Potential reasons for the changes in the abundance of pike, Esox lucius, in the western Gulf of Finland, 1939–2007

Abstract  Pike, Esox lucius L., catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) in rod and line fishing fluctuated considerably in the western Gulf of Finland between 1939 and 2007. Since the beginning of the 1980s, CPUE has been only 3–4% of the highest CPUE during the period, suggesting a drastic decrease in population size. The collapse of the population coincided with a rise in the nutrient level in the Baltic Sea and consequent changes in productivity, turbidity and vegetation. The differences in the food web that followed the environmental change may partly explain the variation both in CPUE and in the mean weight of pike caught. Long-term fluctuations in salinity and temperature, however, did not seem to affect the population size. The mean weight of pike fluctuated inversely with CPUE, indicating changes in the recruitment of pike to the study area.     

2005年东海及黄海部分海域表面水温状况分析

东、黄海表面水温分布状况对中国沿海的生态系统有很大的影响,因为研究表面水温的年变化对了解生态系统的变化很有意义。本文分析了2005年东海及黄海部分海域的表面水温状况。研究表明不同的水团具有不同的水温年变化特点。2005年暖流区域的表面水温总体上与多年平均状况相比差别不大。虽然显示出上半年较冷,年末较热的现象,但只是在秋初一段时间内暖流区的表面水温比多年平均值高一些,而显示出较强的势力,年中的其余时间与多年平均的差别不大。沿岸海域的水温变化比较复杂,福建沿岸表面水温与多年平均状况差别不大;浙江沿岸及长江口邻近海域除春季的一段时间外,年中大部分时间的水温比多年平均值偏高,特别是在夏秋季节,偏高持续的时间既长,且幅度也较大;江苏北部沿岸及山东沿岸的表面水温与多年平均值相比差别不大,除在夏季一段时间内有偏高现象外,其余时间都呈略微偏低状态。中间水体的表面水温与多年平均值相比,在2005年的前3季的状况比较一致,都呈现了初冬偏暖,春季偏冷,夏季略微偏热的变化特征;秋季则南部的区域偏暖,北部区域与多年平均状况差不多。     

Reconstructing historical trends of small pelagic fish in the Java Sea using standardized commercial trip based catch per unit of effort

Pelagic fish stocks in the Java Sea have been exploited intensively since the beginning of the 1970s. However, due to the effect of increased fishing power of the fleets and the changing nature of spatial and temporal distribution of the fishing effort, assessment of stock trends based on commercial data of catch and effort requires the standardization of both effort and catch data. Here we present the first attempt to reconstruct a standardized time series of commercial catch per unit of effort (CPUE) for the main pelagic species exploited by the purse seine fleet in the Java Sea. The results showed that all the stocks analysed have largely declined since the beginning of the 1990s. For bigeye scad, Indian mackerel and sardine, current estimates are only between 3 and 19% of the maximum observed value while round scads and spotted sardine biomass estimates lie between 18 and 34%. However, our assumptions about the effect of lamp power and level of creeping and the fact that the influence of fish density on catchability and the effect of targeting were not taken into account thus observed decline is a rather conservative estimate of the real decline of the stocks. If effective management actions are not put in place as a matter of urgency in the Java Sea for small pelagic fisheries, one runs the risk of adding those species to the long list of overexploited stocks of the world oceans.     

Long‐term changes of marine subtidal benthic communities in North East Asia (Yellow and Japan seas) in a global change context: A review

