Dissolved oxygen controls summer habitat of Clear Lake Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda chi), an imperilled potamodromous cyprinid

Clear Lake Hitch is an imperilled minnow endemic to Clear Lake, Lake County, California, United States listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (ESA) and a candidate for listing under the United States ESA. It exhibits a potamodromous life cycle whereby adults, which reach up to 6 + years in age and over 350 mm in length, migrate into Clear Lake's ephemeral tributaries briefly during spring to spawn. Conservation and management of Clear Lake Hitch is inhibited, in part, by a lack of information on the lacustrine habitat of nonbreeding individuals within Clear Lake. To address this problem, we sampled Clear Lake Hitch with gill nets in a stratified random sampling design to determine the distribution and habitat associations in early summer 2017 and 2018. We identified abundance-habitat relationships for juveniles and adults using Bayesian zero-inflated negative binomial generalised linear mixed modelling. Results indicated that dissolved oxygen concentration was the most important habitat feature measured; juveniles and adults were substantially more abundant in normoxic (≥2 mg/l) than in hypoxic (<2 mg/l) habitat. Both also exhibited weak positive relationships with chlorophyll fluorescence, suggesting relatively productive habitats may support higher numbers of Clear Lake Hitch. Spatially, juveniles were most abundant in nearshore habitats while adults were ubiquitous, indicating an ontogenetic habitat expansion that may be associated with a resource availability-predation risk trade-off. Management actions undertaken to improve hypoxia problems in Clear Lake would also improve Clear Lake Hitch habitat.     

Variation in juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) dispersal in relation to age and growth performance

Volitional dispersal is a ubiquitous strategy characteristic of species across major faunal groups. Dispersal during the juvenile life stage is of interest because early performance can be critical for determining future success (survival/reproduction). For salmonids, dispersal can influence local density, competition, individual growth and survival, though drivers of dispersal at meso-scales are rarely quantified. Here, we evaluate dispersal of tagged juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) through habitat units in extended stream reaches (500 m) at sites across a watershed from July to October 2017. Our aim was to quantify the frequency and spatial extent of dispersal, identify links to biotic and abiotic factors, evaluate the implications for individual growth and test for associations between dispersal and migration initiation. Dispersal rates varied between sites, but were consistently higher for age 1+ than for age 0 steelhead (avg. 21% vs. 6% respectively). Age 1+ dispersal probability was positively correlated with time between recapture events and body mass, and negatively correlated with growth rate, maximum temperature experienced and age 1+ density. At sites where there appeared to be growth benefits to remaining sedentary compared to moving, proportionally fewer fish performed dispersal. We found no links between dispersal and timing or probability of migration initiation the following spring. Our results support the hypothesis that although dispersal over intermediate scales (10–1,000 m) might be rare, it could be an important strategy that permits fish to seek out better opportunities (foraging, shelter or otherwise) in underutilised areas.     

Habitat specialization and sensitivity to change in a threatened crayfish occupying upland streams

1. Crayfish are culturally and ecologically important species in freshwater ecosystems, but many are now threatened with extinction, due to threats such as habitat loss. Depending on their habitat selectivity and sensitivity, freshwater crayfish could provide effective targets for stream monitoring, restoration and conservation. This study used repeated field surveys of the threatened Murray crayfish, Euastacus armatus (family Parastacidae), to establish their habitat preferences and sensitivity to habitat loss across mesohabitat and microhabitat scales within upland streams of south‐east Australia. 2. Selectivity analysis revealed that upland populations of E. armatus displayed a strong preference for areas of intermediate water flow velocity, deeper water, and stream beds dominated by boulders and gravel. Variations in E. armatus density among and within the two upland streams aligned with these microhabitat preferences, with best‐subsets analyses revealing that E. armatus abundance hotspots were best predicted by models combining water depth with percentage cover of boulders, gravel and overhanging riparian vegetation. 3. Major shifts in stream habitat condition from 2009 to 2015 (e.g. 32% and 50% decline in boulder and overhanging vegetation cover, respectively) was associated with a 91% decline in E. armatus mean density within glide‐pool mesohabitats. 4. These findings highlight how habitat specialization in threatened crayfish such as E. armatus may render them sensitive to changes in stream habitat condition, and how targeted monitoring, restoration and conservation of their preferred habitats could yield multiple benefits for montane freshwater ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interactions of baseflow habitat constraints: Macroinvertebrate drift,stream temperature,and physical habitat for anadromous salmon in the Calapooia River,Oregon

