Studies on the Psammolittoral Meiofauna of Algoa Bay

The meiofauna communities at three tide levels on a sheltered and an exposed beach have been analysed and compared. Twenty-nine nematode, eight harpacticoid and two mystacocarid species and species groups have been used. A similarity analysis indicated three distinct communities, one occurring in sand that dries out during low tide, one occurring in fine sand that remains saturated during low tide and one occurring in coarser sand that remains saturated during low tide. Diversities decreased from high to low tide levels on both beaches regardless of meiofauna numbers. The distribution of nematode feeding types is discussed.     

Temporal Variation in Diet and Nutrition of Preincubating Greater Sage-Grouse

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat management involves vegetation manipulations to increase or decrease specific habitat components. For sage-grouse habitat management to be most effective, an understanding of the functional response of sage-grouse to changes in resource availability is critical. We investigated temporal variation in diet composition and nutrient content (crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus) of foods consumed by preincubating female sage-grouse relative to food supply and age of hen. We collected 86 preincubating female greater sage-grouse at foraging areas during early (18–31 March) and late (1–12 April) preincubation periods during 2002–2003. Females consumed 22 food types including low sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula Nutt.), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), 15 forb species, 2 insect taxa, sagebrush galls, moss, and a trace amount of unidentified grasses. Low sagebrush was the most common food item, but forbs were found in 89% of the crops and composed 30.1% aggregate dry mass (ADM) of the diet. ADM and species composition of female diets were highly variable between collection periods and years, and coincided with temporal variation in forb availability. Adult females consumed more forbs and less low sagebrush compared to yearling females. Because of higher levels of crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus, forbs were important diet components in comparison with low sagebrush, which had the lowest nutrient content of all foods consumed. Our results indicate that increased forb abundance in areas used by female sage-grouse prior to nesting would increase their forb consumption and nutritional status for reproduction. We recommend that managers should emphasize delineation of habitats used by preincubating sage-grouse and evaluate the need for enhancing forb abundance and diversity.     

Food resource sharing and partitioning among some fishes of the Pongolo River floodplain

The diets of 12 fish species which coexist in the Pongolo floodplain lakes were determined from an analysis of the contents of 3 691 stomachs collected over a period of 12 months. Although almost all species were found to feed on a variety of foods, with consequent dietary overlaps, quantitative analysis of the results showed that distinct preferences for specific food types considerably ameliorated the effects of such overlaps. Partitioning within the major food categories, differences in relative population sizes, spatial and temporal differences in feeding and shifts in diet following inputs of seasonally occurring foods, all tended further to reduce effective competition between species. The results are discussed in the broader context of colonization of the Pongolo system by a tropical fish community in circumstances where the principles of island biogeography may be expected to apply.     

Species Richness and Abundance of Clinid Fish (Teleostei; Clinidae) in Intertidal Rock Pools

Factors affecting species richness and abundance of clinid fish(Fam. Clinidae)in 19 intertidal rock pools near Muizenberg, South Africa, were investigated. Some measure of cover is the most important predictor of clinid species richness, abundance and biomass. Intraspecific partitioning of habitat by Clinus superciliosus was observed, and apparently occurs in C. cottoides as well. Fish were observed to move between pools during high tides, and some individuals showed fidelity to particular pools. There is some evidence for suggesting that C. superciliosus might be a colonizing species.     

Differences in diet between two rodent species,Mastomys natalensis and Gerbilliscus vicinus,in fallow land habitats in central Tanzania

Differences in the ecological niche requirements among rodent species competing in the same habitat may result from differences in the use of one to three resources: space, time and food or some combination of these. Alternatively, differences in resource use utilization among animal species may simply reflect availability of food, and when food is limited, different animal species compete. In this study, the diet of two rodent pest species, Mastomys natalensis and Gerbilliscus vicinus, coexisting in fallow land in central Tanzania were studied to assess the degree of diet differentiation among them. Dietary niche breadth of G. vicinus was greater than that of M. natalensis in all stages of the maize cropping seasons. The rodent species studied overlapped considerably in the food items consumed ranging from niche overlap (O_jk) of 0.77–0.89. Grains/seeds featured high in the diet of M. natalensis while plant material occurrence was high in G. vicinus. These two food categories may have contributed to differences in diet partitioning, which may, in turn, facilitate their coexistence in fallow land.     

