A geo-referenced benthic habitat survey in support of natural resource management: Port Graham Bay, Alaska

The impact of recent changes in climate on the arctic environment and its ecosystems appear to have a dramatic affect on natural populations (National Research Council Committee on the Bering Sea Ecosystem 1996) and pose a serious threat to the continuity of indigenous arctic cultures that are dependent on natural resources for subsistence (Peterson D. L., Johnson 1995). In the northeast Pacific, winter storms have intensified and shifted southward causing fundamental changes in sea surface temperature patterns (Beamish 1993, Francis et al. 1998). Since the mid 1970’s surface waters of the central basin of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) have warmed and freshened with a consequent increase in stratification and reduced winter entrainment of nutrients (Stabeno et al. 2004). Such physical changes in the structure of the ocean can rapidly affect lower trophic levels and indirectly affect fish and marine mammal populations through impacts on their prey (Benson and Trites 2002). Alaskan natives expect continued and perhaps accelerating changes in resources due to global warming (DFO 2006).and want to develop strategies to cope with their changing environment.

Spatial and temporal variation in the diet of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) in the Gulf of California, Mexico

Between June 1995 and May 1996 seven rookeries in the Gulf of California were visited four times in order to collect scat samples for studying spatial and seasonal variability California sea lion prey. The rookeries studied were San Pedro Mártir, San Esteban, El Rasito, Los Machos, Los Cantiles, Isla Granito, and Isla Lobos. The 1273 scat samples collected yielded 4995 otoliths (95.3%) and 247 (4.7%) cephalopod beaks. Fish were found in 97.4% of scat samples collected, cephalopods in 11.2%, and crustaceans in 12.7%. We identified 92 prey taxa to the species level, 11 to genus level, and 10 to family level, of which the most important were Pacific cutlassfish (Trichiurus lepturus), Pacific sardine (Sardinops caeruleus), plainfin midshipman (Porichthys spp.), myctophid no. 1, northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax), Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus), anchoveta (Cetengraulis mysticetus), and jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus). Significant differences were found among rookeries in the occurrence of all main prey (P≤0.04), except for myctophid no. 1 (P>0.05). Temporally, significant differences were found in the occurrence of Pacific cutlassfish, Pacific sardine, plainfin midshipman, northern anchovy, and Pacific mackerel (P<0.05), but not in jack mackerel (χ 2=2.94, df=3, P=0.40), myctophid no. 1 (χ 2=1.67, df= 3, P=0.64), or lanternfishes (χ 2=2.08, df=3, P=0.56). Differences were observed in the diet and in trophic diversity among seasons and rookeries. More evident was the variation in diet in relation to availability of Pacific sardine.

Diet changes of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in Alaska between 1980 and 1995

The diet of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in the area of Pavlof Bay, Alaska, was studied in the early 1980s by Albers and Anderson (1985). They found that the dominant prey species were forage species like pandalid shrimp, capelin (Mallotus villosus), and walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma). The shrimp fishery in Pavlof Bay began in 1968 and closed in 1980 because of low shrimp abundance (Ruccio and Worton1). Survey data indicate that, during the period between 1972 and 1997, the abundance of forage species such as pandalid shrimp and capelin declined and higher trophic-level groundfish such as Pacific cod increased. There is a general recognition that a long-term ocean climate shift in the Gulf of Alaska has been partially responsible for the observed reorganization of the community structure (Anderson and Piatt, 1999).

The Hudson-Raritan Estuary as a crossroads for distribution of blue (Callinectes sapidus), lady (Ovalipes ocellatus), and Atlantic rock (Cancer irroratus) crabs

Blue (Callinectes sapidus)(Portunidae),lady (Ovalipes ocellatus)(Portunidae), and Atlantic rock (Cancer irroratus) (Cancridae) crabs inhabit estuaries on the northeast United States coast for parts or all of their life cycles. Their distributions overlap or cross during certain seasons. During a 1991–1994 monthly otter trawl survey in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary between New York and New Jersey, blue and lady crabs were collected in warmer months and Atlantic rock crabs in colder months. Sex ratios, male:female, of mature crabs were 1:2.0 for blue crabs, 1:3.1 for lady crabs, and 21.4:1 for Atlantic rock crabs. Crabs, 1286 in total, were subsampled for dietary analysis, and the dominant prey taxa for all crabs, by volume of foregut contents, were mollusks and crustaceans. The proportion of amphipods and shrimp in diets decreased as crab size increased. Trophic niche breadth was widest for blue crabs, narrower for lady crabs, and narrowest for Atlantic rock crabs. Trophic overlap was lowest between lady crabs and Atlantic rock crabs, mainly because of frequent consumption of the dwarf surfclam (Mulinia lateralis) by the former and the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) by the latter. The result of cluster analysis showed that size class and location of capture of predators in the estuary were more influential on diet than the species or sex of the predators.

