A taxonomical and ecological survey of rotiffer communities in Krottensee (Austria)

The composition and distribution of benthic, periphytic and planktonic rotifers in different habitats in Krottensee were investigated. Sixty-five rotifer taxa were identified, their relative abundance estimated. Classification of the data set by cluster analysis allowed the recognition of distinct habitat groups confined to acid bog ponds, macrophytes, sediments and open water. Five groups of rotifer taxa were identified on the basis of their habitat preferences and the occurrence of the taxa. Highest diversities were found on macrophytes and in acid bog ponds.     

基于GIS的孔隙水文地质层三维空间离散方法

针对自然界中孔隙水文地质层空间分布的不连续性与厚度分布的不均匀性,研究基于GIS的孔隙水文地质层三维空间离散实现的技术路线,提出基于GIS的孔隙水文地质层不规则六面体元的三维空间离散方法.该法不仅能最大限度地保证不规则六面体元中水文地质层类型的一元性,而且可充分利用GIS的空间分析与数据的自动提取功能,快速提取各个计算结点上空间位置坐标与各类计算参数,大大缩短水文地质模型空间离散与相关数据文件组织所需的时间,提高地下水三维有限差分数值模拟的时效性,具有较高的实用价值.     

华南桉树人工林芒萁层片的生态筛效应

芒萁是华南退化坡地上最具代表性的先锋种、优势种和关键种,能够快速形成密集的单优种层片结构。与传统阻碍更新的观点不同,野外观察发现芒萁层片内仍有少数物种能够成功定居,被认为具有生态筛效应。文章通过设置4种芒萁层片处理（芒萁层片完全剔除-UR;仅保留地上层-AF;仅保留根毯层-AR;芒萁层片全部保留-CK）,分别在不同处理下移植目标种幼苗并结合土壤性状,探究芒萁层片生态筛效应及其潜在机理。结果发现：1）桉林芒萁根毯层中土壤有机质、全氮、碱解氮、有效磷、速效钾、交换性钠、交换性钙、交换性镁和阳离子交换量均显著高于芒萁红壤层和裸地红壤;2）多数乔木种和草本种在芒萁根毯层保留时无法存活,仅荷木、桃金娘、梅叶冬青和野牡丹等目标种幼苗在保留芒萁根毯层处理（AR和CK）下能够存活与生长。这表明芒萁层片确实具有生态筛效应,且其关键在于根毯层的作用而并非土壤养分改善作用。理论上,芒萁层片（尤其是根毯层）与生态恢复的生物阈值突破密切相关,未来需要进一步解析芒萁根毯层的结构与功能。应用上,华南地区存在大量以芒萁为单优林下植物的人工林类型（如桉林等）,在进行结构优化与林分改造时需注意芒萁的生态筛效应。     

现代黄河三角洲YRD-1401孔MIS 5以来沉积层序及其古环境意义

近年来渤海地区晚更新世以来沉积环境演化和地层划分存在争议。本文对现代黄河三角洲东南海岸带YRD-1401孔岩芯（长81.00 m）沉积物进行综合研究,旨在建立该孔晚更新世以来地层的沉积相序列和时间标尺,为解决地层划分争议提供新的证据。根据AMS ¹⁴C和光释光测年结果,并考虑到YRD-1401孔底部地层光释光年代的不精确性,本文主要研究YRD-1401孔MIS 5以来的沉积演化史。综合分析YRD-1401孔沉积地层的岩性特征和底栖有孔虫组合变化,结合测年结果,该孔可划分为6个沉积单元（从下往上DU 6~DU 1）：最底部的DU 6（51.35~81.00 m）为受潮流影响的河流沉积（其形成时间有待进一步研究）,DU 5（37.64~51.35 m）为MIS 5潮坪-近岸浅海沉积,DU 4（30.71~37.64 m）为MIS 3早期的潮坪沉积,DU 3（23.50~30.71 m）为MIS 3晚期至全新世早期形成的河流沉积,DU 2（14.22~23.50 m）为全新世早期（约10 cal.ka B.P.）至1855年形成的滨岸沼泽-滨岸浅水-近岸浅海~前三角洲沉积-海洋改造层,DU 1（0~14.22 m）为1855年以来发育的现代黄河三角洲沉积。晚更新世以来该孔有3个海相层（自下而上分别是DU 5、DU 4和DU 2）,分别形成于MIS 5、MIS 3早期和全新世,表明晚更新世以来全球海平面变化是其主要控制因素。研究区MIS 4的沉积地层出现缺失。渤海沿岸地区多个钻孔地层的对比表明,区域性的差异构造沉降、沉积物供给和地层完整性等因素也是影响研究区晚更新世以来沉积地层发育的重要因素。

     

Early‐middle Holocene land snail shell stable isotope record from Grotta di Latronico 3 (southern Italy)

