Spatiotemporal patterns of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in response to a restoration of longitudinal connectivity

To examine the role of longitudinal connectivity on the spatial and temporal dynamics of mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), we quantified movement and population dynamics following installation of the Landsburg Dam fishway, Cedar River, WA, USA. Mountain whitefish is widely distributed, poorly studied and not the focus of restoration. Before the fishway, mountain whitefish were not observed above the dam. Here, we focus on snorkel counts collected at reach and mesohabitat (e.g. pools) scales over 11 summers on the 20‐km above‐dam segment following restoration. A camera within the ladder provided number, size and movement timing, thereby informing on behaviour and recolonisation. Segment‐scale abundance increased following fish passage reaching an asymptote in 7 years, and mountain whitefish were detected throughout the main stem in 10 years. Annual movement through the ladder increased over time and was positively correlated with instream abundance and discharge, but negatively correlated with water temperature. About 60% of fish movements occurred in spring and early summer, potentially for foraging opportunities. Reach‐scale abundance peaked between 7 and 10 km from the dam; deep, cool (~10.6 to 11.6°C) conditions characterised these reaches. At the mesohabitat scale, mountain whitefish detection increased with depth and velocity after accounting for distance from the dam. Our results show how restoring longitudinal connectivity allowed this nontarget species to colonise newly available habitat. Their response supports the critical roles of longitudinal connectivity and environmental conditions, that manifest at different spatial scales, in dictating how freshwater fish respond to habitat disturbance.     

Population dynamics and habitat connectivity affecting the spatial spread of populations – a simulation study

In this paper we show how the spatialconfiguration of habitat quality affects the spatial spread of apopulation in a heterogeneous environment. Our main result is thatfor species with limited dispersal ability and a landscape withisolated habitats, stepping stone patches of habitat greatlyincrease the ability of species to disperse. Our results showthat increasing reproductive rate first enables and thenaccelerates spatial spread, whereas increasing the connectivity has aremarkable effect only in case of low reproductive rates. Theimportance of landscape structure varied according to thedemographic characteristics of the population. To show this wepresent a spatially explicit habitat model taking into accountpopulation dynamics and habitat connectivity. The population dynamicsare based on a matrix projection model and are calculated on eachcell of a regular lattice. The parameters of the Leslie matrix dependon habitat suitability as well as density. Dispersal between adjacentcells takes place either unrestricted or with higher probability inthe direction of a higher habitat quality (restricted dispersal).Connectivity is maintained by corridors and stepping stones ofoptimal habitat quality in our fragmented model landscape containinga mosaic of different habitat suitabilities. The cellular automatonmodel serves as a basis for investigating different combinations ofparameter values and spatial arrangements of cells with high and lowquality.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of area and isolation of woodland patches on herbaceous plant species richness across Great Britain

Richness of Ancient Woodland Indicator plant species was analysed in 308 woodland patches that were surveyed during the Countryside Survey of Great Britain carried out in 1998. The Countryside Survey recorded vegetation plots and landscape structure in 569 stratified 1 km sample squares and developed a remotely-sensed land cover map of the UK. Using these datasets, we tested the hypothesis that Ancient Woodland Indicator species richness in woodland fragments was limited by patch area, shape and spatial isolation and that woodland patches located in the lowland region of Great Britain would respond differently than those in the upland region. The variation in Ancient Woodland Indicator species richness in the British lowlands (n = 218) was mainly explained by patch area and two measures of connectivity, the length of hedgerows and lines of trees in the 1 km square and the area of woodland within 500 m of the vegetation plot. By contrast, variation in Ancient Woodland Indicator species richness in the British uplands (n = 90) was related to Ellenberg scores of the vegetation communities sampled – a surrogate for habitat quality – and no significant effect of spatial structure was detected. It therefore appears that the degree of fragmentation of woodland in the British lowlands limits the distribution of Ancient Woodland Indicator species, while in the uplands, failed colonisation is a matter of habitat quality rather than a result of landscape structure.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Impact of soil engineering by two contrasting species of earthworms on their dispersal rates