Diets of thornback ray (Raja clavata) and tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) in the bottom longline fishery of the Azores, northeastern Atlantic

Tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus) and thornback ray (Raja clavata) are the two most captured elasmobranch species by the Azorean bottom longline fishery. In order to better understand the trophic dynamics of these species in the Azores, the diets of thornback ray and tope shark caught in this area during 1996 and 1997 were analyzed to describe feeding patterns and to investigate the effect of sex, size, and depth and area of capture on diet. Thornback rays fed mainly upon fishes and reptants, but also upon polychaetes, mysids, natant crustaceans, isopods, and cephalopods. In the Azores, this species preyed more heavily upon fish compared with the predation patterns described in other areas. Differences in the diet may be due to differences in the environments (e.g. in the Azores, seamounts and oceanic islands are the major topographic features, whereas in all other studies, continental shelves have been the major topographic feature). No differences were observed in the major prey consumed between the sexes or between size classes (49−60, 61−70, 71−80, and 81−93 cm TL). Our study indicates that rays inhabiting different depths and areas (coastal or offshore banks) prey upon different resources. This appears to be related to the relative abundance of prey with habitat. Tope sharks were found to prey almost exclusively upon teleost fish: small shoaling fish, mainly boarfish (Capros aper) and snipefish (Macroramphosus scolopax), were the most frequent prey. This study illustrates that thornback rays and tope sharks are top predators in waters off the Azores.

Food habits and consumption rates of common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the eastern Pacific Ocean

An ecosystem approach to fisheries management requires an understanding of the impact of predatory fishes on the underlying prey resources. Defining trophic connections and measuring rates of food consumption by apex predators lays the groundwork for gaining insight into the role of predators and commercial fisheries in influencing food web structure and ecosystem dynamics.We analyzed the stomach contents of 545 common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) sampled from 74 sets of tuna purse-seine vessels fishing in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) over a 22-month period. Stomach fullness of these dolphinfish and digestion state of the prey indicated that diel feeding periodicity varied by area and may be related to the digestibility and energy content of the prey. Common dolphinfish in the EPO appear to feed at night, as well as during the daytime. We analyzed prey importance by weight, numbers, and frequency of occurrence for five regions of the EPO. Prey importance varied by area. Flyingfishes, epipelagic cephalopods, tetraodontiform fishes, several mesopelagic fishes, Auxis spp., and gempylid fishes predominated in the diet. Ratios of prey length to predator length ranged from 0.014 to 0.720. Consumption-rate estimates averaged 5.6% of body weight per day. Stratified by sex, area, and length class, daily rations ranged up to 9.6% for large males and up to 19.8% for small dolphinfish in the east area (0–15°N, 111°W–coastline). Because common dolphinfish exert substantial predation pressure on several important prey groups, we concluded that their feeding ecology provides important clues to the pelagic food web and ecosystem structure in the EPO.

Biological productivity and fishery potential in the coastal waters off Bombay

Fishery potential of the nearshore waters of Bombay is estimated from the observed values of biological productivity at different trophic levels. The rate of primary and secondary production is relatively higher in the polluted coastal waters of Versova, Mahim and Thana. Observed mean benthic standing stock in the polluted creek waters is far less than the relatively unpolluted coastal regions off Bombay. Results suggest that the higher productivity at the lower trophic levels due to pollution, may not end up with high tertiary production. Therefore, such polluted regions are to be classified as special ecosystems where the transfer coefficient may be far less than the assumed 10% conversion factor.

