The Niyang River, a main tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, is an important and typical plateau river ecosystem in Tibet, China. At present, few studies have focused on its aquatic living resources and river ecolo...The Niyang River, a main tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, is an important and typical plateau river ecosystem in Tibet, China. At present, few studies have focused on its aquatic living resources and river ecology. In this study, the composition, abundance, and diversity of periphytic protozoa were investigated across four seasons from 2008 to 2009 to better understand their spatio-temporal patterns and relationship to the environment. Our investigation shows that periphytic protozoa in the Niyang River contained 15 genera, belonged to Tubulinea, Alveolata, Discosea and Rhizaria, Alveolata possessed most genera, up to nine, with highest share in abundance, exceeding 50%, Difflugia and Glaucoma were dominant genera. Moreover, four diversity indices of periphytic protozoa, including species richness, total abundance, Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou's evenness index, displayed a significant descending trend as the seasons continued, in the order of winter, spring, summer and autumn; with a significant difference existing between winter and summer(or autumn) for Shannon-Wiener diversity index and species richness( P <0.05). Four of these diversity indices also presented a V-shaped pattern between the upper middle course of the Niyang River and the confluence of the Niyang River and Yarlung Zangbo River, with the lowest value occurred in the middle course of the Niyang River. However, no significant variation was found through the Niyang River( P >0.05). In addition, canonical correlation analysis(CCA) shows that the densities of Difflugia, Glaucoma is, Enchelydium, Cyphoderia, and Enchelys correlate with water temperature, alkalinity, hardness, pH, and dissolved oxygen, respectively. Lastly, the relationship between periphytic protozoa diversity and the environmental factors of the Niyang River can be predicted using classification and regression trees(CART) annalysis, which suggests that the total abundance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index would be higher when the elevation is above 3 308 m. On the other hand, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou's evenness index would be lower when pH and ammoniacal nitrogen have lower or higher values. Finally yet importantly, close attention should be paid to periphytic protozoa and its environment to ensure sustainable development of the Niyang River ecosystem.展开更多
Background Although freshwater ecosystems cover less than 1%of the earth’s surface,they support extremely high levels of biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services.However,due to the introduction of non-native...Background Although freshwater ecosystems cover less than 1%of the earth’s surface,they support extremely high levels of biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services.However,due to the introduction of non-native fishes,aquatic ecosystem functioning has been altered,and in some cases,declined sharply.Quantifying the impacts of invasive species has proven problematic.In this study,we examined the relative trophic position of native piscivorous fishes to estimate the effects of invasive Nile tilapia on food webs in the downstream sections of an invaded large subtropical river,the Pearl River,China.Furthermore,we quantified how native piscivorous fish diets changed as the Nile tilapia invasion progressed.Results The trophic position of the widely distributed and locally important economically harvested piscivorous culter fish(Culter recurviceps),mandarinfish(Siniperca kneri),and catfish(Pelteobagrus fulvidraco)lowered significantly in the invaded Dongjiang River compared to an uninvaded reference Beijiang River.The lower trophic position of these piscivorous fishes was reflected by a major reduction in the proportion of prey fish biomass in their diets following the Nile tilapia invasion.Small fishes in the diet of culter fish from the reference river(33%small fishes,17%zooplankton)shifted to lower trophic level zooplankton prey in the invaded river(36%zooplankton,25%small fish),possibly due to the presence of Nile tilapia.Additionally,small fishes in the diet of mandarinfish in the reference river(46%small fishes,11%aquatic insects)declined in the invaded river(20%aquatic insects,30%small fishes).Similarly,the diet of catfish from the reference river shifted from fish eggs(25%fish eggs,25%aquatic insects)to aquatic insects in the invaded river(44%aquatic insects,5%fish eggs).Conclusions The results of this study contributed to a growing body of evidence,suggesting that Nile tilapia can modify trophic interactions in invaded ecosystems.It is crucial to understand the processes outlined in this study in order to better assess non-native aquatic species,conserve the stability of freshwater ecosystems,and improve current conservation strategies in reaches of the Pearl River and other similar rivers that have experienced invasions of non-native species.展开更多
