Maturity, ovarian cycle, fecundity, and age-specific parturition of black rockfish (Sebastes melanops)

From 1995 to 1998, we collected female black rockfish (Sebastes melanops) off Oregon in order to describe their basic reproductive life history and determine age-specific fecundity and temporal patterns in parturition. Female black rockfish had a 50% probability of being mature at 394 mm fork length and 7.5 years-of-age. The proportion of mature fish age 10 or older significantly decreased each year of this study, from 0.511 in 1996 to 0.145 in 1998. Parturition occurred between mid-January and mid-March, and peaked in February. We observed a trend of older females extruding larvae earlier in the spawning season and of younger fish primarily responsible for larval production during the later part of the season. There were differences in absolute fecundity at age between female black rockfish with prefertilization oocytes and female black rockfish with fertilized eggs; fertilized-egg fecundity estimates were considered superior. The likelihood of yolked oocytes reaching the developing embryo stage increased with maternal age. Absolute fecundity estimates (based on fertilized eggs) ranged from 299,302 embryos for a 6-year-old female to 948,152 embryos for a 16-year-old female. Relative fecundity (based on fertilized eggs) increased with age from 374 eggs/g for fish age 6 to 549 eggs/g for fish age 16.

A new growth model for red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) that accommodates seasonal and ontogenic changes in growth rates

The red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) is a popular gamefish found throughout the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and along the eastern seaboard as far north as Massachusetts. Juvenile red drum grow extremely rapidly, especially during the warmer months, but adults grow very little. In fact, the change in growth with age is so abrupt that the standard von Bertalanffy curve has proven inadequate— the predicted lengths of younger fish are generally too large and the predicted lengths of older fish too small (see Beckman et al., 1988; Murphy and Taylor, 1990).

Horizontal and vertical movements of juvenile bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in relation to oceanographic conditions of the western North Atlantic, determined with ultrasonic telemetry

We employed ultrasonic transmitters to follow (for up to 48 h) the horizontal and vertical movements of five juvenile (6.8–18.7 kg estimated body mass) bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the western North Atlantic (off the eastern shore of Virginia). Our objective was to document the fishes’ behavior and distribution in relation to oceanographic conditions and thus begin to address issues that currently limit population assessments based on aerial surveys. Estimation of the trends in adult and juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna abundance by aerial surveys, and other fishery-independent measures, is considered a priority. Juvenile bluefin tuna spent the majority of their time over the continental shelf in relatively shallow water (generally less then 40 m deep). Fish used the entire water column in spite of relatively steep vertical thermal gradients (≈24°C at the surface and ≈12°C at 40 m depth), but spent the majority of their time (≈90%) above 15 m and in water warmer then 20°C. Mean swimming speeds ranged from 2.8 to 3.3 knots, and total distance covered from 152 to 289 km (82–156 nmi). Because fish generally remained within relatively con-fined areas, net displacement was only 7.7–52.7 km (4.1–28.4 nmi). Horizontal movements were not correlated with sea surface temperature. We propose that it is unlikely that juvenile bluefin tuna in this area can detect minor horizontal temperature gradients (generally less then 0.5°C/km) because of the steep vertical temperature gradients (up to ≈0.6°C/m) they experience during their regular vertical movements. In contrast, water clarity did appear to influence behavior because the fish remained in the intermediate water mass between the turbid and phytoplankton-rich plume exiting Chesapeake Bay (and similar coastal waters) and the clear oligotrophic water east of the continental shelf.

Movement of American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence

A total of 42,445 American lobsters (Homarus americanus) were tagged in thirty-one sites throughout the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence between 1980 and 1997. Results from the recapture of 8503 tagged lobsters showed small distances traveled between the release and the recapture position for animals ranging in size from 51 to 152 mm carapace length. The average distance traveled ranged from 2 km in parts of Baie des Chaleurs and western Cape Breton to 19 km in central Northumberland Strait. Lobsters moved generally along the shore (93% of the dispersion was in areas between the shore and the 20-m bathymetric contour). As a result, lobsters traveled longer distances in sites characterized by a gradually sloping bottom where the distance between the shore and the 20-m contour line was extensive in contrast to areas characterized by rapidly changing depths and by a relatively small amount of habitat shallower than 20 m. In the majority of sites (14 of 19) there was no significant difference between males and females in the average distance they traveled. In four of the five sites females moved farther than males. In general, the average distance traveled by berried females was shorter than that traveled by males or nonberried females. No relationship was observed between the distance traveled and the size of the animal. There was no strong evidence of a relationship between the average distance traveled and the number of days at liberty. In general, lobsters in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence traveled short distances and dispersion was restricted to the nearshore habitat. Further, the distance traveled was not correlated to size, sex, or years at large. These findings show that there is little interaction between American lobsters from different fishing areas at the benthic level and that American lobster movements should have minimal consequences for management of the species in the southwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

A pollen/dinoflagellate chronology for DSDP Site 480, Gulf of California

DSDP Site 480 in the Gulf of California represents a paleoclimatic record of great potential significance. Much of the 152-meter section is varved, which means that proxy records of climatic change can be analyzed with unusual precision on a variety of time scales. In this paper we present pollen and dinoflagellate evidence that suggests that the base of the section is much older than was previously thought. We propose a basal date of between 300,000 and 350,000 YBP.

