Эстуарии и солоноватые воды. Эстуарии: водные насекомые. Уэльс.
Freshwater Biology Volume 39 Issue 3 Page 411-421 - May 1998
Aquatic insects in an estuarine environment: densities, distribution
and salinity tolerance
D. Dudley Williams* & Nancy E. Williams*
1. Aquatic insects were quantitatively surveyed at five sites along the tidally
influenced section of a riverdominated estuary in North Wales. Site 1 was the
furthest upstream and was established as a reference site as it was never inundated
by salt water. Site 5 was the furthest downstream and was inundated by all
incoming tides. Numerically, insects made up 32% of the estuarine invertebrate
fauna.
2. Although the densities of most insect taxa decreased towards the estuary mouth,
there were significant numbers present downstream for much of the year; for
example, in April at site 4 (which was inundated by 81% of all high tides), a mean of
3514 chironomid larvae were recorded per m2 of estuary bed. Even at site 5, which
was inundated twice daily, there were 747 larvae per m2. Among the larger aquatic
insects, caddisfly and elmid beetle larvae, together with stonefly nymphs, were
consistently taken at site 4 (e.g. maxima of fortyeight caddisfly larvae m2 in
December and seventy elmids m2 in April), although their densities were lower than
upstream.
3. There were seasonal shifts in the longitudinal distribution of several taxa, most
notably the extension of chironomids down the estuary in April and July, and the
concentration of simuliid larvae and mayfly nymphs at site 2 in July. The total
freshwater benthos showed a downstream shift between September and December,
which was maintained through April and into the summer. The latter was despite
peak saltwater inundation (highest tides) in October, November and April. In June
and July, when saltwater intrusion was lowest, the ranges of many aquatic insects
had contracted to sites 1 and 2.
4. Laboratory experiments showed that virtually all individuals of nineteen species
of insects collected from site 1 (freshwater) survived a 4h immersion in 8.75
saltwater (25% strength seawater). Immersion in progressively more saline solutions
reduced the survivorship of first the mayflies, followed by the caddisflies
Glossosoma conformis and Hydropsyche instabilis. After 4 h in full strength
seawater, all specimens of the stonefly Dinocras cephalotes, over half of the Perla
bipunctata, and some individuals of nine species of caddisfly were alive. Four
species of caddisfly (Sericostoma personatum, Odontocerum albicorne,
Potamophylax cingulatus and Adicella reducta) survived a 24h simulated tidal
cycle of immersion. With the exception of P. cingulatus, a few individuals of these
caddisfly species survived immersion in fullstrength seawater for 24 h. For some
individual species there was good agreement between their observed longitudinal
distribution in the estuary and laboratorymeasured salinity tolerance; however, there
was no significant correlation, overall, for the fauna.
Эстуарии: насекомые, организация сообщества.
Ecography
Volume 25 Issue 3 Page 372-384 - June 2002
Insect community organisation in estuaries: the role of the physical environment
D. Dudley Williams and Tanya Hamm
Полный текст см. estuar1.pdf
Insects are reportedly uncommon in marine habitats and, from a spatial/temporal intercomparison perspective, estuaries are among the least studied. We examined the natural variability seen among insect community organisation in estuaries on both sides of the North Atlantic, and evaluated the role of their physical environments. Community composition was found to be strongly influenced by three physical factors: estuary size, the degree of inundation by incoming tides, and substrate size/stability. Insects formed a significant proportion (17-54%, by numbers) of the benthic community of coarse-grained-substratum estuaries, and species richness increased with estuary size. Nymphs/larvae of mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, elmid beetles and chironomids dominated channel sites inundated by up to 25% of all incoming tides, but a gradual loss in species richness occurred downstream. However, even the most seaward sites supported high insect densities (up to 25016 and 5433 m2, supporting 26 and 4 species, at sites inundated by 75 and 100% of all incoming tides, respectively). Sites covered by tides for between 3 and 5 h twice daily were dominated by orthocladine chironomids, especially of the genus Orthocladius. Chironomid larvae contribute significantly to the diets of some coastal fish species, particularly juvenile flounder and sticklebacks. We present a schematic model summarising the relationships between estuary size, degree of inundation by salt water and insect community structure.
Эстуарии: питание лосося.
Ecology Of Freshwater Fish
Volume 10 Issue 3 Page 177 - September 2001
Estuarine predation on radiotagged wild and domesticated sea trout (Salmo trutta L.) smolts
C. Dieperink, S. Pedersen, M. I. Pedersen
Abstract -Avian predation on emigrating wild and domesticated sea trout smolts was investigated in a fjord in the western Baltic Sea. In April 1997, 50 domesticated and 50 wild smolts were intraperitoneally tagged with radio-transmitters and released in a small coastal stream. Predation was recorded by signal interception in an estuarine breeding colony of cormorants and herons near the outlet of the stream. Of the 78 emigrating smolts, 51 (65%) were recorded as eaten. Predation rates were significantly higher among small than large smolts and significantly higher among domesticated smolts. The first 2 days after entering the sea, both wild and domesticated smolts suffered a severe daily predation rate (range 20-34%). The results support the hypothesis of a transient period immediately after exposure to full-strength sea water, where smolts experience an elevated risk of predation. A transient increase in postsmolt mortality may be found also in moderately saline environments (20-23 ppt).
