Conserving indigenous crayfish: stock assessment and habitat requirements in the threatened Austropotamobius italicus

• 1. As part of the Austropotamobius pallipes species complex, the crayfish Austropotamobius italicus is a species of community interest whose preservation requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) (Annex II, EU Habitats Directive). This study aimed at (1) assessing the conservation status of this threatened indigenous species by stock assessment in central Italy and (2) identifying some aspects of its elective habitat.
• 2. Surveys were conducted in nine streams harbouring A. italicus (streams WI) and in 10 streams where crayfish populations became extinct at least 5 years before the study (streams WO).
• 3. The results confirmed that A. italicus is a K‐selected species, with a relatively slow growth rate (males: 0.34; females: 0.37) and a long life expectancy (males: 8.2 years; females: 7.8 years). The extant populations are healthy, showing balanced sex‐ratios and well structured age‐class compositions. Mortality is mainly due to fishing, which is illegal in Tuscany.
• 4. Principal Components Analyses showed that the streams WI and WO differ in the abundance of allochthonous plant detritus but not in the taxonomic composition of their macroinvertebrate communities. Age classes were found to be spatially segregated, juveniles mainly using cobbles as substrates and adults seemingly avoiding them.
• 5. The loss of the pristine riverine landscape seems to have been responsible, together with illegal fishing, for the local extinction of the species. As a consequence, retaining, enhancing, and restoring the habitat and its complexity are required for the preservation of A. italicus.
• 6. The designation of SACs might help in this endeavour if accompanied by programmes aimed at publicizing the need for conservation of this species. Unfortunately, crayfish‐focused projects supported by LIFE in Italy since 1992 (4%) and the SACs involved (1.4%) have been relatively few, despite the poor conservation status of this species and its well recognized ecological role.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential for reintroduction of lake sturgeon in five northern Lake Michigan tributaries: a habitat suitability perspective

• 1. Conservation and rehabilitation efforts for lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens throughout the Great Lakes include the re‐establishment of self‐sustaining stocks in systems where they have been extirpated.
• 2. Information on the suitability of potential lake sturgeon habitat in tributaries is important for determining their capacity to support lake sturgeon stocking and to develop system‐specific rehabilitation strategies.
• 3. Geo‐referenced habitat information characterizing substrate composition, water depth, and stream gradient were applied to a life‐stage specific lake sturgeon habitat suitability index in a geographic information system to produce spatially explicit models of life‐stage specific habitat characteristics in five northern Lake Michigan tributaries from which lake sturgeon have been extirpated.
• 4. Habitat models indicated that high quality lake sturgeon spawning and staging habitat comprised 0 to 23% and 0 to 9% of the available habitat, respectively, whereas high quality juvenile lake sturgeon habitat was relatively ubiquitous throughout each river and comprised 39 to 99%.
• 5. Comparison of these data to lake sturgeon habitat availability in Lake Michigan tributaries currently supporting populations indicated that spawning and staging habitats may limit the ability of these systems to support spawning. Efforts to re‐establish lake sturgeon populations in these systems should consider the creation of spawning and staging habitat to increase reproductive and recruitment potential prior to the initiation of stocking efforts.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distribution and spawning dynamics of capelin (Mallotus villosus) in Glacier Bay, Alaska: a cold water refugium

Pacific capelin (Mallotus villosus) populations declined dramatically in the Northeastern Pacific following ocean warming after the regime shift of 1977, but little is known about the cause of the decline or the functional relationships between capelin and their environment. We assessed the distribution and abundance of spawning, non‐spawning adult and larval capelin in Glacier Bay, an estuarine fjord system in southeastern Alaska. We used principal components analysis to analyze midwater trawl and beach seine data collected between 1999 and 2004 with respect to oceanographic data and other measures of physical habitat including proximity to tidewater glaciers and potential spawning habitat. Both spawning and non‐spawning adult Pacific capelin were more likely to occur in areas closest to tidewater glaciers, and those areas were distinguished by lower temperature, higher turbidity, higher dissolved oxygen and lower chlorophyll a levels when compared with other areas of the bay. The distribution of larval Pacific capelin was not sensitive to glacial influence. Pre‐spawning females collected farther from tidewater glaciers were at a lower maturity state than those sampled closer to tidewater glaciers, and the geographic variation in the onset of spawning is likely the result of differences in the marine habitat among sub‐areas of Glacier Bay. Proximity to cold water in Glacier Bay may have provided a refuge for capelin during the recent warm years in the Gulf of Alaska.     

Effects of instream structures on Kirikuchi charr, southernmost population of genus Salvelinus, in a small mountain stream of Japan

ABSTRACT:   The changes in physical habitats and responses of fish, e.g. the Kirikuchi charr Salvelinus leucomaenis japonicus , were examined by placing instream structures in a stream on the upper drainage of the Totsu River system of the Kii Peninsula, Japan, over a two-year period. Instream structures created pools below the structures, and these pools have maintained their functions as fish habitats over two years. In two treatment sections, sections A and B (some red-spotted masu salmon were removed in advance in section B), mean water depth increased soon after placing the structures, but decreased over two years. Mean water velocity slowed after placing the structures in both sections. Total fish abundance has been relatively high at the two treatment sections compared with a control section after placing the structures. Age 1 Kirikuchi charr, however, increased only in section B. These results indicate that instream structures can serve as habitat enhancement for fish, including Kirikuchi charr, in the study area if other appropriate habitat factors for respective species are taken into consideration.     