1. A review of the long‐term changes and variations in benthic communities and the current status of the marine invasive species (MIS) in shallow waters of the Yellow Sea (Chinese sector) and the Sea of Japan (Russian and partly Korean sectors) is presented. This paper reflects on the progress and lessons learned, recommending actions for the future about the conservation of biodiversity.
2. In the Bohai Sea, the benthic ecosystem has been degenerating due to anthropogenic activities such as overfishing and pollution since the 1950s. The dominant position of K‐strategy species is gradually being lost and replaced by R‐strategy species. In the Yellow Sea, the macrobenthic community is different from other areas due to the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass. Many economic species have been destroyed, and the biotic structure has changed significantly due to overfishing and climate change.
3. In the Russian sector of the Sea of Japan, the macrobenthic communities in the shallow‐water soft bottom have generally been in a stable condition for the last decades, except for some heavily polluted or disturbed areas due to dredging operations. The abundance of select large invertebrate species has changed considerably due to commercial fishing and poaching. Variations in macro? and meiobenthic communities under aquaculture conditions have occurred on a local scale during the last five decades.
4. MIS show obvious differences between China and Russia in the following aspects: introduction pathways of MIS, composition and number of non‐native species, threats and impacts of MIS to native communities and ecosystems, and economic and public health impacts.
5. Long‐term monitoring programmes should be developed to reveal future biotic changes and to separate the effects of cyclic variations of benthic communities from the impacts of pollution and eutrophication. Standardization of sampling procedures is required to compare changes/alternations in benthos across various regions worldwide.

     

近30年渤海鱼类种群早期补充群体群聚特性和结构更替

基于30余年渤海鱼卵、仔稚鱼历史调查资料的整理分析并结合产卵场补充调查,以1982~1983年周年逐月调查资料为本底,采用多元统计学方法分析30余年渤海鱼类种群早期补充群体群聚特性(物种多样性和关键种群)的季节变化和年代际变化,并掌握结构更替过程中优势种和重要种协同消长规律。分析结果显示,渤海各调查季节(冬季除外)鱼卵、仔稚鱼种类数以及资源丰度指数呈先降后升变动趋势。当前鱼卵种类数仅为20世纪80年代1/2左右,资源丰度不足20世纪80年代的1/10;仔稚鱼种类数和资源丰度仅为20世纪80年代的3/4左右,但冬季仔稚鱼种类数和资源丰度指数呈现上升趋势。各调查时期相同季节鱼卵优势种变化不明显,但仔稚鱼优势种变化幅度超过鱼卵,底层重要经济种类早期补充群体优势度急剧下降;鱼卵和仔稚鱼物种多样性水平在升温季节较高而在降温季节较低,调查期内各季主要呈现先降后升变动趋势。鱼类早期补充群体种类更替现象明显,近年来种类更替率呈现明显加快趋势。各调查时期相同季节各适温类型产卵亲体种数均呈现先降后升变动趋势,但各适温类型种数所占比例和全年综合各适温类型种数所占比例基本稳定。各调查时期相同季节各主要栖所类型产卵亲体种类数也均呈现先降后升变动趋势,全年综合陆架浅水中上层鱼类种数所占比例升高,中底层和底层鱼类所占比例有所下降。近30年在多重外来干扰作用下,渤海鱼类早期补充过程各个关键环节已随其栖息地(产卵场)生境要素发生不可逆变化或变迁。渤海鱼类种群早期补充群体群聚特性和结构更替是环境-捕捞胁迫下鱼类群落内多重生态位的交替失调和渔业资源结构性衰退的具体表现。     

东、黄海冬季底层鱼类群落结构及其多样性

根据１９９１年１～２月东、黄海冬季底层鱼类资源调查资料，分析了该海域的鱼类群落结构。本次调查共捕获鱼类４５６２．４９ｋｇ，７２９３５尾，１９８种。其中，暖温种居第１位，有８７种，占４３．９％；暖水种次之，有８６种，占４３．４％；冷温种最少，有１５种，占７．６％。相对重要性指数（ＩＲＩ）大于５００的鱼类定为优势种，共有５种：竹Ｊｉａ鱼、带鱼、小黄鱼、Ｔｉ鱼、绿鳍马面Ｔｕｎ；ＩＲＩ值在５００～１００的鱼类定为常见种，共有１０种：银鲳、短尾大眼鲷、黑鳃梅童鱼、短鳍红娘鱼、黄ＡｎＫａｎｇ、细纹狮子鱼、黑ＡｎＫａｎｇ、龙头鱼、黄鲫、白姑鱼。使用种类丰富度指数（Ｄ）、Ｓｈａｎｎｏｎ－Ｗｉｅｎｅｒ多样度指数（Ｈ′）、种类均匀度指数（Ｊ′）分析该海域鱼类群落多样性特征，Ｄ值变动在１．１２１～７．０８６之间，Ｈ′值在０．５８６～     

