scholarly journals Recent declines in benthic macroinvertebrate densities in Lake Ontario

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J Lozano ◽  
Jill V Scharold ◽  
Thomas F Nalepa

Surveys of benthic macroinvertebrates conducted in Lake Ontario during 1994 and 1997 revealed recent declines in populations of three major taxonomic groups: Oligochaeta, Sphaeriidae, and Diporeia spp. (Amphipoda), with the most drastic reductions occurring in the latter. Results from sediment measurements were used to classify deepwater sediments into three habitat zones. Densities of all three taxa declined in the shallowest (12–88 m) of the sediment zones between 1994 and 1997; the greatest changes in density were observed for Diporeia, which declined from 3011 to 145 individuals·m–2, and for total benthic macroinvertebrates, which declined from 5831 to 1376 individuals· m–2. Mean densities of Dreissena spp. in 1997 were highest in the shallowest zone, and the areas of greatest densities corresponded to areas of largest reductions in Diporeia populations. We believe that dreissenids are competing with Diporeia by intercepting the supply of fresh algae essential for Diporeia survival. A decline in macroinvertebrate densities, especially populations of an important food item such as Diporeia, in Lake Ontario sediments at depths of 12–88 m may have a detrimental impact on the benthic food web.


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Carthew ◽  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Darryl L. Funnell

This study provides the first assessment of the diet of the yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) in the south-west portion of its range near the Victorian–South Australian border. Examining its diet in this region is viewed as being fundamental to understanding the ecological requirements of the species. Observations were conducted over a five-year period on gliders from five distinct groups. Sap was the most important food item throughout the year and accounted for 83% of 407 feeding observations. Each group of gliders used up to 21 different trees for sap, but during any sample period only 1–8 trees were used. This represents a vastly different pattern of use of sap trees to that described in any earlier study. Some trees were visited more often than others, and these tended to be heavily scarred, indicating use over many years. Other food types were arthropods and honeydew and, to a lesser extent, nectar. This study also revealed that the yellow- bellied glider is not dependent on a diversity of tree species nor on a winter-flowering species. We provide a review of the diet of the yellow-bellied glider throughout its range. This shows that the yellow-bellied glider is reliant on sap as a food resource but particularly so at both ends of its geographic range. The reason for this is unclear, but there is definitely a need for further study of sap-flow patterns in eucalypts.



2021 ◽  
Vol 910 (1) ◽  
pp. 012070
Author(s):  
Nehad K. Wahab

Abstract Somebiological aspects and morphological for Coptodon zillii inhabiting at Al-Tharthar Arm-Tigris River were studied during the period from April to September 2016. The growth pattern was positive allometric with (b) values for males 3.392, females 3.192, and for combined sexes 3.30. Condition factor values were lower than one and increased with size rangesbetween1.265and1.984 with an average of 1.665for combined sexes.Fish considered as herbivorous, six food items found in the diet, filament algae was the most important food item that occupied 57.84% of the diet, followed by plants particles' and their seeds 27.08% and organic materials 12.38%. The percentage of food items by both methods differed between sexes. The research cover, the ratios of each of twenty morphometric measurements to total length, and each of four morphometric measurements to head length and their linear regression equations. All the length-length relationships between standard length and the others measurements were highly correlated.



2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-215
Author(s):  
Erika M. Shimabukuro ◽  
Raoul Henry


2001 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. ZAMPROGNO ◽  
M. das G. F. ZAMPROGNO ◽  
R. L. TEIXEIRA

The diet of the arboreal lizard E. bilineatus was assessed based on analysis of gut contents of specimens collected in the remnants of the Atlantic rainforest in Espírito Santo State, south-eastern Brazil. Stomachs of the lizards examined (SVL = 57.0-85.0 mm) contained nine arthropod orders. E. bilineatus utilizes a broad range of arthopodan prey type and sizes, and can be considered an arthropod generalist, which uses a sit-and-wait foraging strategy. Orthoptera represented the most important food item, followed by Dictyoptera and Hymenoptera. Hemiptera, Homoptera, Lepidoptera (larvae), Coleoptera, Araneae, and Diplopoda constituted the remainder of food items. The presence of Diplopoda, which are not generally found on tree trunks, provides particularly strong evidence the E. bilineatus forages in leaf litter on the ground.



