The effects of aquaculture on farm household economy: a case study in Omon District, Cantho Province, Vietnam

A study of the farming systems in the Mekong River Delta (Vietnam) indicate that fish culture brings to the household a higher level of net farm income and family labor use. In general, adoption of fish culture is strongly affected by: (1) decline of wildfish; (2) location of the farm; (3) farm size per person and available water bodies within the farm; (4) income of farm, excluding income from fish; (5) guidance from agricultural extension workers; (6) policies of local government on the development of agriculture including aquaculture.

Distribution of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in Cook Inlet, Alaska, During June/July 1993–2000

Aerial surveys of belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in Cook Inlet wre flown each year during June and/or July from 1993 to 2000. This project was designed to delineate distribution and collect aerial counts, elements critical to the managment of this small, isolated stock that was subjected to a persistent harvest by Native hunters. The surveys provided a thorough, annual coverage of the coastal areas of the inlet (1,300 km of shoreline) and included roughly 1,000 km of offshore transects annually. Coastal transects were flown 1.4 km from the waterline, thus surveying most of the area within 3 km of shore. These, along with offshore transects, provided annual systematic searches of 13-33% of the entire inlet. The largest concentration of belugas (151-288 whales by aerial count) was in the northern portion of upper Cook Inlet in the Susitna River Delta and/or in Knik Arm. Another concentration (17-49 whales) was consistently found between Chickaloon River and Point Possession. Smaller groups (generally <20 whales) were occasionally found in Turn-again Arm, Kachemak Bay, Redoubt Bay (Big River), and Trading Bay (McArthur River) prior to 1995 but not thereafter. Over the past three decades, summer distribution has shrunk such that sightings now only rarely occur in lower Cook Inlet and in offshore areas. In the 1990's, most (96-100%) of the sightings were concentrated in a few dense groups in shallow areas near river mouths in upper Cook Inlet.

Menhaden: The Resource, The Industry, and a Management History

PREFACE: Four species of menhaden, Brevoortia spp., are found along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States. The Atlantic menhaden, B. tyrannus, is found from Nova Scotia, Can., to West Palm Beach, Fla.; the yellowfin menhaden, B. smithi, is found from Cape Lookout, N. C., to the Mississippi River Delta, La.;the Gulf menhaden, B. patronus, is found from Cape Sable, Fla., to Veracruz, Mex.; and the finescale menhaden, B. gunteri, is found from the Mississippi River Delta, La., to Campeche, Mex. Menhaden are euryhaline species that inhabit coastal and inland tidal waters. Spawning occurs principally at sea (in northern areas some spawning occurs in bays and sounds). Eggs hatch at sea and the larvae are moved to estuaries by ocean currents where they metamorphose and develop as juveniles.

Nutrient enhanced coastal ocean productivity in the north Gulf of Mexico: understanding the effects of nutrients on a coastal ecosystem

The continental shelf adjacent to the Mississippi River is a highly productive system, often referred to as the fertile fisheries crescent. This productivity is attributed to the effects of the river, especially nutrient delivery. In the later decades of the 2oth century, though, changes in the system were becoming evident. Nutrient loads were seen to be increasing and reports of hypoxia were becoming more frequent. During most recent summers, a broad area (up to 20,000 krn2) of near bottom, inner shelf waters immediately west of the Mississippi River delta becomes hypoxic (dissolved oxygen concentrations less than 2 mgll). In 1990, the Coastal Ocean Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration initiated the Nutrient Enhanced Coastal Ocean Productivity (NECOP) study of this area to test the hypothesis that anthropogenic nutrient addition to the coastal ocean has contributed to coastal eutrophication with a significant impact on water quality. Three major goals of the study were to determine the degree to which coastal productivity in the region is enhanced by terrestrial nutrient input, to determine the impact of enhanced productivity on water quality, and to determine the fate of fixed carbon and its impact on living marine resources. The study involved 49 federal and academic scientists from 14 institutions and cost $9.7 million. Field work proceeded from 1990 through 1993 and analysis through 1996, although some analyses continue to this day. The Mississippi River system delivers, on average, 19,000 m3/s of water to the northern Gulf of Mexico. The major flood of the river system occurs in spring following snow melt in the upper drainage basin. This water reaches the Gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi River birdfoot delta and through the delta of the Atchafalaya River. Much of this water flows westward along the coast as a highly stratified coastal current, the Louisiana Coastal Current, isolated from the bottom by a strong halocline and from mid-shelf waters by a strong salinity front. This stratification maintains dissolved and particulate matter from the rivers, as well as recycled material, in a well-defined flow over the inner shelf. It also inhibits the downward mixing of oxygenated surface waters from the surface layer to the near bottom waters. This highly stratified flow is readily identifiable by its surface turbidity, as it carries much of the fine material delivered with the river discharge and resuspended by nearshore wave activity. A second significant contribution to the turbidity of the surface waters is due to phytoplankton in these waters. This turbidity reduces the solar radiation penetrating to depth through the water column. These two aspects of the coastal current, isolation of the inner shelf surface waters and maintenance of a turbid surface layer, precondition the waters for the development of near bottom summer hypoxia.

