INTERACTION BETWEEN RIPARIAN VEGETATION,WATER TEMPERATURE,AND SALMONID HABITAT IN THE TUCANNON RIVER1

ABSTRACT: This analysis relates physical-process, ecological, and economic models to: (1) analyze the instream water temperatures with respect to existing and proposed riparian vegetation under natural conditions; (2) use these water temperatures to determine salmon and steel-head fish populations that were based upon actual field count and known temperature preference data; and (3) determine the economic worth based upon the estimated carrying capacity of the river, the estimated number of return spawners, and the economic value of commercially caught and sport-caught salmon and steelhead. The economic evaluations are in accordance with procedures outlined by the U.S. Water Resources Council (1983).     

Hydrogeomorphic Reference Condition and Its Relationship with Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Southeastern U.S. Sand Hills Streams

Defining stream reference conditions is integral to providing benchmarks to ecological perturbation. We quantified channel geometry, hydrologic and environmental variables, and macroinvertebrates in 62 low‐gradient, SE United States (U.S.) Sand Hills (Level IV ecoregion) sand‐bed streams. To identify hydrogeomorphic reference condition (HGM), we clustered channel geometry deviation from expectations given watershed area (Aws), resulting in two HGM groups discriminated by area at the top of bank (Atob) residuals <0.6 m² and >0.6 m² predicted to be HGM reference/nonreference streams, respectively. Two independent partial least squares discriminate analyses used (1) hydrologic/environmental variables and (2) macroinvertebrate mean trait values (mT) on 10 reference/nonreference stream pairs of similar Aws for classification validation. Nonreference streams had flashier hydrographs and altered flow magnitudes, lower organic matter, coarser substrate, higher pH/specific conductivity compared with reference streams. Macroinvertebrate assemblages corresponded to HGM groupings, with mT indicative of multivoltinism, collector‐gatherer functional feeding groups, fast current‐preference taxa, and lower Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera richness and biotic integrity in nonreference streams. HGM classifications in Sand Hills, sand‐bed streams were determined from channel geometry. This easily implemented classification is indicative of contemporary hydrologic disturbance resulting in contrasting macroinvertebrate assemblages.     

Microfluidic photomechanic infrared receptors in a pyrophilous flat bug

Infrared (IR) receptors are so far known only in boid and crotalid snakes and in three genera of pyrophilous beetles that seek out forest fires. Pyrophilous insects can also be found in other orders, however, so it can be hypothesised that IR receptors also occur in some of these species. We investigated the pyrophilous Australian flat bug Aradus albicornis and found a small number of dome-shaped sensilla (diameter 13 microm) on the prothorax, which have previously not been described. Ultrastructural investigations revealed that the sensilla are characterised by a fluid-filled inner compartment enclosed in a round cuticular shell. The cuticular apparatus is innervated by the dendrite of a ciliary mechanoreceptor, which is fluidically coupled to the inner compartment. Electrophysiological recordings demonstrated that the sensilla respond to brief warming by red laser light or to broadband IR radiation. Depending on the radiation intensity (4.4-549 mW/cm(2) tested, threshold measured as 11.3 mW/cm(2)), first spike latencies varied between 3.4 and 7.5 ms. Thus, our findings demonstrate that A. albicornis most probably possesses photomechanic IR sensilla resembling the metathoracic IR sensilla of buprestid beetles of the genus Melanophila. In the Melanophila sensillum, IR radiation causes thermal expansion of a fluid, which rapidly deforms the dendritic membrane of a mechanosensory cell. The existence of photomechanic IR receptors in both beetles and bugs demonstrates a remarkable convergent evolution towards this particular biophysical transduction mechanism and suggests that it provides selective advantages over other possible solutions.     

