Comparing different spatial interpolation methods to predict the distribution of fishes:A case study of Coilia nasus in the Changjiang River Estuary

Spatial-temporal distribution of marine fishes is strongly influenced by environmental factors.To obtain a more continuous distribution of these variables usually measured by stationary sampling designs,spatial interpolation methods(SIMs)is usually used.However,different SIMs may obtain varied estimation values with significant differences,thus affecting the prediction of fish spatial distribution.In this study,different SIMs were used to obtain continuous environmental variables(water depth,water temperature,salinity,dissolved oxygen(DO),p H,chlorophyll a and chemical oxygen demand(COD))in the Changjiang River Estuary(CRE),including inverse distance weighted(IDW)interpolation,ordinary Kriging(OK)(semivariogram model:exponential(OKE),Gaussian(OKG)and spherical(OKS))and radial basis function(RBF)(regularized spline function(RS)and tension spline function(TS)).The accuracy and effect of SIMs were cross-validated,and two-stage generalized additive model(GAM)was used to predict the distribution of Coilia nasus from 2012 to 2014 in CRE.DO and COD were removed before model prediction due to their autocorrelation coefficient based on variance inflation factors analysis.Results showed that the estimated values of environmental variables obtained by the different SIMs differed(i.e.,mean values,range etc.).Cross-validation revealed that the most suitable SIMs of water depth and chlorophyll a was IDW,water temperature and salinity was RS,and p H was OKG.Further,different interpolation results affected the predicted spatial distribution of Coilia nasus in the CRE.The mean values of the predicted abundance were similar,but the differences between and among the maximum value were large.Studies showed that different SIMs can affect estimated values of the environmental variables in the CRE(especially salinity).These variations further suggest that the most applicable SIMs to each variable will also differ.Thus,it is necessary to take these potential impacts into consideration when studying the relationship between the spatial distribution of fishes and environmental changes in the CRE.

Diurnal changes in bacterial communities in oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers of the Changjiang River Estuary

The Changjiang River Estuary(CRE)in the East China Sea suffers from seasonal hypoxia in summer.The vertical distributions and seasonal changes of microbial communities in the CRE were well documented.However,little is known about the diurnal changes of bacterial communities in the hypoxic zone of the CRE.Here,16 S rRNA gene analysis was used to explore the changes of bacterial communities in the oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers during 24 h in the CRE.Significant differences between the hypoxic and oxic layers were observed:the phyla Cyanobacteria,Bacteroidetes and Acidimicrobiia were enriched in the oxic layer,whereas the phylum SAR406 and the class Deltaproteobacteria were more abundant in the hypoxic layer.In addition,some subtle diurnal variations of the bacterial relative abundance were found in both two layers.The relative abundance of Synechococcus increased at night,and this change was more obvious in the hypoxic layer.The similar trend was also found in some phototrophic and several heterotrophic bacteria,such as Rhodobacteraceae,OM60 and Flavobacteriaceae.Their relative abundances peaked at 16:00 in the oxic layer,while the relative abundances peaked at around 7:00 and decreased until 13:00 in the hypoxic layer.Together,the results of the present study suggest that some photosynthetic bacteria and several heterotrophic bacteria have similar diurnal variations implying the light and physicochemical heterogeneity in the course of a day are important for bacterial diurnal changes in the CRE.

Spatial distribution and deposition history of nonylphenol and bisphenol A in sediments from the Changjiang River(Yangtze River) Estuary and its adjacent East China Sea

Nonylphenol（NP） and bisphenol A（BPA） are endocrine disruptors causing harmful effects including feminization and carcinogenesis to various organisms,and consequently,their contamination in natural environment has received wide concerns.This study reports the distribution characteristics of NP and BPA in surface sediments and their deposition history based on a dated sediment core in the Changjiang River（Yangtze River） Estuary and its adjacent East China Sea.The contents of NP and BPA in surface sediments ranged from 1.56-35.8 and 0.72-13.2 ng/g（dry mass）,respectively,with high values recorded in the two mud zones,the Changjiang River Estuarine Mud Zone and the Zhejiang Coastal Mud Zone.High values in the Zhejiang Coastal Mud Zone suggest the possibility of long distance transport of both contaminants through the Changjiang riverine plume.The contents were not correlated with the distance from the pollution source,indicating other factors including particle deposition rate and sediment grain size obviously affecting the distribution pattern.NP was also detected in a sediment core at layers deposited from the year of 1971 to 2001 with contents of up to 20.9 ng/g（dry mass）.The deposition fluxes of NP varied from 0.68 to 17.9 ng/（cm^2 · a） with peaks and valleys reflecting the traces of economic development history in China during the previous three decades.BPA was detected at sediment layers deposited from 1973 to 2001 with contents of up to 3.66 ng/g.The fluxes of BPA varied from 0.62 to 3.13 ng/（cm^2 · a） showing a similar pattern as NP.The contents of NP and BPA also indicated potential risks on benthic organisms in the study area.