Alterations of biochemical parameters in malformed Indian rice frogs, Rana limnocharis from Southern Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that cause malformed frogs in upstream Kaoping river (KP site) and Tungkang river (T site) of Southern Taiwan. In this experiment, the activities of monooxygenase (MO), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), acetylcholinesterase (AchE) as well as the concentration of vitellogenin (Vg) in the liver were measured. Results show that activities of MO, GST and AchE, and Vg levels in normal frogs (male/female) were 0.09 +/- 0.02/0.09+/-0.01 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 0.12 +/- 0.04/0.13 +/- 0.04 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 6.13 +/- 2.69/6.01 +/- 2.09 U mg(-1) protein and 0.87 +/- 0.42/2.18 +/- 0.50 microg mg(-1) protein, respectively. Activities of MO, GST and AchE, and Vg levels in malformed frogs (male/female) were 0.15 +/- 0.04/0.21 +/- 0.07 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 0.27 +/- 0.08/0.30 +/- 0.12 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 4.59 +/- 2.71/5.19 +/- 3.74 U mg(-1) protein and 1.46 +/- 0.61/3.15 +/- 0.88 microg mg(-1) protein, respectively in KP site, and were 0.16 +/- 0.69/0.1 +/- 80.07 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 0.21 +/- 0.07/0.24 +/- 0.08 deltaA min(-1) mg(-1) protein, 5.13 +/- 4.58/3.94 +/- 1.33 U mg(-1) protein and 2.23 +/- 1.47/4.11 +/- 1.63 microg mg(-1) protein, respectively in T site. These results indicate that male and female malformed frogs in both rivers upstream are found with higher activities. No significant difference in AchE activity was found between normal and malformed frogs in this investigation. It is therefore reasonable to speculate that the organic chemicals released from agricultural activities are presumable the main factors that lead to the malformation of frogs.     

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。     

Effects of flow regimes altered by dams on survival, population declines, and range-wide losses of California river-breeding frogs

Widespread alteration of natural hydrologic patterns by large dams combined with peak demands for power and water delivery during summer months have resulted in frequent aseasonal flow pulses in rivers of western North America. Native species in these ecosystems have evolved with predictable annual flood-drought cycles; thus, their likelihood of persistence may decrease in response to disruption of the seasonal synchrony between stable low-flow conditions and reproduction. We evaluated whether altered flow regimes affected 2 native frogs in California and Oregon (U.S.A.) at 4 spatial and temporal extents. We examined changes in species distribution over approximately 50 years, current population density in 11 regulated and 16 unregulated rivers, temporal trends in abundance among populations occupying rivers with different hydrologic histories, and within-year patterns of survival relative to seasonal hydrology. The foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii), which breeds only in flowing water, is more likely to be absent downstream of large dams than in free-flowing rivers, and breeding populations are on average 5 times smaller in regulated rivers than in unregulated rivers. Time series data (range = 8 - 19 years) from 5 populations of yellow-legged frogs and 2 populations of California red-legged frogs (R. draytonii) across a gradient of natural to highly artificial timing and magnitude of flooding indicate that variability of flows in spring and summer is strongly correlated with high mortality of early life stages and subsequent decreases in densities of adult females. Flow management that better mimics natural flow timing is likely to promote persistence of these species and others with similar phenology.     

Flow regulation and fragmentation imperil pelagic-spawning riverine fishes.

