Reproductive state of hunted female mammals during 2000-2015 in Nueva Esperanza, Peruvian Andes

The annual birthrate of female offspring and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (rmax) of populations are key reproductive parameters in models for assessing hunting sustainability or population viability of species. We calculated wild birthrate (pregnancy rate) for ten mammal species, using 180 months (from 2000 to 2015) of reproductive data from 950 hunted female animals collected with the participation of local hunters in the Peruvian Amazon. The methodology assured that no animals were killed outside the hunter's normal activities. The data included shows the reproductive state (pregnant or non-pregnant) of all collected individuals (n=1090), related to the date of collection. Hunters registered required data from genital organs from 950 (87.2%) hunted females, and 140 (12.8%) collected tracts lacked the collection date due to lost or non-legible individual sample codification.

Abundance of bacteria, cyanobacteria and nanoflagellates at sime series station DYNAPROC

The variability in microbial communities (abundance and biomass), bacterial production and ectoaminopeptidase activity, particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC, DOC), and particulate and dissolved lipids was examined in spring 1995 in the northwestern Mediterranean, where a transition from the end of a bloom to pre-oligotrophic conditions was observed. Four time series of 36 h each and 4 h sampling intervals were performed at 5 m and at the chlorophyll maximum (30 m) between 11 and 31 May. Simultaneous measurements of pigments, abundance of hetero- and autotrophic flagellates, bacteria and POC enabled the estimation of living POC (defined as autotrophic-C plus heterotrophic-C biomass), and thus the detrital organic carbon. During the first 2 time series (11 to 15 May), the bacterial-C biomass was higher than the autotrophic-C biomass at 5 m (ratio 1.4 and 1.7), whereas the opposite trend was observed in the chlorophyll peak (ratio 0.7 for the first cycle). However, at the end of May, autotrophic-C biomass was equivalent to bacterial-C biomass at both depths studied. The detrital pool remained a more or less constant fraction of the POC (52, 53 and 47% on 11-12 May, 14-15 May and 30-31 May) at the chlorophyll peak, whereas it decreased significantly with time (62 to 53%) at 5 m. Relationships between bacterial activities and evolution of available resources were not systematically evidenced from our 36 h diel cycle data. Nevertheless, at the monthly scale, comparison of bacterial carbon demand (BCD) to potential carbon resources (detrital POC and DOC) showed that bacteria fed differently on the various pools. From ectoaminopeptidase turnover rates and detrital POC, the potential hydrolysis rate of detritus was calculated. Depending on the choice of conversion factors for bacterial production and estimates of hydrolysis turnover rates, it was shown that bacterial hydrolysis of detritus could be one of the DOC accumulation sources. We observed that the percentage of BCD supplied by detrital POC hydrolysis increased in the surface and decreased in the chlorophyll peak. An index of lipid degradation in POC, the lipolysis index, increased during the month at 5 m, also indicating a higher hydrolysis of POC. The opposite trend was observed in the chlorophyll maximum layer. The selective decrease in dissolved lipids in DOC in the chlorophyll maximum layer, particularly free fatty acids, also suggests that bacteria utilized increased fractions of carbon sources from the DOC. We concluded that partitioning between DOC and detritus as resources for bacteria can change during the rapid transition period from mesotrophy to oligotrophy in the northwestern Mediterranean.

Proportion of bryozoa, isopoda and ostracoda, and bryozoan species richness on the Antarctic continental shelf, slope and abyss

The Antarctic continental slope spans the depths from the shelf break (usually between 500 and 1000 m) to ~3000 m, is very steep, overlain by 'warm' (2-2.5 °C) Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), and life there is poorly studied. This study investigates whether life on Antarctica's continental slope is essentially an extension of the shelf or the abyssal fauna, a transition zone between these or clearly distinct in its own right. Using data from several cruises to the Weddell Sea and Scotia Sea, including the ANDEEP (ANtarctic benthic DEEP-sea biodiversity, colonisation history and recent community patterns) I-III, BIOPEARL (Biodiversity, Phylogeny, Evolution and Adaptive Radiation of Life in Antarctica) 1 and EASIZ (Ecology of the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone) II cruises as well as current databases (SOMBASE, SCAR-MarBIN), four different taxa were selected (i.e. cheilostome bryozoans, isopod and ostracod crustaceans and echinoid echinoderms) and two areas, the Weddell Sea and the Scotia Sea, to examine faunal composition, richness and affinities. The answer has important ramifications to the link between physical oceanography and ecology, and the potential of the slope to act as a refuge and resupply zone to the shelf during glaciations. Benthic samples were collected using Agassiz trawl, epibenthic sledge and Rauschert sled. By bathymetric definition, these data suggest that despite eurybathy in some of the groups examined and apparent similarity of physical conditions in the Antarctic, the shelf, slope and abyssal faunas were clearly separated in the Weddell Sea. However, no such separation of faunas was apparent in the Scotia Sea (except in echinoids). Using a geomorphological definition of the slope, shelf-slope-abyss similarity only changed significantly in the bryozoans. Our results did not support the presence of a homogenous and unique Antarctic slope fauna despite a high number of species being restricted to the slope. However, it remains the case that there may be a unique Antarctic slope fauna, but the paucity of our samples could not demonstrate this in the Scotia Sea. It is very likely that various ecological and evolutionary factors (such as topography, water-mass and sediment characteristics, input of particulate organic carbon (POC) and glaciological history) drive slope distinctness. Isopods showed greatest species richness at slope depths, whereas bryozoans and ostracods were more speciose at shelf depths; however, significance varied across Weddell Sea and Scotia Sea and depending on bathymetric vs. geomorphological definitions. Whilst the slope may harbour some source populations for localised shelf recolonisation, the absence of many shelf species, genera and even families (in a poorly dispersing taxon) from the continental slope indicate that it was not a universal refuge for Antarctic shelf fauna.

Physicochemical properties and fish occurrence in 35 Icelandic lakes housing Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)

The common occurrence of parallel phenotypic patterns suggests that a strong relationship exists between ecological dynamics and micro-evolution. Comparative studies from a large number of populations under varying sets of ecological drivers could contribute to a better understanding of this relationship. We used data on morphology of arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) and ecological factors from 35 Icelandic lakes to test the hypothesis that morphological patterns among monomorphic charr populations from different lakes are related to interlake variation in ecological characteristics. There is extensive phenotypic diversity among populations of Icelandic charr, and populations are easily distinguished based on overall body morphology. The results obtained in the present study showed that the morphological diversity of charr was related to large-scale diversity in lake ecology. Variation in charr morphology was related to water origin (e.g. spring fed versus run-off), bedrock age, and fish community structure. The present study shows how various ecological factors can shape the biological diversity that we observe.