Fish Biodiversity of Dingaputa Haor and its Surrounding Area of Mohangong Upazila, Netrakona District

The project entitled “Livelihood Improvement of Farming Community in Haor Area through System Approach (LIFCHASA)” of the Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University; Mymensingh worked in Purbo Tethulia village of Mohanganj Upazila under Netrakona district from April 2010 to June 2013 with the financial assistance from The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council. Different research activities were done as per plan for different five components. The Crop and Agroforestry Component conducted experiments both in the homestead land and crop land. Under Livestock Component, experiments were conducted on rearing of egg producing hen, duck, fattening of animals, artificial insemination and continuous vaccination programme. In the Fisheries Component, experiments on cage culture in open water emerged as a promising technology. From the result of the soil sample analysis of the research site under Rural Hydrology and Mechanization Component, it was found that additional application of sulphur and zinc fertilizers were unnecessary. From the study under Socioeconomic Component, it was distinctly clear that the efficiency of marginal and small farms was improved in agro economic productivity with the increase of number of farming enterprises intervened irrespective of farm sizes. The marginal and small farmers appeared to be the most efficient performers in the integration and arrangement of farming enterprises. This was followed by landless and medium farms. The gross margin for marginal and small, landless and medium increased by 84%, 89% and 50 %, respectively involving the enterprises like crop and agroforestry, livestock and fisheries. The findings of 25 physical models on integrated farming systems revealed that the agro-economic/bio-economic productivity of all those models increased tremendously in terms of total production, biodiversity, human resource enlightened with knowledge, skill and motivational spirit in modern techniques and technologies.

Impact of hydropeaking on fish and their habitat

Two species of freshwater minnow occur in Taiwan, Zacco platypus and Zacco pachycephalus. Previous studies indicate that population genetic differentiations are common within each minnow species. We analyzed genetic relationships for the two species of minnows by using a new DNA markers amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) for 83 specimens collected from 33 localities of 6 rivers in Taiwan. We used two restriction enzymes (EcoRI and MseI) to digest the genomic DNA for AFLP analysis which realved 200 scorable AFLP loci. Nei-Li distance tree displayed that two genetic groups of Zacco platypus (TL & JL) can be distinguished from Zacco pachycephalus with statistical significance. Moreover, genetic difference was also shown in two geographical groups of Zacco pachycephalus (NA & SA).

The role of cattle in the epidemiology of bluetongue (BT) as well as the distribution of different vector species throughout South Africa is not well understood. Mnisi, a rural area located in Mpumalanga, South Africa, was selected for an epidemiological study. The prevalence of Culicoides species associated with this area as well as whether bluetongue virus (BTV) is circulating in the area is unclear. Sera were collected from 1 260 cattle and screened with a BTV-specific cELISA. Light traps operated during autumn and winter periods. Midges were identified to species level, pooled (n = 200) and screened for BTV RNA with a real-time RT-qPCR. Blood samples from seronegative cattle were also screened for BTV RNA. Antibodies specific to BTV were detected in 95.7% of the sera with a statistical significant difference (p < 0.05) between age groups and villages. Twenty-five different Culicoides species were identified of which C. imicola was the most abundant. Bluetongue virus RNA was detected in 51.2% (autumn) and 75.9% (winter) of the midges collected. A total of 35.5% seronegative cattle tested positive for the presence of BTV RNA. These results demonstrate that BTV as well as different vectors are circulating in the Mnisi area.