Flow regulation and fragmentation of the world's rivers threaten the integrity of freshwater ecosystems and have resulted in the loss or decline of numerous fish species. Pelagic-spawning fishes (pelagophils) are thought to be particularly susceptible to river regulation because their early life stages (ichthyoplankton) drift until becoming free-swimming, although the extent of transport is largely unknown. Transport velocity and distance were determined for passively drifting particles, which mimicked physical properties of ichthyoplankton, in two large, regulated rivers (Rio Grande and Pecos River) of the arid Southwest United States. Particle drift data were incorporated into celerity-discharge equations (r2 > 0.90; P < 0.001), and reach-specific transport velocity was modeled as a function of discharge. Transport velocities of particles exceeded 0.7 m/s in all river reaches during typical spawning flows (i.e., reservoir releases or rainstorms) and were greatest in highly incised and narrow channel reaches. Mean transport distance of particles released in the Pecos River during sustained reservoir flows (141.1 km; 95% CI = 117.0-177.5 km) was significantly longer than during declining reservoir flows that mimicked a natural rainstorm (52.4 km; 95% CI = 48.8-56.5 km). Mean transport distance of particles in the Rio Grande during sustained reservoir flows was 138.7 km (95% CI = 131.0-147.2 km). There are 68 dams and 13 reservoirs that fragment habitats and regulate flow in the Rio Grande Basin (Rio Grande and Pecos River) in areas historically occupied by pelagophils. While the basin historically provided 4029 km of free-flowing riverine habitat, reservoir habitat now represents > 10% of the longitudinal distance. Only five unfragmented nonreservoir reaches > 100 km remain in the Rio Grande, and two remain in the Pecos River. Pelagophils were extirpated from all reservoirs and from nearly all short, fragmented reaches (< 100 km) of the Rio Grande Basin, but at least some fraction persisted in all longer reaches (> 100 km). The recovery and long-term persistence of pelagophils in regulated rivers, including those in this study, will likely depend on reestablishment and protection of long unfragmented reaches coupled with mimicry of the natural flow regime.     

上海地区河流健康评价方法探讨

界定了河流健康的概念,基于对国外河流健康表征指标的剖析,尝试从河流水文、河流形态、河岸带状况、水质理化参数以及河流生物5方面对河流健康进行评价,初步提出由5个1级指标、17个2级指标架构的城市河流健康评价体系.通过国际调研、标准对照、专家咨询等方法制定相关评价标准,基于简明的评价模型将河流健康状况划分为很健康、健康、亚健康、不健康和病态5个等级.以上海中心城区某河流为例,对其健康状况进行评价.     

Litter-based methods in developmental toxicity risk assessment

Developmental toxicity experiments are designed to assess potential adverse effects of drugs and other exposures on developing fetuses from pregnant dams. Extrapolation to humans is a very difficult problem. An important issue here is whether risk assessment should be based on the fetus or the litter level. In this paper, fetus and litter-based risks that properly account for cluster size are defined and compared for the beta-binomial model and a conditional model for clustered binary data. It is shown how the hierarchical structure of non-viable implants and viable but malformed offspring can be incorporated. Risks based on a joint model for death/resorption and malformation are contrasted with risks based on an adverse event defined as either death/resorption or malformation. The estimation of safe exposure levels for all risk types is discussed and it is shown how estimation of the cluster size distribution affects variance estimation. The methods are applied to data collected under the National Toxicology Program and in large sample simulations.     

Serial variations of trace metal concentrations in aquatic insect Stenopsyche marmorata

Caddisfly larvae (Stenopsyche marmorata) instar V, periphyton, sediment and river water at a non‐contaminated upstream site, a metallic contaminated downstream site, and industrial wasterwater which caused the metallic contamination were collected once a month for 21 months. Nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and lead (Pb) concentrations in these samples were measured. Significant serial variations of the 4 metal concentrations in the larvae showed a seasonal tendency at the upstream site but not at the downstream site. The larvae more clearly indicated the influence of industrial wastewater than periphyton. As the larvae of Stenopsyche marmorata could be collected throughout the year, this larva is useful for monitoring trace metal contamination in rivers.     

Sources and dynamics of large logs in a temperate floodplain river.

Large logs, important agents of biophysical heterogeneity in temperate floodplain rivers, have been virtually eliminated from modified systems. Our purpose was to quantify the sources and dynamics of large logs (> or = 1 m diameter) in the mainstem of a nearly pristine system: the Queets River, Washington, USA. Erosion of forests by the river supplies 0.40 logs x (100 m)(-1) x yr(-1) to the channel. Most (72%) are new logs entering the river for the first time as the river undercuts mature fluvial terraces dominated by large conifers. Retrospective airphoto analyses demonstrate that, over 63 years, the Queets River recruits 95% of new logs from a riparian corridor extending 265 m laterally on both banks, mostly through channel meandering. However, input rates are patchy, with 10% of the valley length supplying 38% of the new logs. As the river moves laterally, remnant logs are left on channel surfaces that later develop riparian forests and reenter the river when those forests erode. Remnant logs lying on the floodplain forest floor surface or buried in alluvium constitute 21% and 7% of the annual inputs from bank erosion, respectively. We estimate that 50% of logs deposited in the channel in a given year, including those underpinning logjams, are transported downriver within five years. Over the next 55 years, bank erosion reclaims an additional 23%, leaving 27% of the logs stable for > 60 years. Simulations indicate that recurrent transport is common, with half of the large conifers being deposited in > or = 3 locations and transported > or = 1.5 km prior to disintegrating. One in ten logs links distant reaches by occupying > or = 7 locations spanning > or = 12.0 km. Instream supplies are therefore a mixture of new and old logs from nearby and upstream forests, sustained by the recapture and transport of stockpiled remnant logs during periods when new inputs are low. We propose that patchy input rates and the periodic rearrangement of large logs are important drivers of temporal variation in river valley habitats, adding to the spatial complexity created by stable logs. These findings underscore the importance of extensive mature forests and connectivity in temperate floodplain rivers.     