By burrowing galleries and producing casts, earthworms are constantly changing the structure and properties of the soils in which they are living. These changes modify the costs and benefits for earthworms to stay in the environment they modify. In this paper, we measured experimentally how dispersal behaviour of endogeic and anecic earthworms responds to the cumulative changes they made in soil characteristics. The influence of earthworm activities on dispersal was studied in standardised mesocosms by comparing the influence of soils modified or not modified by earthworm activities on earthworm dispersal rates.The cumulative use of the soil by the earthworms strongly modified soil physical properties. The height of the soil decreased over time and the amount of aggregates smaller than 2 mm decreased in contrast to aggregates larger than 5 mm that increased. We found that: (i) earthworm activities significantly modified soil physical properties (such as bulk density, soil strength and soil aggregation) and decreased significantly the dispersal rates of the endogeic species, whatever the species that modified the soil; (ii) the decreasing in the dispersal proportion of the endogeic species suggests that the cost of engineering activities may be higher than the one of dispersal; (iii) the dispersal of the anecic species appeared to be not influenced by its own activities (intra-specific influences) or by the activities of the endogeic species (inter-specific influences). Overall these results suggest that the endogeic species is involved in a process of niche construction, which evolved jointly with its dispersal strategy.     

Movement patterns of seaward migrating European eel (Anguilla anguilla) at a complex of riverine barriers: implications for conservation

River infrastructure such as weirs and hydropower stations commonly present migrating fish with multiple potential passage routes. Knowledge of the cues fish use to navigate such environments is required to protect migrants from hazardous areas and guide them towards safe passage; however, this is currently lacking for many species. Employing high‐resolution positioning telemetry, this study examined movements of downstream migrating adult European eel, Anguilla anguilla, as they encountered a complex of water control structures in one location on the River Stour, southern England. The distribution of eels across five potential routes of passage differed from that predicted based on proportion of discharge alone. Certain routes were consistently avoided, even when the majority of flow passed through them. Passage distribution was partially explained by avoidance in the vicinity of a floating debris boom. Movement paths were nonrandomly distributed across the forebay and eels moved predominantly within a zone 2–4 m from the channel walls. Understanding of avoidance and structure oriented movementation exhibited by eels will help advance effective guidance and downstream passage solutions for adults.     

不同动物对醉马草种子扩散的影响

动物通过皮毛携带、搬运等方式对种子在空间上的扩散产生不同影响,是植物种子实现远距离扩散的重要途径。以草原毒害草醉马草（Achnatherum inebrians）为研究材料,采用野外模拟及控制性试验,测定了马、牛、羊皮毛附着和保留种子的能力,以及鼠类、蚂蚁对种子的搬运能力,分析动物对醉马草种子的扩散规律。结果表明,马、牛、羊模型种子的附着率：羊 > 牛 > 马（P<0.05）,种子掉落率：羊 < 牛 < 马（P<0.05）;随着行走天数的延长,种子在马、牛、羊皮毛上的附着率呈下降趋势。马的背部以及牛、羊的背、侧部最易附着种子;种子的侧部最易附着在皮毛上,以种子顶部附着的种子最不易掉落。24 h内鼠类、蚂蚁对种子的扩散范围分别为0~15 cm和0~40 cm。综上所述,家畜对醉马草种子起到远距离扩散作用,且羊比马、牛更容易增加种子的扩散强度。蚂蚁、鼠类对醉马草种子起到短距离扩散作用。     

