Influences of in-stream habitat and upstream land-use on site occupancy of the Kanawha darter (Etheostoma kanawhae): A narrowly distributed species from the New River (Upper Kanawha Basin)

1. Freshwater communities are threatened by the conversion of natural landscapes for urban and agricultural purposes. Changes to land use may disrupt stream nutrient and geomorphological processes and reduce water quality, increase sedimentation, and decrease habitat heterogeneity eventually leading to species loss and decreases in ecosystem productivity. Endemic species are frequently at greater risk of habitat-mediated fragmentation and extirpation due to their constrained distributions.
2. The Kanawha darter (Etheostoma kanawhae) is an understudied fish endemic to the New River Drainage in North Carolina and Virginia, USA. To investigate the potential effect(s) of land-use change on Kanawha darters, naïve occupancy was modelled using instream habitat characteristics and upstream forest cover.
3. Generalized linear models revealed that instream habitat and forest cover are reliable predictors of Kanawha darter site occupancy. Specifically, models demonstrated that occupancy increased in reaches with reduced stream width, velocity, and bedrock substrate but higher concentrations of coarse woody material. Kanawha darter occupancy was also positively associated with the extent of forest cover in upstream catchments.
4. Although Kanawha darters are not currently considered imperilled, most populations occurred in isolated reaches separated by large sections of unoccupied habitat. Continuing ex-urban development in riparian zones is likely to be the primary threat to Kanawha darters and other endemic species in this catchment. Resource managers and stakeholders should preserve forest cover in headwaters and occupied tributaries and protect or restore riparian zones along the main-stem South and North Forks of the New River to preserve high-quality habitat and enhance connectivity among isolated Kanawha darter populations.
5. As human populations in montane regions continue to grow, there is a need to understand how land-use change affects endemic freshwater species. This study further supports the importance of retaining forest cover as an effective strategy for protecting and restoring populations of endemic fishes in high-gradient streams.

     

Damming insights: Variable impacts and implications of river regulation on platypus populations

1. River regulation has extensively changed the ecology and hydrology of rivers worldwide, particularly downstream of dams, affecting the viability of freshwater species. The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semiaquatic monotreme, endemic to eastern Australia, with a distribution overlapping Australia’s most regulated rivers.
2. Dams and changes to flow regimes have affected critical platypus habitat, yet our understanding of the impacts of these threatening processes on platypus ecology remains poor. Over a period of 3 years (2016–2018), platypuses were surveyed across three regions (Upper Murray, Snowy, and Border river regions), above and below large dams, and in adjacent unregulated rivers, comparing captures, demographics, abundances, and densities. We hypothesized that platypus captures and abundances would be lower downstream of dams, owing to altered flow regimes that have secondary impacts on the demographics of these populations.
3. In the Upper Murray Rivers region, captures were significantly lower in the Mitta Mitta River below Dartmouth Dam, compared with captures upstream of the dam and the unregulated Ovens River, probably reflecting significant alteration to the seasonality and temperature of flows caused by the dam. Conversely, there were no significant differences in captures or abundance and density estimates above and below the dams in the Snowy or Border river regions, where the extent of regulation was less severe, probably as a result of restoration efforts in recent years on some rivers.
4. Low proportions of juveniles on the Snowy River and Mitta Mitta River downstream of the dams, compared with upstream, raises concerns of other impacts of altered flow regimes to platypus breeding success and juvenile survival, given the sensitivity of juveniles to unseasonably high flows.
5. The results highlighted the potential impact of river regulation, with direct implications for the management of regulated rivers, providing opportunities to mitigate impacts through improved management of the seasonality and temperature of flows, to the benefit of platypuses and other freshwater species.

     

Fishes of the Irrawaddy River: Diversity and conservation

1. Few conservation studies have examined fish communities in entire drainage basins, especially in developing regions such as Southeast Asia, one of the most diverse biomes globally. The aim of this study was to establish conservation projections for the whole of the Irrawaddy River system, based on fish diversity patterns, human impact, and environmental change.
2. The Irrawaddy River is one of the five largest rivers in Southeast Asia. Although it has very high diversity of fish species and species endemism, our understanding of resident fish status remains poor.
3. Based on 1,726 field survey and 1,056 database records, 470 fish species and their distribution patterns (i.e. alpha, beta, threatened species, and endemic species diversities) in sub-basins of the Irrawaddy drainage were identified. Canonical correspondence analysis of diversity and environmental patterns indicated that climatic factors had the largest effect on diversity, compatible with the species–energy theory.
4. Fish conservation priorities of sub-basins were evaluated based on diversity patterns and human impact. The delta and Manipur basin regions were highlighted as areas of focus for future fish diversity conservation, and the importance of connectivity in the Irrawaddy main stem was demonstrated.
5. The results of this study will be valuable for future management of the Irrawaddy basin and as a reference for other river basins when implementing protection strategies for fish diversity. This study also advocates the need for systematic investigations across entire drainage basins and further detailed studies on the ecological conditions of poorly studied river systems.

