Search results for " land"
showing 10 items of 3130 documents
Do native white-clawed crayfish impact macroinvertebrate assemblages in Mediterranean limestone headwaters?
2019
Crayfish are among the largest aquatic macroinvertebrates in rivers and streams. Their trophic ecology is important for the understanding of the functioning of benthic communities. This is relevant in key areas, such as headwaters, as they partly condition the processes occurring downstream. To shed light on the effects of native white-clawed crayfish,Austropotamobius pallipes, on local macroinvertebrate assemblages from running headwaters, a three-month mesocosm-based field study was designed. Collection and subsequent analysis of benthic samples under different crayfish density levels yielded a set of metrics indicative of short-term impacts at general and taxonomic scales. Neither signif…
Spectrofluorimetric study of dissolved organic matter in River Salaca (Latvia) basin waters
2012
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in surface waters influences mineral weathering, nutrient cycling, aggregation of particulate matter and photochemical reactions in waters and aquatic communities. In this study, the effectiveness of UV and fluorescence measurements in distinguishing the origin of DOM and processes within the river basin were analyzed using the River Salaca basin as an example. The basin of River Salaca is characterized by low anthropogenic pressure, however, the water color during the last few decades has increased (an effect known as brownification). As tools to study the composition of dissolved organic substances in waters of the River Salaca and its tributaries the use of…
Invasive crayfish increase habitat connectivity: a case study in a large boreal lake
2013
Several studies have shown that distinct compartments of lake ecosystems are coupled via transportation of organic matter, nutrients and energy across habitat boundaries. Here we evaluate the potential of the invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana)) to modify energy pathways in large boreal lakes. Using a stable isotope mixing model and calculation of the isotopic niches we estimated the contribution of different food sources to the diets of crayfish captured from different habitats, and from that inferred their potential to transport energy across the littoral-profundal gradient. The crayfish caught from the littoral area utilized mainly littoral food sources, whereas the…
Natural assets in the right-of-way of A-4 Motorway in the Góra Świętej Anny Landscape Park, Opole Region
2014
Construction of the A-4 Motorway section in the Opole Region begun in Summer 1997. Very soon vigorous resistance of ecological NGOs was encountered. The bone of contention was the section of motorway that passes through the Góra Świętej Anny Landscape Park and verges the natural reserve of strict protection Ligota Dolna where rare species of thermophilic plants are sheltered. Between 2011 and 2013 a detailed mycological, geobotanical, floristic and fauna research took place within the right-of-way of the A-4 Motorway section crossing the Góra Świętej Anny Landscape Park in the Opole Region. The survey revealed several rare and protected species of fungi, plants and animals along the road, i…
Correlation between body size and longevity : New analysis and data covering six taxonomic classes of vertebrates
2023
Large bodied species are known to live longer than small bodied species. However, it is less clear whether the positive correlation varies across taxa. In this short communication, we combine data entries from literature and databases on body mass and maximum life span for 3722 species covering taxonomic Classes Chondrichthyes, Teleostei, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, and Mammalia. We then analyse the log(maximum life span) – log(body mass) relationship using generalized linear model with nested random intercepts and slopes for Class/Order/Family. Our analyses generally demonstrate the positive longevity – body mass relationship but also reveal that slopes and intercepts differ slightly among a…
Difficulty of getting accurate and precise estimates of population size: The case of the Siberian flying squirrel in Finland
2008
Accurate estimates of population size and distribution are a prerequisite for effective management of populations, but for most species a reliable estimation of the absolute population size is very difficult. In 1998, the Finnish Ministry of Environment set up a working group to plan a national-level survey for estimation and monitoring of the population size of Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans). In 2006, the population size was reported to be 143 000 females. However, evaluation of the magnitude of possible biases was not attempted. Our aim was to test the population size estimate by conducting a resampling study with the methods of the national survey on an eartagged population o…
Vendace (Coregonus albula) Disperse Their Eggs Widely during Spawning
2021
Depending on their reproductive strategy, different fish species either aggregate or disperse eggs and larvae in their reproductive habitat. Because yolk-sac larvae of vendace (Coregonus albula) disperse widely across the littoral and pelagic zones of boreal lakes, it is unclear where the exact spawning and egg incubation locations are. Vendace egg and larvae densities were studied in Lake Southern Konnevesi to clarify its spawning strategy. In autumn 2019, 1–2 weeks prior to spawning, 500 egg samplers were installed in five depth zones in 20 sampling plots. Fertilized eggs were found in 18 plots. The mean density of eggs was 74 eggs m–2 and the mean fertilization rate 85%. During spawning,…
Recent changes in chironomid communities and hypolimnetic oxygen conditions relate to organic carbon in subarctic ecotonal lakes
2018
A key question in aquatic elemental cycling is related to the influence of bottom water oxygen conditions in regulating the burial and release of carbon under climate warming. In this study, we used head capsules of Chironomidae larvae to assess community and diversity change between the past (estimated as Pre-Industrial Period) and present and to reconstruct changes in hypolimnetic oxygen conditions from 30 subarctic ecotonal lakes (northeastern Lapland) using the top-bottom paleolimnological approach applying surface sediment (topmost 0-2 cm) and reference (4-5 cm) samples. Subsequently, we tested the findings against dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration of the sites. We found tha…
Increasing temperature and productivity change biomass, trophic pyramids and community‐level omega‐3 fatty acid content in subarctic lake food webs
2021
Climate change in the Arctic is outpacing the global average and land-use is intensifying due to exploitation of previously inaccessible or unprofitable natural resources. A comprehensive understanding of how the joint effects of changing climate and productivity modify lake food web structure, biomass, trophic pyramid shape and abundance of physiologically essential biomolecules (omega-3 fatty acids) in the biotic community is lacking. We conducted a space-for-time study in 20 subarctic lakes spanning a climatic (+3.2 degrees C and precipitation: +30%) and chemical (dissolved organic carbon: +10 mg/L, total phosphorus: +45 mu g/L and total nitrogen: +1,000 mu g/L) gradient to test how temp…
Carbon dynamics in highly heterotrophic subarctic thaw ponds
2015
Abstract. Global warming has accelerated the formation of permafrost thaw ponds in several subarctic and arctic regions. These ponds are net heterotrophic as evidenced by their greenhouse gas (GHG) supersaturation levels (CO2 and CH4), and generally receive large terrestrial carbon inputs from the thawing and eroding permafrost. We measured seasonal and vertical variations in the concentration and type of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in five subarctic thaw (thermokarst) ponds in northern Quebec, and explored how environmental gradients influenced heterotrophic and phototrophic biomass and productivity. Late winter DOM had low aromaticity indicating reduced inputs of terrestrial carbon, wh…