基于线粒体DNA Cyt b研究城市化对上海金线侧褶蛙遗传结构的影响

城市化在全球范围内快速扩张,已经成为影响物种进化的重要力量。两栖动物的迁移能力较弱,城市化导致两栖类被完全或部分的隔离,丢失更多的遗传多样性。本研究对上海市的金线侧褶蛙(Pelophylax plancyi)的mtDNA Cyt b部分序列进行分析,共扩增出235条序列,获得61个单倍型。研究表明城市区域遗传多样性较低,上海市的金线侧褶蛙分化程度处于中低的水平(Max F_ST=0.296;Min F_ST=0.004),各种群之间遗传分化有限。黄浦江及其支流可能作为水上扩散通道,有助于基因交流,各城市公园之间的遗传分化差异并不显著;而长江阻碍了种群之间的交流,城市公园和郊区,以及岛屿种群之间的遗传分化显著。此外,单倍型网络和系统发育分析表明,上海的金线侧褶蛙并没有对应城市化程度形成相应的单系。     

Movements by adult cutthroat trout in a lotic system: implications for watershed-scale management

Abstract  Movements by adult cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii (Richardson), were assessed from autumn to summer in the Salt River watershed, Wyoming-Idaho, USA by radio telemetry. Adult cutthroat trout were captured during September and October 2005 in the main stem of the Salt River, surgically implanted with radio transmitters, and tracked through to August 2006. Adult cutthroat trout were relatively sedentary and resided primarily in pools from October to March, but their movement rates increased during April. Higher movement rates were observed among tagged fish during May and early June. Among 43 fish residing in the Salt River during April 2006, 44% remained in the river, 37% moved into mountain tributaries and 19% moved into spring streams during the spawning season. Fish did not use segments of mountain tributaries or the upstream Salt River where fish passage was blocked by anthropogenic barriers or the channel was dewatered during summer. Almost all the fish that moved into spring streams used spring streams where pools and gravel–cobble riffles had been constructed by landowners. The results suggest that adult Snake River cutthroat move widely during May and early June to use spawning habitat in mountain tributaries and improved spring streams. Maintaining the ability of adult fish to move into mountain streams with spawning habitat, preserving spawning habitat in accessible mountain tributaries and removing barriers to upstream movements, and re-establishing summer stream flows in mountain tributaries affected by dams appear to be habitat management alternatives to preserve the Snake River cutthroat trout fishery in the Salt River.     

不同有机酸对大豆生长的化感效应

试验采用发芽试验、水培试验及室内分析相结合的方法研究了经GC－MS检测出的大豆根系分泌物和根茬腐解液中的几种有机酸对大豆种子萌发及幼苗生长发育的化感效应。结果表明：3－硝基邻苯二甲酸、邻甲氧基苯甲酸、3，4－二氯苯甲酸、肉桂酸等四种有机酸均抑制了大豆种子的萌发，表现在萌发率、胚根长和 胚根干重与对照相比均有所降低，差异达显著或极显著水平，而且有机酸浓度不同，抑制程度也有所差别；3－硝基邻苯二甲酸、邻甲氧基苯甲酸、3，4－二氯苯甲酸、肉桂酸、邻苯二甲酸等五种有机酸不同程度地抑制了水培大豆幼苗的生长发育，表现在株高、干物质重、相对生长速率等均低于对照，差异达显著或极显著水平，且随着有机酸浓度的增加，抑制作用增强。     

根系不同分隔方式下油菜和鹰嘴豆对小麦锰营养的影响

通过根系分隔盆栽试验,研究了油菜和鹰嘴豆对小麦生长及锰营养的影响.结果表明:与油菜或鹰嘴豆混作能显著改善小麦生长及锰营养,其地上部干质量和吸收锰量均以根系不分隔处理显著高于根系完全分隔处理,但油菜和鹰嘴豆的生长受小麦抑制,表现为不分隔处理地上部干质量及吸锰量显著低于完全分隔.不施锰小麦/油菜和小麦/鹰嘴豆混作体系中,根系不分隔处理小麦根区土壤DTPA-Mn含量显著高于其他分隔方式,且油菜或鹰嘴豆地上部植株锰含量显著高于相应的混作小麦,在锰胁迫条件下,油菜和鹰嘴豆根系活化的土壤锰可被小麦吸收利用.因此与油菜或鹰嘴豆混作是改善小麦锰营养的有效途径之一.