1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1683-1697 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Johnson ◽  
R. O. Brinkhurst

Three main macroinvertebrate associations were found in the Bay of Quinte, Prince Edward Bay, and the adjacent area of Lake Ontario: a chironomid association of the eutrophic inner and middle bays; an association of many species of sphaeriids, oligochaetes, chironomids, and crustaceans in the mesotrophic lower Bay of Quinte and Prince Edward Bay; and a cold-stenotherm association of the oligotrophic deep basin of Lake Ontario. An additional, but more confined (inner Prince Edward Bay), association consisted of a variety of taxa, whose distribution appeared to be related to the distribution of vascular vegetation. All of the main taxonomic groups contributed to each association and to differences among associations. The lakeward progression of associations in the study area was closely similar to the west to east shifts in Lake Erie reported earlier. Species diversity in Lake Ontario associations apparently was related to degree of eutrophy and to water temperature.



1977 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 455 ◽  
Author(s):  
TLO Davis

The composition of the diet of T. tandanus was investigated in the Gwydir River before and during inundation of the river by the Copeton Dam. Decapods (Macrobrachiurn australiense and Chevax neopunctatus) were the most important component of the diet by weight, followed by chironomids, fish (Hypseleotris klunzingeri) and miscellaneous aquatic invertebrates. Although fish have not previously been recorded in the diet, they were found to be very important in the diet of small catfish (40% by weight). Ontogenetic changes in the diet were pronounced with a general progression: Entomostraca-Diptera-fish-Decapoda. There was a tendency for larger fish to prefer larger prey. A direct and significant relationship was observed between the size of catfish and the size of M. australiense and C. neopunctatus eaten. Investigation of the seasonal variation in the composition of the diet revealed that M. australiense was the most important food item in summer and chironomids were most abundant in winter. During the filling phase of the dam a high proportion of terrestrial organisms (up to 52%) were included in the diet. Successional blooms of species, not observed in the diet previously, accompanied stabilization of the water level; these included pulmonate snails and dipterans associated with a massive build-up of floating hydrophytes.





Wader Study ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Carneiro ◽  
Tómas G. Gunnarsson ◽  
José A. Alves


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. O'Connor ◽  
Sanjeev K. Srivastava ◽  
Neil W. Tindale ◽  
Scott E. Burnett

The diet of the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was investigated through analysis of 1185 scats collected between 2010 and 2014 from coastal south-east Queensland, Australia. By both frequency of occurrence and volume, its diet was dominated by terrestrial arthropods, marine arthropods, vegetation and birds, although the remains of the short-tailed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris) consumed as carrion dominated the latter. Terrestrial arthropods, primarily insects of the order Coleoptera, were eaten all year (61% frequency of occurrence, FO) but varied seasonally (35–67%FO), mostly due to the consumption of large numbers of Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus spp.) in the summer months. Marine arthropods consisted almost entirely of ghost crabs (Ocypode spp.) and seasonal variation in consumption was evident (33–72%FO) and likely correlated with ghost crab abundance. Fruit and berries were an important food item for foxes all year but also varied seasonally (30–65%FO). The opportunistic diet of this fox population is discussed in the context of dietary differences, but common opportunism, reported in other Australian and overseas studies.



2008 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila K. Fagundes ◽  
Everton R. Behr ◽  
Carla B. Kotzian

The diet of the benthic-feeding fish Iheringichthys labrosus (Lütken, 1874) was analyzed. Samples were taken bimonthly from December 1999 to January 2002, in three sites of the Ibicuí River, a tributary of Uruguay River basin (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). In each sampling point the specimens were collected in lentic and lotic environments. Gillnets and trammel nets were examined every 6 hours (6h, 12h, 18h and 24h). Diet description was based on the frequency of occurrence and the volume of each food item to obtain the Alimentary Index (IAi). The average stomach fullness was adopted to detect variations in the feeding activity according to the season, the circadian rhythm and the environment. Chironomids were the most important food item, followed by mollusks, and feeding activity was highest in summer, during daylight (6h and 12h), and in the lotic environment of the second sampling point.



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