Spatial distribution and abundance of small fishes in Xiaosihai Lake,a shallow lake along the Changjiang (Yangtze) River, China

Spatial distribution and abundance of small fishes were studied in autumn 2007 in the Xiaosihai Lake, a shallow lake along the middle reach of the Changjiang （Yangtze） River. Based on the plant cover, the lake was divided into three major habitats： Myriophyllum spicaturn habitat （MS habitat）, Trapa bispinosa habitat （TB habitat）, and non-vegetation habitat （NV habitat）. A modified pop-net was used for quantitative sampling of small fishes in the three habitats, and the Zippin＇s removal method was used for estimating densities of the small fishes. A total of 13 species belonging to 5 families were collected, with 11 species in MS habitat, 7 species in TB habitat, and 5 species in NV habitat. Habitat type had significant effect on the spatial distribution of small fishes. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index in the MS, TB and NV habitats were 1.28, 0.56 and 0.54, respectively. The total density and biomass of small fishes were significantly higher in the MS habitat （13.68 ind/m^2 and 4.44 g/m^2） than in the TB habitat （1.41 ind/m^2 and 0.54 g/m^2） and the NV habitat （1.08 ind/m^2 and 0.40 g/m^2）, and were not significantly different between the TB habitat and the NV habitat. Water depth had no significant effect on spatial distribution of the small fishes. It was suggested that vegetation type played an important role in habitat selectivity of small fishes, and the presence of submersed vegetation should be of significance in the conservation of small fish diversity.

SPECIES COMPOSITION, HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION AND SEASONAL SUCCESSION OF PHYTOPLANKTON IN THE CHANNEL FROM DONGTING LAKE TO THE CHANGJIANG RIVER, CHINA

The species composition, horizontal distribution and seasonal succession of the phytoplankton at five sampling stations in the channel between Dongting Lake and the Changjiang River, China were studied from May 1995 to December 1997. A total of 416 taxa were observed; diatoms comprised the most diverse taxonomic group representing 58.2 % of the total species. The β-mesotrophic indicators were 92 taxa or 22 % of the total, the α-mesotrophic or α,β-eutrophic indicators decreased distinctly to 20 taxa or 4.8 % of the total. The species number and composition of various phyla were approximately similar at Stations 1, 2, 3 and 4, but at Station 5 the number of species was the minimum and the ratio of diatoms to total phytoplankton in the number of species was the highest. In seasonal succession of the phytoplankton species, the number was the highest in May and June, lower in December, January, March and July in the channel. The dominant species were different in different months. The ratio of diatoms species number to blue green algae and green algae species number diminished gradually from winter to summer and autumn, and then increased gradually from autumn to winter and early spring in the annual cycle. Margalef, Simpson and Shannon-Weaver diversity indices changed in different months, their values were higher in winter, lower in summer. Nygaard’s diatoms quotients were lower in winter, then in spring and autumn, higher in summer. These results indicated that the water quality was the best in winter, better in spring and autumn than in summer. The relationship between the structure of the phytoplankton community and the water environmental quality was discussed.

Phytoplankton Community Dynamics in West Lake After Drawing Water from the Qiantang River

