Invasive species impacts on ecosystem structure and function: A comparison of Oneida Lake, New York, USA, before and after zebra mussel invasion

Exotic species invasion is widely considered to affect ecosystem structure and function. Yet, few contemporary approaches can assess the effects of exotic species invasion at such an inclusive level. Our research presents one of the first attempts to examine the effects of an exotic species at the ecosystem level in a quantifiable manner. We used ecological network analysis (ENA) and a social network analysis (SNA) method called cohesion analysis to examine the effect of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion on the Oneida Lake, New York, USA, food web. We used ENA to quantify ecosystem function through an analysis of food web carbon transfer that explicitly incorporated flow over all food web paths (direct and indirect). The cohesion analysis assessed ecosystem structure through an organization of food web members into subgroups of strongly interacting predators and prey. Our analysis detected effects of zebra mussel invasion throughout the entire Oneida Lake food web, including changes in trophic flow efficiency (i.e., carbon flow among trophic levels) and alterations of food web organization (i.e., paths of carbon flow) and ecosystem activity (i.e., total carbon flow). ENA indicated that zebra mussels altered food web function by shunting carbon from pelagic to benthic pathways, increasing dissipative flow loss, and decreasing ecosystem activity. SNA revealed the strength of zebra mussel perturbation as evidenced by a reorganization of food web subgroup structure, with a decrease in importance of pelagic pathways, a concomitant rise of benthic pathways, and a reorganization of interactions between top predator fish. Together, these analyses allowed for a holistic understanding of the effects of zebra mussel invasion on the Oneida Lake food web.     

Influence of Landscape Elements in Riparian Buffers on the Conservation of Semiaquatic Amphibians

Abstract:  Studies on riparian buffers have usually focused on the amount of land needed as habitat for the terrestrial life stages of semiaquatic species. Nevertheless, the landscape surrounding wetlands is also important for other key processes, such as dispersal and the dynamics of metapopulations. Multiple elements that influence these processes should therefore be considered in the delineation of buffers. We analyzed landscape elements (forest cover, density of roads, and hydrographic network) in concentric buffers to evaluate the scale at which they influence stream amphibians in 77 distinct landscapes. To evaluate whether our results could be generalized to other contexts, we determined whether they were consistent across the study areas. Amphibians required buffers of 100–400 m of suitable terrestrial habitat, but interspecific differences in the amount of habitat were large. The presence of amphibians was related to roads and the hydrographic network at larger spatial scales (300–1500 m), which suggests that wider buffers are needed with these elements. This pattern probably arose because these elements influence dispersal and metapopulation persistence, processes that occur at large spatial scales. Furthermore, in some cases, analyses performed on different sets of landscapes provided different results, which suggests caution should be used when conservation recommendations are applied to disparate areas. Establishment of riparian buffers should not be focused only on riparian habitat, but should take a landscape perspective because semiaquatic species use multiple elements for different functions. This approach can be complex because different landscape elements require different spatial extents. Nevertheless, a shift of attention toward the management of different elements at multiple spatial scales is necessary for the long-term persistence of populations.     

Spatially explicit modeling of overstory manipulations in young forests: Effects on stand structure and light

Young forests can be manipulated in diverse ways to enhance their ecological values. We used stem maps from two dense, second-growth stands in western Washington and a spatially explicit light model (tRAYci) to simulate effects of five silvicultural manipulations on diameter distribution, species composition, spatial patterning, and light availability. Each treatment removed 30% of the basal area, but differed in how trees were selected for removal. Three primary treatments were thin from below (removing the smallest trees), random thin (removing trees randomly), and gap creation (removing all trees in circles ∼1 tree height in diameter). Two additional treatments combined elements of these approaches: random ecological thin (a mixture of thin from below and random thin) and structured ecological thin (a mixture of thin from below and gap creation).     

Decadal changes in a NW Mediterranean Sea food web in relation to fishing exploitation