东灵山森林生态系统若干水分问题的研究

东灵山地区年均降水量659.7mm，单次降水以雨量小、雨强低的降水为主。水汽压（年均17.7mb）、相对湿度（年均66％）的季节变化呈现生长季高、冬季低的趋势。年均蒸发量1019.5mm;气温、风速、日照时间和水压与月蒸发量和日蒸量相关显著;气温、日照时间和水压分别在11-6月、7－8月和9－10月为决定蒸发量的首要因子。枯枝落叶层、土壤层湿度主要受前十日降水量和坡向影响。 植物体含水量生长季节较高，冬季较低;含水量随径级的增大而降低。六个灌木树种的平均含水量大小顺序为：毛榛（48.62%）最高荆条（36.32%）最低;七个乔木树种水分含量为油松，56.14%;蒙椴，54.19%;华北落叶松，52.91%;五角枫，43.64%;辽东栎，41.87%;棘皮桦，41.13%;大叶白腊，37.79%。几种植被类型的储水量为：辽东栎林，82.08mm;华北落叶松林，47.35mm;混交林，34.60mm;油松林，31.33mm;灌丛，12.40mm。各树种叶片日最低水势的季节均值为：辽东栎，-16.1bar;五角枫，-15.8bar;大叶白腊，-15.1bar;糠椴，-13.4bar;棘皮桦，-12.3bar;蒙椴，-12.2bar。叶片水势的日间变化均呈一“V”形曲线;光照在叶片水势的日间变化中起着决定性作用。 96年各树种平均单株树干茎流量为辽东栎，30.3mm(4.19%);华北落叶松，16.1mm(2.22%);油松，8.9mm(1.23%);棘皮桦，2.9mm(0.40%)。两个生长季各林分冠层的水量平衡为：辽东栎林，树干流茎量101.87mm(9.18%)，穿透降水量823.08mm(74.15%)，截留量185.05mm(16.67%);华北落叶松林，树干径流量66.88mm(6.03%)，穿透降水量836.92mm(75.40%)，截留量206.20mm(18.58);混交林，树干径流量50.13(4.52%)，穿透降水量846.78mm(76.29%)，截留量212.20mm(19.12%);油松林，树干径流量33.90mm(3.05%)，穿透降水量934.88mm(84.22%)，截留量141.22mm(12.72%)。多元回归分析表明，树干流茎量S与降水量P和前24小时降水量P_1呈显著正相关关系;穿透降水量T与降水量P和最大雨强M正相关显著。附加截留量与降水时间成正比。 枯枝落叶层的生物量为：油松林，25.56t/hm~2;华北落叶松林20.01t/hm~2;辽东栎林，8.31t/hm~2;混交林，7.98t/hm~2。枯枝落叶层的平均实际持水量和有效持水量均以油松林最大，其次是华北落叶松林，而混交林和辽东栎林较低;枯枝落叶层的实际持水量和有效持水量的季节变化分别与前十日降水量P10成正相关和负相关关系。枯枝落叶层的截留量为油松林＞华北落叶松林＞辽东栎林＞混交林;油松林（145.632mm和90.800mm）混交林(61.816mm和54.504mm)。油松林、辽东栎林、混交林和华北落叶松林去除枯枝落叶层后，土壤入渗量比对照平均降低100mm以上;表层土壤含水量分别比对照土壤下降了6.26、18.26、15.06和15.07个百分点。地表径流量分别增加了，辽东栎林34.299mm(603%)和15.816mm(525%);油松林14.593mm(732%)和10.584mm(1321%);混交林12.004mm(181%)和7.275mm(364%);华北落叶松林3.555mm(118%)，3.275mm(229%)。96年生长季，各土壤流失量分别增加了：油松林172.751t/hm~2(124倍);辽东栎林836.500t/hm~2(119倍);混交林172.499t/hm~2(47倍);华北落叶松林11.557t/hm~2(11倍)。表层土壤容重分别增加了：油松林15.0%和20.6%，辽东栎林18.4%和28.2%，混交林11.5%和38.5%，华北落叶松林4.3%和17.1%。 0-60cm深度土壤容重平均值的大小顺序为：草地>灌丛>辽东栎林>油松林>混交林>华北落叶松林;而土壤孔隙度的大小顺序为华北落叶松林>混交林>油松林>辽东栎林>灌丛>草地。两个生长季为土壤实际储水量的均值：油松林，124.45mm，78.62mm;辽东栎林，131.23mm，87.72mm;混交林，180.41mm，113.90mm;华北落叶松林，165.53mm，127.95mm;灌丛，172.50mm，89.81mm;草地，152.92mm，89.59 mm分别比干旱年份97年高出45.83mm、43.51mm、51.63mm、37.58mm、82.69mm和63.33mm。两个生长季的地表径流量为草地，30.930mm(2.79%);灌丛，16.321mm(147%);油松林，2.911mm(0.26%);辽东栎林，8.703mm(0.78%);混交林，8.625mm(0.78%);华北落叶松林，4.447mm(0.40%)。油松林、混交林和华北落叶松林地表径流量与降水量P(mm)和最大雨强(mm/h)正相关显著;而辽东栎林、灌丛和草地的地表径流量则与降水量P(mm)、平均雨强Q(mm/hr)和最大雨强M(mm/hr)三者之间呈显著正相关关系。与草地相比(1220.093kg/hm~2，100％)，灌丛、辽东栎林、混交林、油松林和华北落叶松林96年生长季的土壤流失量分别降低了85.05%、94.26%、96.99%、98.86和99.14%。 降水量是影响小流域径流量时间变化的主要因素;南沟和马牙石沟96年的径流量分别是97年的8.19倍和7.87倍，而径流深(46.25mm，52.75mm)分别比97年(5.65mm,6.70mm)高出40.60mm和46.05mm。两个小流域由于面积的差异而使南沟两年的径流量分别比马牙石沟高出2773.136m~3(13.15%)和235.434m~3(8.79%)。96年和97年马牙石沟径流深比南沟高出6.5mm(14.05%)和1.05mm(18.58%)。在地处大陆性季风气候区的东灵山地区，用0.010m~3/min/km~2/hr能较好地分割小流域的洪峰和基流。在五次暴雨水文曲线中，马牙石沟的快速径流量分别比南沟高出25.00%到143.33%。五次洪水水文响应R的平均值南沟为0.218%，马牙石沟为0.404%;与海洋性气候地区相比，东灵山地区小流域的R值要低一到两个数量级。马牙石沟洪峰流量Qp的平均值为418.772L/min要比南沟(281.191L/min)大48.9%。东灵山地区小流域的洪水径流过程可分为三种类型。