基金Supported by Regional Fund Key Projects from Technology Gallery in Tibet,Agro-Technical Popularization from Finance Department in Tibet,the National Special Research Fund for Non-Profit Sector(Agriculture)(No.201403012)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31560144)the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology(No.2011FBZ28)
文摘The Niyang River, a main tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, is an important and typical plateau river ecosystem in Tibet, China. At present, few studies have focused on its aquatic living resources and river ecology. In this study, the composition, abundance, and diversity of periphytic protozoa were investigated across four seasons from 2008 to 2009 to better understand their spatio-temporal patterns and relationship to the environment. Our investigation shows that periphytic protozoa in the Niyang River contained 15 genera, belonged to Tubulinea, Alveolata, Discosea and Rhizaria, Alveolata possessed most genera, up to nine, with highest share in abundance, exceeding 50%, Difflugia and Glaucoma were dominant genera. Moreover, four diversity indices of periphytic protozoa, including species richness, total abundance, Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou's evenness index, displayed a significant descending trend as the seasons continued, in the order of winter, spring, summer and autumn; with a significant difference existing between winter and summer(or autumn) for Shannon-Wiener diversity index and species richness( P <0.05). Four of these diversity indices also presented a V-shaped pattern between the upper middle course of the Niyang River and the confluence of the Niyang River and Yarlung Zangbo River, with the lowest value occurred in the middle course of the Niyang River. However, no significant variation was found through the Niyang River( P >0.05). In addition, canonical correlation analysis(CCA) shows that the densities of Difflugia, Glaucoma is, Enchelydium, Cyphoderia, and Enchelys correlate with water temperature, alkalinity, hardness, pH, and dissolved oxygen, respectively. Lastly, the relationship between periphytic protozoa diversity and the environmental factors of the Niyang River can be predicted using classification and regression trees(CART) annalysis, which suggests that the total abundance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index would be higher when the elevation is above 3 308 m. On the other hand, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou's evenness index would be lower when pH and ammoniacal nitrogen have lower or higher values. Finally yet importantly, close attention should be paid to periphytic protozoa and its environment to ensure sustainable development of the Niyang River ecosystem.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(General Program No.31870527)China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund(CAMC-2018F)Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou,China(202201010761).
文摘Background Although freshwater ecosystems cover less than 1%of the earth’s surface,they support extremely high levels of biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services.However,due to the introduction of non-native fishes,aquatic ecosystem functioning has been altered,and in some cases,declined sharply.Quantifying the impacts of invasive species has proven problematic.In this study,we examined the relative trophic position of native piscivorous fishes to estimate the effects of invasive Nile tilapia on food webs in the downstream sections of an invaded large subtropical river,the Pearl River,China.Furthermore,we quantified how native piscivorous fish diets changed as the Nile tilapia invasion progressed.Results The trophic position of the widely distributed and locally important economically harvested piscivorous culter fish(Culter recurviceps),mandarinfish(Siniperca kneri),and catfish(Pelteobagrus fulvidraco)lowered significantly in the invaded Dongjiang River compared to an uninvaded reference Beijiang River.The lower trophic position of these piscivorous fishes was reflected by a major reduction in the proportion of prey fish biomass in their diets following the Nile tilapia invasion.Small fishes in the diet of culter fish from the reference river(33%small fishes,17%zooplankton)shifted to lower trophic level zooplankton prey in the invaded river(36%zooplankton,25%small fish),possibly due to the presence of Nile tilapia.Additionally,small fishes in the diet of mandarinfish in the reference river(46%small fishes,11%aquatic insects)declined in the invaded river(20%aquatic insects,30%small fishes).Similarly,the diet of catfish from the reference river shifted from fish eggs(25%fish eggs,25%aquatic insects)to aquatic insects in the invaded river(44%aquatic insects,5%fish eggs).Conclusions The results of this study contributed to a growing body of evidence,suggesting that Nile tilapia can modify trophic interactions in invaded ecosystems.It is crucial to understand the processes outlined in this study in order to better assess non-native aquatic species,conserve the stability of freshwater ecosystems,and improve current conservation strategies in reaches of the Pearl River and other similar rivers that have experienced invasions of non-native species.