三峡大坝的修建对库区动物的影响

世界上最大的大坝—三峡大坝―于2003年6月正式建成并蓄水，三峡水库的水位由蓄水前的84m上升至蓄水后的139m。三峡大坝的修建与蓄水，已经显著地改变了三峡库区陆地生态系统和水域生态系统的生态环境。三峡大坝的修建将如何影响生活在这一区域（包括陆地和水域）的野生动植物资源，是个亟待解决的问题。 对于陆地生态系统，三峡大坝的修建，使三峡库区的生态环境进一步破碎化（Fragmentation）和岛屿化（Island）。为了了解三峡大坝的修建对三峡库区野生动物所产生的影响，我们选择适应性强且对环境变化敏感的啮齿动物为研究对象，在三峡库区选取两个岛屿（洛碛岛和皇华岛）及其对岸为研究点，在野外调查了啮齿动物的群落组成、种群密度与分布，并用胃容物分析和稳定性同位素分析方法研究了两个研究点优势种啮齿动物的食物来源与组成。结果表明，两个研究点间啮齿动物群落组成有很大差异，这主要是由于啮齿动物分布的地域性差异引起的。在同一个研究点，岛屿上的啮齿动物群落组成与对岸的没有差异，但在岛屿上的啮齿动物种群密度却明显高于其对岸的，这说明随着库区水位的大幅度提升，岛屿的面积急剧减小，使原本栖息在水边的啮齿动物不得不向岛屿的中上部迁移，致使岛屿上的啮齿动物的种群密度迅速增加。啮齿动物的食物来源有四种：C3非豆科植物，C3豆科植物，C4植物及水生生物。不同种啮齿动物的食物种类组成也不同，四川短尾鼩（Anourosorex squamipes）的食物中有水生生物的组成成分，但其它啮齿动物食物中不含水生生物。不同食物来源在啮齿动物的整体食物中所占比例也不同，并呈明显的季节性变化，这种变化与田间的农作物种类密切相关。动物组织的稳定性同位素组成不仅可以示踪动物的食物来源，也反映了动物的生存状况。我们的结果显示：对岸啮齿动物的稳定性同位素组成相对集中，并且不同种啮齿动物间没有重叠。这一方面说明对岸啮齿动物的食物来源相对丰富，啮齿动物可以选择各自喜食食物，在此环境下的啮齿动物种间竞争相对较弱，至少是种间食物竞争较弱。岛屿上啮齿动物的稳定性同位素值分布范围远大于在对岸的，并且种间稳定性同位素组成有明显的重叠部分。稳定性同位素组成的重叠意味着有相似的食物来源，也即栖息生境相似。这说明岛上的啮齿动物种间存在较剧烈的食物竞争关系。在资源限制情况下，多种啮齿动物不得不利用共同的食物来源。换句话说，岛屿化过程将加剧岛屿上啮齿动物的种间竞争。 洛碛岛上的四川短尾鼩因为可以利用水生食物来源，这使得它在岛屿化过程中处于有利地位。随着岛屿化进程的加剧，四川短尾鼩在岛屿上的优势将更加明显。而皇华岛屿上的褐家鼠的食物来源单一，会因岛屿面积的进一步减小，食物来源更加缺乏，它们将不得不改其食物组成或面临消失。而白腹巨鼠的栖息环境靠近江边，将因水位的上升进一步上移，它们的栖息环境与普通田鼠的发生重叠，使得白腹巨鼠与普通田鼠发生栖息地的竞争与食物竞争，并面临更多的人为因素干扰。 对于水域生态系统，长江是我国最大的河流，也是我国淡水鱼类最丰富的区域。三峡大坝的修建已经显著改变了三峡库区的水文特征。为了了解三峡大坝的修建是否会改变三峡库区的有机物组成，并进而影响到三峡库区水生生物的食物来源和组成，我们选择了三个水文特征不同的研究点（洛碛江段、皇华城江段和茅坪江段）调查了三峡库区的常见鱼种类组成，并用稳定性同位素方法研究了三峡库区洪水前后的有机物组成变化与鱼类的食物网模型，用稳定性同位素划分了鱼类食物网结构及鱼类体长与其肌肉δ15N值间的关系。结果表明，三峡大坝的修建，已经显著改变了皇华城和茅坪江段的水文特征，同时也“干扰”了生活在这一区域的鱼类。适应于流水环境的鱼类在库区回水处和大坝附近几乎消失，而喜欢静态环境的其它鱼类却得到极大的发展，例如鲢鱼（H. molitrix）和草鱼（ C. idellus）。 洪水前后，三峡库区的有机物组成成分有明显改变。洪水前，水中有机物主要以河流自身生产力产生的有机物为主（浮游植物、藻类等）;洪水后，水中有机物主要以外来有机物为主（陆地植物、土壤有机物和从上游带来的有机物）。对于三个食物网模型：河流连续体模型（RCC）、脉冲模型（FPC）和河流生产力模型（RPM），河流生产力模型能更好的解释三峡库区的水生生物的食物来源，即三峡库区的水生生物的食物主要来源于河流自身生产力产生的有机物。但外来有机物作为水生生物的一种辅助食物来源，在洪水期间起到不可忽视的作用。 在本研究中，鱼类体长与其δ15N值间的关系与选取鱼的种类有关，比如南方大口鲇（Silurus asotus）的体长与其肌肉的δ15N值呈明显负相关关系（R2≈0.5），而鱖鱼（Siniperca）、铜鱼（Coreius guichenoti）和草鱼（Ctenopharyngodon idellus）的体长与其肌肉的δ15N值却呈正相关关系。 三峡库区常见鱼类主要以杂食性和广普性鱼类为主，食物网结构十分复杂。通过胃容物分析和稳定性同位素分析，三峡库区水生生物营养级间的判别值约为3.1‰。依据鱼类肌肉的δ15N值，三峡库区的常见鱼类可以划分为四个营养级：草食性鱼类（herbivorous fish）、初级杂食性鱼类（1ºomnivorous fish）、次级杂食性鱼类（2ºomnivorous fish）和食鱼性鱼类（piscivorous fish）。营养级间没有明确的分界限，鱼类的营养级从2到4.8，是连续分布的营养级结构，从而更真实的反映了自然界中动物的捕食关系和在食物网中的位置。 自然丰度变化的稳定性同位素(Stable isotope)作为一种天然的示踪物，在动物生态学上已经得到广泛应用。动物的稳定性同位素可以清楚的示踪动物的食物来源、食物组成、栖息地情况和生存状况等多种信息，结合传统的胃容物分析，或其它的粪便分析、储藏物分析等，稳定性同位素技术在动物生态学研究方面必将得到更广泛的应用。