هدف از پژوهش کنونی بررسی دورنمایی از اثرات احتمالی تغییر اقلیم بر جابه‌جایی زمانی تاریخ وقوع اولین و آخرین یخبندان‌های پاییزه و بهارۀ ایران است. بدین منظور از داده‌های دیده‌بانی 43 ایستگاه همدید کشور (1981-2010) و داده‌های شبیه‌سازی شدۀ LARS WG در دو مدل آب‌وهوای جهانی GFCM21 و HadCM3 در بازه‌های زمانی (2065-2046) و (2099-2080)، تحت سه سناریوی انتشار A1B، A2 و B1استفاده گردید. نتایج، بیانگر جابه‌جایی اولین یخبندان پاییزه‌ به سمت اوایل زمستان و جابه‌جایی آخرین یخبندان بهاره به‌سوی اواخر زمستان در گسترۀ ایران است. پراکنش زمانی-مکانی تغییرات متفاوت است؛ به‌گونه‌ای که بیشترین جابه‌جایی‌های مثبت در رخداد اولین یخبندان پاییزه در دورۀ (2065-2046) در ایستگاه‌هایی چون خرم‌‌آباد، رشت و گرگان مشاهده می‌شود. میزان تغییرات در ایستگاه‌های شمال شرقی (سبزوار و سمنان)، نیمۀ جنوبی (کرمان، بم و آباده) و بیشتر ایستگاه‌های شمال‌غرب نسبت به دیگر مناطق کمتر است. در دورۀ (2080-2099) بیشترین روند منفی در ایستگاه‌های گرگان، رشت، اردبیل و شهرکرد خواهد بود. خوی، قزوین، بم و کاشان کمترین جابه‌جایی منفی خواهند داشت.

Fil: Verga, Ernesto Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal; Argentina

У статті наведені результати досліджень, проведених в 2011-2016 рр. на чорноземі південному в умовах Південного Степу України, з вивчення ефективності оброблення посівів пшениці озимої сучасними рістрегулюючими препаратами по фону внесення мінеральних добрив. Вивчали вплив сортових особливостей пшениці озимої та варіантів живлення на формування показників структури врожаю та рівень урожайності зерна культури. Визначено, що за внесення під передпосівну культивацію пшениці озимої мінерального добрива в дозі N 30 P 30 (фон) та застосування позакореневого підживлення посівів на початку відновлення весняної вегетації та початку виходу рослин у трубку комплексними органо-мінеральними добривами Органік Д2 та Ескор – біо створюються сприятливі умови для формування оптимальних показників структури врожаю та відповідно найвищого рівня врожайності зерна досліджуваних сортів. Так, у середньому за роки досліджень, рослинами пшениці озимої сорту Кольчуга у даних варіантах удобрення сформовано 4,42-4,48 т / га зерна, а сорту Заможність 4,96-4,99 т / га, що перевищило показники контролю на 52,9-55,0 та 62,6-63,6 % відповідно. Із досліджуваних сортів пшениці озимої за комплексом показників кращим визначено сорт Заможність.

Objective — to determine specify changes in taxonomical composition, plantations and landscapes of Krasnokutsky park (Kharkiv Region) in the last 20 years. Material and methods. Researches were conducted in 1997 (Yu.O. Klymenko) and in 2016 (A.V. Hryhorenko, Yu.O. Klymenko). Species and cultivar compositions were specified by enrout inspections. Park territory has been divided into allotments by dominating species, allotment areas have been calculated. Garden and park landscapes have been determined according to the classification by L.I. Rubtsov. Results. It has been determined that in the last 20 years taxonomical composition of the park dwindled. Due to an attack of European spruce bark beetle the majority of Picea abies plants that were already weakened by droughts withered. Fraxinus excelsior dominated areas expanded, same happened with areas where no species prevail (those similar to degenerate oakery), in landscapes area rearrangement favored wooded garden park type. Conclusions. Negative taxonomical composition, plantations and landscapes changes are observed in Krasnokutsky park. Plant elimination of certain introduced species takes years while certain other introduced species can get small in numbers or eliminated altogether. Besides extremely low temperature in winter, droughts and pests should be considered the most common causes of sudden plant deaths. Taxonomical composition and landscape appearance revival of an old park is impossible without conducting sanitary and landscape tree cuttings, which are currently forbidden.