黄海玉筋鱼生物学特性的年际变化

鱼类的生长和死亡参数是实行渔业资源评估和管理的基础。根据2002—2018年在黄海采集的玉筋鱼（）样品，本研究估测了玉筋鱼在3个渔业利用时期（2000年代初、2000年代末和2010年代末，在此分别称为早期、中期、近期）的生长和死亡参数。结果显示玉筋鱼生物学特性发生了显著的变化，优势体长组由早期的130~150 mm减小到近期的80~110 mm；优势体重组由早、中期较为均匀的分布变为近期的以小个体为主；优势年龄组从早期的2龄个体变为近期的当年生个体。玉筋鱼3个时期的von Bertalanffy生长方程的极限体长（分别为0.31、0.42、0.47。残差平方和分析显示中期与近期的生长方程之间差异显著（<0.05），与早期和中期相比，近期极限体长下降，生长速率上升。玉筋鱼近期春季、夏季和冬季的肥满度与早期相比均出现了下降。3个时期总死亡率（）分别为0.35、0.44和0.50。玉筋鱼自大规模开发至今经历了过度开发并且趋向于低龄化、小型化，这一变化可能是过度捕捞导致的。     

黄海南部、东海北部小黄鱼饵料组成和摄食强度的变化

根据2001~2004年收集的黄海南部、东海北部的小黄鱼样品,应用研究鱼类摄食习性的常用方法,对小黄鱼的饵料组成和摄食强度的变化进行了研究。结果表明,小黄鱼摄食的饵料种类多达24种,鱼类和甲壳类是其主要的饵料类群,两者在食物中所占的重量百分比之和为93.7%。小黄鱼在不同生活时期的饵料种类和摄食强度变化较大。越冬期的摄食强度最低,为弱摄食期,3月以脊腹褐虾和七星底灯鱼为主;产卵期的摄食强度较高,为中强摄食期,产卵盛期的4月以长额刺糠虾和脊腹褐虾为主,产卵后期的5月以中华假磷虾、鰕虎鱼科和细长脚虫戎为主;索饵期的摄食强度较高,为强摄食期,6月以四盘耳乌贼、长蛸幼体、尖牙鲈和脊腹褐虾为主,7月以蓝圆鲹和虾蛄为主,10月以细条天竺鲷和带鱼幼鱼为主,11月以七星底灯鱼为主,12月以七星底灯鱼和鹰爪虾为主。与20世纪60年代初研究结果比较发现,小黄鱼食物组成发生很大的变化,由以往的浮游动物为主演变为目前的游泳动物为主;产卵时和刚产卵完的群体的摄食需求强烈,较以往的产卵群体停止摄食或少量摄食存在很大差异。     

应用改进的Leslie法估算东海区小黄鱼资源量

针对Lesile法未考虑自然死亡因素的不足,提出了改进形式的Lesile法,使得该方法也能适用于长渔获周期的资源群体,并结合2009～2010年全国海洋捕捞信息动态采集网络评估的渔业统计结果和东海区渔业资源监测调查资料,估算东海区小黄鱼(Lartmichtlys polyaetis)资源量。结果表明,伏季休渔开捕后可供利用的小黄鱼资源量为16.99×104t,到4月底余存4.65×104t,年平均资源量7.70×104t,最大持续产量8.93×104t,全年开发率达到0.87,处于过度开发状态。     

