Investigation of environmental and land use impacts in forested permafrost headwaters of the Selenga-Baikal river system,Mongolia - Effects on discharge,water quality and macroinvertebrate diversity

Headwater streams play a major role for provision of ecosystem services, e.g. drinking water. We investigated a high-altitude headwater catchment of the Kharaa River (including 41 1st-order rivers) to understand the impact of land cover (especially forest cover), environment and human usage on runoff, chemical water quality and macroinvertebrate fauna in a river basin under discontinuous permafrost conditions in an arid, sparsely populated region of Mongolia. To verify our hypotheses that different landuses and environmental impacts in permafrost headwaters influence water quality, we investigated 105 sampling sites, 37 of them at intermittent stream sections without water flow. Discharge was positively impacted by land cover types steppe, grassland and forest and negatively by shrubland, forest burnt by wild fires (indicating a reduction of permafrost) and slope. Water quality was affected by altitude, longitude and latitude, shrub growth and water temperature. Shannon diversity of macroinvertebrates was driven by water temperature, iron content of the water, flow velocity, and subbasin size (adjusted R² = 0.54). Sample plots clustered in three groups that differed in water chemistry, macroinvertebrate diversity, species composition and bio-indicators. Our study confirms that steppes and grasslands have a higher contribution to runoff than forests, forest cover has a positive impact on water quality, and diversity of macroinvertebrates is higher in sites with less nutrients and pollutants. The excellent ecological status of the upper reaches of the Kharaa is severely threatened by forest fires and human-induced climate change and urgently needs to be conserved.     

Quantifying trophic interactions and niche sizes of juvenile fishes in an invaded riverine cyprinid fish community

Quantifying feeding interactions between nonindigenous and indigenous fishes in invaded fish communities is important for determining how introduced species integrate into native food webs. Here, the trophic interactions of invasive 0+ European barbel Barbus barbus (L.) and the three other principal 0+ fishes in the community, Squalius cephalus (L.), Leuciscus leuciscus (L.) and Phoxinus phoxinus (L.), were investigated in the River Teme, a River Severn tributary in Western England. B. barbus has been present in the River Teme for approximately 40 years. Analyses of stomach contents from samples collected from three sites between June and September 2015 revealed that, overall, fishes displayed a generalist feeding strategy, with most prey having low frequency of selection. Relationships of diet composition versus body length and gape height were species‐specific, with increasing dietary specialisms apparent as the 0+ fishes increased in length and gape height. The trophic niche size of invasive B. barbus was always significantly smaller than S. cephalus and L. leuciscus and was significantly smaller than P. phoxinus at two sites. This was primarily due to differences in the functional morphology of the fishes; 0+ B. barbus were generally restricted to foraging on the benthos, whereas the other fishes were able to forage on prey present throughout the water column. Nevertheless, the invasive B. barbus were exploiting very similar prey items to populations in their native range, suggesting these invaders were strongly pre‐adapted to the River Teme and this arguably facilitated their establishment and invasion.     

Assessing the utility of topographic variables in predicting structural complexity of tree stands in a reforested urban landscape

The transformation of natural landscapes into impervious built-up surfaces through urbanization is known to significantly interfere with the ecological integrity of urban landscapes and accelerate climate change and associated impacts. Although urban reforestation is widely recognised as an ideal mitigation practice against these impacts, it often has to compete with other lucrative land uses within an urban area. The often limited urban space provided for reforestation therefore necessitates the optimization of the ecological benefits, which demands spatially explicit information. The recent proliferation of tree stands structural complexity (SSC) and topographic data offer great potential for determining the ecological performance of reforested areas across an urban landscape. This study explores the potential of using topographic datasets to predict SSC in a reforested urban landscape and ranks the value of these topographic variables in determining SSC. Tree structural data from a reforested urban area was collected and fed into a tree stand structural complexity index, which was used to indicate ecological performance. Topographic variables (Topographic Wetness Index, slope, Area Solar Radiation and elevation)- were derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and used to predict SSC using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression technique. Results show that SSC varied significantly between the topographic variables. Results also show that the topographic variables could be used to reliably predict SSC. As expected, the Topographic Wetness Index and slope were the most important topographic determinants of SSC while elevation was the least valuable. These results provide valuable spatially explicit information about the ecological performance of the reforested areas within an urban landscape. Specifically, the study demonstrates the value of topographic data as aids to urban reforestation planning.     