This dataset is a shapefile representing the proportion of threatened endemic species (both plants and animals) in 247 countries along with associated environmental and socioeconomic drivers. The geographic coordinate system is World Geodetic System 1984 (EPSG: 4326). Information on a total of 65,125 endemic species including 27,294 globally threatened endemic species (55% threatened plant species, 45% threatened animal species) was extracted from the IUCN Red List. The categories of threatened species used in the analyses included vulnerable (VU), endangered (EN), critically endangered (CR), extinct in the wild (EW) and globally extinct (EX). We calculated the proportion of globally threatened endemic species among the total number of assessed endemic species per country (Chamberlain et al., 2020). Associated environmental socioeconomic regional correlates included: 1) Cropland: The proportion of each country covered by crops (including food, fibre and fodder crops and pasture grasses) was determined based on a FAO global map with a resolution of 5 arc-minutes (von Velthuizen et al., 2007); 2) HANPP: The proportion of net primary production appropriated by humans (HANPP) by harvesting or burning biomass and by converting natural ecosystems to managed lands with lower productivity was derived for the year 2010 from Krausmann et al. (2013); 3) Delta HANPP: We also computed the increase in HANPP over the period 1962-2010 (Krausmann et al., 2013); 4) per area GDP: The per area gross domestic product (GDP, in international $) was obtained by calculating the median value over each country of all 5 arcmin cells of a recently gridded GDP dataset (Kummu et al., 2018); 5) Human Footprint (HFP): The global terrestrial human footprint (HFP) is an index integrating the influence of built environments, population density, electric infrastructure, croplands, pasture lands, roads, railways, and navigable waterways on the environment based on remotely-sensed and bottom-up survey information (Venter et al., 2016). We extracted from a 1 km resolution HFP map the median value over each country in 2009; 6) Delta HFP: We also calculated the increase in median HFP over the period 1993-2009 (Venter et al., 2016); 7) Invasive alien plants: The richness of invasive alien vascular plant species recorded in each country was compiled by Essl et al. (2019); 8) Invasive alien animals: The richness of invasive alien animal species was derived from the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species database (http://griis.org/ accessed on 27-6-2018); 9) Delta temperature: Based on decadal climate maps produced by the IPCC over the last century with a 0.5° resolution, we calculated the median of the change in annual mean temperature (in °C) between 1901-1910 and 1981-1990 (Mitchell & Jones, 2005); 10) Delta rainfall: The same for annual precipitation (in mm); 11) Velocity temperature: We also calculated the median velocity of climate change based on the formula from Hamann et al. (2015) to evaluate the distance (in °) over which a species must migrate over the surface of the earth to maintain constant temperature conditions; 12) Velocity rainfall: The same for precipitation; 13) Roadless areas: The median area of a roadless fragment (in km²) was calculated from the global map of roadless areas published by Ibisch et al. (2016); 14) Wilderness areas: The proportion of wildlands (categories ‘wild woodlands’ and ‘wild treeless and barren lands’) was calculated from the anthropogenic biome map of Ellis et al. (2010); 15) Protected areas: The proportion of protected areas was estimated from the IUCN’s shapefile of World Database on Protected Areas (https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/our-work/world-database-protected-areas); 16) Conservation spending: The mean annual conservation spending of each country (in international $) was taken from Waldron et al. (2017) to quantify investment to mitigate biodiversity loss; 17) Completeness of biodiversity information: We used data on the estimated percentage completeness of species records in GBIF, as assessed through comparison with independent estimates of native richness. Inventory effort indices available for vertebrates (Meyer et al., 2015) and vascular plants (Meyer et al., 2016) were merged into a single metric based upon an average weighted by estimated native species richness.

