Regional coexistence and local dominance in Chaoborus: species sorting along a predation gradient

Variation in the intensity of predation across the well-known environmental gradient of freshwater habitats from small, ephemeral ponds to large, permanent lakes is a key factor in the development and maintenance of aquatic community structure. Here, we present data on the distribution and abundance of four species of Chaoborus (Diptera: Chaoboridae) across this environmental gradient. Chaoborus show a distinct pattern of species sorting when aquatic systems are divided into fish and fishless environments, and this pattern is consistent with species traits known to influence their vulnerability to fish predation (i.e., pigmentation, diel vertical migration [DVM] behavior, and body size). To test whether fish are the drivers of this pattern, we created a gradient in fish density by stocking bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) into 15 experimental ponds in southwestern Michigan, USA, and then allowed Chaoborus species to colonize. There was clear evidence of species sorting along the predation gradient; Chaoborus americanus was most abundant in the fishless ponds, C. flavicans was neutral in response to fish, and C. punctipennis and C. albatus were most abundant at high fish biomass, a response consistent with their field pattern. Furthermore, prey preference experiments confirm that size selective predation and differences in Chaoborus species traits contribute to the pattern of Chaoborus abundance and distribution.     

Fish reintroductions reveal smooth transitions between lake community states

Whether communities respond smoothly or discontinuously to changing environmental conditions has important consequences for the preservation and restoration of ecosystems. Theory shows that communities may exhibit a variety of responses to environmental change, including abrupt transitions due to the existence of alternate states. However, there have been few opportunities to look for such transitions in nature. Here, we examine the impact of a two-orders-of-magnitude decrease and then increase in planktivore abundance in Wintergreen lake (Michigan, USA), caused by the extinction and reintroduction of two dominant fish species (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus). Over a 16 + yr period of slow change from high planktivory to low planktivory back to high planktivory, the zooplankton community changed smoothly and predictably between states. In years of low planktivory, the zooplankton assemblage was dominated by a single, large, cladoceran species, Daphnia pulicaria, whereas in years of high planktivory, D. pulicaria disappeared and was replaced by a suite of small-bodied cladocerans. We quantified the multivariate change in zooplankton community dissimilarity and found that community state smoothly tracked changes in planktivore density in both a forward and backward direction. Thus, there was little evidence of discontinuity in this system where transitions are strongly driven by planktivory.     

Rareness and specialization in plant-pollinator networks

Most rare species appear to be specialists in plant-pollinator networks. This observation could result either from real ecological processes or from sampling artifacts. Several methods have been proposed to overcome these artifacts, but they have the limitation of being based on visitation data, causing interactions involving rare visitor species to remain undersampled. We propose the analysis of food composition in bee trap nests to assess the reliability of network specialization estimates. We compared data from a plant-pollinator network in the Monte Desert of Villavicencio Nature Reserve, Argentina, sampled by visit observation, and data from trap nests sampled at the same time and location. Our study shows that trap nest sampling was good for estimating rare species degree. The rare species in the networks appear to be more specialized than they really are, and the bias in the estimation of the species degree increases with the rareness. The low species degree of these rare species in the visitation networks results from insufficient sampling of the rare interactions, which could have important consequences for network structure.     

Relationship between mass-flux reduction and source-zone mass removal: analysis of field data

The magnitude of contaminant mass-flux reduction associated with a specific amount of contaminant mass removed is a key consideration for evaluating the effectiveness of a source-zone remediation effort. Thus, there is great interest in characterizing, estimating, and predicting relationships between mass-flux reduction and mass removal. Published data collected for several field studies were examined to evaluate relationships between mass-flux reduction and source-zone mass removal. The studies analyzed herein represent a variety of source-zone architectures, immiscible-liquid compositions, and implemented remediation technologies. There are two general approaches to characterizing the mass-flux-reduction/mass-removal relationship, end-point analysis and time-continuous analysis. End-point analysis, based on comparing masses and mass fluxes measured before and after a source-zone remediation effort, was conducted for 21 remediation projects. Mass removals were greater than 60% for all but three of the studies. Mass-flux reductions ranging from slightly less than to slightly greater than one-to-one were observed for the majority of the sites. However, these single-snapshot characterizations are limited in that the antecedent behavior is indeterminate. Time-continuous analysis, based on continuous monitoring of mass removal and mass flux, was performed for two sites, both for which data were obtained under water-flushing conditions. The reductions in mass flux were significantly different for the two sites (90% vs. approximately 8%) for similar mass removals ( approximately 40%). These results illustrate the dependence of the mass-flux-reduction/mass-removal relationship on source-zone architecture and associated mass-transfer processes. Minimal mass-flux reduction was observed for a system wherein mass removal was relatively efficient (ideal mass-transfer and displacement). Conversely, a significant degree of mass-flux reduction was observed for a site wherein mass removal was inefficient (non-ideal mass-transfer and displacement). The mass-flux-reduction/mass-removal relationship for the latter site exhibited a multi-step behavior, which cannot be predicted using some of the available simple estimation functions.     

Soil heavy metal content on the hillslope region of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: reference values

The increasing concern regarding the preservation of soil quality suggests the adoption of quality reference values as a first step in environmental monitoring actions. In this context, the objective of this study was to establish soil quality reference values for Al, Zn, Mn, Cd, Fe, Pb, Ni, Cr, and Cu and to correlate several soil properties with the occurrence of these elements in the hillslope region of Rio de Janeiro State. Sixty-two samples were collected at depths of 0–20 and 20–40 cm and analyzed using the USEPA method 3051A. After clustering analysis, the samples were separated into three groups. Classification functions were obtained based on the variables pH - Mg - Fe - Mn, i.e., the variables that were best related to heavy metal content. We determined to establish the quality reference values for the 75th percentile of the three groups. The relief forms of the area, which facilitate the transport of soil fine-particle fractions and accumulation in lowlands, were revealed to be one of most important factors in understanding the distribution of soil heavy metals.     

Persistent organic pollutants in plastic marine debris found on beaches in San Diego, California

Plastic debris were collected from eight beaches around San Diego County, California. Debris collected include: pre-production pellets and post-consumer plastics including fragments, polystyrene (PS) foam, and rubber. A total of n = 2453 pieces were collected ranging from <5 mm to 50 mm in size. The plastic pieces were separated by type, location, and appearance and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its breakdown products, and chlordanes. PAH concentrations ranged from 30 ng g⁻¹ to 1900 ng g⁻¹, PCBs from non-detect to 47 ng g⁻¹, chlordanes from 1.8 ng g⁻¹ to 60 ng g⁻¹, and DDTs from non-detect to 76 ng g⁻¹. Consistently higher PAH concentrations found in PS foam samples (300-1900 ng g⁻¹) led us to examine unexposed PS foam packaging materials and PS virgin pellets. Unexposed PS foam contained higher concentrations of PAHs (240-1700 ng g⁻¹) than PS virgin pellets (12-15 ng g⁻¹), suggesting that PAHs may be produced during manufacturing. Temporal trends of debris were investigated at one site, Ocean Beach, where storm events and beach maintenance were found to be important variables influencing debris present at a given time.