Seasonal dynamics of meiofaunal distribution in the Dagu River Estuary, Jiaozhou Bay, China

Sediment samples were collected in the intertidal zone of the Dagu River Estuary, Jiaozhou Bay, China in April,July and October 2010 and February 2011 for examining seasonal dynamics of meiofaunal distribution and their relationship with environmental variables. A total of ten meiofaunal taxa were identified, including free-living marine nematodes, benthic copepods, polychaetes, oligochaetes, bivalves, ostracods, cnidarians, turbellarians,tardigrades and other animals. Free-living marine nematodes were the most dominant group in both abundance and biomass. The abundances of marine nematodes were higher in winter and spring than those in summer and autumn. Most of the meiofauna distributed in the 0–2 cm sediment layer. The abundance of meiofauna in hightidal zone was lower than those in low-tidal and mid-tidal zones. Results of correlation analysis showed that Chlorophyll a was the most important factor to influence the seasonal dynamics of the abundance, biomass of meiofauna and abundances of nematodes and copepods. CLUSTER analysis divided the meiofaunal assemblages into three groups and BIOENV results indicated that salinity, concentration of organic matter, sediment sorting coefficient and sediment median diameter were the main environmental factors influencing the meiofaunal assemblages.

Protist Interactions and Seasonal Dynamics in the Coast of Yantai, Northern Yellow Sea of China as Revealed by Metabarcoding

Facilitated by the high-throughput sequencing(HTS)technique,the importance of protists to aquatic systems has been widely acknowledged in the last decade.However,information of protistan biotic interactions and seasonal dynamics is much less known in the coast ecosystem with intensive anthropic disturbance.In this study,year-round changes of protist community composition and diversity in the coastal water of Yantai,a city along the northern Yellow Sea in China,were investigated using HTS for the V4 region of 18S rDNA.The interactions among protist groups were also analyzed using the co-occurrence network.Data analyses showed that Alveolata,Chlorophyta,and Stramenopiles are the most dominant phytoplanktonic protists in the investigated coastal area.The community composition displayed strong seasonal variation.The abundant families Dino-Group-I-Clade-1 and Ulotrichales_X had higher proportions in spring and summer,while Bathycoccaceae exhibited higher ratios in autumn and winter.Alpha diversities(Shannon and Simpson)were the highest in autumn and the lowest in spring(ANOVA test,P<0.05).Nutrients(SiO42−,PO43−),total organic carbon(TOC),and pH seemed to drive the variation of alpha diversity,while temperature,PO43−and TON were the most significant factors influencing the whole protist community.Co-variance network analyses reveal frequent co-occurrence events among ciliates,chlorophytes and dinoflagellate,suggesting biotic interactions have been induced by predation,parasitism and mixotrophy.

Seasonal dynamics of fine root biomass, root length density, specific root length, and soil resource availability in a Larix gmelinii plantation