Marine pollution and zooplankton: some recent trends in marine pollution studies

The presence of even very minute quantities of pollutants may become harmful either due to their direct effect on zooplankton or indirectly due to the transfer of the pollutants to other trophic levels through zooplankton. The recent trend in marine pollution studies is therefore to find out the effects of very minute quantities of these pollutants on marine zooplankton and the methods of their accumulation and transfer to the organisms of higher trophic level including man. A review of laboratory and field studies concerning the effects of pollutants such as hydrocarbons, crude oil, heavy metals, pesticides and heated waste water on the survival, breeding, movement, faecal pellet production, growth and development on marine zooplankton is presented.

East African Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization Annual Report 1972

Feeding habits of many animals have been used widely in animal classifications. This is so, because the type of diet an organism requires demands structural specialisation which will utilise the available resource. Many animals may however have many structural modifications to enable them to be described as omnivourous or generalised feeders such as H. empodisma and H. riponianus (GREENWOOD 1960) which may show varying degrees of structural and adaptational intermediacy between two trophic groups. Generally, however, the diet of many animals including fish changes as the animal grow larger. The change in structural modifications is usually correlated with changes in the diet. In fishes the change may involve change from tricuspid to biscuspid and finally to unicuspid type of teeth. The degree of modification in the structure depends on the diet, thus Haplochromis that feeds on soft tissues of snails only requires modifications in oral dentition while Haplochromis that feeds on both soft tissues and shells of snails require modification in the lower pharyngeal bone for grinding purposes. Other modifications connected with food utilisation may be located in the alimentary canal. (I) The fish species that are commercially exploited are Protopterus aethiopicus, Clarias mossambicus, Tilapia esculenta, Tilapia amphimelas and Tilapia hybrids. The other fish species present in the lake but not commercially exploited are: Gnathonemus sp. Alestes sp. Labeo sp., Barbus paludinoses, Barbus jacksoni, Barbus lineomaculatus, Barbus regersi, Leptogrlanis sp., Schilbe sp., Haplochromis spp. and Hemihaplochromis sp. (2) Protopterus sp. and Clarias sp. are mostly caught with hooks on long lines. There has been a steady increase in number of hooks on the lake. Since the stocks of Protopterus and C/arias in the lake have a limit, we should control the number of hooks used by each of the fishermen in order to avoid overharvesting. (3) All the previous studies on Lake Kitangiri fisheries suggested the use of gill nets with mesh size greater than 88.9 mm in order to avoid the capture of immature Ti/apia spp. But if the fishermen are to obtain economic gains from the fishery, the optimum mesh size for use is 88.9 -101.6 mm. (4) The gillnet is a passive gear with very beneficial selective characteristics. Unfortunately the drive-in fishery which exists on Lake Kitangiri more or less destroys the gillnet selectivity characteristics. It is therefore recommended that the beating of water with poles be discouraged and stopped. (5) There is need for provision of stable fishing canoes to replace the unstable bottle palm dug-out canoes which are currently being used and which are very risky to operate. (6) The fish processing facilities on Lake Kitangiri are still inadequate. Most of the fish is sun dried, Since sun drying is very difficult during the rainy season, most fishermen carry out intensive fishing during the dry season, Concentrating most of the fishing effort in anyone season instead of spreading evenly this effort over the whole year could damage the age structure of the exploitable stocks. (7) There are considerable fluctuations in the volume of water of the lake. The feasibility of regulating the water loss through the effluent Sibiti river should be investigated by the Water Development Department. (8) Damming the Sibiti river is an expensive undertaking and therefore, the Rural Development Bank of Tanzania should be asked to assess the economic feasibility of such a project.