Effects of an extreme flash flood on the native fish assemblages across a Mediterranean catchment

Abstract  The effects of an extreme flash flood on the native fish assemblages across a Mediterranean catchment in Southwest Portugal were investigated. The fish community structure and habitat were surveyed at 10 sites pre- and post-flood. Overall species richness and rank abundances changed little after the flood, despite there being a consistent decline in the abundance of small cyprinids. Pre- and post-flood habitat correlates of abundance changed for at least some species, and variability in assemblage structure was associated with flood, depth and pH. These results indicate that extreme floods occurring early in the wet season may have little disruptive effects on the overall structure of native fish assemblages in Mediterranean streams, although may at least partially influence population dynamics for some species. Habitat quality and complexity are likely to play a role in mediating species responses to flooding.     

Effects of wind turbines and other physical elements on field utilization by pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus): A landscape perspective

The effects of wind turbines and other physical landscape elements on field utilization by wintering pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) were studied in a Danish farmland landscape. Within the study area geese were feeding on pastures, which together with cereals were the main crop types. Apart from wind turbines a variety of potentially disturbing landscape elements was present, e.g., high-power lines, windbreaks, roads and settlements. Patterns of field use were assessed by measuring goose dropping densities along transects perpendicular to wind farms (with turbines in clusters and in lines) and other landscape elements. Local effects were expressed in terms of `avoidance distance', i.e., the distance from a given landscape element to the point at which 50% of maximal dropping density was reached. The spatial distribution of landscape elements within an eight km radius from the goose roost was determined from aerial photographs. The area occupied by various elements, together with the adjacent zones which were not available to geese due to their associated avoidance distances, were quantified using Geographic Information System (GIS).The avoidance distance of wind farms with turbines in lines and in clusters were ca 100 m and ca 200 m, respectively. Geese did not enter the area between turbines within the cluster. At the landscape level, the combined effect of physical elements other than wind turbines caused an effective loss of 68% of the total field area (40 km²). Wind turbines caused an additional loss of 4% of the field area. However, of the remaining area available to geese (13 km²), wind turbines caused a loss of 13% of the total area. The habitat loss per turbine was higher for the wind farm with turbines arranged in a large cluster than for wind farms with turbines in small clusters or lines. This difference was mainly due to the fact that wind farms in small clusters or with a linear layout were generally placed close to roads or other elements with existing associated avoidance zones, whereas the large cluster was placed in the open farmland area. The avoidance zones associated with physical elements in the landscape do not take into account possible synergistic effects and, hence, actual field areas affected are likely to be minimum estimates. Implications of these findings for planning of wind farms in areas of conservation interest to geese are discussed.     

不同生境黑果枸杞实生苗生长及土壤养分空间差异的研究

研究不同生境黑果枸杞实生苗数量、生长状况、生物量分配及土壤养分空间差异,探讨环境因子对黑果枸杞实生苗生长的影响,为黑果枸杞种群恢复及持续经营提供理论依据。采用固定样地调查法,于2016年对张掖市甘州区、临泽县、肃南县及周边地区的农田地埂、水渠边、盐化沙地、盐碱荒地等各生境黑果枸杞进行调查。研究结果表明：不同生境均有黑果枸杞实生苗分布,农田地埂生境实生苗数量相对水渠边、盐化沙地、盐碱荒地分别增加66.67%、122.22%、215.79%。因环境条件差异,不同生境的黑果枸杞实生苗采取了不同的生存策略适应环境：农田地埂生境的黑果枸杞主要为增高生长,盐化沙地的黑果枸杞主要为冠幅的增长,而盐碱荒地的黑果枸杞主要为增粗生长。农田地埂生境0~20 cm土层有机质含量相对水渠边、盐化沙地、盐碱荒地分别增加28.50%、2.62%、10.13%;全氮含量分别增加44.08%、33.16%、72.41%;有效氮含量分别增加46.81%、0%、50%。空气湿度、土壤含水量对黑果枸杞幼苗数量及幼苗生长有显著影响。在今后的黑果枸杞栽培管理中,幼苗期应加强水分管理。     

基于MaxEnt模型的检疫性害虫小蔗螟在中国的潜在分布预测

小蔗螟是重要的检疫性害虫,许多国家将其列入检疫性害虫名录,主要危害甘蔗、玉米等作物。本研究基于小蔗螟分布记录,结合环境数据,采用MaxEnt软件对其在中国潜在分布区进行预测。结果表明：小蔗螟在我国的高度和中度适生区主要分布在海南、云南、广东、广西及福建等。影响小蔗螟分布的最主要环境变量是最暖季平均降雨量和温度变化方差。阐明小蔗螟在我国潜在地理分布及限制其分布的环境变量,可为我国的检疫工作提供理论依据。     

中国城镇化过程中村庄土地整理潜力估算

该文在理论分析的基础上，创建了一个定量的数学模型来估算村庄土地整理净增加的潜力。估算结果表明，全国平均整理系数2010年为1.42～2.42、2030年为2.27～3.27，分别可净增加耕地面积173.81～296.58万hm²、279.10～401.86万hm²。通过对不同时间和不同生态区的整理系数比较，村庄土地整理潜力具有明显的时空分布规律。在时序上，随着社会经济的发展和城镇化水平的提高，我国农村人口会逐渐减少，整理潜力逐渐增大；在空间上，东部和中部村庄土地