Habitat degradation and conservation status assessment of gallinaceous birds in the Trans-Himalayas, China

The greatest concentration of Chinese Galliformes occurs in the Trans-Himalayas. We selected 4 northwestern Yunnan counties (Lijiang, Shangri-la, Deqin, and Weixi) in the Trans-Himalayas to assess the conservation status of 9 gallinaceous forest birds. We

Captive breeding and embryonic development of honey gourami, Colisa sota (Ham.-Buch.)

Honey Gourami, Colisa sota, has high ornamental as well as food value. The natural resources of this species are gradually declining, due to destruction of its habitat, over fishing for aquarium trade and human consumption. The fish was bred in captivity under controlled environment. It laid about 200-400 eggs in bubble nest built by the male. Hatching started within 28-30hrs. after egg laying. The hatchlings became free swimming by 3rd to 4th day of hatching. The male showed territoriality and parental care by guarding the eggs and hatchlings. The larval survival was 30-35%. The breeding behavior, embryonic and post embryonic development of the fish were studied.

Habitat use by wintering Ruddy Shelduck at Lashihai Lake, Lijiang, China

Habitat use by wintering Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) in Lijiang Lashihai Lake of southwest China was studied from 1 November 1999 to 29 April 2000. We divided habitats into five types-deep water, shallow water, mudflat, grassland and farmland. Shallow water and grassland, with rich food and easily accessible water, were preferred by wintering Ruddy Shelducks, Farmland was preferred in mid-winter but avoided in early winter and late winter. Even in mid-winter, the feeding Ruddy Shelduck on farmland were not equally distributed in fields and preferred wet fields (just irrigated) and avoided dry fields. In dry fields, the distances to water sources had great impact on the feeding distribution. Mudflats were only selected in later winter, coinciding with the growth of water-weeds. Deep-water areas were always avoided. Prohibition of human disturbance and retaining shallow water areas and grassland are important measures to mitigate conflict between Ruddy Sheldruck and local people.

Molecular phylogeography and population structure of a mid-elevation montane frog Leptobrachium ailaonicum in a fragmented habitat of southwest China

Leptobrachium ailaonicum is a vulnerable anuran restricted to a patchy distribution associated with small mountain streams surrounded by forested slopes at mid-elevations (approximately 2000-2600 m) in the subtropical Mount Wuliang and Mount Ailao ranges in southwest China (Yunnan Province) and northern Vietnam. Given high habitat specificity and lack of suitable habitat in lower elevations between these ranges, we hypothesized limited gene flow between populations throughout its range. We used two mitochondrial genes to construct a phylogeographic pattern within this species in order to test our hypothesis. We also examined whether this phylogeographic pattern is a response to past geological events and/or climatic oscillations. A total of 1989 base pairs were obtained from 81 individuals of nine populations yielding 51 unique haplotypes. Both Bayesian and maximum parsimony phylogenetic analyses revealed four deeply divergent and reciprocally monophyletic mtDNA lineages that approximately correspond to four geographical regions separated by deep river valleys. These results suggest a long history of allopatric separation by vicariance. The distinct geographic distributions of four major clades and the estimated divergence time suggest spatial and temporal separations that coincide with climatic and paleogeographic changes following the orogeny and uplift of Mount Ailao during the late Miocene to mid Pliocene in southwest China. At the southern distribution, the presence of two sympatric yet differentiated clades in two areas are interpreted as a result of secondary contact between previously allopatric populations during cooler Pleistocene glacial cycles. Analysis of molecular variance indicates that most of the observed genetic variation occurs among the four regions implying long-term interruption of maternal gene flow, suggesting that L ailaonicum may represent more than one distinct species and should at least be separated into four management units corresponding to these four geographic lineages for conservation. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Engineering as a tool for improving human habitat

The conventional approaches to poverty alleviation in the slums entail a cocktail of interventions in health, education, governance and physical improvements, often stretching the scarce resources far and thin. Driven by the 'poverty' mindset, physical measures such as minimal paving, public water posts and community latrines actually brand the slums apart instead of assimilating them into the urban infrastructure fabric. The concept of Slum Networking proposes comprehensive water and environmental sanitation infrastructure as the central and catalytic leverage for holistic development. At costs less than the conventional 'slum' solutions, it tries to penetrate a high quality urban infrastructure net deeply into the slums to assimilate them into the city rather than lock them in as disadvantaged islands. Further, it transcends resource barriers and 'aid' through innovative partnerships and the latent resource mobilisation potential of the so-called 'poor'. This paper examines Slum Networking as implemented in Sanjaynagar in Ahmedabad, India and compares it with a similar settlement with no interventions in Ahmedabad. It assesses the knock-on impact of physical infrastructure on health, education and poverty. Finally, it evaluates the multiplier effect of physical infrastructure and the partnerships on the subsequent investments by the community in its own shelter and habitat. Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Methodology for valuing wetlands in Uganda

