Structural analysis of the essential environmental factors associated with the marine meiofauna

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingtian Zhang ◽  
Guikun Hu
Keyword(s):  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Bohai Bay ◽  
Simple Correlation ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
Biogeochemical Study ◽  
Chemical Factors ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Complex Relationships

Abstract A biogeochemical study was carried out from 2006 to 2007 in Bohai Bay, northern China, to investigate meiofauna and a number of environmental factors. A total of 18 environmental factors were selected to study their interrelations using Interpretive Structural Analysis. The results showed that these environmental factors could be divided into five levels according to their degree of impact; the results also showed clear links among these factors. The six factors designated as Level 1 included both biological and chemical factors. The other factors had indirect effects on meiofauna and affect these six factors in different ways. There was single factor, sediment grain size, in the fifth level. The structural analysis of the essential factors gave us more information than simple correlation analysis did. Both the water and sediment factors influenced the benthos community. The result is helpful in understanding the complex relationships between environmental factors, and could be used to grasp the main causes and their environmental linkages with further studies; it would be a good basis for integrative environmental management.

scholarly journals Indirect drivers of plant diversity-productivity relationship in semiarid sandy grasslands

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1277-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. A. Zuo ◽  
J. M. H. Knops ◽  
X. Y. Zhao ◽  
H. L. Zhao ◽  
T. H. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Wet Meadow ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Sandy Grasslands

Abstract. Although patterns between plant diversity and ecosystem productivity have been much studied, a consistent relationship has not yet emerged. Differing patterns between plant diversity and productivity have been observed in response to spatial variability of environmental factors and vegetation composition. In this study, we measured vegetation cover, plant diversity, productivity, soil properties and site characteristics along an environmental gradient (mobile dune, semi-fixed dune, fixed dune, dry meadow, wet meadow and flood plain grasslands) of natural sandy grasslands in semiarid areas of northern China. We used multivariate analysis to examine the relationships between environmental factors, vegetation composition, plant diversity and productivity. We found a positive correlation between plant diversity and productivity. Vegetation composition aggregated by the ordination technique of non-metric multidimensional scaling had also a significantly positive correlation with plant diversity and productivity. Environmental gradients in relation to soil and topography affected the distribution patterns of vegetation composition, species diversity and productivity. However, environmental gradients were a better determinant of vegetation composition and productivity than of plant diversity. Structural equation modeling suggested that environmental factors determine vegetation composition, which in turn independently drives both plant diversity and productivity. Thus, the positive correlation between plant diversity and productivity is indirectly driven by vegetation composition, which is determined by environmental gradients in soil and topography.

Bioturbation potential of a macrofaunal community in Bohai Bay, northern China

2019 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 281-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingtian Zhang ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Guikun Hu ◽  
Zhe Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Northern China ◽  
Bohai Bay ◽  
Macrofaunal Community

scholarly journals Bathing and toileting difficulties of older adults in rural China: the role of environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Changxi Liu ◽  
Joelle H. Fong ◽  
Jasmon W. T. Hoh ◽  
Hailin Wu ◽  
Yunsheng Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Functional Disability ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Public Facilities ◽  
Functional Capabilities ◽  
The Disabled

Abstract Background For older adults, difficulties in bathing and toileting are often the most prevalent in the index of Activities of daily living (ADL). This study aims to examine how environmental factors are associated with difficulty of bathing and toileting among older adults in rural China. Method The data are from the 2014 Thousand-Village Survey (TVS), a national survey of Chinese rural residents of old age. The sample consists of 10,689 subjects, 55 years or older, from 536 villages across all provinces of China. Logistic regressions were applied to examine how difficulty of bathing and toileting was related to environmental factors such as geographic location, neighbourhood amenity, and related facilities of bathing and toileting. Results Older adults living in the Southern regions of China had lesser difficulty in bathing and toileting than those living in Northern China, controlling for other confounders. Better neighbourhood conditions also reduced the likelihood of having such disabilities. Persons who bathed indoors without showering facilities, in public facilities, and outdoors were significantly more likely to have bathing disability than those who showered indoors with facility. Rural older adults who used pedestal pans and indoor buckets for toileting were more likely to have toileting disability than those who used indoor squatting facilities. Conclusion Environmental barriers were associated with functional disability among older adults in rural China, but the disabled individuals may change their environments to adapt to their functional capabilities. Our findings suggest that it is imperative to promote the use of showering facilities and pedestal pans for toileting in rural China.

scholarly journals The Influence on Contaminant Bioavailability and Microbial Abundance of Lake Hongze by the South-to-North Water Diversion Project

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (17) ◽  
pp. 3068
Author(s):  
Yu Yao ◽  
Peifang Wang ◽  
Chao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Water Transfer ◽  
The Other ◽  
Water Diversion ◽  
Microbial Abundance ◽  
The South ◽  
North Water

The world famous South-to-North Water Transfer Project was built to alleviate serious water shortages in northern China. Considering that lake Hongze is an important freshwater lake in this region, analyzing the influence of water diversion on typical contaminant bioavailability and microbial abundance could aid in achieving a good overall understanding of hydrodynamic variation. Accordingly, in situ high-resolution measurements of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) and next-generation high-throughput sequencing were combined in order to survey Lake Hongze and determine the relationship between environmental factors and microbial communities. The DGT method effectively obtained more than the 85% of bioavailable concentrations of the corresponding contaminants; the results showed that labile P, S, Fe, As, and Hg concentrations were higher in areas influenced by water transfer. Moreover, the relative abundance and alpha diversity of the sampling sites distributed in the water transfer area differed significantly from other sites. The pH, conductivity, and labile Mn, As, and P were shown to be the primary environmental factors affecting the abundance and diversity of microbes. With the exception of bioturbation-affected sites controlled by labile Mn and pH, sites distributed in the water diversion area were most affected by As and conductivity, with little spatial discrepancy. Furthermore, site 2, with higher bioturbation abundance, and site 10, with stronger hydrodynamics, had low alpha diversity compared to the other sites. Consequently, the bioavailability of typical contaminants such as P, S, As, Hg, Fe, Mg, Cd, Pb, and Mn, as well as the diversity and abundance of microbial in the sites influenced by the water diversion, were significantly different to the other sites. Thus, the impacts of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project on participant lakes were non-negligible overall in the investigation.

Continuous Plankton Records: Annual Fluctuations of the Plankton in the Western English Channel, 1958–83

1986 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 791-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Robinson ◽  
H. G. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Current Strength ◽  
English Channel ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Temperature Radiation ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Physical Elements ◽  
The Relationship

Surveys of the plankton at a depth of 10 m in the western English Channel have been carried out at monthly intervals from 1958 onwards using Continuous Plankton Recorders to provide data on annual fluctuations in abundance of the plankton. Interpretation of these results has been attempted by empirical associations with environmental factors (salinity, sea-surface temperature, radiation, atmospheric pressure patterns, wind speed and current strength). Principal component analysis has been used to extract the main patterns of change and correlation analysis for assessing the relationship between the plankton and the environmental factors. There are complex relationships between the plankton and all environmental factors, supporting previous conclusions that the long-term changes are mediated through interaction between the plankton and the climate. Spectral analysis showed long-term trends and shorter cycles of six and three to four years in both the biological and physical elements, indicating that changes in the western Channel are responding to changes in climate over a much wider area

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