Selective breeding in fish and conservation of genetic resources for aquaculture

To satisfy increasing demands for fish as food, progress must occur towards greater aquaculture productivity whilst retaining the wild and farmed genetic resources that underpin global fish production. We review the main selection methods that have been developed for genetic improvement in aquaculture, and discuss their virtues and shortcomings. Examples of the application of mass, cohort, within family, and combined between-family and within-family selection are given. In addition, we review the manner in which fish genetic resources can be lost at the intra-specific, species and ecosystem levels and discuss options to best prevent this. We illustrate that fundamental principles of genetic management are common in the implementation of both selective breeding and conservation programmes, and should be emphasized in capacity development efforts. We highlight the value of applied genetics approaches for increasing aquaculture productivity and the conservation of fish genetic resources.     

Aggregations of the sandy-beach isopod,Tylos granulatus: adaptation or incidental-effect?

Spatial aggregations of organisms are common in nature. Aggregations have often been thought to play important roles in mate-finding, predator avoidance, reduction of water loss, or the acquisition of food and other resources, yet few empirical studies have been done on the processes that lead to aggregation We studied aggregations of the giant isopod Tylos granulatus, which lives as a scavenger in the intertidal zone of sandy beaches on the west coast of South Africa. Individuals emerge with the receding tide leaving exit holes, then forage for about two hours before returning to the vicinity of the high-water mark where they aggregate to bury themselves, leaving behind cone-shaped mounds. Our observations showed there was no correlation between aggregations and the availability of food, and that manipulating the position of food had no effect on the aggregations. Reproduction, which is seasonal and synchronous, also seems unlikely to explain the year-round aggregations. Experiments showed T. granulatus preferentially burrows in existing holes or mounds rather than creating new ones. The advantages of this are analysed in terms of energy conservation, and as a means of reducing risks of exposure to predators or being swept away by the incoming tide. Whatever the benefit, the preferential use of existing holes can incidentally lead to aggregation, which may not itself have any adaptive function.     

不同类型高寒草地群落物种特征和均匀度的重要性

通过对不同类型草地生产力与物种特征(重要值)、均匀度之间的关系研究,结果表明:群落物种特征(重要值)与生产力之间呈极显著的线性关系;物种均匀度与生产力之间呈负线性关系,但差异不显著.在自然生态系统中,由于物种间的相互作用(资源的竞争利用),物种数目在不同类型草地群落的物种组成上的不均匀分布,导致不同生境条件下均匀度的异同.     

Forage Quality of Plant Species Consumed by Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in the Paraná River Delta,Argentina

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a selective herbivore that may show a preference for certain plant species. Such a preference is likely to be explained by the nutritional benefits hypothesis, stating that the nutritional value of species selected by capybaras is higher than that of avoided ones. Therefore, the objectives of this work are to evaluate the nutritional value of the plant species eaten by capybaras in the Lower Delta of the Paraná River, and to test the nutritional benefits hypothesis by analyzing forage quality. Samples of consumed plant species were collected from habitats located in the study area. We also collected plant species that are very abundant in the field but absent in the capybara’s diet, some of which are consumed by other native herbivores such as coypus (Myocastor coypus). Their nutritional quality was analyzed by estimating the following variables: water content, ash percentage, percentage of organic matter, acid detergent fiber, nitrogen percentage, crude protein, and caloric energy. The protein to fiber ratio was calculated and the water content was determined. The species consumed and not consumed by capybaras had a similar nutritional composition for all the variables analyzed (P  <  0.05). A similar result was observed when comparing within consumed species, except for the caloric energy content, which was significantly higher in species consumed in greater proportion than availability (P  <  0.05). Water content was at its minimum in species consumed in greater proportion than availability, and at its maximum in unconsumed species. No significant differences were found between consumed Poaceae and the rest of the consumed plant species for any of the analyzed variables. Diet selection by capybaras in the studied area may only be partially related to nutritional quality, and there would be other factors involved in foraging, such as physiological mechanisms of the animal or chemical and structural characteristics of food.     