1. The Calapooia River in western Oregon supports a small winter steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population and historically supported spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Early timber harvesting removed the riparian forest, and log transportation practices simplified the channel. Those disturbance legacies continue to affect fish habitat by limiting shade and channel complexity, complicating conservation efforts.
2. To evaluate juvenile salmonid rearing potential, macroinvertebrate drift, thermal regime and physical habitat were measured at eight sites in 24 km of the upper river during late summer baseflow.
3. Overall physical habitat was simple, with few functioning instream structures or pools. During the 22‐day drift study, flows declined and maximum site stream temperatures ranged from 23.1°C at the lower end to 16.4°C 24 km upstream.
4. Macroinvertebrate drift concentrations ranged from 0.7–13.7 ind. m^?3 with biomasses from 0.02–1.23 mg m^?3. Drift concentration biomass was higher upstream (P  = 0.006) than downstream and declined overall (P  < 0.001) during the study. Drift biomass was dominated by five taxon groups – Baetis tricaudatus, Calineuria californica, Hesperoperla pacifica, Simulium spp., and Chironomidae, which were 65% of total biomass. During twilight, total biomass and biomass of B. tricaudatus, Simulium spp., and Chironomidae (both larvae and adults) were higher.
5. Total drift declined dramatically over the study period owing to decreases in drift concentration and a 58% decline in discharge, greatly reducing overall drift and available food resources for juvenile‐rearing salmonids.
6. The upper catchment, both with cooler temperatures and higher food availability, provided the best conditions for juvenile anadromous salmonids to survive late summer conditions. Conservation consequences of climate change‐induced alterations in flow and temperature may further affect habitat quality for juvenile salmonids in this catchment in the coming decades.

     

Long‐term habitat loss in a lightly‐disturbed population of the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin,Sousa chinensis

1. Coastal and estuarine waters are important ecosystems with high primary and secondary productivity, but they are prone to the impacts of habitat loss caused by anthropogenic activities. For species exclusively inhabiting coastal and estuarine waters, such as the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis , irreversible habitat loss can have dramatic implications for population viability.
2. A Landsat image database was used to determine the extent of coastal changes along the northern Beibu Gulf, where a large humpback dolphin population is found. The results were compared with the standardized sighting gradient (SPUF) determined from a questionnaire survey of fishermen and likely core habitats identified by application of a global digital elevation model.
3. Both SPUF and likely core habitat results indicated a continuous distribution of the humpback dolphin along the northern Beibu Gulf. Landsat images revealed that 129.6 km² of coastal waters were permanently lost in the past 40 years, 60 km² within the likely core habitats. Although this may be considered small, the impact of such habitat loss could be substantial in some local habitats.
4. The humpback dolphin population in the northern Beibu Gulf should be regarded as one management unit, with two or more social subunits. Immediate systematic surveys are needed to fill information gaps on true distribution range and habitat‐use patterns.
5. Habitat protection actions for dolphins in the northern Beibu Gulf should include both core and linking habitats, including enacting protected areas in core habitats, mitigating anthropogenic impacts in likely habitats, restoring both coastal waters and surrounding landscape quality, effective treatment of industrial sewage discharge, and comprehensive environmental impact assessments for the planning of coastal development projects.