Fine root turnover is a major pathway for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is most likely sensitive to many global change factors.Despite the importance of fine root turnover in plant C allocation and nutrient cycling dynamics and the tremendous research efforts in the past,our understanding of it remains limited.This is because the dynamics processes associated with soil resources availability are still poorly understood.Soil moisture,temperature,and available nitrogen are the most important soil characteristics that impact fine root growth and mortality at both the individual root branch and at the ecosystem level.In temperate forest ecosystems,seasonal changes of soil resource availability will alter the pattern of carbon allocation to belowground.Therefore,fine root biomass,root length density(RLD)and specific root length(SRL)vary during the growing season.Studying seasonal changes of fine root biomass,RLD,and SRL associated with soil resource availability will help us understand the mechanistic controls of carbon to fine root longevity and turnover.The objective of this study was to understand whether seasonal variations of fine root biomass,RLD and SRL were associated with soil resource availability,such as moisture,temperature,and nitrogen,and to understand how these soil components impact fine root dynamics in Larix gmelinii plantation.We used a soil coring method to obtain fine root samples(≤2 mm in diameter)every month from May to October in 2002 from a 17-year-old L.gmelinii plantation in Maoershan Experiment Station,Northeast Forestry University,China.Seventy-two soil cores(inside diameter 60 mm;depth intervals:0-10 cm,10-20 cm,20-30 cm)were sampled randomly from three replicates 25 m×30 m plots to estimate fine root biomass(live and dead),and calculate RLD and SRL.Soil moisture,temperature,and nitrogen(ammonia and nitrates)at three depth intervals were also analyzed in these plots.Results showed that the average standing fine root biomass(live and dead)was 189.1 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1),50%(95.4 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1))in the surface soil layer(0-10 cm),33%(61.5 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1)),17%(32.2 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1))in the middle(10-20 cm)and deep layer(20-30cm),respectively.Live and dead fine root biomass was the highest from May to July and in September,but lower in August and October.The live fine root biomass decreased and dead biomass increased during the growing season.Mean RLD(7,411.56 m·m^(-3)·a^(-1))and SRL(10.83 m·g^(-1)·a^(-1))in the surface layer were higher than RLD(1474.68 m·m^(-3)·a^(-1))and SRL(8.56 m·g^(-1)·a^(-1))in the deep soil layer.RLD and SRL in May were the highest(10621.45 m·m^(-3) and 14.83m·g^(-1))compared with those in the other months,and RLD was the lowest in September(2198.20 m·m^(-3))and SRL in October(3.77 m·g^(-1)).Seasonal dynamics of fine root biomass,RLD,and SRL showed a close relationship with changes in soil moisture,temperature,and nitrogen availability.To a lesser extent,the temperature could be determined by regression analysis.Fine roots in the upper soil layer have a function of absorbing moisture and nutrients,while the main function of deeper soil may be moisture uptake rather than nutrient acquisition.Therefore,carbon allocation to roots in the upper soil layer and deeper soil layer was different.Multiple regression analysis showed that variation in soil resource availability could explain 71-73%of the seasonal variation of RLD and SRL and 58%of the variation in fine root biomass.These results suggested a greater metabolic activity of fine roots living in soil with higher resource availability,which resulted in an increased allocation of carbohydrate to these roots,but a lower allocation of carbohydrate to those in soil with lower resource availability.

Climate warming restructures seasonal dynamics of grassland soil microbial communities

Soil microbial community's responses to climate warming alter the global carbon cycle.In temperate ecosystems,soil microbial communities function along seasonal cycles.However,little is known about how the responses of soil microbial communities to warming vary when the season changes.In this study,we investigated the seasonal dynamics of soil bacterial community under experimental warming in a temperate tall‐grass prairie ecosystem.Our results showed that warming significantly(p=0.001)shifted community structure,such that the differences of microbial communities between warming and control plots increased nonlinearly(R^(2)=0.578,p=0.021)from spring to winter.Also,warming significantly(p<0.050)increased microbial network complexity and robustness,especially during the colder seasons,despite large variations in network size and complexity in different seasons.In addition,the relative importance of stochastic processes in shaping the microbial community decreased by warming in fall and winter but not in spring and summer.Our study indicates that climate warming restructures the seasonal dynamics of soil microbial community in a temperate ecosystem.Such seasonality of microbial responses to warming may enlarge over time and could have significant impacts on the terrestrial carbon cycle.

Seasonal dynamics of cyanobacteria and eukaryotic phytoplankton in a multiplereservoir recycling irrigation system

Background:Agricultural runoff recycling systems are manmade aquatic ecosystems of growing significance to global water sustainability,crop health,and production.This study investigated the seasonal dynamics of microbial community in a three-reservoir recycling irrigation system with a stepwise water flow and compared with that of an adjacent runoff-free stream.Runoff water from all production areas was captured in a sedimentation reservoir which overflowed to a transition reservoir then retention reservoir through a culvert.Stream water was pumped to replenish the reservoirs as needed during growing seasons.Results:16S rDNA PCR clone libraries of quarterly water samples from three reservoirs and one stream were sequenced,and 575 operational taxonomic units(OTUs)were identified and assigned to cyanobacteria,eukaryotic phytoplankton,and other bacteria.When compared to the stream,three reservoirs consistently had low microbial diversity.A distinct seasonal pattern of microbial community structure was observed for each reservoir and the stream.Stream was consistently dominated by other bacteria.Retention reservoir was dominated by cyanobacteria during the summer and fall and eukaryotic phytoplankton during the winter and spring.Sedimentation reservoir was dominated by cyanobacteria beginning in the spring but that dominance was altered when water was pumped from the stream from early spring to fall seasons.Transition reservoir had the greatest shift of microbial community structure,being dominated by other bacteria in the summer,cyanobacteria in the fall,and eukaryotic phytoplankton in the winter and spring.Water temperature and ammonium level were the two most important contributing factors to the seasonality of microbial community in these reservoirs.Conclusions:The three recycling irrigation reservoirs consistently had lower microbial diversity and distinct community structure when compared to the stream.These reservoirs were typically dominated by cyanobacteria during warm seasons and eukaryotic phytoplankton during cool seasons.This seasonal pattern was altered when water was pumped from the stream.The cyanobacteria dominance was associated with rising water temperature and ammonium level.These results highlight the importance of preventing agricultural runoff from entering natural waterways and water resources and provide a useful framework for further investigations into the ecological processes of this emerging ecosystem.