Distribution of Fishes in the Mhlanga Estuary in Relation to Food Resources

Food resources play an important role in determining the distribution offish species in the Mhlanga estuary. Standing crops of detritus and associated micro-organisms, zoobenthos, zooplankton, epiphytic flora and fauna were measured in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the estuary, and the distribution of 20 fish species related to these resources. The distribution of the majority of species correlated with the abundance of preferred food items, except for the Mugilidae where substrate particle sizes influenced the composition offish in an area.     

Decaying toxic wood as sodium supplement for herbivorous mammals in Gabon

African rainforest harbors herbivores at high density. However, because plants and soils typically lack in some essential minerals, rainforest is not always a suitable habitat for herbivores. How they fulfill the mineral requirements is therefore an important question to animal ecology and conservation. Although large marshes, called ‘bais’, are often mentioned as efficient mineral-resource, little information on other sodium resources has still been available. Our laboratory works and field surveys found that a peculiar item, decaying wood stumps of Anthostema aubryanum, played as a major sodium resource for herbivores in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. When A. aubryanum is alive, the sodium content of its bark is low and its latex is toxic. Sodium is accumulated in decaying stumps (mean=1,343 mg/kg dry matter). Eight herbivores visited stumps to ingest the dead wood. Fecal sample analysis revealed that western lowland gorillas, a species most-frequently using the stumps, consumed large amount of the dead wood as regular food. Our findings suggest that decaying A. aubryanum is critical sodium-resources and is a key species for herbivores in our study area. Importance of the A. aubryanum may be particularly large there, because it is a limited sodium-rich material that is available year round. Our study site is known as the site where the densities of several herbivores are among the highest at Central Africa. The relatively high herbivores density in our study site may partly depend on decaying A. aubryanum as sodium resources.     

石羊河下游不同类型荒漠草地黑果枸杞群落结构及物种多样性特征

选择石羊河下游4种不同类型荒漠草地黑果枸杞(Lycium ruthenicum)群落,采用重要值、丰富度指数、Simpson和shannon-wiener多样性指数、Pielou和Alatalo均匀度指数对不同立地类型黑果枸杞群落结构特征和物种多样性进行了分析,结果表明:植物群落组成主要集中在藜科、蒺藜科、菊科和禾本科,这4大科植物在该区具有较强的生态适应性,所调查群落中共有植物种31种,分属9科28属,单科单属种较多,占到了总科数的一半;研究区群落结构简单,物种相对单一,黑果枸杞在群落中占有重要地位,且重要值相对较大,对群落的稳定性起关键作用;植物的生活型中灌木植物占优势,其次是一年生草本植物,多年生草本植物所占的比例最少;不同类型荒漠草地中黑果枸杞群落物种多样性指数均偏低,物种丰富度较低,生态优势度较高,种间相遇率偏低,群落中物种分布不均匀,表明植被群落结构简单、组织水平低,优势种或建群种在群落中占据主导地位。     

Genetic diversity and infection levels of anisakid nematodes parasitic in fish and marine mammals from Boreal and Austral hemispheres