渤海中国对虾资源增殖调查

根据2009年5～10月底的调查和统计资料,对在渤海增殖放流的中国对虾的分布、生长、资源量以及捕捞生产情况进行了调查和研究。结果显示,6月中旬放流的中国对虾多集中在水深1～2m以内和河口附近的浅水区,到7月下旬,分布水深为5～18m,密集分布区在10～15m,之后一直生活在较深水域。6月中旬,中国对虾平均体重为2.5g;7月上、中旬,平均体重为7.0g;7月下旬,平均体重为20.0g;7月底、8月初,平均体重为27.0g;8月中旬,平均体重为36.0g;9月上旬,平均体重为41.0g。8月上、中旬渤海中国对虾的资源量为1 665t;10月下旬,生产捕捞后的资源量减少为137t。8月份中国对虾的资源分布以渤海湾最高,为129.9ind/haul.h,其次为莱州湾,为7.8ind/haul.h,再次是辽东湾,为0.3ind/haul.h,渤海中部最低,为0.05ind/haul.h。2009年渤海共放流中国对虾202641万尾,据初步统计估算,截止10月中旬共捕捞中国对虾2377t,总回捕率为2.8%。     

渤海伏季休渔效果初步评价

本研究基于渔业统计和资源调查数据，比较分析了我国实施伏季休渔制度20多年来对渤海渔业资源的影响。结果显示，1995年实施伏季休渔制度以后，渤海捕捞产量和捕捞效率在短期内大幅增加，特别是小黄鱼(Larimichthys polyactis)、蓝点马鲛(Scomberomorus niphonius)的捕捞产量分别增加了3.96倍和1.74倍，占渤海总捕捞产量的比重有所提高。1999年以后，捕捞产量逐年下降，并于2008年趋于稳定。资源调查结果显示，在1998~2014年渤海渔业资源量急剧下降之后，近年来有资源量增加迹象，鳀(Engraulis japonicus)、银鲳(Pampus argenteus)和三疣梭子蟹(Portunus trituberculatus)等经济种类的资源量在2014~2015年有所提高，但总体低于1992年同期水平。休渔期内，渤海主要渔业种类得到了生长繁殖的时间和空间，资源量增加了3倍以上，渔业生物平均体长和体重增加，但长期以来资源小型化和低质化趋势未见好转。     

The ascent migration of Calanus finmarchicus from overwintering depths in the Faroe–Shetland Channel

The Faroe–Shetland Channel is an important overwintering area for the copepod Calanus finmarchicus in the north-east Atlantic. Stage V copepodites descend to depths of greater than 600 m, where they remain in an arrested development state (diapause) until the following spring. The ascent of the copepods back to the surface waters in the spring was investigated by six surveys in the Faroe–Shetland Channel between October 1993 and May 1995. In February, the first animals emerged from diapause and moulted to become stage VI males; these ascended to depths of 300–500 m. Females constituted a higher proportion of animals that emerged later in the season and these ascended through the layer of males, presumably mating on the way, and proceeded to the upper 100 m to begin spawning in March. Emergence was not synchronous in the population, and was estimated to occur over a 60–70 day period beginning around 10 February. The mean ascent rate of individuals was estimated to be 15–20 m day^–1, so that for any individual the ascent from a mean overwintering depth of 800 m to a depth of 100 m took between 35 and 47 days. The ascent migration resulted in the mass transfer of the C. finmarchicus stock from its overwintering habitat in the cold southerly flowing Norwegian Sea Deep Water of Arctic origin to warm northerly flowing Atlantic water masses. The extent of asynchrony suggests that emergence is probably not triggered by environmental cues. An alternative hypothesis for regulation of the life cycle is proposed that involves reduced development rates during the winter.     

Evidence for a substantial increase in gelatinous zooplankton in the Bering Sea, with possible links to climate change

We examined quantitative catches of large medusae from summer bottom trawl surveys that sampled virtually the same grid station on the eastern Bering Sea shelf using the same methodology every year from 1979 to 1997. This series shows a gradual increase in biomass of medusae from 1979 to 1989, followed by a dramatic increase in the 1990s. The median biomass increased tenfold between the 1982–1989 and 1990–1997 periods. Most of this biomass was found within the Middle Shelf Domain (50 <  z  < 100 m). The greatest rate of increase occurred in the north-west portion of this domain. Whether this dramatic increase in biomass of gelatinous zooplankton has resulted from some anthropogenic perturbation of the Bering Sea environment or is a manifestation of natural ecosystem variability is unclear. However, several large-scale winter/spring atmospheric and oceanographic variables in the Bering Sea exhibited concomitant changes beginning around 1990, indicating that a possible regime change occurred at this time.     

