Long-term changes of planktonic rotifers in a subtropical Chinese lake dominated by filter-feeding fishes

1. The long-term changes (1956-1998) in density and species composition of planktonic rotifers were studied at two sampling stations (I, II) of Lake Donghu, a shallow eutrophic Chinese Lake densely stocked with filter-feeding fishes. Annual average densities of rotifers increased with an increase in fish yield and eutrophication, whilst species number decreased from 82 in 1962-1963 to 62 in 1994-1998. 2. During 1962-98, some species such as Anuraeopsis fissa, Polyarthra spp. (including P. dolichoptera & P. vulgaris), Trichocerca pusilla and Synchaeta oblonga increased their percentage in abundance remarkably, whilst the proportion of Keratella cochlearis decreased at two relatively eutrophic stations from 19 to 4.2% at Station I and from 30 to 3.2% at Station IL 3. The high r(max) of A. fissa probably made it more successful than other rotifers under high predation pressure by planktivorous fish. The decrease in the K. cochlearis population might be attributed partly to predation by Cyclops vicinus. 4. Small rotifers were less vulnerable to fish predation than large-sized cladocerans. Decreases in cladocerans coincided with increases in rotifers, suggesting that the indirect effect of fish predation on cladocerans might have partly contributed to the population development of rotifers in Lake Donghu during recent decades. 5. We also conducted surveys (1994-1998) of seasonal dynamics of rotifers at four sampling stations (I-IV) which have varied in trophic status after fragmentation of the lake in the 1960s. A total of 75 species were identified at the four stations. Both densities and biomass of rotifers were considerably higher in the two more eutrophic stations than in the two less eutrophic stations. This indicates that the population increase of rotifers at Stations I and II during recent decades might be partly attributed to eutrophication of the lake water.

Impacts of filter-feeding fishes on the long-term changes of crustacean zooplankton in a eutrophic subtropical Chinese lake

Long-term changes In the crustacean zooplankton community (calanoid and cyclopoid copepods and cladocerans) were studied in Lake Donghu, a shallow and eutrophic Chinese lake. This lake had been earlier stocked with two pump Alter-feeding Ashes, silver carp (Hypopthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis). During the 1950s and the mid-1980s, the ratio of copepods to cladocerans was relatively stable but showed a general increase thereafter. From the early-1980s to the 1990s, calanoid/cyclopoid ratios decreased obviously. In the 1990s, Cyclops vicinus, Diaphanosoma brachyurum, and Moina micrura were dominant the abundance of C. vicinus and M. micrura increased significantly; and D, brachyurum showed a substantial decrease. The study shows that under extremely high pressure of Ash predation, the species which could recover rapidly from fish predation would be the most likely to survive and increase their numbers.

Long-term toxic impact of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on the reproduction, sexual differentiation, and development of different life stages of Gobiocypris rarus and Daphnia magna

The sexual ratio of Gobiocypris rarus exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and 17 beta -estradiol from embryo to sexually mature revealed feminization and overdevelopment of connective tissue in male fish gonad in 2-30 pg/L TCDD concentration range. Daphnia magna was not sensitive to the high dose of TCDD (0.1-1000 ng/ml), but the reproduction of D. magna treated with TCDD decreased after the 8th day. 7-Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activities in newly fertilized eggs of G. rarus exposed to TCDD dosage groups (1000-100,000 pg/L) were significantly induced and increased with TCDD concentrations at the early life stage, while no difference was found between low TCDD dosage groups (<100 pg/L), but a good relationship between the EROD activity and the TCDD concentration was observed during a long-term developmental stage. There was a pericardial edema formed in a 2-week yolk-sac at the concentration of 1000 pg/L TCDD. But in the exposure group (2 pg/L TCDD for 120 days), the cell nuclei of hepatocytes was far from the center and packed toward the cell membrane; the cristae of most mitochondria in the cell dropped and collapsed; the rough endoplasmic reticulum broke into fragments; and numerous lipid droplets formed in the cell. (C) 2001 Academic Press.

Long-term changes of Copepoda community (1957-1996) in a subtropical Chinese lake stocked densely with planktivorous filter-feeding silver and bighead carp