Nutritional Qualities of the Low-Value Bivalve Mollusks Paphia malabarica and Villorita cyprinoides at the Estuarine Waters of the Southwestern Coast of India

The bivalve mollusks Paphia malabarica and Villorita cyprinoides collected from the estuarine system located in the southwest coastal waters of India were evaluated for their nutritional composition. A balanced essential to nonessential amino acid ratio (> 1.0) with a greater quantity of sulfur-containing amino acids in these species demonstrated that they could provide well-balanced protein depositions. The n-3/n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio in P. malabarica was found to be greater than 2, and, therefore, can be considered as a healthy diet. The C₂₀–C₂₂ long-chain polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acids (for example, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) accounted for more than 23% of the total fatty acid content in P. malabarica as compared to about 7% in V. cyprinoides. P. malabarica showed greater hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (1.7) and lesser atherogenicity (0.7), thrombogenicity (0.3) indices when contrasted with those in V. cyprinoides, thereby indicating the nutritional superiority of the former. A greater content of vitamin D₃ (> 150 IU), along with significant quantities of calcium and phosphorus (> 500 mg/100 g) in the clams, signified their importance in preventing osteoporosis. This study demonstrated the importance of bivalves, in particular, P. malabarica as a valued species for human consumption.     

A comparison of changes in stable isotope ratios in the epidermal mucus and muscle tissue of slow‐growing adult catfish

Although stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool for determining diet, migration patterns and the structure of food webs in aquatic systems, the slow response of isotopic ratios in the widely used muscle tissue often hampers this approach, particularly in slow‐growing or adult fishes. We conducted a diet‐switch experiment to compare the changes in the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ¹³C values) in the epidermal mucus and muscle tissue of five‐year‐old catfish (Silurus asotus). The isotope ratios in noninvasively sampled mucus changed more rapidly than those in the muscle tissue. As isotopic change in mucus was relatively rapid, this technique can be used over a finer timescale than traditional isotopic analyses using the muscle tissue. The isotopic change half‐life in our experimental condition was 200 days, which would not be short enough for some research purposes. Examining mucus along with the muscle would enable food habits of slow‐growing fishes to be determined over different timescales. However, the rate of isotopic change in the mucus was negatively affected by the size of fish and was slower than the previously reported rates in juvenile steelhead. These findings suggest that mucus turnover rates need to be determined prior to the field data interpretation.     

饲料脂肪水平对俄罗斯鲟幼鱼生长、血液生化指标及抗氧化性能的影响

以鱼油、豆油、亚麻籽油等比例混合,配成脂肪含量分别为5.45%(L1)、7.00%(L2)、10.44%(L3)、14.37%(L4)、16.34%(L5)、18.91%(L6)及20.15%(L7)的等氮饲料,饲喂俄罗斯鲟(Acipenser gueldenstaedtii)幼鱼[(6.20±0.02)g]8周。实验结果表明,L3组的终末体质量、增重率最大,但与L2组间无显著差异(P0.05),L3组的蛋白质效率显著高于其它组(P0.05),且饲料系数最低。L6和L7组终末体质量、增重率和蛋白质效率显著低于L2和L3组(P0.05)。将幼鱼的增重率与饲料脂肪水平进行回归分析,得出俄罗斯鲟幼鱼在饲料脂肪水平为10.69%时生长最佳。随着饲料脂肪水平的升高,各组鱼的肝体比和体粗脂肪有上升趋势,其中肝体比在饲料脂肪含量大于14.37%时显著增大(P0.05)。血清中的甘油三酯、胆固醇含量也随脂肪水平升高而显著提高(P0.05),提示脂肪过高会影响俄罗斯鲟幼鱼的生长,降低蛋白质效率,导致脂肪在体内的过量积蓄。L7组鱼血清中高密度脂蛋白胆固醇含量最高,而L1组鱼的低密度脂蛋白胆固醇含量最高。肝脏脂蛋白酯酶活性随饲料脂肪水平的提高而升高,脂肪酸合成酶活性则随脂肪水平升高而降低,提示饲料脂肪水平的提高会促进鱼体脂肪的分解代谢。肝脏丙二醛含量和超氧化物歧化酶活性均随着饲料脂肪水平的提高显著升高(P0.05),表明脂肪含量过高会导致脂质过氧化,引发机体抗氧化酶活性的升高。综合俄罗斯鲟幼鱼的生长、血液指标及抗氧化性能,建议生产中将幼鱼的饲料脂肪水平控制在7.00%~10.69%。     