The wetlands in Uganda are undergoing rapid degradation. Swamps provide a habitat for birds, fishes and other animals. They have many ecological functions and, furthermore, supply people with multiple resources, such as reeds, herbs, fish and agricultural products. Although some'uses of wetland are sustainable, others lead to rapid deterioration. The main threat to swamps are human activities. One reason for the progressive destruction of wetlands is that the people may not appreciate the existence of and the treasures represented by wetlands even if they live in arm long distance from them. Another reason is that the two most important user groups of wetlands, farmers and fishermen, although having conflicting interests concerning the wetlands, hardly interact. A study, done as part of the Ecotone Project at the Fisheries Research Institute (FIRI), tries to evaluate in monetary terms how much Uganda loses with progressive destruction of wetlands. The study looks first at which uses of the wetlands are of importance and thereafter it examines, what data is needed and available to calculate the values of those uses.

The role of satellite lakes in conservation of fish species diversity in the Lake Kyoga basin

Lakes Victoria and Kyoga had, a diverse fish fauna, which was important as food for local population and valuable in scientific studies. Over the past twenty years, the diversity of fish in these lakes had declined due to over-exploitation, introduction of new fish species including the piscivorous Nile perch and degradation of fish habitat. Studies of satellite lakes in the Victoria and Kyoga lake basins suggested that some of these lakes harboured species which had been lost from the main lakes. In order to better understand the extent, to which these satellite lakes may serve as refugia, a faunal survey was undertaken to determine the distribution and nature of the taxa found. Seven satellite lakes and the eastern end of the main Lake Kyoga adjacent to these minor lakes were surveyed over a two-year period for fish species diversity. A total of 68 fish species were recorded of which 41 were haplochromines. Almost all the native non cichlids which occurred in the main lakes (Victoria and Kyoga) before the Nile perch upsurge recorded. Lakes Nawampasa, Gigati, Kawi, Agu and Nyaguo had the highest fish species and trophic diversity. The trophic diversity of haplochromines (based on Shannon Weaver Index) was highest in Lake Nawampasa (1.28), followed by Gigati (1.25), Kawi (1.18), Agu (0.8), Lemwa (0.81), Nyaguo (0.35) and was lowest in the main Lake Kyoga. Potential threats to these lakes were from collectors of ornamental fish species, especially the haplochromines, the spread of the predatory Nile perch and the water hyacinth, which are already in Lake Kyoga, and the destruction of macrophytes through harvesting of papyrus and reclamation for agriculture. The human population around these lakes harvested the fishes for food but the levels of exploitation were still low because the lakes were adjacent to main Lake Kyoga, the major supply of fish. Ornamental fish dealers were encouraged to start captive breeding of the fish for export to reduce pressure on the lakes and demonstrations for breeding were set up at FIRI in Jinja. Meetings and seminars were held with some of the communities living around the lakes sampled and the importance of fish species found in these lakes and the dangers of destructive practices discussed. Representatives of all taxa of fish caught from the lakes were preserved, catalogued and stored in the FIRI Museum. Results from this survey support the motion that these satellite lakes are important refugia for endemic diversity. Based on survey, we recommend that SaIne of these lakes like Nawampasa, Gigati, Kawi, Agu and Nyaguo could be designated as conservation areas of species threatened in the main lakes. One of the factors that seem to have prevented the spread of Nile perch into Kyoga Minor lakes seems to have been the presence of extensive swamps around these lakes and the low oxygen levels that exist in these habitats. Clearing of swamps and vegetation that separate Kyoga minor lakes from the main lake should be avoided to prevent Nile perch from spreading into these lakes.

The destruction mechanism in GCTs

This paper focuses on the causes that lead to the final destruction in standard gate-commutated thyristor (GCT) devices. A new 3-D model approach has been used for simulating the GCT which provides a deep insight into the operation of the GCT in extreme conditions. This allows drawing some conclusions on the complex mechanisms that drive these devices to destruction, previously impossible to explain using 2-D models. © 1963-2012 IEEE.