This paper compares stable isotope (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) records of early–middle Holocene land snail shells from the archaeological deposits of Grotta di Latronico 3 (LTR3; southern Italy) with modern shell isotopic data. No substantial interspecific variability was observed in shell δ¹⁸O (δ¹⁸Os) of modern specimens (Pomatias elegans, Cornu aspersum, Eobania vermiculata, Helix ligata and Marmorana fuscolabiata). In contrast, interspecific shell δ¹³C (δ¹³Cs) variability was significant, probably due to different feeding behaviour among species. The δ¹⁸Os values of living land snails suggest that species hibernate for a long period during colder months, so that the signal of ¹⁸O‐depleted winter rainfall in their δ¹⁸Os is lost. This suggests that δ¹⁸Os and δ¹³Cs values of Pomatias elegans from this archaeological succession provide valuable clues for seasonal (spring–autumn) climatic conditions during the early–middle Holocene. The δ¹⁸Os values of fossil specimens are significantly lower than in modern shells and in agreement with other palaeoclimatic records, suggesting a substantial increase of precipitation and/or persistent changes in air mass source trajectories over this region between ca. 8.8 cal ka BP and 6.2–6.7 ka ago. The δ¹³Cs trend suggests a transition from a slightly ¹³C‐enriched to a ¹³C‐depleted diet between early and middle Holocene compared to present conditions. We postulate that this δ¹³Cs trend might reflect changes in the C3 vegetation community, potentially combined with other environmental factors such as regional moisture increase and the progressive decrease of atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coralligenous habitat in the northern Adriatic Sea: an overview

The rocky outcrops irregularly scattered in the sandy‐muddy sea bed of the Northern Adriatic, formed by a base rock and a superimposed concretion of vegetal and animal organisms, are considered an infralittoral coralligenous habitat, according to the most recent definition. In the last four decades, research has mainly concentrated on their geology because of the question of the origin of the base rock – very similar to beachrock – which has only recently been attributed to sedimentary cementation induced by methane seeps. Studies on their macrobenthic assemblages have also been published recently, but true comparisons among them are difficult because they mostly refer only to a few selected phyla or to short‐term observations. Very few papers deal with the whole of the animal and plant communities, including all taxonomic groups and the most important environmental variables. On the basis of the literature data concerning several outcrops in the Gulf of Venice, we suggest that the Adriatic reefs differ slightly from the classic deeper coralligenous assemblages around the Mediterranean coast because they have smaller concretions of algae builders. We also suggest that the Northern Adriatic coralligenous reefs are younger than the other reefs occurring in the Mediterranean Sea.     

Use of SPOT 5 and IKONOS imagery for mapping biocenoses in a Tunisian Coastal Lagoon (Mediterranean Sea)

Mapping marine biocenoses is an efficient method for providing useful data for the management and conservation of Mediterranean lagoons. Fused images from two satellites, SPOT 5 and IKONOS, were tested as management tools for identifying specific ecosystems in the El Bibane lagoon, situated in southern Tunisia near the Libyan border. The objectives of this study were to provide a precise map of the entire El Bibane lagoon using fused images from SPOT 5 and to compare fused images from SPOT 5 and IKONOS over a test-area. After applying a supervised classification, pixels are automatically classified in four classes: low seagrass cover, high seagrass cover, superficial mobile sediments and deep mobile sediments. The maps of the lagoon revealed and confirmed an extremely wide distribution of seagrass meadows within the lagoon (essentially Cymodocea nodosa; 19 546 ha) and a large area of mobile sediments more or less parallel to the shore (3 697 ha). A direct comparison of overall accuracy between SPOT 5 over the entire area, SPOT 5 over the test-area and IKONOS over the test-area revealed that these tools provided accurate mapping of the lagoon environment (83.25%, 85.91% and 73.41% accuracy, respectively). The SPOT 5 images provided greater overall accuracy than the IKONOS image, but did not take into account the heterogeneous spatial structure of the seagrasses and sediments present in the lagoon environment. Although IKONOS imagery provided lower overall accuracy than SPOT 5, it proved a very useful tool for the mapping of heterogeneous structures as it enabled the patchiness of formations to be better taken into account. The use of SPOT 5 and IKONOS fused images appears to be very promising for completing the mapping of lagoons in other regions and countries of the Mediterranean Sea.     

Influence of environmental and prey variables on low tide shorebird habitat use within the Robbins Passage wetlands,Northwest Tasmania

Shorebirds feed primarily on tidal flats, and their distribution over these flats is influenced by their prey and abiotic factors. These factors act by influencing the distribution and abundance of the prey, or the shorebirds ability to exploit it. The aims of this study were to investigate the low tide foraging distribution of shorebirds at four sites within the Robbins Passage wetlands, and the environmental and invertebrate factors that may influence their distribution. The greatest densities and number of shorebirds were found at Shipwreck Point and East Inlet. The shorebirds within-site distribution was also non-random, with the shorebirds present in greatest densities at the water's edge and low intertidal stratum, although this varied among species. Generally, on a small spatial scale, invertebrate diversity was positively correlated, and seagrass leaf mass was negatively correlated, with shorebird feeding density. On a large spatial scale, invertebrate biomass and seagrass root mass were positively correlated with shorebird feeding density. Invertebrate biomass and seagrass root mass explained 71% of the variance in total shorebird feeding density on the tidal flats. The variation in shorebird feeding density and diversity was therefore partly explained by invertebrate diversity and biomass, as well as the environmental factors seagrass roots and leaf mass and tidal flat area, although the strength of these relationships was influenced by the two different spatial scales of the study. The strength of the relationships between shorebird feeding density and the invertebrate and environmental variables was stronger on a large spatial scale. The presence of seagrass may have influenced shorebird-feeding density by affecting the invertebrate abundance and composition or the shorebirds ability to detect and capture their prey. The area of the tidal flat had opposing effects on the shorebird species. These results can be used to assist in the development of management plans for the Robbins Passage wetlands and the conservation of important shorebird areas.