Search results for "ecosystem"
showing 10 items of 1752 documents
Unintentional dispersal of aquatic invertebrates via footwear and motor vehicles in a Mediterranean wetland area
2010
1. Several human activities, such as actions for nature conservation, research and recreational activities, are closely associated with inland aquatic habitats that are usually considered as isolated island habitats. In this study, the possibility of unintentional dispersal of aquatic invertebrates among water bodies via footwear and motor vehicles was investigated. 2. Mud samples collected from boots and from the tyres and wheel cases of cars used for field work by biologists (Camargue, Southern France) were hatched under laboratory conditions and also checked for the presence of unhatched propagules. A large number of organisms hatched and invertebrate propagules from a wide range of taxa…
Pampa Biome Environmental Particularities Regarding to Energy Balance
2020
Ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) has been quantified around the world by different methodologies to understand the energy balance, especially to control the evolution of climate change. It is known that the vegetation of the pampa biome is natural grasslands, it has a large variety of species (flora and fauna), however is it different in the environmental aspects related to the energy balance when compared to the grassland cultivated? In this study the objective was to analyze the environmental differences of the Pampa Biome related to the energy balance in comparison with the pastures cultivated in Barrax, Spain. In the first one the minimum daily ET is 0.99 mm/day, while in the second is…
Spatial patterns of, and environmental controls on, soil properties at a riparianepaddock interface
2012
Abstract Riparian zones are prominent features of agricultural landscapes because they are the last point to intercept nutrients and sediments before they enter water bodies. We investigated the soil properties, nutrient dynamics and vegetation composition at the riparian–agriculture interface. Soil physicochemical and vegetation properties were spatially heterogeneous along the transition from the grazed paddock into the un-grazed and revegetated riparian zone. Soil C stocks varied considerably across the site, with values ranging from 2% in the paddock to 5% in the riparian zone. Using Bayesian model selection, a predictive model for total soil carbon was developed. By including soil mois…
Effect of the conversion of grassland to spring wheat field on the CO2 emission characteristics in Inner Mongolia, China
2007
Chinese grasslands have undergone great changes in land use in recent decades. Approximately 18.2% of the present arable land in China originated from the cultivation of grassland, but its impact on the carbon cycle has not been fully understood. This study wasconducted insitu for3yearstoassessthecomprehensive effects ofcultivationof temperatesteppe onsoilorganiccarbon(SOC) and soil respiration rates as well as ecosystem respiration. As compared with those in the Stipa baicalensis steppe, the SOC concentrations at depths of 0‐10 and 10‐20 cm in the spring wheat field were found to have decreased by 38.3 and 17.4% respectively from 29.5 and 21.9 g kg � 1 to 18.2 and 18.1 g kg � 1 after a cul…
The influence of thermal extremes on coral reef fish behaviour in the Persian Gulf
2019
AbstractDespite increasing environmental variability within marine ecosystems, little is known about how coral reef fish species will cope with future climate scenarios. The Arabian/Persian Gulf is an extreme environment, providing an opportunity to study fish behaviour on reefs with seasonal temperature ranges which include both values above the mortality threshold of Indo-Pacific reef fish, and values below the optimum temperature for growth. Summer temperatures in the Gulf are comparable to those predicted for the tropical ocean by 2090-2099. Using field observations in winter, spring and summer, and laboratory experiments, we examined the foraging activity, distance from refugia and res…
Nutrients attenuate the negative effect of ocean acidification on reef coral calcification in the Arabian Sea upwelling zone (Masirah Island, Oman)
2021
Tropical shallow-water reefs are the most diverse ecosystem in the ocean. Its persistence rests upon adequate calcification rates of the reef building biota, such as reef corals. Optimum calcification rates of reef corals occur in oligotrophic environments with high seawater saturation states of aragonite (Ωsw), which leads to increased vulnerability to anthropogenic ocean acidification and eutrophication. The calcification response of reef corals to this changing environment is largely unknown, however. Here, we present annually and sub-annually resolved records of calcification rates (n = 3) of the coral Porites from the nutrient rich and low Ωsw Arabian Sea upwe…
Trophic cascades in benthic marine ecosystems: lessons for fisheries and protected-area management
2000
An important principle of environmental science is that changes in single components of systems are likely to have consequences elsewhere in the same systems. In the sea, food web data are one of the few foundations for predicting such indirect effects, whether of fishery exploitation or following recovery in marine protected areas (MPAs). We review the available literature on one type of indirect interaction in benthic marine ecosystems, namely trophic cascades, which involve three or more trophic levels connected by predation. Because many indirect effects have been revealed through fishery exploitation, in some cases we include humans as trophic levels. Our purpose is to establish how wi…
Microbial succession of nitrate-reducing bacteria in the rhizosphere of Poa alpina across a glacier foreland in the Central Alps
2006
International audience; Changes in community structure and activity of the dissimilatory nitrate-reducing community were investigated across a glacier foreland in the Central Alps to gain insight into the successional pattern of this functional group and the driving environmental factors. Bulk soil and rhizosphere soil of Poa alpina was sampled in five replicates in August during the flowering stage and in September after the first snowfalls along a gradient from 25 to 129 years after deglaciation and at a reference site outside the glacier foreland (> 2000 years deglaciated). In a laboratory-based assay, nitrate reductase activity was determined colorimetrically after 24 h of anaerobic inc…
Combining population genomics with demographic analyses highlights habitat patchiness and larval dispersal as determinants of connectivity in coastal…
2022
Gene flow shapes spatial genetic structure and the potential for local adaptation. Among marine animals with nonmigratory adults, the presence or absence of a pelagic larval stage is thought to be a key determinant in shaping gene flow and the genetic structure of populations. In addition, the spatial distribution of suitable habitats is expected to influence the distribution of biological populations and their connectivity patterns. We used whole genome sequencing to study demographic history and reduced representation (double-digest restriction associated DNA) sequencing data to analyse spatial genetic structure in broadnosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle). Its main habitat is eelgrass beds…
Environmental mitigation hierarchy and biodiversity offsets revisited through habitat connectivity modelling.
2020
International audience; Biodiversity loss is accelerating because of unceasing human activity and land clearing for development projects (urbanisation, transport infrastructure, mining and quarrying …). Environmental policy-makers and managers in different countries worldwide have proposed the mitigation hierarchy to ensure the goal of “no net loss (NNL) of biodiversity” and have included this principle in environmental impact assessment processes. However, spatial configuration is hardly ever taken into account in the mitigation hierarchy even though it would greatly benefit from recent developments in habitat connectivity modelling incorporating landscape graphs. Meanwhile, national, Euro…