Anisakid nematodes have complex life-cycles that include invertebrate and vertebrate hosts at various levels of the marine food chain. Different types of habitat disturbances of the marine ecosystem (pollution, overfishing, by-catch) could impoverish the host population size, resulting in concomitant and detrimental effects on parasitic nematode populations. This in turn would lead to the loss of genetic diversity of these parasites at both the species and population levels. In order to test for a correlation existing between the genetic diversity of anisakid nematodes and habitat disturbance, the genetic variability, estimated by nuclear markers (19 allozyme loci), was evaluated among several anisakid populations from fish and marine mammals in various areas of the Boreal and Austral regions. Antarctic and sub-antarctic populations showed significantly (P<0.001) higher levels of genetic diversity (on average, He=0.23) than those from the Arctic and sub-Arctic populations and species (on average, He=0.07). Correlations between the degree of genetic variability and the levels of parasitic infections within their hosts were considered. Data revealed higher intensities in anisakid infections in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic hosts, presumably resulting from a lower degree of habitat disturbance in less stressed areas. The absence of disturbance presumably allowed anisakid species to reach a larger population size, with a reduced probability of genetic drift in their gene pools. This suggests that anisakid nematodes, and their levels of genetic diversity may be suitable indicators of the integrity of marine food webs and of the general biodiversity of a marine ecosystem.     

Feeding biology of the hottentot,Pachymetopon blochii (Val.), with an estimate of daily ration

Gut content analysis shows the hottentot to be an omnivore, consuming a wide variety of algae and invertebrate prey. Amphipod crustaceans and rtiodophytes are the dominant food items, although hydroids, echinoderms and molluscs are also eaten in smaller quantities. Geographic variation in the diet was negligible, although seasonal trends were marked. A progressive change in diet occurs with fish size, larger individuals consuming progressively more algae. The hottentot diet differs from those of a number of co-occuring sparids in being far more generalized. Hottentot feed throughout the diel cycle, although feeding activity is markedly higher during the rising tide. The feeding cycle is further modified by a tendency to select particular food items at night. Available mathematical feeding rate simulation models for continuously feeding fish were improved to incorporate an asymptotic consumption rate. The resultant model was used to calculate daily consumption rates for hottentot, giving a value of 2,5% body weight per day. This is compared with values calculated using earlier models, and with published feeding rate values for other species.     

Detection of Helicobacter and Campylobacter spp. from the aquatic environment of marine mammals

The mechanism by which Helicobacter species are transmitted remains unclear. To examine the possible role of environmental transmission in marine mammals, we sought the presence of Helicobacter spp. and non-Helicobacter bacteria within the order Campylobacterales in water from the aquatic environment of marine mammals, and in fish otoliths regurgitated by dolphins. Water was collected from six pools, two inhabited by dolphins and four inhabited by seals. Regurgitated otoliths were collected from the bottom of dolphins' pools. Samples were evaluated by culture, PCR and DNA sequence analysis. Sequences from dolphins' water and from regurgitated otoliths clustered with 99.8-100% homology with sequences from gastric fluids, dental plaque and saliva from dolphins living in those pools, and with 99.5% homology with H. cetorum. Sequences from seals' water clustered with 99.5% homology with a sequence amplified from a Northern sea lion (AY203900). Control PCR on source water for the pools and from otoliths dissected from feeder fish were negative. The findings of Helicobacter spp. DNA in the aquatic environment suggests that contaminated water from regurgitated fish otoliths and perhaps other tissues may play a role in Helicobacter transmission among marine mammals.     