We analysed changes in the ecological roles of species, trophic structure and ecosystem functioning using four standardized mass-balance models of the South Catalan Sea (North-western Mediterranean). Models represented the ecosystem during the late 1970s, mid 1990s, early 2000s, and a simulated no-fishing scenario. The underlying hypothesis was that ecosystem models should quantitatively capture the increasing exploitation in the ecosystem from the 1970s to 2000s, as well as differences between the exploited and non-exploited scenarios. Biomass showed a general decrease, while there was an increase in biomass at lower trophic levels (TL) from the 1970s to 2000s. The efficiency of energy transfer (TE) from lower to higher TLs significantly increased with time. The ecosystem during the 1990s showed higher biomass and flows than during the 1970s and 2000s due to an increase in small pelagic fish biomass (especially sardines). Exploited food webs also showed similarities in terms of general structure and functioning due to high intensity of fishing already in the 1970s. This intensity was highlighted with low trophic levels in the catch, high consumption of production by fisheries, medium to high primary production required to sustain the catches and high losses in secondary production due to fishing. Significant differences on ecosystem structure and functioning were highlighted between the exploited and no-fishing scenarios. Biomass of higher TLs increased under the no-fishing scenario and the mean trophic level of the community and the fish/invertebrate biomass ratios were substantially lower in exploited food webs. The efficiency of energy transfer (TE) from lower to higher TLs was lower under the no-fishing scenario, and it showed a continuous decrease with increasing TL. Marine mammals, large hake, anglerfish and large pelagic fish were identified as keystone species of the ecosystem when there was no fishing, while their ecological importance notably decreased under the exploited periods. On the contrary, the importance of small-sized organisms such as benthic invertebrates and small pelagic fish was higher in exploited food webs.     

Spatial and seasonal variations in bacterial communities of the Yellow Sea by T-RFLP analysis

Four typical coastal sites (rocky shore, sandy shore, mud flat shore, and artificial harbor) at the Yellow Sea were chosen to investigate the spatial and seasonal variations in bacterial communities. This was accomplished by using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of PCR amplified 16S rDNA fragments. Two kinds of tetrameric restriction enzymes, HhaI and MspI, were used in the experiment to depict the bacterial community diversity in different marine environments. It was found that the community compositions digested by the two enzymes separately were different. However, the results of bacterial community diversity derived from them were similar. The MDA analysis results of T-RFLP profiles coming from HhaI and MspI both exhibited a significant seasonal community shift for bacteria and a relatively low spatial variation among the four locations. With HhaI as the sample, the pair wise T-tests also revealed that variations were minor between each pair of marine environments, with R ranging from 0.198 to 0.349. However, the bacterial community structure in the mud flat site depicted a larger difference than each of the other three sites (R ranging from 0.282 to 0.349).     

Dawson结构磷钨钒杂多酸的表征及其光催化性能

通过FTIR、UV、循环伏安法对自制的Dawson结构磷钨钒杂多酸催化剂的结构及电化学性能进行表征.以甲基橙溶液模拟工业染料废水,考察了磷钨钒杂多酸光催化降解性能的影响因素.实验结果表明:自制磷钨钒杂多酸具有Dawson结构,表现出良好的电化学性能;在磷钨钒杂多酸加入量为1.5 g/L、初始甲基橙质量浓度为10 mg/L、紫外灯功率为500W的条件下,经紫外光照射200 min,甲基橙降解率可达98.3％.     

可持续发展与产业结构优化

可持续发展要求产业结构合理化、高度化、形成能够发挥资源禀赋比较优势的产业结构和发展环保产业,但是我国目前存在产业结构不合理、重复建设严重、地区产业结构趋同、产业技术水平低、第三产业发展不足、高新技术产业和环保产业发展滞后等情况,极不利于社会经济的可持续发展。为了真正的实现可持续发展,必须努力调整产业结构,淘汰落后过剩的生产能力,促进产业结构升级,大力发展第三产业、环保产业和高新技术产业。     

Changes in the Carabid Fauna (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Meadow Steppes during the Past Decades

Basic trends in the structural dynamics of the meadow-steppe carabid fauna over the period from 1970 to 1997 have been analyzed. Data on changes in the abundance and composition of dominant species are reported. Transformation of carabidocenoses is mainly accounted for by an increased humidity of the climate and the related mesophytization of forest–steppe ecosystems.     

Co-Partnership in Forest Management: The Gwira-Banso Joint Forest Management Project in Ghana

The involvement of local communities, as well as the private sector and the government in forest management is now an important principle of tropical forestry policy and practice and a major component of most international forestry aid programmes. This paper present an analysis on the Joint Forest Management Project initiated by two timber companies (Ghana Primewood Products Ltd and Dalhoff Larsen & Horneman) in collaboration with local people in Gwira-Banso of Ghana. Conditions required for enhancing responsibility for and commitment to local forest management, and for an effective local participatory process were also analysed. The study began with the premise that incentives and good communication will enhance participation in joint forest management.The assumption was valid and the results from the survey showed that five broad issues prioritised by respondents to be essential for co-partnership in forest management are communication, financial support, tree planting, multiple land use and benefit sharing. The Project enjoys a great deal of support from the local community, but a number of factors make the continued support of local people a challenging task, including questions of immediate livelihood sources and tenure arrangements. Although this participatory forest management has been implemented over a relatively short period, there is evidence that government and private sectors can successfully involve local people in sustainable management of the forests.     

Specific Structural Features of Zooplankton in Lakes Differing in Trophic Status: Zoosynusiae

Russian Journal of Ecology -