     

昆明长水国际机场鳞翅目昆虫种群初探

对2018年1~12月昆明长水国际机场东西跑道外侧草坪的鳞翅目昆虫进行了调查,结果发现:该目昆虫具有明显季节差异,种类和数量均是夏季最多,秋季其次,冬、春季相对较少。生境分析表明,鳞翅目昆虫对生境依赖有一定差异,故提出了清除草坪内开花植物或种植不开花植物,从而减少昆虫多样性,降低鸟类到草坪觅食及鸟击概率的建议。     

Beaver dams,streamflow complexity,and the distribution of a rare minnow,Lepidomeda copei

Freshwater fishes are threatened globally, and often too little is known about threatened species to effectively guide their conservation. Habitat complexity is linked to fish species diversity and persistence, and degraded streams often lack habitat complexity. Beaver Castor spp., in turn, have been used to restore streams and increase habitat complexity. The northern leatherside chub Lepidomeda copei is a rare, small‐bodied, drift‐feeding minnow that has anecdotally been observed to use complex habitats associated with beaver dams in the western United States. To investigate this anecdote, we conducted fish and habitat surveys, the latter focusing on quantifying habitat complexity, in a sub‐basin of the Upper Snake River Basin in the USA. Complementary generalised linear model and path analyses revealed that northern leatherside chub occurred more often at sites with complex streamflows, and streamflows were more complex when beaver dams were present and pools were deeper. Northern leatherside chubs were also more likely to occur when temperatures were warmer, aquatic macrophytes were abundant and stream channels were narrow and deep. The linkage between chubs, complex streamflows and beaver dams needs to be evaluated more broadly to completely understand its role in the rangewide status of the species. However, it does suggests that increased use of beaver reintroductions and dam analogues for stream restoration could be a boon for the northern leatherside chub, but such efforts should be monitored to determine their effectiveness to help adapt beaver‐based restoration approaches to best benefit the species.     

Responses of Australian sea lions,Neophoca cinerea,to anthropogenic activities in the Perth metropolitan area,Western Australia

1. Tourist‐based activities, partly due to their rapid increase, have raised concerns regarding the impacts of anthropogenic activity on marine fauna. Documented effects on pinnipeds in proximity to humans include changes in behaviour, site use and potentially higher aggression levels towards people. Effects vary considerably between populations and sites, thus requiring separate assessment of human impacts on activity and energy budgets.
2. Responses of the endangered Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea, to human visitation were recorded from November 2013 through April 2014. Exposure levels and response types to anthropogenic activities were assessed at two easily accessible locations with different management schemes, Seal (landing prohibited) and Carnac (landing permitted) islands, Western Australia. Exposure levels were measured as both stimulus type (i.e. ‘People’, ‘Paddlers’, ‘Small’, ‘Medium’, and ‘Large vessels’, ‘Tour vessels’, and ‘Jet skies’), and people (‘Direct’, ‘Attract’, ‘Interact’, ‘View’, ‘Incidental’, ‘Water’, ‘Low‐level’), and vessel activities (‘Interact’, ‘Approach/Follow’, ‘Anchor noise’, ‘Engine noise’, ‘Close to beach’, ‘Moderate/Fast travel’, ‘Slow travel’, ‘Transit’, ‘Drift/At anchor’, ‘Aircraft noise’).
3. Exposure levels varied significantly between the islands in numbers, stimuli type, duration and minimum approach distances. The instantaneous behaviours of ‘Lift head’, ‘Interact’ and ‘Sit’ were the most frequent responses. ‘Aggressive’ and ‘Retreat’ responses, the highest disturbance levels measured, occurred on Carnac approximately once per day, but rarely on Seal Island. ‘Aggressive’ behaviour towards ‘People’ was observed only on Carnac Island and elicited only by ‘People’. ‘People’, ‘Tour vessels’, and scenic ‘Aircrafts’ on both islands as well as ‘Jet skis’ on Carnac Island had the highest probability of triggering responses. Owing to their relatively high visitation at Seal Island, ‘Paddle powered vessels’, followed by ‘Tour vessels’ elicited the highest number of responses, compared with ‘People’, ‘Small’, and ‘Medium vessels’ at Carnac Island. The majority of responses occurred when any stimulus type was at short‐range (≤10 m), and ‘People’ ‘Viewing’ N. cinerea elicited most. Vessels triggered more responses at larger ranges than ‘People’.
4. To limit close‐range access to N. cinerea, one possibility is to close the beach at Carnac Island to human visitation and increase the minimum approach distance by vessels and ‘People’ by installing marker buoys at least 15 m from the shore.

© 2016 The Authors. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.