Tracking apex marine predator movements in a dynamic ocean

Pelagic marine predators face unprecedented challenges and uncertain futures. Overexploitation and climate variability impact the abundance and distribution of top predators in ocean ecosystems. Improved understanding of ecological patterns, evolutionary constraints and ecosystem function is critical for preventing extinctions, loss of biodiversity and disruption of ecosystem services. Recent advances in electronic tagging techniques have provided the capacity to observe the movements and long-distance migrations of animals in relation to ocean processes across a range of ecological scales. Tagging of Pacific Predators, a field programme of the Census of Marine Life, deployed 4,306 tags on 23 species in the North Pacific Ocean, resulting in a tracking data set of unprecedented scale and species diversity that covers 265,386 tracking days from 2000 to 2009. Here we report migration pathways, link ocean features to multispecies hotspots and illustrate niche partitioning within and among congener guilds. Our results indicate that the California Current large marine ecosystem and the North Pacific transition zone attract and retain a diverse assemblage of marine vertebrates. Within the California Current large marine ecosystem, several predator guilds seasonally undertake north-south migrations that may be driven by oceanic processes, species-specific thermal tolerances and shifts in prey distributions. We identify critical habitats across multinational boundaries and show that top predators exploit their environment in predictable ways, providing the foundation for spatial management of large marine ecosystems.     

缺氧胁迫及对贝类免疫系统的影响

人为压力源的强度和多样性日益增加已引发全球海洋生态系统中栖息地和生物多样性丧失。与全球变暖、海洋酸化类似,海域缺氧现象的频发使得缺氧现象成为重要的全球压力源。本文以贝类为研究对象,综述了缺氧的定义和等级、缺氧的原因,并集中探讨了缺氧胁迫对贝类免疫系统的影响,以期为贝类养殖和病害防治提供理论依据,并为我国贝类产业能够及时应对未来环境变化提供参考资料。     

林火对森林生态系统碳氮磷生态化学计量特征影响研究进展

林火可以改变森林生态系统元素的生态化学计量特征,反映火后森林生态系统环境中生物地球化学循环变化模式,阐明林火干扰下森林生态系统碳(C)氮(N)磷(P)生态化学计量特征,对于理解森林生态系统对林火干扰的响应机理至关重要。笔者通过查阅大量相关文献,总结与分析了林火干扰对森林生态系统C-N-P生态化学计量特征影响模式,以及林火干扰对植物C-N-P生态化学计量特征、凋落物C-N-P生态化学计量特征、土壤C-N-P生态化学计量特征的影响,认为森林生态系统C-N-P生态化学计量特征主要受到火烧因子(火烧强度、火烧频率、火烧后恢复时间)、植被类型及土壤性质3个方面的影响,针对林火对森林生态系统生态化学计量学研究亟待解决的科学问题,从林火干扰对植物生态化学计量内稳性的影响机制、林火干扰下多重元素生态化学计量学研究、建立林火干扰下植物-凋落物-土壤复合系统生态化学计量学关系等3个方面进行了展望,以期深入了解林火干扰下植物调控策略,明确林火干扰后多重化学元素间相互耦合机制,完善以植物-凋落物-土壤为复合整体的地上地下养分输入输出的关系,对于深刻理解全球气候变化背景下森林生态系统养分循环和平衡,以及合理制定林火管理措施具有重要作用。     

珠江口夏季底层缺氧现象的数值模拟

底层水体缺氧现象已经引起了人们的广泛关注.水体底层缺氧易造成水生生物的死亡,影响了水体的生态环境,造成水质严重下降,因此找出造成水体缺氧的原因有着非常重要的意义.通过一个三维的水动力生态模型模拟并研究了夏季珠江口底层的缺氧现象.分析结果表明,盐度锋面对珠江口水体表底层氧气交换的抑制作用及底层有机耗氧物质对溶解氧的大量消耗是造成底层缺氧现象的主要原因,但潮汐所导致的强混合可以破坏这种缺氧机制的形成;底层缺氧主要与河流输送的耗氧物质有关;作为主要营养盐参与生态系统循环的磷对底层溶解氧无明显影响.     

Neutral metacommunity models predict fish diversity patterns in Mississippi-Missouri basin

River networks, seen as ecological corridors featuring connected and hierarchical dendritic landscapes for animals and plants, present unique challenges and opportunities for testing biogeographical theories and macroecological laws. Although local and basin-scale differences in riverine fish diversity have been analysed as functions of energy availability and habitat heterogeneity, scale-dependent environmental conditions and river discharge, a model that predicts a comprehensive set of system-wide diversity patterns has been hard to find. Here we show that fish diversity patterns throughout the Mississippi-Missouri River System are well described by a neutral metacommunity model coupled with an appropriate habitat capacity distribution and dispersal kernel. River network structure acts as an effective template for characterizing spatial attributes of fish biodiversity. We show that estimates of average dispersal behaviour and habitat capacities, objectively calculated from average runoff production, yield reliable predictions of large-scale spatial biodiversity patterns in riverine systems. The success of the neutral theory in two-dimensional forest ecosystems and here in dendritic riverine ecosystems suggests the possible application of neutral metacommunity models in a diverse suite of ecosystems. This framework offers direct linkage from large-scale forcing, such as global climate change, to biodiversity patterns.     