Seventeen phytoplankton dominant species of 218 taxa were found to have contributed to more than 80% of the biomass after analysis of the January, 1955 to December, 1996 phytoplankton population at five stations in West Lake after Qiantang River water had been drawn into the lake for a decade. The seasonal fluctuations were obvious; the maximum cell density of 90.91×10 7-93.58×10 7 cells/L and biomass of 57.41-58.61 mg/L occurred mainly in summer of 1996,largely as a result of the development of Lyngbya contorta, Merismopedia tenuissima, Oscillatoria limnetica, Spirulina laxissima and Scenedesmus quadricauda, etc. at Stations 2 and 4. At Station 1 located near the inlet for drawing water from the Qiantang River, the species number, cell density, biomass, chlorophyll a concentration and physico-chemical parameters (except for total nitrogen) were obviously greater than those at the other four stations, also greater than the corresponding parameters before the drawing of water from the Qiantang River into the lake. Compared with the results of study on the phytoplankton community in 1980 before the drawing of Qiantang River into the lake, the species number and the total individual density were increased, the dominant species changed somewhat, the biomass was decreased. The water quality was improved (especially at Station 1) after the drawing of river water into the lake. Based on criteria for evaluating trophic status, the biological and chemical indicators such as species composition and dominant species, and other parameters such as annual mean value cell densities (36.06×10 7-51.27×10 7 cells/L), biomass (29.03-39.74 mg/L), chl a concentrations (41.29-67.67μg/L), total nitrigen (1.72-2.89 mg/L), total phosphorus (0.12-0.16 mg/L) obtained at Stations 2, 3, 4 and 5, showed that West Lake is still at eutrophic lake.

Investigation on the Seasonal Trend of Fruit Markets in Changsha,Hunan Province

This investigation on the seasonal trend of fruit markets in Changsha indicated that the fruit varieties on the market in Changsha were abundant,up to 49 varieties;seasonal fresh fruits were continuously provided around the year;most fruits were domestic produce from all over the country,and about 3996 of the varieties were imported mainly from southeast Asia,America,New Zealand and Brazil;the imported fruits and a few kinds of domestic fruits were higher in the quality grades than most domestic fruits,which accounted for approximately half of the total fruit volume;and fruit prices varied markedly with fruit varieties,quality grades and time of marketing.In a word,the Hunan fruit industry must increase fruit quality and diversity in order to achieve a favourable position in the strong international competition.

Response of rotifer community to environmental changes in five shallow lakes in the middle reach of Changjiang River, China

We evaluated the response of a rotifer community to environmental changes in five shallow lakes in the middle reach of the Changjiang （Yangtze） River in summer and autumn 2010. These five lakes differed in trophic status and rotifer community structure. Twenty-nine rotifer species were collected, of which Keratella cochlearis, Polyarthra dolichoptera, and Trichocerca elongate were dominant. The mean density, Shannon-Wiener diversity, and equitability among the five lakes differed significantly （P〈0.05）. The mean rotifer density was positively correlated with trophic state. The diversity was higher in lakes with high macrophyte coverage. The composition of rotifer species was closely associated with the trophic gradient. Five environmental variables, Secchi depth, conductivity, TN, NHa-N, and TP, significantly affected the composition of rotifer species. Keratella quadrata, Brachionus calyciflorus, and B. forficula were more common in eutrophic conditions. Our results suggest that eutrophication has a significant influence on the rotifer community structure and highlight the potential for using rotifer community structure as an indicator of trophic status in subtropical lakes.

Calibration of the U37K index of long-chain alkenones with the in-situ water temperature in Lake Qinghai in the Tibetan Plateau

Long-chain alkenones (LCAs) can potentially be used as indicators to understand past variations in lacustrine environments.Previous research has suggested that the relationship between the temperature and the unsaturation index of LCAs should be calibrated individually,because of the possible variations in the alkenone-producing algal species in the lacustrine environment.In this work,we have calibrated U37K' of water filter samples against the in-situ water temperature in Lake Qinghai,Tibetan Plateau.There are significant relationships between U37K' and the water temperature,a non-linear relationship was derived.Because the U37K' values did not respond sensitively at lower temperatures,we suggested that a quadratic regression (U37K' =0.0011×T2-0.0201×T+0.1959,n=15,r2=0.74) was appropriate than linear regression to represent the relationship between the in-situ temperatures and U37K'.Meanwhile,the U37K correlation relationship was not more significant than U37K' index in our study.Because of the C37:4 effects by salinity change,we suggest U37K is not as robust as the U37K' index as a temperature proxy,at least for the salt lake in the Tibetan Plateau.The calibration of the U37K' index in this work has provided a new understanding of historic climatic changes in the Tibetan Plateau.