Ecological condition of coastal ocean waters of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: 2011

In August 2011, the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS) conducted an assessment of the status of ecological condition of soft-bottom habitat and overlying waters of the continental shelf in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The original sampling design included 50 randomly selected sites from the Mississippi River delta to the U.S./Mexican border, representing a total area of 111,162 square kilometers; however, vessel failures and inclement weather precluded sampling at 16 sites in the western-most part of the study region. Sampling was completed at the remaining 34 sites in offshore waters between the Mississippi River delta and Freeport, Texas, representing an estimated 75,591 square kilometers. Field sampling followed standard methods and indicators applied in prior NOAA coastal studies and EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) and National Coastal Assessment (NCA). A key feature adopted from these studies was the incorporation of a random probabilistic sampling design. Such a design provides a basis for making unbiased statistical estimates of the spatial extent of ecological condition relative to various measured indicators and corresponding thresholds of concern. Indicators included multiple measures of water quality, sediment quality, and biological condition (benthic fauna, fish tissue contaminant levels). Water depths ranged from 13 – 83 m throughout the study area. About 9 % of the area had sediments composed of sands (< 20 % silt+clay), 47 % of the area was composed of intermediate muddy sands (20 – 80 % silt+clay), and 44 % of the sampled area consisted of mud (> 80 % silt+clay). About 50 % of the area (represented by 17 sites) had sediment total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations < 5 mg/g and all of the sites sampled had levels of TOC < 20 mg/g, well below the range associated with potentially harmful effects to benthic fauna (> 50 mg/g). Surface salinities ranged from 23.4 – 36.5 psu, with salinity generally increasing with distance west of the Mississippi River delta. Bottom salinities varied between 31.1 and 36.5 psu, with lowest values occurring at shallow, inner-shelf stations. Surface-water temperatures varied between 29.8 and 31.5 ºC, while near-bottom waters ranged in temperature from 19.4 – 31 ºC. An index of density stratification (Δσt) indicated that portions of coastal shelf waters in the northwestern GOM at the time of this sampling were strongly stratified. Values of Δσt at 19 of the 34 sites sampled in this study (56 % of the study area) ranged from 2.2 to 12.4, which is within the range considered to be indicative of strong vertical stratification (Δσt > 2). Stratification was strongest close to the Mississippi River delta, and decreased with distance west of the delta.