Morphological overlap of fish community in Vamanapuram River, south Kerala

The morphological characteristics and overlap of fish community in Vamanapuram River have been studied in detail. In the 12 study sites, 19 fish species were encountered. Based on the body shape, four different types are apparent. The elongate bodied fishes (RBD<1.5) like Hemiramphus xanthopterus and Xenentodon cancila are grouped under one category. The deep bodied fishes (RBD>3.5) like Puntius filamentosus, P. ticto, P. vittatus, P. melanampyx, P. sarana, Etroplus maculatus and E. suratensis come under a separate category. Fishes with round to square cross section like Garra mullya and Glossogobius giuris form a separate group. All the other species are grouped as generalized bodied fishes. The morphological overlap studied for the Vamanapuram fish community showed that out of 190 combinations, 30 combinations have high overlaps (≥ 67). P. melanampyx has maximum number (6) of high overlaps. Puntius spp., which constituted 49.5% of the total population, have a mean morphological overlap of 52%. The morphological overlap of fish species in relation to the trophic structure is discussed in detail.

Game Vertebrate Densities in Hunted and Nonhunted Forest Sites in Manu National Park, Peru

Manu National Park of southern Peru is one of the most renowned protected areas in the world, yet large-bodied vertebrate surveys conducted to date have been restricted to Cocha Cashu Biological Station, a research station covering <0.06 percent of the 1.7Mha park. Manu Park is occupied by >460 settled Matsigenka Amerindians, 300-400 isolated Matsigenka, and several, little-known groups of isolated hunter-gatherers, yet the impact of these native Amazonians on game vertebrate populations within the park remains poorly understood. On the basis of 1495 km of standardized line-transect censuses, we present density and biomass estimates for 23 mammal, bird, and reptile species for seven lowland and upland forest sites in Manu Park, including Cocha Cashu. We compare these estimates between hunted and nonhunted sites within Manu Park, and with other Neotropical forest sites. Manu Park safeguards some of the most species-rich and highest biomass assemblages of arboreal and terrestrial mammals ever recorded in Neotropical forests, most likely because of its direct Andean influence and high levels of soil fertility. Relative to Barro Colorado Island, seed predators and arboreal folivores in Manu are rare, and generalist frugivores specializing on mature fruit pulp are abundant. The impact of such a qualitative shift in the vertebrate community on the dynamics of plant regeneration, and therefore, on our understanding of tropical plant ecology, must be profound. Despite a number of external threats, Manu Park continues to serve as a baseline against which other Neotropical forests can be gauged.

On the importance of Mesopodopsis zeylanica (Crustacea, Mysidacea) as food of fish.

This investigation was aimed at ascertaining the actual consumers of Mesopodopsis zeylanica, to assess its importance in the trophic relationship within the habitat.

A study on the piscifauna of the Idukki Reservoir and catchment area

From the area under report 17 species, 15 endemic and 2 exotic, of freshwater fish have been identified. Of these, 8 species are commonly found in the catches and are of fishery significance. The fact that small fish species which have no fishery importance also support life in other trophic levels of this ecosystem is well exemplified by the interaction of the birds and mammals with these species. A scientific management and monitoring of the reservoir waters as well as the remaining segments of forests are recommended to salvage the wild life and vegetation from a possible rapid deterioration within years.

Impact of plankton structure on primary productivity in two beels of West Bengal, India

Planktonic community in floodplain wetlands embodies the energy transfer through this phase and indicates trophic status of lake. Originally rich bottom coupled with a conducive physicochemical environment encourages fast colonization of the plankton population. Present investigation was carried out in two floodplain wetlands having characteristics of open (Amda beel) and closed (Suguna beel) system. The physicochemical parameters of water and soil of the investigated heels were by and large conducive for planktonic growth. The density of plankton population varied between 1,346 and 2,170 u/l in Suguna bed whereas in Amda beel it ranged from 1,030 to 1,802 u/l. Seasonal fluctuations in water column were conspicuous and mostly dependent on the replenished resources and volume, A mixed and balanced population of diversified fauna constituted the plankton population of the investigated ecosystems. Mostly the diversity was observed to be maximum during winter seasons with coincidence of favorable temperature, dissolved oxygen and other physico-chemical parameters of water besides optimum solar penetration. Richness of planktonic structure in closed system (Suguna) resulted in higher fish production (1,570,05 kg/ha/yr) than that of open system (Amda) (384.4 kg/ha/yr).