In contrast to the relatively well documented impact of particulate-feeding fish on zooplankton communities, little attention has been devoted to the impact of filter-feeding fish. Filter-feeding silver and bighead carp are the most intensively cultured fish species in Asia and comprise much of the production of Chinese aquaculture. However, little information is known about the impact of either fish on the zooplankton community. Long-term changes in the Copepoda community (1957-1996) were studied at two sampling stations of a subtropical Chinese lake (Lake Donghu) dominated by silver and bighead carp. For both calanoids and cyclopoids, the littoral station (I) was much more resource profitable than the pelagic station (II). There has been a tremendous increase in the annual fish catch over the past 30 years due to the increased stocking with fingerlings of the two carp species. There was a notably higher fish density at Station I than at Station II. Cyclopoid abundance was notably higher at Station I than at Station II during the 1950s to the 1980s, while the reverse became true in the 1990s. This is probably because when fish abundance increased to an extremely high level, the impact of fish predation on the cyclopoids became more important than that of food resources at the littoral station. At both stations, cyclopoid abundance was relatively low in spite of the presence of abundant prey. Similarly, calanoid density did not differ significantly between the two stations in the 1950s and 1960s, but was significantly lower at Station I than at Station II during the 1980s and 1990s. Such changes are attributed to the gradient of fish predation between the stations and an increasing predation pressure by the fish. The increased fish predation also correlated with a shift in summer-dominant calanoids from larger species to smaller ones. In conclusion, the predaceous cyclopoids are affected by fish predation to a much lesser extent than the herbivorous calanoids, and therefore increased predation by filter-feeding fish results in a definite increase in the cyclopoid/calanoid ratio. Predation by filter-feeding fish has been a driving force in shaping the copepod community structure of Lake Donghu during the past decades.

Distribution, transformation, and long-term accumulation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in different tissues of fish and piscivorous birds

The present study monitored 10-year-old fish and piscivorous birds from sites contaminated for many Stars. The data reflected the results of actual, long-term environmental exposures, The results demonstrate that different tissues of fish have quite different concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F), The concentration order of PCDD/F within fish is liver congruent to egg congruent to intestines kidney congruent to hearts gill congruent to bladders > muscle > brain. The concentration order of PCDD/F within piscivorous birds was livers egg congruent to hearts muscle congruent to stomachs brain, The results obtained also demonstrate that the accumulation patterns of piscivorous birds and fish are quite different. The tissues of fish and piscivorous birds have different capacities for bioaccumulation and biotransformation of PCDD/F; variable proportions of TEQs were also found throughout their bodies. In fish, toxic equivalency quotient (TEQ): PCDD/F ratios in various tissues ranged from 0.01 to 0.07, whereas in birds the ratios ranged from 0.07 to 0.43. If the concentrations are normalized with lipid content, the results vary less. The effect of different lipid properties is obvious in the case of brain tissue, which is richer in phospholipids. (C) 2000 Academic Press.

Long-term changes in crustacean zooplankton and water quality in a shallow, eutrophic Chinese lake densely stocked with fish

From surveys made in 1962-1963, 1973-1974, 1979-1996 at two Stations in Lake Donghu, a shallow eutrophic water body near Wuhan, P. R. China, the authors, derive long-term changes in species composition, standing crop and body-size of planktonic crustaceans. The species number decreased from the 1960s to the 1990s. The cladocerans dropped from 46 (1960s) to 26 (1980s) to 13 (1990s); the copepods decreased from 14 (1960s) to 10 (1980s) to 7 (1990s). From the mid-1980s on, the dominant crustaceans also changed: Daphnia hyalina and D. carinata ssp. were replaced by Moina micrura and Diaphanosoma brachyurum at Stations 1 and 2, respectively; Cyclops vicinus replaced Mesocyclops leuckarti. Densities and biomass of Cladocera decreased markedly after 1987. Annual average densities and biomass of cladocerans were statistically differences between 1962-1986 and 1987-1996 (P < 0.01). Annual average densities of Daphnia (Station 1 + Station 2) were negatively correlated with fish yield. Since the 1980s, annual average body length of Cladocera and Calanoida decreased, while annual average body length of Cyclopoida increased. In the same years, average body length of copepods was lower during May-October than during January-April and November-December. A 12-yr data analysis showed annual average concentration of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) to be negatively correlated with annual average density of Daphnia, whilst lake transparency was positively correlated with annual average densities of Daphnia. The results imply that, since Daphnia feeds efficiently on phytoplankton, it could decrease concentration of Chl-a, and enhance water transparency.

First-principles study of UC2 and U2C3

The electronic structure and mechanical properties Of UC2 and U2C3 have been systematically investigated using first-principles calculations by the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. Furthermore, in order to describe precisely the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized U 5f electrons, we adopt the generalized gradient approximation +U formalisms for the exchange-correlation term. We show that our calculated structural parameters and electronic properties for UC2 and U2C3 are in good agreement with the experimental data by choosing an appropriate Hubbard U = 3 eV. As for the chemical bonding nature, the contour plot of charge density and total density of states suggest that UC2 and U2C3 are metallic mainly contributed by the 5f electrons, mixed with significant covalent component resulted from the strong C-C bonds. The present results also illustrate that the metal-carbon (U-C) bonding and the carbon-carbon covalent bonding in U2C3 are somewhat weaker than those in UC2, leading to the weaker thermodynamic stability at high temperature as observed by experiments.

