Responses of Plankton, Turbidity, and Macrophytes to Biomanipulation in a Shallow Prairie Lake

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1180-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Hanson ◽  
Malcolm G. Butler

We evaluated effects of complete fish kill in a large, shallow, eutrophic lake in Minnesota. Low densitites of Bosmina and Chydorus (< 100∙L−1) were replaced in the early spring/early summer by high densities of larger Daphnia galeata and D. pulex (> 100∙L−1) during the first year after the fish kill (1988). During peak daphnid abundance (May–June), chlorophyll a concentrations and edible phytoplankton were reduced, water transparency increased, and submerged macrophytes expanded. Orthophosphate and ammonia were detectable during clear-water phases, indicating that phytoplankton were not severely nutrient limited. Increased water transparency in subsequent years (1989–90) apparently was related to decreased sediment resuspension and lower algal biomass owing to the expansion of submerged plants. The fish kill invoked a strong initial response that transmitted to the phytoplankton level and increased water clarity. Higher transparency persisted during subsequent years because submerged macrophytes both responded to improved water clarity and subsequently prolonged it. These results support the contention that removal of fish from shallow lakes may invoke "cascading impacts" that enhance water clarity, stimulate macrophytes, and establish a new steady state.

Author(s):  
G.W. Sheath ◽  
R.W. Webby ◽  
W.J. Pengelly

Comparisons of controlling late spring to early summer pasture growth on either easy or steep contoured land with either a fast rotation or continuous grazing policy were made in self-contained farmlets for two years. Pasture control was maintained over more land by controlling steep land first and with continuous grazing. Animal performances (ewes, steers) were generally similar for the mid-November to early January treatment period, and subsequently until May shearing. In the first year better animal performances occurred in "steep control" farmlets during winter and early spring, but this was less evident in the second year. Priority control of steep land during late spring-early summer is recommended because of likely longer-term benefits in pasture composition,density and production. Quick rotation grazing through the period provides a better ability to recognise and manage pasture quantities and should be adopted if summer droughts are anticipated. For well fenced properties in summer-wet areas and with integrated stock grazing, continuous grazing during late spring-early summer may be equally suitable. Keywords: hill country, grazing management, pasture control


Author(s):  
J.A. Baars ◽  
A. Cranston

'Grasslands Matua' prairie grass (Bromus catharticus) was evaluated under close mowing (a) against cocksfoot, phalaris, and tall fescue as a companion grass for lucerne, on a pumice soil from 1974 to 1977 at sowing rates of 4, 13 and 22 kg/ha and (b) against ryegrasses in grass/white clover pastures on a sandy loam from 1975 to 1977. (a) In the first year lucerne/Matua sown at 13 and 22 kg/ha outyielded lucerne/Matua sown at 4 kg/ha by 19%, lucerne alone by 61%, and other mixtures by at least 21%. There were no significant differences in total production between the three lucerne/ Matua treatments, luccrne alone, and other mixtures over the second and third year. The inclusion of Matua reduced weed ingress. In the third year, Matua had a higher weed content than lucerne/tall fescue, which was almost weed free. (b) Annual production of Matua and Nui ryegrass swards was not significantly different. Matua swards were, however, superior to Nui from midsummer to early spring, whereas over spring/early summer Nui swards outproduced Matua swards.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Wang ◽  
Qianqian Qi

In the shallow lake ecosystems, the recovery of the aquatic macrophytes and the increase in the water transparency have been the main contents of the ecological restoration. Using the shallow lake ecological degradation and restoration model, CNOP method is adopted to discuss the instability and sensitivity of the ecosystem to the finite-amplitude perturbations related to the initial condition and the parameter condition. Results show that the linearly stable clear (turbid) water states can be nonlinearly unstable with the finite-amplitude perturbations, which represent the nature factors and the human activities such as the excessive harvest of the macrophytes and the sediment resuspension caused by artificially dynamic actions on the ecosystems. The results also support the viewpoint of Scheffer et al., whose emphasis is that the facilitation interactions between the submerged macrophytes and the water transparency are the main trigger for an occasional shift from a turbid to a clear state. Also, by the comparison with CNOP-I, CNOP-P, CNOP, and (CNOP-I, CNOP-P), results demonstrate that CNOP, which is not a simple combination of CNOP-I and CNOP-P, could induce the shallow lake ecosystem larger departure from the same ground state rather than CNOP-I, CNOP-P, and (CNOP-I, CNOP-P).