Ecological responses to recent climate change

There is now ample evidence of the ecological impacts of recent climate change, from polar terrestrial to tropical marine environments. The responses of both flora and fauna span an array of ecosystems and organizational hierarchies, from the species to the community levels. Despite continued uncertainty as to community and ecosystem trajectories under global change, our review exposes a coherent pattern of ecological change across systems. Although we are only at an early stage in the projected trends of global warming, ecological responses to recent climate change are already clearly visible.     

Ocean circulation off east Antarctica affects ecosystem structure and sea-ice extent

Sea ice and oceanic boundaries have a dominant effect in structuring Antarctic marine ecosystems. Satellite imagery and historical data have identified the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current as a site of enhanced biological productivity. Meso-scale surveys off the Antarctic peninsula have related the abundances of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and salps (Salpa thompsoni) to inter-annual variations in sea-ice extent. Here we have examined the ecosystem structure and oceanography spanning 3,500 km of the east Antarctic coastline, linking the scales of local surveys and global observations. Between 80 degrees and 150 degrees E there is a threefold variation in the extent of annual sea-ice cover, enabling us to examine the regional effects of sea ice and ocean circulation on biological productivity. Phytoplankton, primary productivity, Antarctic krill, whales and seabirds were concentrated where winter sea-ice extent is maximal, whereas salps were located where the sea-ice extent is minimal. We found enhanced biological activity south of the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current rather than in association with it. We propose that along this coastline ocean circulation determines both the sea-ice conditions and the level of biological productivity at all trophic levels.     

Annihilation of ecosystems by large asteroid impacts on the early Earth

Large asteroid impacts produced globally lethal conditions by evaporating large volumes of ocean water on the early Earth. The Earth may have been continuously habitable by ecosystems that did not depend on photosynthesis as early as 4.44 Gyr BP (before present). Only a brief interval after 3.8 Gyr exists between the time when obligate photosynthetic organisms could continuously evolve and the time when the palaeontological record indicates highly evolved photosynthetic ecosystems.     

Flushing submarine canyons

The continental slope is a steep, narrow fringe separating the coastal zone from the deep ocean. During low sea-level stands, slides and dense, sediment-laden flows erode the outer continental shelf and the continental slope, leading to the formation of submarine canyons that funnel large volumes of sediment and organic matter from shallow regions to the deep ocean(1). During high sea-level stands, such as at present, these canyons still experience occasional sediment gravity flows(2-5), which are usually thought to be triggered by sediment failure or river flooding. Here we present observations from a submarine canyon on the Gulf of Lions margin, in the northwest Mediterranean Sea, that demonstrate that these flows can also be triggered by dense shelf water cascading (DSWC)-a type of current that is driven solely by seawater density contrast. Our results show that DSWC can transport large amounts of water and sediment, reshape submarine canyon floors and rapidly affect the deep-sea environment. This cascading is seasonal, resulting from the formation of dense water by cooling and/or evaporation, and occurs on both high- and low-latitude continental margins(6-8). DSWC may therefore transport large amounts of sediment and organic matter to the deep ocean. Furthermore, changes in the frequency and intensity of DSWC driven by future climate change may have a significant impact on the supply of organic matter to deep-sea ecosystems and on the amount of carbon stored on continental margins and in ocean basins.     

济南市水生态功能区划研究

水生态功能分区是基于对流域水生态系统的区域差异提出的一种分区方法.形成生态系统空间差异性的主要驱动因素是自然地理条件差异和人类活动影响.水生态分区是实现流域可持续发展的必要条件.通过分析济南市陆地和水生态系统特点,提出了水生态功能分区的基本原则、指标体系等.基于GIS分析技术,得到了济南市一级、二级和三级水生态功能分区.一级分区以集水区水文条件3大水系为依据,分别为黄河水系、小清河水系和徒骇马颊河水系,划分3大流域外加城区组成.二级水生态分区则以土壤类型及土地利用为主导因子.三级水生态功能分区则反映二组分区内功能差异,运用指标体系评价方法,对流域的生物多样性维持、生境维持、水环境支持、水资源支持4项生态功能进行评价,在GIS技术支持下,利用空间叠加方法,按主导功能类型完成流域内水生态功能三级分区.     