Semiempirical down-scaling of GCM output to the local scale for temperature, precipitation, and runoff

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): An empirically derived multiple linear regression model is used to relate a local-scale dependent variable (either temperature, precipitation, or surface runoff) measured at individual gauging stations to six large-scale independent variables (temperature, precipitation, surface runoff, height to the 500-mbar pressure surface, and the zonal and meridional gradient across this surface). ...The area investigated is the western United States. ... The calibration data set is from 1948 through 1988 and includes data from 268 joint temperature and precipitation stations, 152 streamflow stations (which are converted to runoff data), and 24 gridded 500-mbar pressure height nodes.

人类活动干扰下草原温室气体地-气交换特征及碳平衡研究

放牧和开垦目前是内蒙古草原最主要的两种人类生产活动，采用静态箱一气象色谱法对这两种土地利用方式下草原主要温室气体(CH4、N20和C02)地-气交换通量进行了原位观测，同时结合草原生态系统碳循环特征对放牧生态系统碳素收支状况进行了初步探讨，首次对开垦前后内蒙古草原CH4吸收和NzO排放的季节、昼夜变化特征进行了分析研究，对不同牧压梯度下内蒙古草原碳的损失进行了估算。主要研究结果包括以下4个方面： 1．内蒙古草甸草原开垦是大气CH4的汇，开垦为农田后，土壤．植物系统吸收大气CH4的能力增强。测定期间，农田与邻近的天然草原CH4平均吸收通量为23.38和24.57 ugCm'2h．1;尽管农业活动改变了草原CH4地．气交换通量，但是通量的量级仍是由当地季节性变化的气候条件决定的，其CH4吸收通量具有强烈的季节变化规律，表现为“春秋季高，夏季低”的特点;耕作使得土壤-植物系统CH4吸收通量的季节变化趋于平缓。 2．内蒙古天然草甸草原是大气N20的源。测定期间的平均排放通量为1.922ugNm'2h．1，通量范围为-0.484~7.425 ugNm.2h．1;天然草原N20排放具有明显的昼夜变化规律和季节变化特征，排放通量出现两个高峰期，整个生长季表现为高(5月中旬)一低（5月下旬至7月中下旬）一高（7月下旬至8月中旬）一低（8月下旬至9月）的趋势;农垦增强了土壤．植物系统排放N2O的能力。观测期间平均排放通量为2.914 ugNm'2h-l，比天然草原高52%，排放通量的季节规律性减弱，整个生长季呈现波动性变化，通量变化与天然草原相比趋于平缓。 3．内蒙古冷蒿小禾草草原与天然草甸草原一样，起着CH4汇、NzO源的功 能。主要温室气体CH4、N2O和C02的地．气交换通量受水热因子控制，与温度之间存在显著相关关系，具有季节变化特征：时间尺度对于讨论不同放牧压力下甲烷通量具有重要意义，不同放牧率处理9年后，土壤吸收甲烷的能力在当地自然气候条件下没有显著变化;放牧对草原N20排放通量影响显著，依次是轻度放牧<围栏封育<中度放牧<重度放牧;放牧增大了C02排放通量，观测期间四种处理间C02通量差异显著，C02排放通量四种处理依次为：围栏封育<轻牧<重牧<中牧。 4．对内蒙古草原放牧条件下碳收支状况的研究表明，冷蒿-小禾草草原受自然条件和人为因素双重作用存在由碳库（积累碳）向碳源（释放碳）转化的可能性。