Application of fast Pade approximation in simulating photonic crystal nanocavities by FDTD technology

The exact calculation of mode quality factor Q is a key problem in the design of high-Q photonic crystal nanocavity. On the basis of further investigation on conventional Pade approximation, FDM and DFT, Pade approximation with Baker's algorithm is enhanced through introducing multiple frequency search and parabola interpolation. Though Pade approximation is a nonlinear signal processing method and only short time sequence is needed, we find the different length of sequence requirements for 2D and 3D FDTD, which is very important to obtain convergent and accurate results. By using the modified Pade approximation method and 3D FDTD, the 2D slab photonic crystal nanocavity is analyzed and high-Q multimode can be solved quickly instead of large range high-resolution scanning. Monitor position has also been investigated. These results are very helpful to the design of photonic crystal nanocavity devices. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic structures and mechanical properties of uranium monocarbide from first-principles LDA plus U and GGA plus U calculations

The electronic structure, elastic constants, Poisson's ratio, and phonon dispersion curves of UC have been systematically investigated from the first-principles calculations by the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. In order to describe precisely the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized U 5f electrons, we adopt the local density approximation (LDA) + U and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) + U formalisms for the exchange correlation term. We systematically study how the electronic properties and elastic constants of UC are affected by the different choice of U as well as the exchange-correlation potential. We show that by choosing an appropriate Hubbard U parameter within the GGA + U approach, most of our calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Therefore. the results obtained by the GGA + U with effective Hubbard parameter U chosen around 3 eV for UC are considered to be reasonable. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Calculation of light delay for coupled microrings by FDTD technique and Pade approximation

The Pade approximation with Baker's algorithm is compared with the least-squares Prony method and the generalized pencil-of-functions (GPOF) method for calculating mode frequencies and mode Q factors for coupled optical microdisks by FDTD technique. Comparisons of intensity spectra and the corresponding mode frequencies and Q factors show that the Pade approximation can yield more stable results than the Prony and the GPOF methods, especially the intensity spectrum. The results of the Prony method and the GPOF method are greatly influenced by the selected number of resonant modes, which need to be optimized during the data processing, in addition to the length of the time response signal. Furthermore, the Pade approximation is applied to calculate light delay for embedded microring resonators from complex transmission spectra obtained by the Pade approximation from a FDTD output. The Prony and the GPOF methods cannot be applied to calculate the transmission spectra, because the transmission signal obtained by the FDTD simulation cannot be expressed as a sum of damped complex exponentials. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Calculation of propagation loss in photonic crystal waveguides by FDTD technique and Pade approximation

The propagation losses in single-line defect waveguides in a two-dimensional (2D) square-lattice photonic crystal (PC) consisted of infinite dielectric rods and a triangular-lattice photonic crystal slab with air holes are studied by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique and a Pade approximation. The decaying constant beta of the fundamental guided mode is calculated from the mode frequency, the quality factor (Q-factor) and the group velocity v(g) as beta = omega/(2Qv(g)). In the 2D square-lattice photonic crystal waveguide (PCW), the decaying rate ranged from 10(3) to 10(-4) cm(-1) can be reliably obtained from 8 x 10(3)-item FDTD output with the FDTD computing time of 0.386 ps. And at most 1 ps is required for the mode with the Q-factor of 4 x 10(11) and the decaying rate of 10(-7) cm(-1). In the triangular-lattice photonic crystal slab, a 10(4)-item FDTD output is required to obtain a reliable spectrum with the Q-factor of 2.5 x 10(8) and the decaying rate of 0.05 cm(-1). (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of a reciprocal four-port transmission line structure using the 16-term error model

A new method to measure reciprocal four-port structures, using a 16-term error model, is presented. The measurement is based on 5 two-port calibration standards connected to two of the ports, while the network analyzer is connected to the two remaining ports. Least-squares-fit data reduction techniques are used to lower error sensitivity. The effect of connectors is deembedded using closed-form equations. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Method for detecting concurrence without the structural physical approximation by local operations and classical communication

We present a modified method for detecting the concurrence in an arbitrary two-qubit quantum state rho(AB) with local operations and classical communication. In this method, it is not necessary for the two observers to prepare the quantum state rho(AB) by the structural physical approximation. Their main task is to measure four specific functions via two local quantum networks. With these functions they can determine the concurrence and then the entanglement of formation.

A 16-term error model based on linear equations of voltage and current variables

Formulation of a 16-term error model, based on the four-port ABCD-matrix and voltage and current variables, is outlined. Matrices A, B, C, and D are each 2 x 2 submatrices of the complete 4 x 4 error matrix. The corresponding equations are linear in terms of the error parameters, which simplifies the calibration process. The parallelism with the network analyzer calibration procedures and the requirement of five two-port calibration measurements are stressed. Principles for robust choice of equations are presented. While the formulation is suitable for any network analyzer measurement, it is expected to be a useful alternative for the nonlinear y-parameter approach used in intrinsic semiconductor electrical and noise parameter measurements and parasitics' deembedding.

Computation of resonant frequencies and quality factors of cavities by FDTD technique and Pade approximation

The finite-difference time domain (FDTD) technique and the Pade approximation with Baker's algorithm are used to calculate the mode frequencies and quality factors of cavities. Comparing with the fast Fourier transformation/Pade method, we find that the Fade approximation and the Baker's algorithm can obtain exact resonant frequencies and quality factors based on a much shorter time record of the FDTD output.