现代黄河三角洲湿地景观变化及其对水禽生境的影响

本文研究的开展主要源于国家海洋局海洋公益性行业科研专项经费项目“渤海典型区域的海洋多过程数据整合研究”课题支撑。在湿地日益退化丧失的全球背景下，本文选择沉积年代较轻、生态环境比较脆弱，且当前人类活动不断加剧的现代黄河三角洲为研究区，采用1999、2001、2004和2008年的Landsat5 TM遥感影像，选择丹顶鹤和黑嘴鸥为指示物种，结合野外实地调查和历史数据资料的整理和分析，以及黄河三角洲自然保护区对鸟类的监测记录结果，开展现代黄河三角洲湿地景观变化及其对水禽生境的影响研究。 论文的主要研究结果如下： 1、建立了服务于黄河三角洲湿地水禽生境保护的湿地景观分类体系 在系统分析研究区域湿地水禽生活习性和生态分布特征的基础上，从鸟类生境选择的概念出发，建立了服务于黄河三角洲湿地水禽生境保护的湿地景观分类体系。该分类体系一共分为4级，其中，第三级分类系统下天然湿地的划分是从鸟类选择的“大生境”角度出发，即根据区域地表类型，进一步将海洋/海岸湿地和内陆三角洲湿地划分成浅海水域、潮间淤泥滩、潮沟、河口水域、潮间盐沼、河流湿地和沼泽湿地7类。而第四级分类系统下天然湿地的划分则是从鸟类选择的“小生境”（即对水、食物、隐蔽物、干扰等的需求）角度出发，并按照水文和典型植被类型，进一步将天然湿地的三级类型划分为碱蓬沼泽、芦苇沼泽、柽柳灌丛沼泽等33类。 2、系统研究了现代黄河三角洲湿地景观格局的动态变化和影响因素 根据景观生态学理论，选取用于分析的景观格局指数，并从湿地景观类型的组成特征变化、面积变化、形状特征变化、空间配置特征变化四个方面分析在黄河断流前到其恢复正常行水至今的时间里三角洲湿地景观格局的动态变化，研究结果表明：在1999~2008年的9年间，天然湿地构成了现代黄河三角洲景观的主体，约占研究区域景观总面积的65%~75%，决定了该地区湿地的主要结构和功能。但随着人类对土地资源利用方式的不断改变和强度的提高，天然湿地景观呈萎缩退化趋势，9年内共减少338.44 km2，约占研究区景观总面积的8.90%。与此同时，盐田、养殖池塘等人工湿地和耕地等非湿地面积不断扩张，人工湿地面积增加量约为242.08km2，约占研究区景观总面积的6.37%，非湿地面积增加量约为96.36 km2，约占研究区景观总面积的2.53%。从一些重要的景观指数的计算结果来看，研究区域整体景观斑块数量呈增加趋势，平均斑块大小随之减小，景观边界密度大小、聚集度指数也呈下降趋势，表明从1999到2008年研究区域整体景观被边界分割的程度加深，整体景观中的斑块在空间分布上隔离程度加重，开始由大片连续分布向小块离散分布转变，景观的破碎化程度加重。 湿地景观格局变化的驱动机制分析表明，影响研究区湿地景观变化的主要因素包括三个方面，即：黄河水沙条件的驱动力、湿地自身演替驱动力和人为驱动力。在1999~2008年的9年间，黄河虽然恢复正常行水，不再断流，但入海泥沙量的明显减少使得除现行河口处沙嘴继续向海缓慢延伸外，黄河三角洲总体上处于侵蚀状态。湿地自身的演替主要体现在湿地由裸露淤泥质滩涂向发育典型湿地植物群落的顺向演替，以及发育有典型湿地植物群落的湿地向裸露淤泥质滩涂逆向演替两个方面。在1999~2008年间9年里，湿地顺向发育演替面积约130.64 km2，而逆向发育演替面积约为99.51 km2。人类活动一直以来都是影响黄河三角洲湿地景观变化不可忽视的营造力。大规模的滩涂围垦和养殖、农业用地的不断开垦和扩张，以及密集的油田开发活动不仅缩减了原本生长着芦苇茅草等植物的天然湿地资源，而且加重了三角洲湿地景观的破碎程度。 3、在整个研究区域尺度上深刻分析了丹顶鹤和黑嘴鸥潜在生境的适宜性 根据黄河三角洲自然保护区关于鸟类的监测记录资料，在深入分析湿地水禽生活习性和分布特征的基础上，选择丹顶鹤和黑嘴鸥为指示物种，从鸟类生境选择自身的特征出发，确定地表类型、水、食物、隐蔽物和干扰为影响两种鸟类类群进行生境选择的因素，并构建生境适宜性评价模型，在整个研究区域尺度上对两种鸟类类群的潜在生境进行适宜性评价和动态变化分析。研究结果表明，在不考虑居民地、油田作业用地和道路等干扰因子对生境产生的破碎化效应影响时，适宜丹顶鹤和黑嘴鸥生存的生境类型在1999~2008年间占研究区整体景观总面积的比重均在30%以上，其中天然湿地约占适宜生境类型面积的95%，可利用的人工湿地比重极小，但呈缓慢增加趋势，且由于可利用的天然湿地生境类型的逐年减少使得适宜两种鸟类类群的生境类型总面积总体上呈萎缩趋势。在考虑居民地、油田作业用地和道路等干扰因子对生境产生的破碎化效应影响时，适宜丹顶鹤和黑嘴鸥生存的生境类型在1999~2008年间占研究区域整体景观总面积的百分比由之前接近40%下降到20%以下，面积减少量均在600 km2以上。 4、系统分析了研究区湿地景观变化对水禽生境的影响 从研究区湿地景观基质的面积变化、形状和空间邻接关系变化、破碎化等三个方面分析了研究区湿地景观变化对丹顶鹤和黑嘴鸥两种鸟类类群生境的影响，结果表明，湿地景观基质中天然湿地的变化与丹顶鹤、黑嘴鸥适宜生境的大小和空间分布密切相关。在1999~2008年间，随着天然湿地面积的减少，适宜以上两种鸟类类群的生境面积也随之减少，两者呈正相关关系；在1999~2008年间，研究区天然湿地和人工湿地景观基质整体的形状指数均在1.0附近，表明湿地景观基质整体上的边缘效应较小，但建设用地、农林用地等非湿地景观与丹顶鹤和黑嘴鸥适宜生境类型中的主导类型——潮间淤泥滩、潮间盐沼和沼泽湿地等三种景观类型的频繁邻接，对于保护两种鸟类类群十分不利，应积极采取相应的措施加强保护力度；在1999~2008年间，研究区景观整体，以及湿地景观基质结构的破碎化，导致鸟类可利用的天然湿地和人工湿地景观内部斑块之间的连接程度下降，从而使得丹顶鹤、黑嘴

