Dynamical Analysis of Nonautonomous Trophic Cascade Chemostat Model with Regime Switching and Nonlinear Perturbations in a Polluted Environment

This paper investigates the stochastic dynamics of trophic cascade chemostat model perturbed by regime switching, Gaussian white noise and impulsive toxicant input. For the system with only white noise interference, sufficient conditions for stochastically ultimate boundedness and stochastically permanence are obtained, and we demonstrate that the stochastic system has at least one nontrivial positive periodic solution. For the system with Markov regime switching, sufficient conditions for extinction of the microorganisms are established. Then we prove the system is ergodic and has a stationary distribution. The results show that both impulsive toxins input and stochastic noise have great effects on the survival and extinction of the microorganisms. Finally, a series of numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the theoretical analysis.

Historical Evolution of the Trophic and Limnological Relationships in the Itaipu Reservoir:Top-Down and Bottom-Up Effects upon Fish Production

Many experimental studies have contributed to the development of the theory of trophic chains in lacustrine habitats. They have revealed the important role played by fish, a subject that has been mostly ignored by limnological studies for the past few decades. Most of these studies were developed in Europe and in the United States. The general applicability of this theory has not yet been tested in subtropical and tropical habitats. In spite of controversies, the bottom-up: top-down trophic cascade hypotheses are the most adopted conceptual models. In this context, we examined if these hypotheses may be corroborated by data from the subtropical Itaipu Reservoir. A negative effect was verified between water transparency and total suspended solids. The detritivorous fish exerted a controlling effect on chlorophyll-a concentrations. Bottom-up effects were detected in four trophic levels, and top-down was detected in just one trophic level. The limnological variates influenced the chlorophyll-a concentration, which indicated that the lnTKN plus the effect of the quarter and the reservoir zone (and their interaction) were important.

Eutrophication Indexes Used as Fish Production Parameters in the Itaipu Reservoir(Brazil)

The knowledge of liminology can be applied in studies of trophic state indexes and morfoedaphic indexes as factors for determining the inference fish production in reservoirs. This work is based on the hypothesis of the trophic cascade relations, particularly related to bottom-up and top-down effect in Itaipu Reservoir (Brazil). Using the data available by Itaipu, from 1999 to 2004, analyzes of multiple regressions were accomplished to determine the relationships of the dependent and independent variables. We applied the trophic state indices (TSI) based on readings Secchi disk, total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a density for obtaining TSI medium. Morfoedaphic index was calculated based on the reading of the concentration of dissolved solids and the inference of fishing yield, from this index. The average results of the trophic state indices indicate an oligotrophic status for the entire reservoir as well as for the riverine, transition and lacustrine zones separately. The fish was yieldn Estimated by the relation with cyanobacteria concentration, and this was the best variable que explained this prediction. The use of the morfoedaphic index (MEI), with the recorded catch data, predictive models can generate que estimate the fishing yield in the Itaipu Reservoir. The relations of MEI with chlorophyll-a and water transparency que Indicate this index may be a good predicting factor for future fish captures.

Effects of forest fragmentation on nocturnal Asian birds:A case study from Xishuangbanna,China

Owls have the potential to be keystone species for conservation in fragmented landscapes, as the absence of these predators could profoundly change community structure. Yet few studies have examined how whole communities of owls respond to fragmentation, especially in the tropics. When evaluating the effect of factors related to fragmentation, such as fragment area and distance to the edge, on these birds, it is also important in heterogeneous landscapes to ask how ＇location factors＇ such as the topography, vegetation and soil of the fragment predict their persistence. In Xishuangbanna, southwest China, we established 43 transects （200 mx60 m） within 20 forest fragments to sample nocturnal birds, both visually and aurally. We used a multimodel inference approach to identify the factors that influence owl species richness, and generalized linear mixed models to predict the occurrence probabilities of each species. We found that fragmentation factors dominated location factors, with larger fragments having more species, and four of eight species were significantly more likely to occur in large fragments. Given the potential importance of these birds on regulating small mammal and other animal populations, and thus indirectly affecting seed dispersal, we suggest further protection of large f ragments and programs to increase their connectivity to the remaining smaller fragments.

Demonising the dingo： How much wild dogma is enough？

The roles that top predators play in regulating the structure and function of ecosystems have long been controversial. This is particularly the case when predators pose adverse risks for human life and/or economic interests. The critique of literature on dingoes and their ecological roles in Australia provided by Allen et al. （2011） shows that top predators remain a potentially polarising issue. In opposition to Allen et al. we argue that these widespread patterns of species＇ abundances, attributed to the ef- fects of dingoes and evident at scales ranging from the foraging behaviour of individuals through to continental scale patterns of species abundances, constitute strong support for the mesopredator release hypothesis and provide evidence that dingoes benefit biodiversity conservation by inducing community wide trophic cascades. Harnessing the positive ecological effects of dingoes while at the same time minimising their impacts on agriculture is a major socio-political challenge in Australia [Current Zoology 57 （5）： 668-670].

Fading indirect effects in a warming arctic tundra

Indirect interactions in food webs can strongly influence the net effect of global change on ecological communities yet they are rarely quantified and hence remain poorly understood. Using a 22-year time series, we investigated climate-induced and predator-mediated indirect effects on grazing intensity in the tundra food web of Bylot Island, which experienced a warming trend over the last two decades. We evaluated the relative effects of environmental parameters on the proportion of plant biomass grazed by geese in wetlands and examined the temporal changes in the strength of these cascading effects. Migrating geese are the dominant herbivores on Bylot Island and can consume up to 60% of the annual production of wetland graminoids. Spring North Atlantic Oscillation, mid-summer temperatures and summer abundance of lemmings （prey sharing predators with geese） best-explained annual variation in grazing intensity. Goose grazing impact increased in years with high temperatures and high lemming abundance. However, the strength of these indirect effects on plants changed over time. Grazing intensity was weakly explained by environmental factors in recent years, which were marked by a sharp increase in plant primary production and steady decrease in grazing pressure. Indirect effects do not seem to be reversing the direct positive effect of warming on wetland plants. We suggest that cascading effects on plants may lag considerably behind direct effects in vertebrate dominated arctic communities, especially where key herbivore populations are strongly affected by factors outside of the Arctic [Current Zoology 60 （2）： 189-202, 2014].