Individual growth rates and movement of juvenile white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus) in a tidal marsh nursery

We measured growth and movements of individually marked free-ranging juvenile white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus) in tidal creek subsystems of the Duplin River, Sapelo Island, Georgia. Over a period of two years, 15,974 juvenile shrimp (40−80 mm TL) were marked internally with uniquely coded microwire tags and released in the shallow upper reaches of four salt marsh tidal creeks. Subsequent samples were taken every 3−6 days from channel segments arranged at 200-m intervals along transects extending from the upper to lower reach of each tidal creek. These collections included 201,384 juvenile shrimp, of which 184 were marked recaptures. Recaptured shrimp were at large an average of 3−4 weeks (range: 2−99 days) and were recovered a mean distance of <0.4 km from where they were initially marked. Mean residence times in the creek subsystems ranged from 15.2 to 25.5 days and were estimated from exponential decay functions describing the proportions of marked individuals recaptured with increasing days at large. Residence time was not significantly correlated with creek length (Pearson=−0.316, P=0.684 ), but there was suggestive evidence of positive associations with either intertidal (Pearson r=0.867, P=0.133) or subtidal (Pearson r=0.946, P=0.054) drainage area. Daily mean specific growth rates averaged 0.009 to 0.013 among creeks; mean absolute growth rates ranged from 0.56−0.84 mm/d, and were lower than those previously reported for juvenile penaeids in estuaries of the southeastern United States. Mean individual growth rates were not significantly different between years (t-test, P>0.30) but varied significantly during the season, tending to be greater in July than November. Growth rates were size-dependent, and temporal changes in size distributions rather than temporal variation in physical environmental factors may have accounted for seasonal differences in growth. Growth rates differed between creeks in 1999 (t-test, P<0.015), but not in 1998 (t-test, P>0.5). We suggest that spatial variation in landscape structure associated with access to intertidal resources may have accounted for this apparent interannual difference in growth response.

Capture probability of a survey trawl for red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)

The relative abundance of Bristol Bay red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) is estimated each year for stock assessment by using catch-per-swept-area data collected on the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s annual eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey. To estimate survey trawl capture efficiency for red king crab, an experiment was conducted with an auxiliary net (fitted with its own heavy chain-link footrope) that was attached beneath the trawl to capture crabs escaping under the survey trawl footrope. Capture probability was then estimated by fitting a model to the proportion of crabs captured and crab size data. For males, mean capture probability was 72% at 95 mm (carapace length), the size at which full vulnerability to the survey trawl is assigned in the current management model; 84.1% at 135 mm, the legal size for the fishery; and 93% at 184 mm, the maximum size observed in this study. For females, mean capture probability was 70% at 90 mm, the size at which full vulnerability to the survey trawl is assigned in the current management model, and 77% at 162 mm, the maximum size observed in this study. The precision of our estimates for each sex decreased for juveniles under 60 mm and for the largest crab because of small sample sizes. In situ data collected from trawl-mounted video cameras were used to determine the importance of various factors associated with the capture of individual crabs. Capture probability was significantly higher when a crab was standing when struck by the footrope, rather than crouching, and higher when a crab was hit along its body axis, rather than from the side. Capture probability also increased as a function of increasing crab size but decreased with increasing footrope distance from the bottom and when artificial light was provided for the video camera.

梭梭种群分子生态学研究

中国是受沙漠化影响最严重的国家之一。梭梭(Haloxylon ammodendronBunge)是藜科梭梭属多年生小乔木或灌木，作为荒漠地区主要的建群种和优良固沙植物，梭梭在维持荒漠生态系统的结构与功能、防止土地沙漠化、改善小气候方面具有十分重要的作用。近年来，由于不合理地开发利用，大面积的天然梭梭林衰退甚至死亡。然而，我们对于梭梭种群的空间分布和遗传结构所知甚少。本文拟通过对自然梭梭种群的空间格局、遗传结构、遗传结构的空间分布、以及种子种群与地面植被种群的遗传比较的研究，探讨种群的空间结构特征及成因，评价种群遗传多样性水平，了解遗传多样性在种群内、种群间的分布情况以及在空间上的分布格局，预测种群的遗传潜能，并为制定合理的保护、利用策略提供理论依据。 1．对古尔班通古特沙漠东南部地区处于不同演替阶段的四个梭梭种群的分布格局和种群动态进行了考察。结果表明，不同样地中梭梭种群的幼苗（<0.5m）和幼树( 0,5-lm)均呈聚集分布，样地A、B、D中的成熟个体(>1m)也呈聚集分布，样地c中的成熟个体呈随机分布，从整个种群来看，所有梭梭种群均呈聚集分布。种群的龄级结构图表明样地A和c中的梭梭种群表现为稳定型结构，可进行持续更新，虽然样地D中的种群幼苗和幼树数量较少，但这种现象是暂时的，种群仍具有持续更新的能力，样地B中的种群表现为衰退型结构。 2．利用空间自相关分析检测上述四个种群的空间遗传结构，结果表明，四个种群中的成株均无显著的空间自相关。虽然梭梭的种子散布能力有限，但花粉流有可能是空间遗传结构不显著的原因之一;另一个可能的解释是在种群更新和发展过程中，由于种内竞争的增强而发生了自疏现象。 3．利用ISSR标记对新疆和内蒙古境内共9个种群的遗传结构进行研究。8个引物共扩增出219条带，其中184条(84%)具多态性，种群的遗传多样性水平较高，通过AMOVA分析表明大部分遗传多样性分布在种群内，区域间、种群间的遗传变异均很小。梭梭种群较高的遗传多样性水平可能源于对异质、高胁迫环境的长期适应，而种群间遗传分异低的主要原因是种群间存在强大的基因流。 4．对5个梭梭种群的地面植被和种子库的遗传结构进行了比较分析，并调查了其中3个种群地面植被和种子库的空间遗传结构。结果表明，在所有种群中，地面植被和种子库的遗传多样性水平相似，而地面植被的遗传分异高于种子库的遗传分异：二者在遗传结构的空间分布上也不相同，地面植被种群无显著的空间自相关，而种子库种群在第一距离级上( 0-10 m)呈显著正相关。研究结果表明梭梭种群的种子库有能力保持种群的遗传多样性并减弱种群的遗传分化。 5．研究结果建议，由于现存梭梭种群和其潜在种群（种子种群）仍保持了较高的遗传多样性，种群间的基因交换并没有受到阻碍，因此对梭梭的保护可以与生态恢复工作同时进行。在具体工作中，应充分考虑种群的遗传结构特征及其空间格局，选取适合的种群或种子资源进行恢复与重建，并保持一定水平的种群大小，才能实现种群的稳定发展以及在高胁迫环境中的长期存活。 荒漠生态系统植被结构简单，环境压力大，对荒漠地区主要建群种和优势种植物的空间分布和遗传结构进行研究对于探讨在胁迫环境中各种进化力量（如选择、突变、迁移、漂变）的作用机制有重要意义，并为荒漠生态系统的恢复与重建工作提供了有价值的信息。在本文中，对荒漠植物在较大地理范围内的遗传结构研究、通过空间自相关分析进行种群的空间遗传结构研究、地面植被种群与种子库种群在遗传结构、空间遗传结构上的比较研究在国内均为首例。这些研究结果为进一步深入探讨荒漠植物生态适应与进化的分子机制奠定了基础。