Repeated physical disturbances and the stability of sub‐tropical coral communities in Hong Kong,China

• 1. This paper reports on the dynamics of the coral community structure at A Ma Wan (AMW) and A Ye Wan (AYW) in Tung Ping Chau, Hong Kong, focusing on data collected before and after the summer typhoon seasons in 1997 to 1999. This period (1999) experienced the highest frequency of severe tropical cyclones to hit Hong Kong with one cyclone being the strongest to hit in the last 23 years (1984 to 2006).
• 2. This is part of a long‐term monitoring programme of subtropical coral communities that has been set up in AMW since May 1997 and AYW since May 1998 with nine fixed position 40 m long transects and 0.5 m × 0.5 m permanent quadrats laid at 5 m intervals along each transect. A total of 45 scleractinian coral species from 21 genera (12 families) was recorded, with 40 species in AMW and 32 species in AYW recorded at the beginning of the study.
• 3. Multidimensional scaling ordinations showed distinct spatial variations in the coral communities within and between sites. These variations were probably a result of the differential effects of the repeated cyclone impacts on the communities. Cyphastrea serailia, Goniopora lobata, Montipora peltiformis and Pavona decussata were the dominant species most strongly affected by cyclone impacts at AMW, experiencing a 6.2–16.2% loss of mean area cover during the study period. Some dominant species (e.g. P. decussata) in AYW also experienced a 6.5–14.3% loss of mean area cover within the same period.
• 4. Overall, these coral community structures appeared relatively stable and resistant to repeated physical disturbances. However, they may have low resilience towards more severe disturbances in the future. Preserving the resilience of coral communities/species in Tung Ping Chau should be one of the main goals of coral conservation strategies for the island.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黄海鱼类感染寄生线虫成虫的初步调查

2005年5月至2006年10月对黄海鱼类寄生线虫感染情况进行了调查,共解剖鱼类93种941尾,采集线虫24 968条,其中成虫923条,隶属于5科5属12种,占所采线虫总数的3.7%。宫脂属线虫为黄海鱼类寄生线虫成虫的优势类群,占所采线虫成虫总数的98.5%。内弯宫脂线虫为黄海鱼类寄生线虫成虫的优势种和广布种。狮子鱼宫脂线虫可能为特有种。     

An integrated approach for cetacean knowledge and conservation in the central Mediterranean Sea using research and social media data sources

1. Sources of data other than those derived from conventional research protocols may contribute valuable information to fill gaps in knowledge about cetacean occurrences and diversity in a given area and help address conservation issues.
2. The performance of a method to examine cetacean communities based on presence records systematically derived from shared photographs and videos posted by boaters and maritime operators on social media (e.g. YouTube and Facebook) combined with patchy distributed visual/acoustic data collected by researchers has been evaluated.
3. Records (N = 1,274) gathered over a 10‐year period (2008–2017) have been used to obtain insights into species' presence and habitat selection in a scattered study area of the central Mediterranean Sea (Italy). The effectiveness of the method, practical and theoretical advantages, limitations, and challenges of using data originated from social media for research and conservation purposes are discussed.
4. Seven out of the eight cetacean species regularly residing in the Mediterranean have been reported in the area, with different relative densities. Maximum entropy modelling techniques have been applied to the datasets derived from (a) social media, (b) research surveys, and (c) the combination of the two, using six fixed variables as proxies for cetacean presence. Distance from the coast and depth emerged as the main variables predicting encounters, with specificities related to the ecology of the species.
5. The approach was reliable enough to obtain broad‐scale, baseline information on cetacean communities in the region, on the basis of which initial conservation recommendations and future research programmes can be proposed.
6. With the increasing need for studying whale and dolphin population ecology coming from national/international directives, support from citizens to aid research may act as a practical, inexpensive solution to gathering extensive spatial–temporal data for regional‐scale monitoring and for the development of management priorities.

