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.     

利用MAS技术改良香稻‘R15’的直链淀粉含量

R15是适应性较广,产量较高的中熟晚籼香稻品系,但由于含有Wx^a基因,其直链淀粉含量高达23.5%,严重影响食用口感。因此,我们以含有Wx^b等位基因的不育系Y58S为供体,通过杂交、回交,利用RAD测序技术、分子标记辅助筛选等技术,经过8个世代的筛选,成功用Wx^b基因替换掉R15中的Wx^a基因,培育出1个新的纯合株系——‘深华R16’,其染色体上有10882234 bp长度的碱基,基因型和供体亲本‘Y58S’一致,占2.92%;有362363285 bp长度的DNA片段基因型和受体亲本‘R15’一致,占97.08%;其直链淀粉含量为14%。将‘Y58S’分别与‘深华R16’和‘R15’进行组配,结果表明,‘Y58S’/‘深华R16’组合的直链淀粉含量(13.9%)低于‘Y58S’/‘R15’组合的直链淀粉含量(19.9%),其它米质性状与农艺性状基本一致。本研究为分子标记辅助育种提供了新思路,培育出一新的水稻品系。     

基于随机森林的高寒湿地地区土地覆盖遥感分类方法

高寒湿地是青藏高原典型独特的生态系统,是全球气候变化的敏感地带和预警区。利用遥感技术快速、准确地分类提取高寒湿地的土地覆盖信息,对当地生态安全监测和保护具有重要意义。本文以若尔盖湿地国家级自然保护区为研究区,首先,以高分一号(GF-1)遥感影像为数据源,融合光谱特征、水体指数、地形特征、植被指数和纹理信息等26个变量进行随机森林(Random forest,RF)分类实验;然后,根据袋外数据(Out of bag,OOB)的特征变量重要性得分和精度评价结果,选出高寒湿地地区土地覆盖类型的最优分类方案和特征;最后,对特征变量进行降维,并基于相同的变量,采用极大似然法(Maximum likelihood classification,MLC)、支持向量机(Support vector machine,SVM)、人工神经网络(Artificial neural network,ANN)和RF等方法进行分类,比较不同方法的优适性。结果表明:结合GF-1影像光谱、水体、植被、纹理特征和地形信息,使用26个变量的RF模型的分类精度最高,总体精度(Overall accuracy,OA)为90.07%,Kappa系数为0.86;通过RF模型的变量重要性分析可以有效选出重要的特征信息,在降低特征变量维度的同时,还能保证较高的分类精度; 4种分类方法中,RF算法是高寒湿地地区较合适的分类方法,OA比MLC基准方法高17.63个百分点,比SVM和ANN等机器学习算法分别高6.98、6.56个百分点。     

枣实蝇对枣果挥发物的选择行为

[目的]探究对枣实蝇有引诱作用的挥发性物质,研发基于行为调节的防治技术。[方法]采用Y型嗅觉仪测定了枣实蝇成虫对6种枣果挥发物的选择行为反应,并在室内试验的基础上进行田间引诱试验。[结果]室内试验结果显示,枣实蝇成虫对6种枣果挥发物具有显著正趋性。枣实蝇雌虫对棕榈酸乙酯、月桂酸乙酯、肉豆蔻酸的选择率较强,选择率均为30%以上;雄虫对亚油酸乙酯、油酸乙酯的选择率较强,选择率均为25%以上,从不同浓度梯度(原液、10%溶液、1%溶液)的选择率和选择系数来看,随浓度的递减,其选择率和选择系数也在递减,原液的选择率分别为10%溶液及1%溶液的2.5倍及5倍以上。田间试验发现:肉豆蔻酸对枣实蝇雌虫的诱集效果较强,2 d最多诱捕数量为15头·只^-1,平均诱捕数量为11.4头·只^-1,十四酸乙酯次之。在6种不同挥发物中油酸乙酯和亚油酸乙酯对枣实蝇雄虫的引诱效果较强。经单因素方差分析发现,在6种挥发性物质及混合物中,月桂酸乙酯及十四酸乙酯对枣实蝇雌雄虫的引诱效果之间存在显著性差异。其他挥发物之间无显著差异。[结论]枣果挥发物中棕榈酸乙酯、月桂酸乙酯、肉豆蔻酸与枣实蝇偏爱选择密切相关。在田间试验中:枣实蝇成虫对肉豆蔻酸的选择率较强,为研发枣实蝇引诱剂提供了理论依据。     

Wide hybridization and introgression breeding in safflower: Effectiveness of different selection methods

Possibility of using interspecific hybridization to increase genetic diversity of drought tolerance in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) and effectiveness of different selection methods is poorly understood. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of (a) interspecific hybridization to expand genetic diversity in safflower for agronomic traits and drought tolerance in advance generations and (b) different selection methods (direct vs. indirect) for improving seed yield. Interspecific hybridizations were performed between species of C. tinctorius × C. palaestinus (TP), C. palaestinus × C. oxyacantha (PO) and C. tinctorius × C. oxyacantha (TO). Based on the field screening of genotypes in F3 generation, four groups of selected genotypes (derived from combination of direct and indirect selection under both drought and normal environments along with selection based on drought tolerance index (STI)) were evaluated in F4 and F5 generations. Indirect selection for seed yield was significantly more efficient than direct selection. Selection in stress environment resulted to more efficiency than selection in normal environment. No significant difference was observed between direct selection and selection based on STI. The result showed that TP was the best population to combine high seed yield and drought tolerance in safflower.     

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.