金矿区中国林蛙体内DNA甲基化水平

采集金矿附近山区河流水质、沉积物和当地两栖类动物中国林蛙样品,应用高效液相色谱仪测定污染区和对照区林蛙体内各组织器官的胞嘧啶(c)和5-甲基胞嘧啶(5-mc)含量,探讨因金矿开采引起的汞污染以及对林蛙体内组织器官DNA甲基化水平的变化,研究汞胁迫下,两栖类动物体内分子水平的影响。结果表明:金矿开采区河流水质和沉积物已受到甲基汞污染,污染区林蛙体内甲基汞含量远高于对照区;林蛙体内各组织器官中DNA甲基化水平发生不同的变化:污染区林蛙肝脏和皮肤中DNA甲基化水平高于对照区,肌肉和脑干DNA甲基化水平低于对照区;雄性林蛙肝脏和脑干DNA甲基化水平高于雌性,肌肉和皮肤DNA甲基化水平却低于雌性。以上结果说明汞胁迫下,中国林蛙体内组织器官DNA甲基化水平可以发生一定的变化,环境中重金属汞离子进入林蛙体内含量的不同,可以促进或抑制其体内甲基化水平的变化,引起基因毒性作用。     

Ecomorphology and disease: cryptic effects of parasitism on host habitat use, thermoregulation, and predator avoidance

Parasites can cause dramatic changes in the phenotypes of their hosts, sometimes leading to a higher probability of predation and parasite transmission. Because an organism's morphology directly affects its locomotion, even subtle changes in key morphological traits may affect survival and behavior. However, despite the ubiquity of parasites in natural communities, few studies have incorporated parasites into ecomorphological research. Here, we evaluated the effects of parasite-induced changes in host phenotype on the habitat use, thermal biology, and simulated predator-escape ability of Pacific chorus frogs (Pseudacris regilla) in natural environments. Frogs with parasite-induced limb malformations were more likely to use ground microhabitats relative to vertical refugia and selected less-angled perches closer to the ground in comparison with normal frogs. Although both groups had similar levels of infection, malformed frogs used warmer microhabitats, which resulted in higher body temperatures. Likely as a result of their morphological abnormalities, malformed frogs allowed a simulated predator to approach closer before escaping and escaped shorter distances relative to normal frogs. These data indicate that parasite-induced morphological changes can significantly alter host behavior and habitat use, highlighting the importance of incorporating the ubiquitous, albeit cryptic, role of parasites into ecomorphological research.     

浅丘河道生态需水量计算方法对比研究——以鄂北地区水河为例

适宜的生态需水量是保障河道生态系统健康的重要因素,合理地计算生态需水量对河道生态系统评估具有现实意义。以鄂北地区典型浅丘河道——水河为例,基于Qp法(不同频率最枯月平均值法)、频率曲线法、最小月平均流量法、Tennant法及生物习性法5种方法的生态流量计算结果,探讨了各方法计算结果的合理性与适用性。结果表明:由于上下游河道水文条件差异性,上游断面采用生物习性法能较好地拟合河道水文节律变化和水质波动;同理,下游断面采用频率曲线法更加匹配下游河道水文、水质情况。因此,在河道上、下游断面分别采用生物习性法、频率曲线法计算得到适宜生态需水量为0.21 m^3/s、2.02 m^3/s。     

Integrated modeling of flood flows and tidal hydrodynamics over a coastal floodplain