生态水文学兴起:学科理论与实践问题的评述

生态水文学是20世纪后半叶发展起来的新兴水科学研究领域的交叉综合学科，基于习近平总书记的“生态优先、绿色发展”理念和实现我国生态文明建设目标，其研究成为我国新时期水科学理论与实践的新目标与新挑战，为“绿色-高质量-可持续”发展提供强大动力．本文简述了生态水文学国内外发展历程和动向，深入评述了生态水文研究的几个基础理论问题，主要包括:人-水-生态系统关系认知与协同变化的和谐内涵、四大平衡的协同内涵及Budyko水-热平衡联系方程、绿水在生态系统中的重要内容和面向全球变化的生态水文宏微观尺度研究，并着重阐述了生态系统的需水与用水；针对生态水文的实践应用，阐述了水-碳循环耦合机制研究能够有效服务国家“双碳”计划，分析了南水北调工程和黄河流域生态环境治理中生态水文问题，提出了南水北调西线工程是构建国家水网、缓解黄河流域水资源短缺的重要举措；基于生态水文研究现状和国家发展需求，对生态水文研究提出展望，如生态系统对人类活动和气候变化响应机制研究、水土保持与生态建设综合技术体系、多源信息融合新技术、加强与社会科学的交叉融合研究和生态水文系统研究等．      

IBI应用于湿地生态健康评价的研究进展

综述了生物完整性指数(IBI)指数的构建方法,概述了IBI在不同湿地类型中及国内外的应用情况.IBI在河流、溪流和湖泊湿地中应用最广泛,采用最多的指示生物是无脊椎动物和鱼类,主要用于评估人类活动、气候变化等对湿地生态健康的影响及湿地保护管理措施的成效.提出今后须着重考虑对IBI构建方法的优化,同时与遥感、地统计等其他技术手段相结合,拓展IBI方法的空间适用范围,使其成为不同尺度湿地生态监测的有效手段.     

Agricultural runoff fuels large phytoplankton blooms in vulnerable areas of the ocean

Biological productivity in most of the world's oceans is controlled by the supply of nutrients to surface waters. The relative balance between supply and removal of nutrients--including nitrogen, iron and phosphorus--determines which nutrient limits phytoplankton growth. Although nitrogen limits productivity in much of the ocean, large portions of the tropics and subtropics are defined by extreme nitrogen depletion. In these regions, microbial denitrification removes biologically available forms of nitrogen from the water column, producing substantial deficits relative to other nutrients. Here we demonstrate that nitrogen-deficient areas of the tropical and subtropical oceans are acutely vulnerable to nitrogen pollution. Despite naturally high nutrient concentrations and productivity, nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff fuels large (54-577 km2) phytoplankton blooms in the Gulf of California. Runoff exerts a strong and consistent influence on biological processes, in 80% of cases stimulating blooms within days of fertilization and irrigation of agricultural fields. We project that by the year 2050, 27-59% of all nitrogen fertilizer will be applied in developing regions located upstream of nitrogen-deficient marine ecosystems. Our findings highlight the present and future vulnerability of these ecosystems to agricultural runoff.     

Persistent near-tropical warmth on the Antarctic continent during the early Eocene epoch

The warmest global climates of the past 65 million years occurred during the early Eocene epoch (about 55 to 48 million years ago), when the Equator-to-pole temperature gradients were much smaller than today and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were in excess of one thousand parts per million by volume. Recently the early Eocene has received considerable interest because it may provide insight into the response of Earth's climate and biosphere to the high atmospheric carbon dioxide levels that are expected in the near future as a consequence of unabated anthropogenic carbon emissions. Climatic conditions of the early Eocene 'greenhouse world', however, are poorly constrained in critical regions, particularly Antarctica. Here we present a well-dated record of early Eocene climate on Antarctica from an ocean sediment core recovered off the Wilkes Land coast of East Antarctica. The information from biotic climate proxies (pollen and spores) and independent organic geochemical climate proxies (indices based on branched tetraether lipids) yields quantitative, seasonal temperature reconstructions for the early Eocene greenhouse world on Antarctica. We show that the climate in lowland settings along the Wilkes Land coast (at a palaeolatitude of about 70° south) supported the growth of highly diverse, near-tropical forests characterized by mesothermal to megathermal floral elements including palms and Bombacoideae. Notably, winters were extremely mild (warmer than 10?°C) and essentially frost-free despite polar darkness, which provides a critical new constraint for the validation of climate models and for understanding the response of high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems to increased carbon dioxide forcing.     