Genetic diversity of Chinese domestic goat based on the mitochondrial DNA sequence variation

The aim of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity of domestic goat in China. For this purpose, we determined the sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region in 72 individuals of the Yangtze River delta white goat, and reanalysed

Management of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in Lake Victoria Basin

Water hyacinth is a free-floating waterweed native to the Amazon River Basin in South America. In its native range, water hyacinth is not an environmental problem, although the weed is one of the most invasive alien plants in freshwater environments. Water hyacinth has the potential to become invasive through fast vegetative reproduction and rapid growth to accumulate huge biomass and extensive cover in freshwater environments. Over the last 150 years water hyacinth has invaded most countries in the tropics and sub-tropics, introduced by man, mainly for ornamental purposes. Such introductions led to the infestation of most freshwater-ways in the southern United States of America, parts of Australia, the pacific islands, and most countries in Asia and Africa. The extensive tightly packed mats of water hyacinth are often associated with devastating socio-economic and environmental impacts. Invasion by the weed has, therefore, often generated urgent costly problems associated with the weed biomass and its management. A classic example of such problems was triggered by the invasion and proliferation of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin during the 1980s (Freilink 1989, Taylor 1993, Twongo et al., 1995). The weed infestation marked the beginning of a decade of intensive and systematic campaign by the three riparian states (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) to bring weed proliferation under control. The discussions in this Chapter span over ten years of dealing with the challenges paused by the imperative to manage infestations of water hyacinth in the Lake Victoria Basin. The challenges included the need to understand the dynamics of water hyacinth infestation; its distribution, proliferation and impact modalities; and the development and implementation of appropriate weed control strategies and options. Most specific examples were taken from the Ugandan experience (NARO, 2002).

HYDROGRAPHIC VARIATIONS IN SIZE STRUCTURE OF PLANKTON BIOMASS IN A CHANGJIANG FLOODPLAIN LAKE

The size structure of the planktonic community in a Changjiang floodplain lake (Lake Chenhu, Hubei, P. R. China) was described for the inundation period of May through September 1983. The modality of the Sheldon-type size distributions changed hydrographically with the spectral profiles being bimodal during low, rising, mid-high and falling water phases, and trimodal soon after filling and shortly before falling. The modal peaks corresponded respectively to the dominant organisms of chlorophytes and nauplii, while the troughs centered on the bacteria and macrocrustacean size classes in the lake. The slope of the normalized biomass spectrum (an index of plankton size distribution) was less than -1.0 for the filling and falling phases or close to -1.0 for the high water period, indicating that the planktonic biomass tended to decrease or evenly distributes across logarithmically ordered size classes, respectively. This observed variation in the size distribution of the plankton community mainly resulted from changes in water levels and contents of particulate inorganic matter (PIM) in the lake.

CONTRIBUTION OF BACTERIOPLANKTON, PHYTOPLANKTON, ZOOPLANKTON AND DETRITUS TO ORGANIC SESTON CARBON LOAD IN A CHANGJIANG FLOODPLAIN LAKE (CHINA)

