic component. Cascade models were tested for predictive ability and goodness-of-fit using path analysis. Biota were influenced by near-stream urban, agricultural, and forest land cover as propagated by hydrologic (e.g., discharge), geomorphic (e.g., stream bank height), erosional (e.g., suspended sediments), and depositional streambed (e.g., substrate size) features occurring along LCC pathways, reflecting abiotic mechanisms mediating land-cover disturbance. Our results suggest that communities are influenced by land-cover change indirectly through a hierarchy of associated abiotic components that propagate disturbance to biota. More generally, the land-cover cascade concept and experimental framework demonstrate an organized approach to the generic study of cascades and the complex relationships between landscapes and streams.