海河河口生态需水量研究

分析了河口淡水对盐度乃至生物产生的影响．以海河河口及近岸海域为对象,通过建立入海径流与盐度的回归关系,用20世纪80年代中期以前的多年平均盐度值作为盐度控制标准,以计算得到的该标准下的入海径流21．6亿m^3作为海河河口生态需水量,对海河流域年内过程和各水系的生态需水进行了分配、在与现状生态用水比较后可知,大部分年份均不能满足生态需水要求,应加强人工调控．保证入海水量需求、     

从预防到适应：气候变化与民族地区生态建设的战略选择

对气候变化及生态风险的全面认识和多角度分析，构成了对民族地区气候变化及其生态建设的理论认识基础。气候变化是民族地区生态发展的双刃剑,民族地区生态建设的基本理念是在适应气候变化的基础上，积极寻找和创造条件，走出一条生态建设和社会发展的双赢之路。     

基于水生态分区的太子河流域水生态承载力研究

为实现太子河流域水生态系统的分区保护,采用系统动力学方法,建立了基于水生态分区的水生态承载力模型,模拟了太子河流域水生态系统的动态变化。结果表明:太子河流域各水生态分区的水生态承载力各不相同。通过对8种情景下水生态承载力的比较分析,认为集产业结构调整、适度经济发展速度、节水及控污于一体的综合方案使各分区水生态承载力的提高效果最为显著。针对各分区面临的不同承载压力,提出相适应的水生态承载力改善措施,为流域水生态系统的可持续发展提供科学依据。     

Reliability of flipper-banded penguins as indicators of climate change

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighted an urgent need to assess the responses of marine ecosystems to climate change. Because they lie in a high-latitude region, the Southern Ocean ecosystems are expected to be strongly affected by global warming. Using top predators of this highly productive ocean (such as penguins) as integrative indicators may help us assess the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems. Yet most available information on penguin population dynamics is based on the controversial use of flipper banding. Although some reports have found the effects of flipper bands to be deleterious, some short-term (one-year) studies have concluded otherwise, resulting in the continuation of extensive banding schemes and the use of data sets thus collected to predict climate impact on natural populations. Here we show that banding of free-ranging king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) impairs both survival and reproduction, ultimately affecting population growth rate. Over the course of a 10-year longitudinal study, banded birds produced 41% [corrected] fewer chicks and had a survival rate 16 percentage points [corrected] lower than non-banded birds, demonstrating a massive long-term impact of banding and thus refuting the assumption that birds will ultimately adapt to being banded. Indeed, banded birds still arrived later for breeding at the study site and had longer foraging trips even after 10?years. One of our major findings is that responses of flipper-banded penguins to climate variability (that is, changes in sea surface temperature and in the Southern Oscillation index) differ from those of non-banded birds. We show that only long-term investigations may allow an evaluation of the impact of flipper bands and that every major life-history trait can be affected, calling into question the banding schemes still going on. In addition, our understanding of the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems based on flipper-band data should be reconsidered.     

Climate-driven trends in contemporary ocean productivity

Contributing roughly half of the biosphere's net primary production (NPP), photosynthesis by oceanic phytoplankton is a vital link in the cycling of carbon between living and inorganic stocks. Each day, more than a hundred million tons of carbon in the form of CO2 are fixed into organic material by these ubiquitous, microscopic plants of the upper ocean, and each day a similar amount of organic carbon is transferred into marine ecosystems by sinking and grazing. The distribution of phytoplankton biomass and NPP is defined by the availability of light and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate, iron). These growth-limiting factors are in turn regulated by physical processes of ocean circulation, mixed-layer dynamics, upwelling, atmospheric dust deposition, and the solar cycle. Satellite measurements of ocean colour provide a means of quantifying ocean productivity on a global scale and linking its variability to environmental factors. Here we describe global ocean NPP changes detected from space over the past decade. The period is dominated by an initial increase in NPP of 1,930 teragrams of carbon a year (Tg C yr(-1)), followed by a prolonged decrease averaging 190 Tg C yr(-1). These trends are driven by changes occurring in the expansive stratified low-latitude oceans and are tightly coupled to coincident climate variability. This link between the physical environment and ocean biology functions through changes in upper-ocean temperature and stratification, which influence the availability of nutrients for phytoplankton growth. The observed reductions in ocean productivity during the recent post-1999 warming period provide insight on how future climate change can alter marine food webs.     

湿地水文连通的生态效应研究进展及发展趋势?

湿地是地球上生物多样性最丰富、生产力最高、最具价值的生态系统之一,为人类社会经济的发展提供了重要保障.在高强度人类活动和气候变化双重作用下,湿地破碎化严重,面积减小,湿地的水文连通受阻,导致了一系列生态环境问题.本文基于广泛的文献调研,从水文连通的概念、水文连通对湿地生境的影响、水文连通对生物的影响以及受损水文连通的修复4个方面回顾了当前湿地水文连通的生态效应研究进展以及存在的不足.结合多年在湿地领域的研究背景,重点针对上下游重大人类活动和气候变化对大江大河三角洲湿地水文连通的胁迫,提出了未来的主要研究趋势,将为解决三角洲湿地面临的基础科学问题提供支持,推动我国湿地科学基础理论的发展.