The interaction of temperature and sucrose concentration on foraging preferences in bumblebees

Several authors have found that flowers that are warmer than their surrounding environment have an advantage in attracting pollinators. Bumblebees will forage preferentially on warmer flowers, even if equal nutritional reward is available in cooler flowers. This raises the question of whether warmth and sucrose concentration are processed independently by bees, or whether sweetness detectors respond to higher sugar concentration as well as higher temperature. We find that bumblebees can use lower temperature as a cue to higher sucrose reward, showing that bees appear to process the two parameters strictly independently. Moreover, we demonstrate that sucrose concentration takes precedence over warmth, so that when there is a difference in sucrose concentration, bees will typically choose the sweeter feeder, even if the less sweet feeder is several degrees warmer.     

天津市水生态现状及保护管理

天津的水生态问题由来已久。河流开发利用程度高、人工化程度明显、水体污染严重、天然湿地逐年减少是水生态基本特征,诸多不适宜的人类活动造成生物种类减少、地面沉降、河流干涸等问题,而水利工程的影响、水资源的过度利用、环境管理中的漏洞是导致水生态问题的主要原因。文章认为,调整水库管理方式、停止部分水坝的使用、建立切实可行的湿地保护管理模式、建立稳定的湿地保护资金投入机制以及建立湿地监测评估体系是保护管理水生态的根本途径。     

Differences in sensory ecology contribute to resource partitioning in the bats Myotis bechsteinii and Myotis nattereri (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Coexisting animal species frequently differ in resource use in at least one niche dimension and thus avoid competition. While a range of morphological differences that lead to differentiation in animals' mechanical access to food have been identified, the role of sensory differences in within-guild niche differentiation has received less attention. We tested the hypothesis that differences in sensory access to prey contribute to resource partitioning between potentially competing species using two sympatric, similar-sized, congeneric bat species as a model system. Nursery colonies of Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri) and Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii) roost in bat boxes in the same orchard and forage in forests and orchards nearby. In observations and behavioural experiments with freshly captured M. bechsteinii, we showed that individuals are able to hunt using prey-generated sound alone. In contrast, M. nattereri rarely uses prey-generated sound, but instead is able to find prey by echolocation very close to vegetation. In accordance with these behavioural data, we showed that M. bechsteinii has significantly larger ears than M. nattereri, providing it with superior detection and localization abilities for relatively low-frequency prey rustling sounds. We hypothesized that these differences in sensory ecology of the two syntopic, congeneric species would contribute to resource partitioning, so that M. bechsteinii would find more noisy prey taxa, possibly hidden in vegetation, by listening for prey sounds, while M. nattereri would have better access to still prey using echolocation or associative learning. Analysis of faecal samples collected on the same nights from bat boxes occupied by each species corroborated this prediction. The diets of the two species differed significantly, reflecting their different prey perception techniques and thereby supporting the hypothesis that differences in sensory ecology contribute to niche differentiation. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorised users. B.M. Siemers and S.M. Swift contributed equally to this work.     

洞庭湖生态环境承载力分析

洞庭湖湖内冬枯水季节，有芦苇面积530km^2，草地面积800余km^2，泥滩地面积367km^2，天然水域面积约993km^2。湖洲之间隔水相望，河沟水系纵横交错，具“水浸皆湖，水落为洲”的地貌特征，呈现出支离破碎的形态面貌和典型的自然湿地景观。文章在大量调查的基础上，从自然和人文两个方面对洞庭湖的生态环境承载力或环境压力进行分析。     

城市建筑施工与环境保护

本文指出了目前我国城市建筑施工中存在的种种破坏城市生态环境的现象及其后果，分析了形成这种状态的原因，提出了解决城市工程施工中环境保护问题的对策与建议。     

城市生态的氧平衡研究：以南京市为例

城市化地区人的生态及其产业活动强度大、范围广，对氧的收支关系反应敏感。空气中氧的平衡能力及其可持续性，是促进城市社会经济与环境协调发展的基本条件，按南京总体规划确定的主城．中心城市围及市域三个层次的格局，主城的氧亏可从城乡结合部的制氧空间得到足够的补偿。中心城市圈自身耗氧低，对主城的外延发展，卫呈城镇的工业化，新增大型耗能企业的布点均有较强的氧平衡能力，维护城市生态氧平衡的关键措施是建设城市生态防