The spatial behaviour of 20 red deer was analyzed for the first time in the Italian Alps using radio-telemetry, from 1995 to 1997 in the Tarvisio forest, and from 1995 to 1999 in the Susa valley. Two distinct strategies of spatial behaviour were displayed in both study areas, i.e., migratory and stationary. Migratory red deer showed significantly larger annual home ranges, as each year they reached distant summer areas located at higher altitudes. Stationary red deer, instead, remained in the same areas throughout the year, with the exception of summer movement to neighbouring areas at higher altitude. As a consequence of these movements towards and from summer areas, spring and autumn migratory home ranges were significantly larger, while stationary home ranges recorded during spring, summer, and autumn were comparable in size. In winter home range sizes were limited in all monitored deer whenever snow cover reduced their mobility. Migratory red deer movements proved to be markedly affected by snowfall, with their monthly altitudes inversely correlated with snow presence on the ground. Stationary deer vertical movements proved less affected by presence of snow, as they reached lower altitude during summer. During winter, migratory red deer showed a greater use of the Tarvisio supplementary feeding stations, the only study site where this practice was in use. Migratory individuals probably adopted an opportunistic strategy, using the Alpine meadows at higher altitudes during the summer and the feeding stations during the winter, even if the use of feeding stations may be the end result of a poorer knowledge of trophic availability inside the winter areas. During the winter all the monitored deer used the same areas; food supply should be avoided in order not to promote high deer concentration and to reduce the risk of heavy forest browsing.

Jun Aoyama, Sam Wouthuyzen, Michael J. Miller, Hagi Y. Sugeha, Mari Kuroki, Shun Watanabe, Augy Syahailatua, Fadly Y. Tantu, Seishi Hagihara, Triyanto, Tsuguo Otake, and Katsumi Tsukamoto (2018) Sulawesi Island of north-central Indonesia is located in a region where at least 6 species of tropical anguillid eels are present, but the reproductive ecology and biodiversity of these eels in each area of the Indonesian archipelago remains poorly understood. Some information about these species was obtained from collections of their leptocephalus larvae made during several times of the year and from year-round collections of their recruitment-stage glass eels at a few locations. A sampling survey of anguillid leptocephali was conducted in March 2010 in both the Celebes Sea and Tomini Bay of Sulawesi Island to learn about the biodiversity and reproductive ecology of the eels in the region. Twenty-eight anguillid leptocephali were collected at 13 different stations, with genetic identification indicating that 3 species of eels had spawned in the two areas. Larvae were more abundant in the Celebes Sea (N = 21; 16.0-52.1 mm TL) than in Tomini Bay (N = 7; 9.6-54.8 mm). The abundant 16-21 mm size-class of Anguilla bornensis in the Celebes Sea indicated that species had recently spawned there, and spawning had also occurred in Tomini Bay by A. celebesensis (17.4 mm). These data and previous life history information suggest that A. celebesensis may have two spawning seasons in the Celebes Sea, but only one main spawning season in Tomini Bay. Anguilla borneensis may spawn at several times of the year in the Celebes Sea. Anguilla marmorata and A. biocolor pacifica spawn outside the Indonesian Seas, with A. marmorata recruiting in large numbers in the Sulawesi Island region during much of the year. Other spawning locations of A. celebesensis and A. interioris likely exist in Indonesian waters. Therefore, further research is needed to understand the reproductive ecologies and biodiversity of the tropical anguillid eels in each region of Indonesia in relation to geographic and climatic factors.