山药不同处理方式的保存效果

运用涂抹草木灰、石蜡及自然干燥、吹风机干燥等方法对山药茎段切口进行处理,研究不同切口处理方式对山药外观及品质的影响;比较不同浓度壳聚糖与15%柠檬酸组合对切片的保鲜影响,进行山药茎段切口处理方法及切片表面处理方法的筛选。结果表明:室温下涂抹草木灰对鲜切山药茎段的贮藏效果最好;4℃条件下,15%柠檬酸+0.5%壳聚糖处理对山药切片的保鲜效果最好。     

外源ABA对低温胁迫下小豆幼苗生理及产量的影响

在盆栽条件下，以耐冷性不同的2个小豆(Vigna angularis）品种龙小豆4号（耐冷型）和天津红（冷敏型）为材料，于苗期在人工气候室进行低温（4℃，持续12 h）及预喷施外源脱落酸（abscisic acid，ABA）处理，旨在研究苗期低温胁迫下外源ABA对小豆叶片逆境生理指标（H₂2O₂2、丙二醛（MDA）、抗氧化酶活性、可溶性物质）和产量因子的调控效应。结果表明：幼苗期低温处理12 h后，龙小豆4号和天津红小豆叶片H₂2O₂2含量分别提高34.82%和27.10%；MDA含量分别提高65.56%和83.79%；SOD和POD活性分别提高6.67%和18.48%、45.53%和102.44%；脯氨酸含量分别提高33.12%和24.41%。低温处理导致龙小豆4号百粒重下降2.58%，与喷施清水相比，低温处理12 h后天津红的单株荚数和百粒重分别下降18.55%和10.61%(P＜0.05）。喷施外源ABA具有抵御低温的作用，外源ABA促进龙小豆4号和天津红叶片脯氨酸含量提高9.13%和19.76%；H₂2O₂2含量降低7.63%和8.36%；MDA含量降低10.18%和20.27%；SOD和POD活性分别提高9.06%和13.57%、8.26%和28.51%，同时百粒重分别提高8.56%和8.92%。低温胁迫下，不同品种小豆的生理应激存在显著差异；喷施外源ABA能够有效缓解低温胁迫对小豆的伤害。     

山西南部苹果花期冻害时空分布特征及综合防御技术

利用1997—2016年山西南部苹果主产县(市、区)苹果花期逐日最低气温及日平均气温观测资料，根据苹果花期冻害等级划分指标，采用最小二乘法对花期冻害日数进行线性倾向估计，并用Mann-Kendall非参数检验方法对花期冻害日数的变化趋势进行显著性检验，分析山西南部苹果花期冻害的时空分布特征。结果表明: 山西省南部苹果产区发生花期冻害日数年均为3.1 d，各县花期均温介于13.0℃~13.8℃之间。运城地区4月中上旬易发生冻害，临汾地区吉县与隰县4月下旬易发生冻害；山西南部苹果花期冻害日数近20 a气候倾向率为-0.666 d·（10 a）^-1（P≤0.01），花期极端最低气温气候倾向率为0.165 d·（10 a）^-1（P≤0.01），花期极端最低气温与冻害日数具有极显著负相关关系。山西南部苹果花期冻害日数突变点在2008年，且在2015年之后苹果花期冻害日数突破α=0.05显著性水平下限。对于苹果花期冻害的综合防御措施，可采用“以防为主，抗补结合”策略。     

基于主成分和隶属函数分析的高粱品种耐深播性综合评价

采用盆栽试验,分别设置1、3、5、7 cm播深,对34个高粱品种在不同播深下的出苗率、幼苗形态和幼苗干物质量进行分析,筛选耐深播性鉴定指标,综合评价高粱品种的耐深播性。研究结果表明,随着播种深度的加大,出苗率、苗长、根长、根数和苗重均呈下降趋势,3、5、7 cm与1 cm播深上述指标测定值的比值分别为0.84～0.60、0.96～0.75、0.83～0.53、0.88～0.64和0.95～0.85;中胚轴长、根重和根冠比呈上升趋势,3、5、7 cm与1 cm播深上述指标测定值的比值为1.52～3.30、1.10～1.25和1.17～1.50;胚芽鞘长在播深间差异不显著。主成分分析结果表明,前4个主成分的累积方差贡献率为77.647%,相对根冠比、相对根长、相对中胚轴长和相对出苗率载荷量最大,将其作为高粱耐深播性筛选的主要指标并计算隶属函数值。根据隶属函数值对高粱品种进行聚类分析,结果显示,34个高粱品种可聚为3类,晋粱白2号等11个品种为耐深播品种,红青壳等14个品种为中等耐深播品种,吉品609等9个品种为深播敏感品种。品种间耐深播性差异明显,杂交种较常规种耐深播性强。