The interactions of physical processes between estuaries and upstream river floodplains are of great importance to the fish habitats and ecosystems in coastal regions. Traditionally, a hydraulic analysis of floodplains has used one- or two-dimensional models. While this approach may be sufficient for planning the engineering design for flood protection, it is inadequate when floodwaters inundate the floodplain in a complex manner. Similarly, typical estuarine and coastal modeling studies do not consider the effect of upstream river floodplains because of the technical challenge of modeling wetting and drying processes in floodplains and higher bottom elevations in the upstream river domain. While various multi-scale model frameworks have been proposed for modeling the coastal oceans, estuaries, and rivers with a combination of different models, this paper presents a modeling approach for simulating the hydrodynamics in the estuary and river floodplains, which provides a smooth transition between the two regimes using an unstructured-grid, coastal ocean model. This approach was applied to the Skagit River estuary and its upstream river floodplain of Puget Sound along the northwest coast of North America. The model was calibrated with observed data for water levels and velocities under low-flow and high-flood conditions. This study successfully demonstrated that a three-dimensional estuarine and coastal ocean model with an unstructured-grid framework and wetting-drying capability can be extended much further upstream to simulate the inundation processes and the dynamic interactions between the estuarine and river floodplain regimes.     

电解锰产业集聚区河流锰污染演变趋势和时空分布特征

松桃河流域是我国锰产业最为集中的区域之一,资源开发和利用形成的污染严重.通过对松桃河电解锰产业集聚区流域2015-2019年的8个典型断面的总锰监测数据的分析,用秩相关系数法探究了河流锰污染总体变化趋势,并用系统聚类分析法分析了河流锰的时空分布特征,结合聚类结果对污染趋势做进一步分析.秩相关系数分析结果表明,近年来松桃...     

Prairie Landscape Change and Flooding in the Mississippi River Valley

Extensive landscape alteration of prairie in the U.S. from agricultural expansion has reduced waterfowl populations and increased precipitation runoff into regional river basins. Satellite imagery shows that prairie landscapes have been less altered in Canada than in the U.S. Long-term, broad-scale precipitation data indicate that in both countries precipitation has varied widely but has not increased over time. Nevertheless, flow rates of unregulated U.S. rivers have increased, but there have been no detectable changes in flow rates of Canadian rivers. Neither of two competing hypotheses advanced to explain increasing flood magnitudes—climate change and channel confinement—can account for these results. Thus, the increased magnitudes of floods in the Mississippi River Valley over the last several decades may be at least partially related to extensive changes in agricultural land use resulting in reduction of natural upland vegetation and wetland drainage in the upper reaches of this watershed.     

重污染河道中浮游植物初级生产力特征

通过对苏州城市河道的调查研究发现,城市河道的浮游植物初级生产力与其它水体有明显不同。从2004年6月至2005年5月通过取样分析苏州苗家河水体浮游植物种类、数量和叶绿素a含量变化及采用黑白瓶法测定浮游植物产氧能力,结果表明：该河道氮、磷含量较高,浮游植物群落为绿藻一硅藻型,种类少,季节变化明显,水体中表层叶绿素a的含量低于底层。分析表层水体和底层水体叶绿素a的产氧能力发现,河道中浮游植物的光合产氧能力普遍较低。本文揭示了重污染河道中大量悬浮颗粒附着在浮游植物的体表,影响了浮游植物的光合产氧能力,是整个水体和底泥中的溶氧普遍较低的重要原因之一。探讨了重污染河道溶氧偏低产生黑臭的原因,为重污染河道的综合治理提供了参考。     

长江上游典型区域丰枯转换期水资源变化分析

针对长江上游金沙江下游区域近几年6月和10月出现的较剧烈的水资源丰枯转换现象,以2018年金沙江下游来水过程作为研究案例,考虑金沙江下游流域来水组成及水利工程建设情况,从区间流量分析及上游水库群调蓄影响分析两方面开展了研究工作。研究结果表明:金沙江下游流域丰枯转换主要影响因素为三堆子流量变化,三堆子至溪洛渡区间流量变化影响较小。在6月,上游水库群调蓄对金沙江下游流域丰枯转换影响较大,10月影响相对较小。相关研究成果可为溪洛渡-向家坝梯级水库调度计划制订及实际调度工作提供参考。     

Habituation in the green frog, Rana clamitans

Habituation and its role in the dear enemy effect was investigated in a population of green frogs, Rana clamitans. Green frogs have a prolonged breeding season, and males defend territories centered around suitable oviposition sites. We tested the prediction that male green frogs will habituate to broadcasts of synthetic conspecific stimuli. Our results indicate that male green frogs can discriminate familiar from unfamiliar stimuli. We suggest that habituation helps to mediate the territorial interactions between male green frogs. Strangers present a greater threat than familiar neighbors. By habituating to the advertisement vocalizations of their near neighbors, males avoid costly interactions with individuals that are not a major threat to their territories. Received: 20 July 1998 / Accepted after revision: 6 September 1998     