Seasonal variation in the three-dimensional structures of coastal thermal front off western Guangdong

The seasonal structure and dynamic mechanism of oceanic surface thermal fronts(STFs)along the western Guangdong coast over the northern South China Sea shelf were analyzed using in situ observational data,remote sensing data,and numerical simulations.Both in situ and satellite observations show that the coastal thermal front exhibits substantial seasonal variability,being strongest in winter when it has the greatest extent and strongest sea surface temperature gradient.The winter coastal thermal front begins to appear in November and disappears after the following April.Although runoff water is more plentiful in summer,the front is weak in the western part of Guangdong.The frontal intensity has a significant positive correlation with the coastal wind speed,while the change of temperature gradient after September lags somewhat relative to the alongshore wind.The numerical simulation results accurately reflect the seasonal variation and annual cycle characteristics of the frontal structure in the simulated area.Based on vertical cross-section data,the different frontal lifecycles of the two sides of the Zhujiang(Pearl)River Estuary are analyzed.

Satellite Images Applied to Assess the Influence of Amazon River Seasonal Dynamic on the Floodplain Lake Morphology

The objective of this study is to assess the influence of the Amazon River seasonal dynamic on floodplain lake morphology. The study area includes the Amazon River floodplain reach encompassed by the Madeira and Tapajós River confluences. Products from the Global Rain Forest Mapping (GRFM) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were used to derive variables such as lake size, shape and number. The main steps in the research were: data base implementation, legend definition, image processing (merge, segmentation, classification and edition), morphological mapping and quantitative assessment. Four classes of lacustrine morphology were defined in this study: circular/elliptical, elongated, composite, and dendritic. The result showed that 1) the lake class increased 18.38% from the low- to high-water period;2) there was a reduction in the total number of lakes from low to high water;3) the most common lake type was the circular/elliptical;and 4) better results were obtained integrating SAR and optical sensors.

Seasonal dynamic changes in bacterial compositions in the Inner Mongolia desert steppe

Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(PCR-DGGE)technique was employed to examine the seasonal dynamic changes in bacterial community composition in the Inner Mongolia desert steppe using specific primers F954 and R1369.Bright and reproducible bands were sequenced,and the phylogenic tree was constructed.The results show that the bacterial community composition changed between different seasons.The specific bands were different between the sampling sites with light and heavy levels of degraded grassland.Three main types of bacteria constituting the microbial community in the Inner Mongolia desert steppe belonged to the α,γ and δ-sub phyla of Proteobacteria,Bacteroidetes and Acidobacteria.The unculturable bacteria accounted for 69%of the whole bacterial community of the Inner Mongolia desert steppe.

Study on the phenology of Chara vulgaris in Xin’an Spring, north China

The phenology of Chara vulgaris was studied.The specimens were collected four times from April 2004 to January 2005(one sampling per season).The water temperature,pH,dissolved oxygen,specific conductance,maximum width and maximum depth were monitored at every sampling time.Eighteen main morphological characteristics of the Chara vulgaris were also observed and measured under the microscope.The results showed that all the environmental factors had different seasonal patterns and some of the morphological characteristics had significant fluctuations,indicating differences in their seasonality.At the same time,some morphological characteristics were affected by the environmental parameters to some extent and the effect was primarily exhibited in its vegetative proportions;there was little effect on the sexual reproductive characteristics.Therefore,the relatively stable sexual reproductive characteristics can be used to identify the species.