3种荒漠植物群落物种组成与丰富度的季节变化及地上生物量特征

对古尔班通古特沙漠36个蛇麻黄群落、28个白茎绢蒿群落及13个准噶尔沙蒿群落物种组成与丰富度的季节变化及现存生物量的研究表明,初夏时蛇麻黄和白茎绢蒿群落的科数和物种数均高于准噶尔沙蒿群落,而秋季时3个群落科、种数均明显较少。初夏时期,各群落均有5种植物生活型,其中短命植物种类最多;而秋季短命和类短命植物消失,仅剩3种生活型,以一年生草本的种类最多。3种群落的物种丰富度也表现为夏季高于秋季;夏季时,准噶尔沙蒿群落物种丰富度显著低于蛇麻黄和白茎绢蒿群落,而秋季时三者差异均不显著;各群落不同季节的物种丰富度间均显著正相关,体现了群落结构的稳定性。夏季草本层生物量(0.67～6.99 g/m²)稍大于秋季(0.89～4.20 g/m²)。秋季3类群落总地上生物量分别为73.19,85.38和54.21 g/m²,其中建群种分别占86.03%,84.07%和89.65%,而草本生物量均小于5%。夏季和秋季草本植物丰富度与生物量间均表现为显著的“单峰型关系”,表明中等生物量时丰富度最高。尽管研究群落内草本层生物量较低,但时间上交错出现的短营养期和长营养期草本植物对维持荒漠生态系统物种多样性及地表稳定均具有重要意义。总体上,与中国同纬度的其他荒漠相比,本研究区3类群落物种组成和丰富度具有明显的季节变化特征,但表现出较低的生物量。     

放牧强度对黄土丘陵区草地植物群落特征的影响

退耕还林(草)工程实施后,黄土丘陵区形成大面积草地,该草地的可持续管理备受关注。适度放牧可能有利于草地植物群落的自然更新及可持续发展,同时可增加经济收入,但该区鲜见相关报道。为此,本文以该区20年以上退耕草地为研究对象,通过野外调查,研究了不同放牧强度(以单位面积羊粪球数量表征)对草地植物群落特征的影响。结果表明：轻度放牧(粪球密度为0～10个·m^-2)可促进退耕草地植物群落发育,群落平均高度、盖度、生物量、Shannon-Wiener指数和Margalef指数较封禁草地分别增加了39.8%,5.0%,26.0%,14.8%和32.8%。放牧超过一定强度(粪球密度大于10个·m^-2)将导致退耕草地植物群落退化,群落平均高度、盖度、生物量、Shannon-Wiener指数和Margalef指数较封禁草地分别降低了48.0%,24.2%,63.1%,14.3%和27.0%。在一定放牧强度(15～20个·m^-2)下植物群落中直立、丛生生活型物种优势度降低,莲座和匍匐生活型物种优势度增加,耐牧性增强。本研究可为黄土丘陵区大面积退...     

A correction factor for,and its application to,visual censuses of littoral fish

Visual estimation techniques were used between October 1976 and May 1977 on the fish fauna of an enclosed mid-intertidal pool in the eastern Cape, South Africa, to test the usefulness and accuracy of this non-consumptive census method. In January, 1977, two pools were censused for fish, then poisoned using the ichthyocide ‘pronoxfish’ and all fish collected. Forty species in 21 families were obtained from the two stations. The accuracy of visual estimates varied with the species of fish. Secretive and cryptically coloured types, as well as species which Inhabit crevices, were underestimated, between 0 and 86% being counted. Other fish with protective colours but that occur more openly and do not react adversely to divers, as well as schooling species, were also underestimated, but up to 100% of the total were observed. Those which occur singly or in small groups in the water column were counted more accurately, with 57 to 100% of the actual number being seen. Correction factors were calculated from these data and applied to a census taken of one pool in May. Comparisons of corrected and actual numbers Indicate that these factors were relatively accurate for non-secretive species. The factors will, however, vary for each species, from observer to observer, depending on their personal experience, and from area to area.     

Salinity ranges of some southern African fish species occurring in estuaries

The recorded salinity ranges of 96 fish species occurring in southern African estuaries are documented. Factors influencing the tolerance of fishes to low and high salinity regimes are discussed, with most species tolerant of low rather than high salinity conditions. This is important since most systems are subject to periodic freshwater flooding, especially during summer. The penetration of freshwater teleosts and elasmobranchs into estuaries is examined and the occurrence of marine fishes in rivers documented. Mortalities arising from salinity extremes in southern African estuaries are discussed, with temperature a key factor initiating such fish kills. Only eight fish species have been recorded spawning in estuaries although the fry of many species are attracted to estuarine waters. It is concluded that a small percentage of southern African fishes have succeeded in utilizing estuaries and this may be attributed to the paucity of strong osmoregulators