Multiple watershed alterations influence fish community structure in Great Plains prairie streams

Stream fish distributions are commonly linked to environmental disturbances affecting terrestrial landscapes. In Great Plains prairie streams, the independent and interactive effects of watershed impoundments and land cover changes remain poorly understood despite their prevalence and assumed contribution to declining stream fish diversity. We used structural equation models and fish community samples from third‐order streams in the Kansas River and Arkansas River basins of Kansas, USA to test the simultaneous effects of geographic location, terrestrial landscape alteration, watershed impoundments and local habitat on species richness for stream‐associated and impoundment‐associated habitat guilds. Watershed impoundment density increased from west to east in both basins, while per cent altered terrestrial landscape (urbanisation + row‐crop agriculture) averaged ~50% in the west, declined throughout the Flint Hills ecoregion and increased (Kansas River basin ~80%) or decreased (Arkansas River basin ~30%) to the east. Geographic location had the strongest effect on richness for both guilds across basins, supporting known zoogeography patterns. In addition to location, impoundment species richness was positively correlated with local habitat in both basins; whereas stream‐species richness was negatively correlated with landscape alterations (Kansas River basin) or landscape alterations and watershed impoundments (Arkansas River basin). These findings suggest that convergences in the relative proportions of impoundment and stream species (i.e., community structure) in the eastern extent of both basins are related to positive effects of increased habitat opportunities for impoundment species and negative effects caused by landscape alterations (Kansas River basin) or landscape alterations plus watershed impoundments (Arkansas River basin) for stream species.     

Ecological impacts of small hydropower plants on headwater stream fish: from individual to community effects

Hydroelectricity is increasingly used worldwide as a source of renewable energy, and many mountain ranges have dozens or hundreds of hydropower plants, with many more being under construction or planned. Although the ecological impacts of large dams are relatively well known, the effects of small hydropower plants and their weirs have been much less investigated. We studied the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants on fish assemblages in the upper Ter river basin (Catalonia, NE Spain), which has headwater reaches with good water quality and no large dams but many of such plants. We studied fish populations and habitat features on control and impacted reaches for water diversion of 16 hydropower plants. In the impacted reaches, there was a significantly lower presence of refuges for fish, poorer habitat quality, more pools and less riffles and macrophytes, and shallower water levels. We also observed higher fish abundance, larger mean fish size and better fish condition in the control than in impacted reaches, although the results were species‐specific. Accordingly, species composition was also affected, with lower relative abundance of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Pyrenean minnow (Phoxinus bigerri) in the impacted reaches and higher presence of stone loach (Barbatula quignardi) and Mediterranean barbel (Barbus meridionalis). Our study highlights the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants from the individual to the population and community levels but probably underestimates them, urging for further assessment and mitigation of these ecological impacts.     

Salinity and geomorphology drive long‐term changes to local and regional fish assemblage attributes in the lower Pecos River,Texas

River systems throughout arid regions worldwide have been heavily impacted by human activities, resulting in long‐term ecological consequences. The lower Pecos River in the Trans‐Pecos region of Texas is no exception, having undergone anthropogenic changes that include decreased flow, elevated salinity, species loss and species invasion. We compared historical and contemporary fish assemblage attributes from the Pecos River at local (site‐specific) and regional (Trans‐Pecos region) scales across a 24‐year time period. Fish assemblage data were collected in October 1987 and 2011, by seining at 15 sites spanning 430 km of the river in Texas. Additionally, we examined contemporary environmental conditions to determine species–environment relationships. We found that fish assemblages were significantly different between time periods, likely due to increased salinisation in the upper half of the study region. Decreased species richness, species replacement and increases in euryhaline species were documented in the upstream sites. Freshwater springs lower the salinity and maintain flows in the downstream reach, allowing for maintenance of the native fish fauna. Careful management of regional aquifers, irrigation practices and petroleum waste water will be necessary for protecting biodiversity and environmental flows in the lower Pecos River.     

Assemblage patterns of fish functional groups relative to habitat connectivity and conditions in floodplain lakes

Miyazono S, Aycock JN, Miranda LE, Tietjen TE. Assemblage patterns of fish functional groups relative to habitat connectivity and conditions in floodplain lakes.
Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2010: 19: 578–585. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract – We evaluated the influences of habitat connectivity and local environmental factors on the distribution and abundance patterns of fish functional groups in 17 floodplain lakes in the Yazoo River Basin, USA. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses showed that species–environmental relationships varied with the functional groups. Species richness and assemblage structure of periodic strategists showed strong and positive correlations with habitat connectivity. Densities of most equilibrium and opportunistic strategists decreased with habitat connectivity. Densities of certain equilibrium and opportunistic strategists increased with turbidity. Forested wetlands around the lakes were positively related to the densities of periodic and equilibrium strategists. These results suggest that decreases in habitat connectivity, forested wetland buffers and water quality resulting from environmental manipulations may cause local extinction of certain fish taxa and accelerate the dominance of tolerant fishes in floodplain lakes.     

