Reflections in a Stock Pond: Are Anthropogenically Derived Freshwater Ecosystems Natural, Artificial, or Something Else?

“A skyscraper is as natural as a bird’s nest” –Alan Watts For millennia, people have altered freshwater ecosystems directly through water development and indirectly by global change and surrounding land-use activities. In these altered ecosystems, human impacts can be subtle and are sometimes overlooked by the people who manage them. This article provides two case studies near Boulder, Colorado that demonstrate how perceptions regarding these ecosystems affect their management. These examples are typical of lakes and streams along the Front Range of Colorado that are simultaneously natural and social in origin. Although natural, many of the region’s freshwater ecosystems are affected by ongoing ecologic, hydrologic, chemical, and geomorphic modifications produced by human activity. People and nature are both active participants in the production of these freshwater ecosystems. The concept of “hybridity,” borrowed from geographers and social scientists, is useful for describing landscapes of natural and social origin. Hybrid freshwater ecosystems are features of the humanized landscape and are derived from deliberate cultural activities, nonhuman physical and biological processes, and incidental anthropogenic disturbance. Our perceptions of “natural” freshwater ecosystems and what definitions we use to describe them influences our view of hybrid systems and, in turn, affects management decisions regarding them. This work stresses the importance of understanding the underlying societal forces and cultural values responsible for the creation of hybrid freshwater ecosystems as a central step in their conservation and management.     

东湖“赤潮”的成因分析及发展趋势

2003年3月下旬东湖水质发生了异常现象,为找到水质明显变化的原因,武汉市环境监测中心站通过及时布点取样分析,监测分析水中的生物群落结构,确认东湖发生了"赤潮",并找出了污染源头。通过跟踪监测,了解多甲藻的变化趋势,并提出对涉及外来物种等海洋馆类建设项目的强化管理的建议。     

模拟盐水入侵对河口湿地土壤碳矿化潜力的影响研究

河口湿地在全球陆地生态系统碳循环中具有重要作用,为了揭示盐水入侵对河口湿地土壤碳矿化潜力的影响,以闽江河口淡水湿地为研究对象,采用室内泥浆厌氧培养与气相色谱法相结合的方法,通过设置高频率盐度梯度的盐水入侵情景模式,对不同处理下的土壤碳矿化潜力(以CO₂产生潜力表征)及其环境调节因子进行连续3周的测定与分析.研究结果表明：(1)不同盐度处理下土壤pH值均低于对照处理(0),氨态氮(NH₄⁺-N)含量均高于对照处理,且随盐度增加而增加,可溶性有机碳(DOC)含量在盐度25‰、30‰处理下高于对照处理,SO₄^2-含量在盐度20‰、25‰、30‰处理下高于对照处理;(2)随着时间的变化,厌氧培养第1周CO₂产生潜力显著高于第2周和第3周(p<0.05),不同盐度处理CO₂产生潜力差异较大,表现为低盐度(0.5‰～10‰)促进和高盐度(15‰～30‰)抑制作用,盐度10‰～15‰可能是影响土壤碳矿化转变的重要转折点;(3)不同盐度处理下C...     

Contribution of winter fluxes to the annual CH4, CO2 and N2O emissions from freshwater marshes in the Sanjiang Plain

Introduction C arbon dioxide, m ethane and nitrous oxide play im portant roles in the radiation balance of the earth contributing to the greenhouse effect (Rodhe, 1990). N 2O also takes part in the destruction of stratospheric ozone (W ang, 1999). N atura…     

模拟Fe (III)和盐水输入对闽江河口潮汐湿地沉积物及间隙水Fe和S含量和形态的影响

河口潮汐湿地沉积物电子受体和盐度的变化将对间隙水、沉积物的地球化学参数及有机碳厌氧矿化途径产生重要影响.本研究于闽江河口塔礁洲淡水野慈姑(Sagittaria trifolia L.)湿地原位施加人造海水及Fe(III)溶液,模拟研究了盐水入侵及径流Fe(III)浓度增强对河口潮汐湿地沉积物、间隙水的地球化学参数(溶解性CH4、DOC、DOC∶DON、Fe2+和ΔSO2-4)和沉积物各形态固相铁(非硫Fe(II)、无定形Fe(III)、晶质Fe(III)、Fe S和Fe S2)含量的影响.结果表明,模拟盐水入侵及径流Fe(III)浓度增强均可降低间隙水溶解性CH4和DOC浓度,径流Fe(III)浓度增强增加了非硫Fe(II)和晶质Fe(III)含量,盐水入侵可减小间隙水ΔSO2-4含量.间隙水ΔSO2-4与DOC、DOC∶DON、溶解性CH4及Fe2+浓度相关.模拟盐水入侵及径流Fe(III)浓度增强可分别促进硫酸盐异化还原和铁异化还原速率,同时减小间隙水CH4浓度,改变河口潮汐湿地土壤有机质厌氧矿化优势途径.     

Prehistoric Decline in Freshwater Mussels Coincident with the Advent of Maize Agriculture

Abstract:  During late prehistory, high population densities and intensive agricultural practices of Native American societies had profound effects on the pre-Columbian landscape. The degree to which Native American land use affected aquatic ecosystems is unknown. Freshwater mussels are particularly sensitive harbingers of modern-day ecosystem deterioration. We used data from prehistoric Native American shell middens to examine prehistoric trends in abundance of freshwater mussels of the genus Epioblasma in North America during the last 5000 years. The relative abundance of Epioblasma declined steadily during this period, a result that could be explained either by an increase in human impacts to streams or by long-term climatic changes unrelated to human activities. The rate of decline of Epioblasma increased significantly, however, after the advent of large-scale maize agriculture in the southeastern United States about 1000 years before the present. Our results suggest that human land-use activities in prehistory caused changes in freshwater mussel communities that were lower in magnitude but similar in direction to changes caused by recent activities.     

Cd,Pb, and Cu in water and sediments and their bioaccumulation in freshwater fish of some lakes in Hanoi,Vietnam

The seasonal variations of Cd, Pb, and Cu in the water, sediments, and freshwater fish (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Cirrhinus molitorella, and Oreochromis mossambicus) of four lakes in Hanoi, Vietnam, were investigated. Samples for analysis were taken four times from April 2010 to March 2011. The levels in water were lower than the Vietnamese standards, except for Pb, but they were all much higher than the Canadian standards for protection of aquatic life; in the sediments, they were higher than world average levels. Bioaccumulation of the three metals in fish was site-dependent and species-dependent, but correlations of their levels in fish to those in water and sediments were weak. Levels of Pb in fish exceeded those of the UK and the WHO standards, and the recommended values of Vietnam for human consumption. Overall, the results show that the lakes are polluted with these metals, and consumption of high quantities of fish from them may be problematic. The outcome of this research helps to establish background data for future monitoring.