The relative compositions of bacterioplankton, phytoplankton, zooplankton and detritus of seston were studied during the course of inundation in a floodplain lake of central Changjiang (China). Peaks in bacterial biomass developed shortly after flooding, coinciding with the initial leaching of organic nutrients from vegetation submerged under floodwater, and again at high water, shortly before the climax of phytoplankton biomass. Rods predominated the bacterial carbon biomass. Phytoplankton developed a postflood bloom at initial falling, corresponding to the drainage of the lake water into the river. While minimal biomass occurred during the advent of flooding, most likely due to disturbance and dilution. Algal biomass was usually dominated by Chlorophyta. Highest biomass of zooplankton was recorded at the end of the flooding in connection with the decline in turbidity, and once again at early drainage, closely associated with high phytoplankton biomass. Copepods (mainly nauplii) always constituted the majority of zooplankton carbon biomass. Peaks in detrital carbon concentrations were recorded at rising and falling water phases, corresponding respectively to the riverine discharge and decomposition of macrophyte mats. At rising water phase, CPOC was abundant. While during other water phases, this predominance was shifted to FPOC alone. Taken together, average contribution of bacterioplankton, phytoplankton, zooplankton and detritus to total seston carbon was 3.29, 21.21, 6.83 and 68.67 %, respectively.

Impacts of LUCC processes on potential land productivity in China in the 1990s

Using meteorological data and RS dynamic land-use observation data set, the potential land productivity that is limited by solar radiation and temperature is estimated and the impacts of recent LUCC processes on it are analyzed in this paper. The results show that the influence of LUCC processes on potential land productivity change has extensive and unbalanced characteristics. It generally reduces the productivity in South China and increases it in North China, and the overall effect is increasing the total productivity by 26.22 million tons. The farmland reclamation and original farmlands losses are the primary causes that led potential land productivity to change. The reclamation mostly distributed in arable-pasture and arable-forest transitional zones and oasises in northwestern China has made total productivity increase by 83.35 million tons, accounting for 3.50% of the overall output. The losses of original farmlands driven by built-up areas invading and occupying arable land are mostly distributed in the regions which have rapid economic development, e.g. Huang-Huai-Hai plain, Yangtze River delta, Zhujiang delta, central part of Gansu, southeast coastal region, southeast of Sichuan Basin and Urumqi-Shihezi. It has led the total productivity to decrease 57.13 million tons, which is 2.40% of the overall output.

Study on spatial pattern of land-use change in China during 1995-2000

It is more and more acknowledged that land-use/cover dynamic change has become a key subject urgently to be dealt with in the study of global environmental change. Supported by the Landsat TM digital images, spatial patterns and temporal variation of land-use change during 1995 -2000 are studied in the paper. According to the land-use dynamic degree model, supported by the 1km GRID data of land-use change and the comprehensive characters of physical, economic and social features, a dynamic regionalization of land-use change is designed to disclose the spatial pattern of land-use change processes. Generally speaking, in the traditional agricultural zones, e.g., Huang-Huai-Hai Plains, Yangtze River Delta and Sichuan Basin, the built-up and residential areas occupy a great proportion of arable land, and in the interlock area of farming and pasturing of northern China and the oases agricultural zones, the reclamation I of arable land is conspicuously driven by changes of production conditions, economic benefits and climatic conditions. The implementation of "returning arable land into woodland or grassland" policies has won initial success in some areas, but it is too early to say that the trend of deforestation has been effectively reversed across China. In this paper, the division of dynamic regionalization of land-use change is designed, for the sake of revealing the temporal and spatial features of land-use change and laying the foundation for the study of regional scale land-use changes. Moreover, an integrated study, including studies of spatial pattern and temporal process of land-use change, is carried out in this paper, which is an interesting try on the comparative studies of spatial pattern on change process and the change process of spatial pattern of land-use change.

Relationship between species diversity and ecotope diversity

The relationship between species diversity and ecotope diversity has long been debated. But these debates seem meaningless because most of them were based on different definitions. In this paper, diversity has two components: richness based on the total number and evenness based on the relative abundance. Species diversity is distinguished into individual-counting diversity and biomass-based diversity. Ecotope diversity is divided into individual ecotope-counting diversity and ecotope-area based diversity. Under this definition, we make a comprehensive investigation into Dongzhi tableland of Loess Plateau by cooperating with local technicians. We find that individual-counting diversity is significantly correlated with biomass-based diversity in grassland ecosystems; individual ecotope-counting diversity and ecotope-area based diversity have a significant correlation. Therefore, it is unnecessary to divide species diversity into individual-counting diversity and biomass-based diversity in grassland ecosystems and to distinguish ecotope diversity into individual ecotope-counting and ecotope-area based diversity for the issues that have no special requirement for accuracy. But the analyses of the investigation data demonstrate that species diversity has no significant correlation with ecotope diversity.