Communities of gastrointestinal helminths of fish in historically connected habitats: habitat fragmentation effect in a carnivorous catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco from seven lakes in flood plain of the Yangtze River, China

Background: Habitat fragmentation may result in the reduction of diversity of parasite communities by affecting population size and dispersal pattern of species. In the flood plain of the Yangtze River in China, many lakes, which were once connected with the river, have become isolated since the 1950s from the river by the construction of dams and sluices, with many larger lakes subdivided into smaller ones by road embankments. These artificial barriers have inevitably obstructed the migration of fish between the river and lakes and also among lakes. In this study, the gastrointestinal helminth communities were investigated in a carnivorous fish, the yellowhead catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, from two connected and five isolated lakes in the flood plain in order to detect the effect of lake fragmentation on the parasite communities. Results: A total of 11 species of helminths were recorded in the stomach and intestine of P. fulvidraco from seven lakes, including two lakes connected with the Yangtze River, i.e. Poyang and Dongting lakes, and five isolated lakes, i.e. Honghu, Liangzi, Tangxun, Niushan and Baoan lakes. Mean helminth individuals and diversity of helminth communities in Honghu and Dongting lakes was lower than in the other five lakes. The nematode Procamallanus fulvidraconis was the dominant species of communities in all the seven lakes. No significant difference in the Shannon-Wiener index was detected between connected lakes (0.48) and isolated lakes (0.50). The similarity of helminth communities between Niushan and Baoan lakes was the highest (0.6708), and the lowest was between Tangxun and Dongting lakes (0.1807). The similarity was low between Dongting and the other lakes, and the similarity decreased with the geographic distance among these lakes. The helminth community in one connected lake, Poyang Lake was clustered with isolated lakes, but the community in Dongting Lake was separated in the tree. Conclusion: The similarity in the helminth communities of this fish in the flood-plain lakes may be attributed to the historical connection of these habitats and to the completion of the life-cycles of this fish as well as the helminth species within the investigated habitats. The diversity and the digenean majority in the helminth communities can be related to the diet of this fish, and to the lacustrine and macrophytic characters of the habitats. The lake isolation from the river had little detectable effect on the helminth communities of the catfish in flood-plain lakes of the Yangtze River. The low similarities in helminth communities between the Dongting Lake and others may just be a reflection of its unique water environment and anthropogenic alterations or fragmentation in this lake.

Construction of habitat suitability models (HSMs) for benthic macroinvertebrate and their applications to instream environmental flows: A case study in Xiangxi River of Three Gorges Reservior region, China

Based on a long-term ecological monitoring, the present study chose the most dominant benthic macroinvertebrate (Baetis spp.) as target organisms in Xiangxi River, built the habitat suitability models (HSMs) for water depth, current velocity and substrate, respectively, which is the first aquatic organisms model for habitat suitability in the Chinese Mainland with a long-term consecutive in situ measurement. In order to protect the biointegrity and function of the river ecosystem, the theory system of instream environmental flow should be categorized into three hierarchies, namely minimum required instream flow (hydrological level), minimum instream environmental flow (biospecies level), and optimum instream environmental flow (ecosystem level). These three hierarchies of instream environmental flow models were then constructed with the hydrological and weighted usable area (WUA) method. The results show that the minimum required instream flow of Xiangxi River calculated by the Tennant method (10% of the mean annual flow) was 0.615 m(3) s(-1); the minimum instream environmental flow accounted for 19.22% of the mean annual flow (namely 1.182 m(3) s(-1)), which was the damaged river channel. ow in the dry season; and 42.91% of the mean annual flow (namely 2.639 m(3) s(-1)) should be viewed as the optimum instream environmental flow in order to protect the health of the river ecosystem, maintain the instream biodiversity, and reduce the impact of small hydropower stations nearby the Xiangxi River. We recommend that the hydrological and biological methods can help establish better instream environmental. ow models and design best management practices for use in the small hydropower station project. (C) 2008 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science in China Press. All rights reserved.

Genetic variation of fish parasite populations in historically connected habitats: undetected habitat fragmentation effect on populations of the nematode Procamallanus fulvidraconis in the catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco

Habitat fragmentation may have some significant effects on population genetic structure because geographic distance and physical barriers may impede gene flow between populations. In this study, we investigated whether recent habitat fragmentation affected genetic structure and diversity of populations of the nematode Procamallanus fulvidraconis in the yellowhead catfish, Pelteobagrus fin't4draco. The nematode was collected from 12 localities in 7 floodplain lakes of the Yangtze River. Using I I intersirnple sequence repeat markers, analysis of molecular variance showed that genetic diversity occurred mainly within populations (70.26%). Expected heterozygosity (He) of P. fulvidraconis was barely different between connected (0.2105) and unconnected lakes (0.2083). Population subdivision (Fst) between connected lakes (0.2177) was higher than in unconnected lakes (0. 1676). However, the connected and unconnected lakes did not Cluster into 2 clades. A Mantel test revealed significant positive correlation between genetic and geographic distances (R = 0.5335, P < 0.01). These results suggest that habitat fragmentation did not cause genetic differentiation among populations or a reduction of diversity in isolated populations of P. fulvidraconis. At least 2 factors may increase the dispersal range of the nematode, i.e., flash flooding in summer and other species of fish that may serve as the definitive hosts. Moreover, lake fragmentation is probably a recent process; population size of the nematode in these lakes is large enough to maintain Population structure.