Ontogenetic resource use and trophic dynamics of endangered juvenile Tachypleus tridentatus among diversified nursery habitats in the northern Beibu Gulf,China

Horseshoe crabs, the most well-known example of “living fossils”, are iconic and ecologically important macroinvertebrates in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Their blood is a crucial resource for manufacturing Limulus or Tachypleus amebocyte lysate to detect bacterial endotoxins or fungal contamination in drug and medical devices. An enhanced understanding of their ecological roles and trophic interactions in the food webs is fundamental to facilitate resource management for the declining populations in Asia. Foraging information of the Asian species, however, is mainly derived from preliminary, scattered reports from a limited number of study locations. In this study, resource utilization, trophic niche dynamics, and trophic interaction of the juvenile tri-spine horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus (instars 1–12, approximately 0.5–8 years old) across ontogeny was assessed in diversified nursery habitats along the northern Beibu Gulf, China, using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Our results suggest that: (i) T. tridentatus are ecological generalists given the vast range of carbon isotopic values and trophic niche width estimates exhibited between multiple instar groups; (ii) juvenile T. tridentatus across most habitat types predominantly assimilated energy from a variety of basal production sources in the food web, but primarily depended on sedimentary organic matter and seagrass resource pools; (iii) ontogenetic shifts in juvenile dietary proportions were evident, with decreased reliance on sedimentary organic matter, coupled with increased reliance on benthic macroinvertebrate grazers, detritivores, and omnivores with age; and (iv) nearly all juvenile instars occupied similar trophic positions in the food web with slight shifts in trophic position present with increasing size. Our findings indicate that resource availability and ontogenetic diet shifts strongly influence horseshoe crab trophic dynamics, and age should be accounted when formulating habitat conservation measures based on resource use for Asian horseshoe crabs.     

Historical changes in bivalve growth rates indicate ecological consequences of human occupation in estuaries

1. Only 800 years ago, New Zealand became the last major land mass to be settled by humans, leading to environmental degradation and precipitating a decline in indigenous fauna. Such ecological downgrading can alter ecosystem processes and drive down the capacity for remnant ecosystems to withstand the anthropogenic pressures of today.
2. In New Zealand, these impacts are chronicled in a concise and remarkably complete archaeological record and are distinguishable from natural changes due to changing climate.
3. Estuaries are subject to strong environmental gradients that drive productivity and contain critical habitats for key life‐history phases for marine and terrestrial species. Linking land to sea, they host abundant, accessible human resources and are sensitive to anthropogenic environmental modification.
4. Austrovenus stutchburyi is a common filter feeding bivalve in New Zealand estuaries. An important food source for Māori, their shells are abundant in middens. Growth rates of A. stutchburyi are affected by multiple environmental factors, including temperature, salinity, nutrients, and sediment, and are recorded through time as easily measurable annual shell bands. Measuring spatial and temporal variation in growth rate of A. stutchburyi can be used to identify the timing of changes in estuarine conditions.
5. Growth bands were measured in archaeological and modern (AD 1300–present) A. stutchburyi shells from six sites around New Zealand with varying occupational histories. There were no increases in growth rate, and rates declined measurably over time at three sites (up to a 50% reduction in growth per year). This decline was greater at estuaries that had experienced greater catchment modification, indicating that sediment loading due to land clearance was a likely driver of this change.
6. New Zealand's coastline and marine resources are often perceived as wild and pristine. We propose that fundamental changes have occurred in the functioning of coastal marine ecosystems, which constrain its future.

     

渔山列岛潮间带大型底栖动物的群落结构

于2009年3月的大潮期间对渔山列岛潮间带布设5个断面,进行大型底栖动物调查。结果表明,该海域潮间带采集到大型底栖动物90种,其中腔肠动物3种,多毛类11种,软体动物45种,甲壳类19种,棘皮动物6种,其它6种。潮间带大型底栖动物总平均生物量5307.06g/m2,总平均丰度为2323.20ind/m2。在各类群底栖动...     

上海郊区河流沉积物N、P释放的初步研究

A laboratory study was conducted to observe the release of nitrogen and phosphorus from the sedimentsunder both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The samples used were five creek sediments and a fish-pondsediment (as a comparison) obtained from suburban Shanghai. High loads of nitrogen and phosphoruswere found in the creek sediments. Total nitrogen of the sediments ranged from 1.17 to 5.95 g kg^-1; totalphosphorus from 608.63 to 2 033.95 mg kg^-1. Making up more than 90% of the total nitrogen, organicnitrogen was the dominant nitrogen fraction in the sediments; where as inorganic phosphorus was the dominant phosphorus fraction, which made up more than 85 percent of the total phosphorus. Cabound phosphorus fraction dominated inorganic phosphorus, which occupied more than 50% of the total. A large amount of ammonium was released from the sediments under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and the anaerobic releases were slightly greater than the aerobic. In addition, ammonium contents in the aerobic waters decreased sharply after reaching the peaks because of strong nitrification, compared with the relatively maintained ammonium peaks in the anaerobic waters. Anaerobic phosphate releases were much greater than the aerobic and the released ortho-phosphate was mainly from Fe-bound phosphorus. Ammonium and ortho-phosphate releases from the sample of the dredged creek were the lowest, showing that creek dredging could effectively remove contaminants from the surface of sediments and weaken the release potentials of nitrogen and phosphorus. Ammonium and ortho-phosphate releases from the fish-pond sediment were greater than those from the creek sediments though its total nitrogen and phosphorus were not the highest, which was probably due to the larger amount of biologically degraded organic matter in the fish-pond sediment.     

不同生境中半红树植物抗氧化防御研究

选取5种半红树植物,研究了其在不同生境(潮间带和陆生)抗氧化防御系统的变化。结果表明,陆生的黄槿、许树O2.产生速率和莲叶桐H2O2含量均显著的高于其潮间带居群,从而使这3种半红树叶片中抗氧化酶类(SOD、APX、CAT、POD和GR)活性均高于其潮间带居群。而处于潮间带杨叶肖槿、阔苞菊(除SOD外)的SOD、APX、CAT活性显著高于其陆生居群,此时,H2O2含量要显著低于其陆生居群,而陆生的阔苞菊居群SOD、POD、GR活性高于其潮间带居群,因此,O2.产生的速率显著低于其潮间带居群。不同树种对不同生境有着不同抗氧化防御策略,总的趋势是,陆生的半红树抗氧化酶活性均要高于其潮间带居群,尤其是POD、GR活性在5种半红树中均显著高于其潮间带居群,暗示环境胁迫造成的选择压力导致半红树植物适应性的反应。高温、高光照、干旱是对陆生半红树的逆境胁迫,因此,上调抗氧化酶活性,以降低逆境对半红树的膜脂过氧化,减少电解质外渗,最终提高了半红树的抗逆性。     

Capricious bioinvasions versus uncoordinated management strategies: how the most unlikely invaders can prosper under the current UK legislation framework

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