Are rivers just big streams? A pulse method to quantify nitrogen demand in a large river

Given recent focus on large rivers as conduits for excess nutrients to coastal zones, their role in processing and retaining nutrients has been overlooked and understudied. Empirical measurements of nutrient uptake in large rivers are lacking, despite a substantial body of knowledge on nutrient transport and removal in smaller streams. Researchers interested in nutrient transport by rivers (discharge >10000 L/s) are left to extrapolate riverine nutrient demand using a modeling framework or a mass balance approach. To begin to fill this knowledge gap, we present data using a pulse method to measure inorganic nitrogen. (N) transport and removal in the Upper Snake River, Wyoming, USA (seventh order, discharge 12000 L/s). We found that the Upper Snake had surprisingly high biotic demand relative to smaller streams in the same river network for both ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-). Placed in the context of a meta-analysis of previously published nutrient uptake studies, these data suggest that large rivers may have similar biotic demand for N as smaller tributaries. We also found that demand for different forms of inorganic N (NH4+ vs. NO3-) scaled differently with stream size. Data from rivers like the Upper Snake and larger are essential for effective water quality management at the scale of river networks. Empirical measurements of solute dynamics in large rivers are needed to understand the role of whole river networks (as opposed to stream reaches) in patterns of nutrient export at regional and continental scales.     

秦皇岛主要入海河流污染及其对近岸海域影响研究

利用饮马河、洋河、汤河和戴河的水文和水质监测资料,分析了各河流的污染状况、营养状态、污染物入海通量及其对海域水质的影响。结果表明：秦皇岛市入海河流中饮马河和洋河污染较重;通过污染分担率分析,秦皇岛入海河流的首要污染物为DIN、COD,其次为PO43--P;采用综合营养状态指数法评价,汤河处于轻度富营养状态,戴河处于中度富营养状态,而洋河和饮马河都已达到重度富营养化状态,可见秦皇岛入海河流的富营养化现象非常严重;秦皇岛主要河流污染物入海通量近年来基本呈减小趋势,饮马河和洋河年均入海污染物量占到秦皇岛市陆源入海污染物总量的94.91%;通过相关分析表明,秦皇岛近岸海域的水质主要受入海河流影响,尤其是CODMn、DIN、PO43--P在河、海间存在线性关系,具有强相关性。因此应加强对入河污染物的管理,重点应放在生活污水、农业面源污染的治理上,从而改善近岸海域的水质状况。     

Introduced trout sever trophic connections in watersheds: consequences for a declining amphibian

Trophic linkages between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are increasingly recognized as important yet poorly known features of food webs. Here we describe research to understand the dynamics of lake food webs in relation to a native riparian amphibian and its interaction with introduced trout. The mountain yellow-legged frog Rana muscosa is endemic to alpine watersheds of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Transverse Ranges of California, but it has declined to a small fraction of its historical distribution and abundance. Although remaining frogs and introduced trout feed in different habitats of alpine lakes, our stable-isotope analyses clearly show that the same resource base of benthic invertebrates sustains their growth. During one period, insect emergence from naturally fishless lakes was nearly 20-fold higher compared to adjacent lakes with trout, showing that fish reduce availability of aquatic prey to amphibious and terrestrial consumers. Although trout cannot prey on adult frogs due to gape limitation, foraging post-metamorphic frogs are 10 times more abundant in the absence of trout, suggesting an important role for competition for prey by trout in highly unproductive alpine watersheds. Most Sierran lakes contain fish, and those that do not are usually small isolated ponds; in our study, these two lake types supported the lowest densities of post-metamorphic frogs, and these frogs were less reliant on local, benthic sources of productivity. Since Rana muscosa was formerly the most abundant vertebrate in the Sierra Nevada, the reduction in energy flow from lake benthos to this consumer due to fish introductions may have had negative consequences for its numerous terrestrial predators, many of which have also declined. We suggest that disruptions of trophic connections between aquatic and terrestrial food webs are an important but poorly understood consequence of fish introduction to many thousands of montane lakes and streams worldwide and may contribute to declines of native consumers in riparian habitats.