Habitat dynamics

An Integrated Approach Linking Water Source and Physicochemical Habitat Dynamics... 

The complex spatio-temporal mosaic of habitats in alpine river systems relates to the interaction of a range of physicochemical processes, with different processes dominating the river environment at different scales. Our new approach to alpine stream classification provides a basis to conceptualise this dynamic habitat template. The contributions from the different water sources have an important influence on the aquatic habitat template for the establishment of biotic communities, particularly through the effect on physicochemical variables outlined above. These include channel stability, water temperature and sediment regimes. Where alpine streams... 

Brown LE, Hannah DM, Milner AM (2003) Alpine stream habitat classification an alternative approach incorporating the role of dynamic water source contributions. Arct Antarct Alp... 

Benda L, Poff NL, Miller D, Dunne T, Reeves G, Pess G, Pollock M (2004) The network dynamics hypothesis how channel networks structure riverine habitats. Bioscience 54 413... 

Aquatic animals use their chemical senses in all aspects of their lives, from reproductive behavior to feeding, habitat selection, and predator avoidance. The hydrodynamic properties determine the possibilities and limits of chemical communication in water. As a medium, water is as dynamic as air, so that convection and advection are far more important for odor transport than is diffusion. Distribution by currents is even more important in water because compounds of similar molecular weight diffuse four orders of magnitude more slowly than in air (Gleeson, 1978). Diffusion of odorants may be important only in the submillimeter range, while turbulence is typical for water masses above the centimeter range. 

Whittam, T. S. (1989). Clonal dynamics of Escherichia coli in its natural habitat. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 55,23-32. 

On a relative basis, i.e. residues per 1000, there is virtually no one species like the other. In contrast, different shell samples from the same species and obtained from the same natural habitat yield identical amino acid patterns. It is of interest that (1) the structure of carbonates (aragonite-calcite-vaterite), (2) the content in trace elements, and (3) the stable isotope distribution are markedly effected by fluctuations in salinity, water temperature, Eh/pH conditions, and some anthropogenic factors. The same environmental parameters determine to a certain degree the chemical composition of the shell organic matrix. This feature suggests a cause-effect relationship between mineralogy and organic chemistry of a shell. In the final analysis, however, it is simply a reflection of the environmentally-controlled dynamics of the cell. 

From the temporal scale of adverse effects we come to a consideration of recovery. Recovery is the rate and extent of return of a population or community to a condition that existed before the introduction of a stressor. Because ecosystems are dynamic and even under natural conditions are constantly changing in response to changes in the physical environment (weather, natural catastrophes, etc.) or other factors, it is unrealistic to expect that a system will remain static at some level or return to exactly the same state that it was before it was disturbed. Thus the attributes of a recovered system must be carefully defined. Examples might include productivity declines in an eutrophic system, re-establishment of a species at a particular density, species recolonization of a damaged habitat, or the restoration of health of diseased organisms. 

The relative rate of recovery also can be estimated. For example, fish populations in a stream are likely to recover much faster from exposure to a degradable chemical than from habitat alterations resulting from stream channelization. It is critical to use knowledge of factors such as the temporal scales of organisms life histories, the availability of adequate stock for recruitment, and the interspecific and trophic dynamics of the populations in evaluating the relative rates of recovery. A fisheries stock or forest might recover in several decades, a benthic infaunal community in years, and a planktonic community in weeks to months. 

Determination of the statistical characteristics of natural catastrophes in their historical aspect, selecting categories and determining spatiotemporal scales of catastrophic changes in habitats. Analysis of the history of disasters is important for understanding the present dependences of crises both in nature and in society. The statistical characteristics of the dynamics of natural disasters enable formulation of the basis for the mathematical theory of catastrophes and to determine top-priority directions of studies. 

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