Author(s):  
J.A. Baars ◽  
G.J. Goold ◽  
M.F. Hawke ◽  
P.J. Kilgarriff ◽  
M.D. Rolm

Patterns of pasture growth were measured on 3 farms in the Bay of Plenty (BOP) and at No2 Dairy (Ruakura Agricultural Centre) in the Waikato from 1989 to 199 1. A standardised trim technique with cages and 4-weekly cutting under grazing was used. Long-term seasonal growth patterns, using a predictive pasture model, were also simulated. Simulated pasture growth from long-term climatic data shows that pasture growth rates are higher in winter, early spring and late autumn in the BOP than the Waikato. However, the actual measurements over the 2 years show that pasture growth over the latter periods is lower at the BOP sites than at the Waikato site. In the BOP the spring peak is much later than in the Waikato while an early summer peak, with higher growth rates than in the Waikato, occurred in the BOP. No such summer peak was evident in the Waikato. The difference between the two regions is caused by the large contribution of subtropical grasses to sward production in summer and autumn, The prolific summer growth of subtropical grasses may explain the low ryegrass content and low pasture production in winter. The lower than expected autumn, winter, spring production may also becaused by low clover content, possibly a result of competition from subtropical grasses and a sulphur deficiency. The apparent low amount of nitrogen fixed by clover may explain the low rates of pasture production over the cooler season. Applications of nitrogen fertiliser may substantially increase dry matter production from April to September. Keywords pasture,simulation,subtropical grasses, Paspalum, Digitaria sanguinalis, growth rates


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 704-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce N. McLellan ◽  
Fred W. Hovey

Based on the analysis of 1100 feces or scats, the seasonal diet of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Flathead drainage between 1979 and 1991 was estimated. In the early spring, major foods included ungulates and hedysarum roots (Hedysarum sulphurescens). Later in the spring and early summer, green vegetation that mainly included horsetails (Equisetum arvense), graminoids, and cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) dominated the diet. Later in the summer, berries, particularly huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) and soopolallie (Shepherdia canadensis), were most common. In the autumn, berries, ungulates, and hedysarum roots were major foods. Seasonal changes in nutrients were measured for major foods. The volume of a food consumed within a season was inversely related to food quality, suggesting that food availability and handling time may have been more important factors influencing diet selection. The proportions of food items in the scats, and species of fruit in particular, varied among years. The Flathead and contiguous Waterton Lakes National Park are so far the only study areas in North America that contain all major bear foods found across the interior of the continent, and in particular, both major berry species, huckleberries and soopolallie. This observation supports the hypothesis that a favourable food base in the Flathead is partially responsible for the high density of bears found there. It is important for managers to realize the possible uniqueness of the Flathead area and not extrapolate information without due caution.


2001 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 225-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.W. Lindsay

AbstractThe RADARSAT geophysical processor system (RGPS) uses sequential synthetic aperture radar images of Arctic sea ice taken every 3 days to track a large set of Lagrangian points over the winter and spring seasons. The points are the vertices of cells, which are initially square and 10 km on a side, and the changes in the area of these cells due to opening and closing of the ice are used to estimate the fractional area of a set of first-year ice categories. The thickness of each category is estimated by the RGPS from an empirical relationship between ice thickness and the freezing degree-days since the formation of the ice. With a parameterization of the albedo based on the ice thickness, the albedo may be estimated from the first-year ice distribution. We compute the albedo for the first spring processed by the RGPS, the early spring of 1997. The data include most of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. We find that the mean albedo is 0.79 with a standard deviation of 0.04, with lower albedo values near the edge of the perennial ice zone. The biggest source of error is likely the assumed rate of snow accumulation on new ice.