Соленые марши: выедание хищниками.
Oikos
Volume 96 Issue 1 Page 119-129 - January 2002
Spatially heterogeneous refugia and predation risk in intertidal salt marshes
David B. Lewis and Lisa A. Eby
The effect of habitat structure on interactions between predators and prey may vary spatially. In estuarine salt marshes, heterogeneity in refuge quality derives from spatial variation in vegetation structure and in tidal inundation. We investigated whether predation by blue crabs on periwinkle snails was influenced by distance from the seaward edge of the salt marsh and by characteristics of the primary habitat structure, smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Spartina may provide refuge for snails and interfere with foraging by crabs. Furthermore, predation risk should decline with distance from the seaward edge because landward regions require more travel time for crabs during tidal inundation. We investigated these processes using a comparative survey of snails and habitat traits, an experiment that assessed the crab population and measured predation risk, and a size-structured model that estimated encounter rates. Taken together, these approaches indicated that predation risk for snails was lower where Spartina was present and was lower in a landward direction. Furthermore, Spartina architecture and distance from the seaward edge interacted. The strength of the predation gradient between seaward and landward regions of the marsh was greater where Spartina was tall or dense. These predation gradients emerge because vegetation and distance inland decrease encounter rates between crabs and snails. This study suggests that habitat modification, a process not uncommon in salt marshes, may have consequences for interactions among intertidal fauna.
Хирономиды морской литорали, Канада.
Colbo M H.
Dep. Biol., Memorial Univ., St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X9, Canada.
Chironomidae from marine coastal environments near St. John's,
Newfoundland, Canada.
Hydrobiologia 318(1-2). 1996. 117-122.
Chironomid larvae and adults were collected from rock pool and intertidal
sites between 1990 and 1994 on the exposed Atlantic coast and in more
sheltered bays near St. John's. From several thousand specimens collected,
16 chironomid taxa were identified. Two were from intertidal habitats and
the remainder occurred in rock pools. In intertidal habitats Halocladius
variabilis was abundant in summer among clumps of fine filamentous algae,
e.g. Pilayella littoralis. The previous Nearctic records of this
chironomid were from Hudson Bay and Greenland although it is widespread in
northern Europe. The other intertidal species, Telmatogeton japonicus, was
recorded from one site, a rock outcrop on a beach in the mouth of a small
stream. This Holarctic species has not been reported previously north of
New York on the Atlantic coast. The rock-pool communities were dominated
by Psectotanypus dyari, Cricotopus sylvestris, Psectocladius sordidellus
gp, Orthocladius dubitatus, Chironomus riparius, and Tanytarsus sp. These
taxa are known to tolerate sites with elevated salinity and/or
conductivity and thus are present in polluted sites inland. The other
eight chironomid species were rare and most were found at only one site.
An exception was the Metriocnemus sp. collected in very low numbers at
three sites and also collected previously during a survey of rock pools
for larval mosquitoes in the same area. The current study shows that a
diverse coastal chironomid community is present in the cold ocean habitats
of eastern Newfoundland. The community is made up of both arctic and
temperate faunal elements with widespread distributions not confined to
coastal habitats. Ranges of temperature, salinity, conductivity and pH for
the common species occurring in the rock pools are provided. The results
suggest that coastal rock pool habitats could be a natural laboratory for
studies on the evolutionary ecology of pollution tolerance in chironomids.
Эстуарии: мейобентос, колонизация субстатов
Marine Ecology Volume 21 Issue 1 Page 69 - April 2000
Meiofaunal Colonization of Artificial Substrates in an Estuarine Embayment
Nazan Atilla
Abstract. Artificial substrates were used to investigate the cryptic meiofauna of a Louisiana estuary. Three types of collectors were used as artificial habitats in colonization studies. Mesh collectors (composed of a plastic thread, approximately 74m long, woven into a pad) and bottle brushes (with approximately 4400 plastic bristles per brush, each 2.5m m long) were colonized equally well by meiofauna; Hester-Dendy plates with less structural complexity were colonized at a slower rate, especially by copepods. Nematodes and harpacticoid copepods were always the two most abundant meiofaunal taxa collected. Mesh collectors were retrieved in July and December after a 2-week colonization period to examine seasonal trends. Starting in December, a long-term colonization study was also performed to determine if an equilibrium abundance could be achieved; artificial substrates were collected after 2, 4 and 8w eeks. Meiofauna achieved high abundances (means ranged from 1000- 2 0,000 individuals per collector) on artificial substrates regardless of season, and abundance was related to supply, water flow and capture efficiency of the substrates as well as behavior of the meiofauna. Copepod species diversity was low (6 species were observed in July and 11 in December). Diversity and evenness were significantly different between July and December, and among the three collections in the long-term study. The copepod species assemblage qualitatively differed between July and December. Our data suggest that an abundant and dynamic but understudied meiofaunal assemblage is present in this estuarine embayment. This assemblage is not associated with macroalgae but rather related to presence of hard substrates and seasonally abundant filamentous microalgae.
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