Between December, 1962, and August, 1965, the ecology and reproductive biology of the European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis was studied in the vicinity of Melbourne, Victoria, in an attempt to assess the role of this exotic species in the Australian environment.Throughput the year, field observations were made on all aspects of the goldfinch’s annual cycle. During the non-breeding season (January to late August) the goldfinch occupies an open habitat where large feeding flocks are common at all times of day. In early September the winter flocks break up, and the birds gradually return to the nesting areas. After a nest site has been selected by the female, small territories are established by the pair. Nests, situated almost exclusively in exotic shrubbery, are built between late September and late January. Clutch size at Melbourne is 4.8. The incubation and nestling periods average 13 and 15 days respectively. Egg hatched in 50% of the nests in which eggs were laid, but only 28.9% of these nests produced fledglings. The major causes of nest failure are predation, wind action, and desertion.The nesting study was supplemented by a histological examination of the gonads and associated organs of 307 male and 205 female goldfinches. The results indicate that gonadal activity is cyclical. Gondal recrudescence starts in both sees in July, one month after the winter solstice. Breeding condition is research reached in September and persists until January when the gonads regress quickly. By March the gonads have reached their quiescent winter condition. The study of the male seminal sacs, in conjunction with the results of testicular examination suggest that spermatogenesis may occur in waves during the breeding season. The changes in bill pigmentation, observed throughout the year, bear a clear relationship to the gonadal cycle.The moult sequence in the goldfinch is described in detail. Moult, which is an annual process, starts in December, reaches its peak in February and March, and is completed by mid-May. There is a clear overlap between moulting and nesting.The food of the goldfinch was assessed by an examination of the crop and gizzard contents of 20 specimens from each month of the year, and by field observation. A total of 32 plant species were identified, only one proved to be an Australian native. Small quantities of insect food are eaten at all times, but there is a marked increase in the occurrence of insects in the crop during the breeding season.Finally the topic of introduced species is briefly discussed in the light of recent investigations. This topic is then related to the Goldfinch has succeeded in Australia because of its ability to exploit a vacant, man-made niche for which there were no competitors.

Over the past decades, global warming significantly affected the spring phenology of plants. Many studies have reported the temporal and spatial patterns of spring phenological changes in China, but relatively less is known for that in Europe, which is also located in the temperate area of the Northern Hemisphere. To facilitate the regional comparison of phenological change and understand its response to climate change, we used the data of first leaf date (FLD) in Europe (1980-2014) and the corresponding meteorological data to examine the spatiotemporal variations in leaf-out phenology of four typical tree species (Aesculus hippocastanum, Betula pendula, Fagus sylvatica, and Quercus robur), and to identify the major climatic factors driving such variations. The results showed that the FLD of the four species in the study area advanced by 3.3-7.5 d·10 a-1 during 1980-2014. The FLD was delayed at a rate of 2.03-3.19 d per degree of latitude from south to north, of 0.19-0.80 d per degree of longitude from west to East (except for Fagus sylvatica), of 2.25-3.44 d·100 m-1 from low to high elevation. The advances in the FLD were mainly attributed to the increases of temperature in spring and the increases of precipitation in spring and winter. The rise of temperature in autumn and winter would delay FLD.

Natural and Anthropogenic Drivers of Water Quality in the Normanby Basin and Princess Charlotte Bay, Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Crabs of genus Callinectes represent one of the most exploited resources by the artisanal fisheries in the Laguna estuary, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Juveniles of three species coexist simpactrically in shallow waters of the estuarine-lagoon system. This paper studies the distributions in space and time of the relative abundance and size (carapace width - CW) of juvenile Callinectes spp. over 12 months. From April, 1994 to March, 1995, 4,450 individuals were caught, and C. danae represented 64.3% of the catch, whereas C. sapidus, the second most abundant species accounted for 35.6% of the abundance. Only four specimens of C. bocourti were identified in the samples. Two-way ANOVA indicated that the factors season and area of collection influenced in the variation of species abundance individually, and interactions were non significant. C. danae was most abundant during summer and fall, and C. sapidus during spring and summer. Both species were least abundant in the winter. Peak abundance occurring at different times of the year for each species suggests a life history strategy to minimize competition for nearly the same resources (habitat, food). The arrival of recruits of C. danae occurs in the summer, and growth through spring is evidenced by shifts in the size frequency distribution. For C. sapidus this pattern is not evident since smaller size individuals were caught throughout the year. Both species showed a high frequency in the size range 27.5 - 37.5 mm CW individuals in areas B and C where average salinity ranges between 10 and 15%o, suggesting that their eurihaline environment shows preferential characteristics for the development of the juveniles and where potentially niche overlap between species would occur.