     

Characterization of microbial communities in intensive GIFT tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) pond systems during the peak period of breeding

Aquaculture pond is a complex ecosystem where the microorganisms in the sediments, in the animal intestinal tract and in water interact with each other to influence the water quality and health of aquatic animals. In order to understand the spatial distribution and relationship of microbial communities in intensively farmed genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT, Oreochromis niloticus), 454 high‐throughput pyrosequencing was applied to analyse the 16S rRNA gene of bacteria in intensive GIFT ponds in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China. A total of 72 747 initial sequences were obtained from four depths of pond water, from tilapia large intestines and from pond sediment. The most common phylum in all samples was Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria were the most abundant in water, Fusobacteria and Firmicutes in the large intestine and Chloroflexi in sediment samples. The sediment microbial community structure was comparatively similar to that of the tilapia large intestine. The microbial communities from different water depths were somewhat similar, especially the three most shallow samples, although the abundance of Actinobacteria gradually decreased with increased water depth. This data offer a preliminary exploration of the response mechanisms of the bacterial communities to aquafarming and contributes to the understanding of the status of bacterial communities of tilapia pond systems during the peak period of breeding from the aspect of their spatial distributions.     

Ecological variations and El Niño effects off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula during the last three decades

To explore ecosystem response to environmental changes, we investigated interannual and decadal changes in the marine ecosystem using data collected from the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula during the 1960s–1990s. Water properties such as sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity in April did not show large variation during the 1970s, but a relatively cool water mass appeared from the early to mid 1980s and a warm water mass replaced it after 1989. Chl a concentration in April, which was converted from Secchi disc information, was low (mean=1.18 mg m⁻³) during the period 1968–1980 excluding 1974, but there was a period of greater biomass for 7 years from 1981 (mean=2.78 mg m⁻³). A negative correlation ( r =−0.387, P  < 0.05) between SST and chl a in April matched high chl a during the low-SST period in the early and mid 1980s. Annual zooplankton biomass ranged from 37 to 132 mg m⁻³, but abundance was frequently high after 1984 and low during 1972–1982. The most representative pelagic fishes in the South Sea seemed to respond to the increase in planktonic organisms. Anchovy, mackerel and sardine increased in abundance since the mid 1970s. High catches of anchovy and mackerel lasted until the 1990s, whereas sardine decreased after the early 1990s. From the matrix of simple correlation coefficient, the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) exhibited a high correlation with SST in December in the study area ( P  < 0.05). Catches of anchovy and mackerel were positively correlated with chl a and zooplankton during their early life periods, as well as with SST in December.     

冻融期刺参养殖池塘沉积物菌群结构特征及其影响因素

本研究以我国北方典型岸基半开放刺参(Apostichopus japonicus)养殖池塘为对象,利用高通量测序技术构建冻融期刺参养殖池塘沉积物菌群16S rRNA基因测序文库,解析封冰期、融冰期和化冰期刺参养殖池塘沉积物菌群结构特征,并查明影响菌群结构的主导环境因子。结果显示,冻融期刺参养殖池塘沉积物菌群丰度和多样性表现为整体下调趋势,在融冰初期呈现显著性波动(P<0.05)。冻融期刺参养殖池塘沉积物菌群结构呈现显著性差异,封冰期、融冰期和化冰期差异菌群分别隶属于厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)和软壁菌门(Tenericutes)。尽管不同阶段微生物相对丰度比例不同,但第一优势菌门均隶属于变形菌门(Proteobacteria),相对丰度高于49.04%;次优势菌门则呈现出显著性变化,其中,封冰期为拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes),融冰期为绿弯菌门(Chloroflexi)和放线菌门(Actinobacteria),化冰期为浮霉菌门(Planctomycetes)。环境因子与菌群相关性分析表明,冻融期刺参养殖池塘沉积物菌群结构与环境因子具有显著相关性(P<0.05),温度、盐度、总氮和总有机碳是沉积物菌群的主导环境因子。本研究将为刺参养殖池塘精细化管理提供理论依据。