Environmental assessment of boreal rivers using fish data – a contribution to the Water Framework Directive

Abstract A fish‐based assessment method was developed to estimate the ecological status of boreal rivers. Electric fishing data were collected from 902 rapids, together with information on the land use, channel modification and water chemistry. Discriminant function analysis was used to select fish variables that most correctly classified the undisturbed reference sites and human impacted sites into exact classes. The relationship between the level of human alteration and fish metrics was examined. Five metrics were selected for the index: the number of fish species, proportion of sensitive species, proportion of tolerant species, density of cyprinid individuals and the density of age‐0+ salmonids. The value for each metric (between 0 and 1) was calculated according to a point estimate for classical probability. The index is used to estimate the ecological classification of rivers according to the EU Water Framework Directive.     

连续式真空干燥机在鱼粉加工中应用研究

研究了连续式真空干燥机在鱼粉加工中的工艺过程、工艺结构和工作原理。鱼粉加工中采用连续真空干燥机具有明显的优势,可以减少高温对鱼粉蛋白质的氧化,提高鱼粉蛋白质的含量,提升鱼粉品质,使其在市场竞争中占有优势。     

The rumen ciliates of greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros (Pallas) from South Africa and Zimbabwe with a description of one new species

Eighteen species of the family Ophryoscoiecidae, representing three genera, and three species of the family Isotrichidae representing two genera, were found in the rumina of kudu from the Republic of South Africa and Zimbabwe. One new ophryoscolecid Entodinium carinatum is described. Certain aspects of the taxonomy of Diplodinium archon, Entodinium longinucleatum and Entodinium dilobum are discussed     

鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR遗传变异及其对miRNA结合位点的潜在效应

【目的】研究鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR遗传变异/单倍型及其在品种间的分布，并预测这些变异对miRNA结合位点的潜在效应。【方法】根据鸡Lpin1基因组序列（GenBank登录号：NC_006090）设计一对特异性引物，采用PCR直接测序结合克隆测序的方法，进行鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR及其邻近外显子在品种间的遗传变异/单倍型分析。【结果】①从6个品种中发现了8个变异位点，包含两个插入/缺失变异。这些变异均位于鸡Lpin1基因的3′-UTR，3′-UTR的变异频率为17SNPs/kb；②在鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR区域，从固始鸡、卢氏绿壳蛋鸡中分别检测到7个变异位点，未检测到河南斗鸡品种内的变异；③用次要等位基因频率≥5%的6个变异位点（g.11A＞T，g.77C＞G，g.108_109delinsG，g.110_111delinsG，g.270A＞G和g.348G＞T）进行单倍型的构建和分析，从6个品种鸡中共检测到6种单倍型，其中P1和P4单倍型是群体的优势单倍型，频率均大于30%，河南斗鸡仅包含一种单倍型；④g.77C＞G变异可引起多个miRNA结合位点的增加/丢失。【结论】鸡Lpin1基因3′-UTR具有丰富的变异，3′-UTR变异位点/单倍型在品种间的分布存在明显的差异。     

新靶标铁苋菜在除草化合物筛选研究中的应用

铁苋菜具有特殊的生物学特性,属于旱田难防杂草。采用商品化除草剂硝磺草酮及巴佰金对铁苋菜进行室内防除试验,同时验证与硝磺草酮及巴佰金结构类似的新化合物对其的防除活性。结果表明,结构类似的除草化合物对铁苋菜的防除活性较为接近;铁苋菜作为新的生测靶标,可应用于化合物除草活性生测筛选研究。     

Extrinsic and intrinsic factors influence daily activity of a Mediterranean cyprinid

Factors shaping individual behavior remain poorly understood for European cyprinids. We examined the effects of extrinsic (temperature and year) and intrinsic factors (body size and shoal size) on the daily activity of chub Squalius torgalensis, a critically endangered cyprinid found in the Torgal stream, Portugal. We quantified chub behaviors while snorkeling, using instantaneous sampling of focal individuals, in spring 2009 and 2010. We used Principal Component Analysis to describe individual behavior and assessed competing models relating individual behavior to explanatory variables using Akaike's Information Criterion. Year had a strong influence on chub behavior, with individuals spending more time drift foraging and orienting in 2009, whereas in 2010 they spent more time benthic foraging and cruising. Shoal size did not influence behaviors in 2009, but in 2010 individuals in small shoals foraged benthically and searched with greater frequency than those in large shoals. Individuals increased cruising and decreased searching as they grew in length, but the opposite trend was observed as temperature increased. Our results indicate that both extrinsic and intrinsic factors influence daily activity of chub, with individual behaviors varying between years, and depending upon shoal size, body size and temperature. This suggests that chub display high levels of individual behavioral flexibility, which may be important for fish inhabiting harsh and highly variable Mediterranean streams. Conservation efforts for this species will benefit by integrating behavioral information into management strategies.