     

Fish and flows: Abiotic drivers influence the recruitment response of a freshwater fish community throughout a regulated lotic system of the Murray-Darling Basin,Australia

1. Fish assemblages in dryland rivers have life-history strategies that have evolved in response to environmental conditions and triggers, particularly water temperatures and flow regimes. The regulation of rivers through the construction of dams, weirs and other water diversion structures has altered natural flow regimes and the associated ecological processes of river systems worldwide.
2. Over a 3-year period, using standardized fish sampling and daily otolith ageing, the recruitment of eight freshwater fish species was monitored in response to various abiotic drivers, including hydrology and water temperatures, throughout the Macquarie River, a large regulated river system of the Australian Murray-Darling Basin.
3. A data-driven statistical classification system is provided that groups species into reproductive guilds, based on their recruitment response to hydrology and water temperature, specifically designed for use in environmental flow management.
4. The eight species were grouped into three distinct reproductive guilds that showed similar recruitment responses to the abiotic drivers. Murray-Darling rainbowfish, Murray cod, and eel-tailed catfish were considered as a single guild, characterized by seasonal recruitment during a relatively narrow thermal window under low to moderate stable discharges. The second group included common carp, bony herring, and golden perch, which recruited primarily in association with larger flow events. Un-specked hardyhead and Australian smelt formed a more differentiated guild, recruiting over a broad range of temperatures and discharges. Limitations associated with using a reproductive guild approach to simplify water management are discussed.
5. This study highlighted important relationships among hydrology, water temperatures, and successful recruitment that can, in turn, be used to inform development of adaptive flow management plans and effective use of environmental water for the conservation management of native fish communities. Important considerations in the design of studies that aim to examine relationships between recruitment and abiotic drivers are also discussed.

     

Big impacts from small abstractions: The effects of surface water abstraction on freshwater fish assemblages

1. Abstractions and diversions are prevalent in river networks worldwide; however, specific mechanisms and measures reflecting changes in functional characteristics of aquatic assemblages in response to flow abstraction have not been well established. In particular, the influence of small takes on fish assemblages is poorly understood.
2. Field surveys and stable‐isotope analyses were used to evaluate the impact of differing levels of flow abstraction on fish assemblage structure, and native–non‐native patterns of coexistence, associated with small surface water abstractions in four streams in New Zealand. Study design accounted for longitudinal processes (spatial autocorrelation) to isolate the effects of abstractions on fish assemblages.
3. Reaches with reduced flows downstream of abstraction points had significantly lower fish abundances per metre of stream length, probably because of decreased habitat size, altered interspecific interactions and barriers to movement. The loss of larger fish in reaches with high abstraction resulted in shallower mass–abundance slopes and shorter stable isotope‐derived food‐chain lengths, likely to have been caused by fewer trophic links in the food web. The large fish absent from these reaches were flow‐sensitive introduced salmonids, resulting in higher relative abundances of small‐bodied native fish, probably as a result of predatory and competitive release.
4. Quantification of metrics designed to characterize ecosystem functioning as well as abundance and species composition indicated that small water abstractions can alter both the structure and composition of stream fish assemblages and modify the outcomes of native–non‐native species interactions. Thus, a better understanding of the effects of small abstractions could be used to improve the strategic management of fish in invaded riverscapes.