1968 ◽  
Vol 8 (31) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Jones ◽  
Davies J Griffiths ◽  
RB Waite ◽  
IF Fergus

Five irrigated pasture mixtures (four containing tropical and temperate species and one containing only temperate species (winter mixture) ) were compared under grazing at three nitrogen levels -nil, 100, and 300 lb N an acre a year as urea-over a four-year period 1960-1963. Pastures were grazed for approximately one week every six weeks with a twelve-week rest period in the winter of 1962 and 1963. Under this management mean annual yields of dry matter increased from 15,700 lb to 25,000 lb an acre over the four-year period. Pasture growth rates varied from over 90 lb DM an acre a day in early summer to 10-40 lb DM an acre a day in winter due to variations in radiation and temperature. Urea increased pasture dry matter yields and also the yields of nitrogen measured in 1961 and 1962. Mean response was 19 lb and 14.5 lb DM/lb N applied at the N100 and N300 rates respectively. Yield of nitrogen was increased by a mean of 79 lb an acre a year by application of urea, but there was no significant difference between rates. Dry matter responses to urea were small in winter and spring and large in summer and autumn. The N300 rate reduced the yield of white clover in the first two years of the pasture, but there was no reduction in the yield of white clover at the N100 rate compared with the N0 treatment. There were no significant differences in yield between the pasture mixtures in the establishment year. In subsequent years mixtures containing summer and winter species outyielded (P<0.001) the winter mixture, particularly in summer and autumn. The pattern of production was similar for all mixtures and there was no significant difference between mixtures in yield of nitrogen. Chloris gayana Kunth CV. Samford and Setaria sphacelata (Schum) Stapf and C. E. Hubbard CV. Nandi. were the most successful summer grasses and Bromus unioloides (Willd.) H.B.K. cv. Priebes, the best winter grass. Three Paspalum species failed to compete with the Setaria and three winter grasses were low yielding after the first year. Trifolium repens L. CV. Ladino was the only successful legume of three winter and three summer legumes sown. It enabled yields of 400 lb N an acre a year to be achieved, increased total soil nitrogen, and made an estimated contribution of 760-810 lb N an acre over the four-year period. It is considered to be the key species for irrigated pastures in south-eastern Queensland.


1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
LJ Rohl ◽  
AM Fuss ◽  
JA Dhaliwal ◽  
MG Webb ◽  
BB Lamont

Floral initiation and development in relation to time of flowering were investigated in Banksia baxteri and B. hookeriana with the aid of scanning electron microscopy. Floral initiation occurred in spring in B. baxteri and in early summer in B. hookeriana. Floral development was rapid in B. baxteri (3 months to reach anthesis in summer). In B. hookeriana, development took 5 months, with anthesis occurring in winter. Most B. hookeriana blooms were produced on 2-year-old shoots, while B. baxteri produced about half of its blooms on 2-year-old shoots and almost as many on 3-year-old shoots. In both species, shoots that flowered within 2 years were longer and thicker in their first year than other shoots. A critical minimum stem length was determined for the first year's growth, to be used as a criterion for determining which shoots to remove during pruning. Details are provided for the timing of pruning to achieve maximum bloom production in B. baxteri and B. hookeriana.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saroat Ramjan ◽  
Torsten Geldsetzer ◽  
Randall Scharien ◽  
John Yackel

Early-summer melt pond fraction is predicted using late-winter C-band backscatter of snow-covered first-year sea ice. Aerial photographs were acquired during an early-summer 2012 field campaign in Resolute Passage, Nunavut, Canada, on smooth first-year sea ice to estimate the melt pond fraction. RADARSAT-2 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data were acquired over the study area in late winter prior to melt onset. Correlations between the melt pond fractions and late-winter linear and polarimetric SAR parameters and texture measures derived from the SAR parameters are utilized to develop multivariate regression models that predict melt pond fractions. The results demonstrate substantial capability of the regression models to predict melt pond fractions for all SAR incidence angle ranges. The combination of the most significant linear, polarimetric and texture parameters provide the best model at far-range incidence angles, with an R 2 of 0.62 and a pond fraction RMSE of 0.09. Near- and mid- range incidence angle models provide R 2 values of 0.57 and 0.61, respectively, with an RMSE of 0.11. The strength of the regression models improves when SAR parameters are combined with texture parameters. These predictions also serve as a proxy to estimate snow thickness distributions during late winter as higher pond fractions evolve from thinner snow cover.


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