     

Connectivity,habitat, and flow regime influence fish assemblage structure: Implications for environmental water management in a perennial river of the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia

1. Environmental water management seeks to balance competing demands between the water needed to sustain human populations and their economic activities and that required to sustain functioning freshwater ecosystems and the species they support. It must be predicated on an understanding of the environmental, hydrological, and biological factors that determine the distribution and abundance of aquatic species.
2. The Daly River of the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia consists of a perennially flowing main stem and large tributaries, as well as many small to large naturally intermittent tributaries, and associated off‐channel wetlands. Increased groundwater abstraction to support irrigated agriculture during the dry season threatens to reduce dry‐season flows that maintain perenniality and persistence of freshwater fishes.
3. Fish assemblages were surveyed at 55 locations during the dry season over a 2‐year period with the goal of establishing the key landscape‐scale and local‐scale (i.e. habitat) drivers of fish species distribution.
4. Longitudinal (upstream/downstream) and lateral (river/floodplain) gradients in assemblage structure were observed with the latter dependent on the position in the river landscape. Underlying these gradients, stream flow intermittency influenced assemblage composition, species richness, and body size distributions. Natural constraints to dispersal were identified and their influence on assemblage structure was also dependent on position within the catchment.
5. Eight distinct assemblage types were identified, defined by differences in the abundance of species within five groups differing in functional traits describing body size, spawning requirements, and dispersal capacity. These functional groups largely comprised species widely distributed in northern Australia.
6. The results of the study are discussed with reference to the environmental flow needs of the Daly River and other rivers of northern Australia. The findings may also be applied to environmental flow management in savannah rivers elsewhere.

     

Ecological consequences of invasive lake trout on river otters in Yellowstone National Park

The introduction of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) to Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park has contributed to a significant decline in the endangered Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri), leading to concern over the persistence of this subspecies but also to piscivorous predators in this community. We assessed the impact of lake trout on a key piscivore, the river otter (Lontra canadensis) in two lakes in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone Lake continues to support a native cutthroat trout population, although the recent introduction of lake trout has dramatically impacted the cutthroat trout population. Nearby Lewis Lake has an entirely introduced fish fauna of lake trout, brown trout (Salmo trutta), and Utah chub (Gilia atraria) but lacks cutthroat trout. Analysis of otter scat from Yellowstone Lake implicated trout (lake or cutthroat trout) as a major prey item (57% of scat), whereas stable isotopes identified longnose suckers (Catostomus catostomus) as the primary prey there (58% of diet). By contrast, scat from Lewis Lake implicated minnows, presumably Utah chub, as the primary prey for otters occupying that lake (86%), while stable isotopes implicated brown trout (64%) over both lake trout and Utah chub (36% combined). Our data establish the importance of alternative prey to otters and suggest that lake trout-induced reductions in cutthroat trout may not be catastrophic for otter populations here. These data do not necessarily exonerate lake trout, as their impact on other species, most notably grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and piscivorous birds, has been documented to be substantial, and further data on the nutritional value of alternate prey are required to confirm or refute a working hypothesis that otter populations will continue to thrive in the face of the lake trout invasion.     

淄博市孝妇河不同区段水质对四膜虫有性生殖的影响

为了探讨不同污染水质对嗜热四膜虫有性生殖的影响,实验中取淄博市博山区孝妇河上、中、下游3段的河水,配制四膜虫培养基培养四膜虫B2086,结果发现四膜虫生长速度变慢（上游大于中游大于下游）。用此3段河水培养四膜虫B2086和Cu428,然后进行交配实验发现：随河水污染程度的升高,交配率也升高。     

Factors influencing recruitment patterns of Golden Perch (Macquaria ambigua oriens) within a hydrologically variable and regulated Australian tropical river system

Abstract – The links between river flows, water temperature, river regulation and recruitment variability of Golden Perch, Macquaria ambigua oriens, were investigated from the Fitzroy Basin, Queensland. The dominant age classes determined by interpreting growth marks observed in otoliths were variable among rivers. Positive correlations between the age frequency and monthly river flow volumes were greatest in summer (December–March) conversely, autumn, winter and spring river flows correlated poorly for most rivers. Water temperature exhibits strong seasonality across the basin with mean monthly temperatures >23 °C generally occurring between October and April. These data indicate the combination of water temperature and increased river flows are important factors for recruitment. The degree of river regulation is also suspected of contributing to increased variability in dominant age classes within rivers. This assessment highlights the importance of timing of river flows in mitigating the negative effects of river regulation on golden perch populations.     

河西内陆河流域生态问题及其保护对策

概述了近代河西内陆河流域生态研究成果、流域构成特点和河西地区环境状况,分析了河西内陆河流域存在的生态问题,并从节水农业和水权制度改革、城镇化建设、植被保护、生态用水管理、环境污染的治理等5个方面提出了生态保护对策。