Quantitative Evaluation of the Behavioral Extraction of Aquatic Invertebrates from Samples of Sphagnum Moss
15
Citation
10
Reference
10
Related Paper
Citation Trend
Abstract:
The difficulty of hand-sorting aquatic invertebrates from sphagnum moss led to the development of a behavioral extraction procedure. The method involves vertical temperature and dissolved oxygen gradients in a column of water with a sphagnum sample immersed at the top. When sphagnum was used as an artificial substrate in Southern Indian Lake, Manitoba, overall extraction efficiency was 85% (SD ± 1.5%, n = 4). Invertebrates in samples from the edge of the floating sphagnum mat surrounding bog ponds in New Brunswick were extracted with an overall efficiency of 75% (SD ± 15%, n = 17). Taxa not extracted by the procedure were represented by an average of fewer than two organisms in samples containing 289 (SD ± 153) organisms. Efficiencies for the more abundant groups of aquatic invertebrates ranged from 73 to 96%. Mean sorting time was reduced from >16 hr to <2 hr per sample. The method's high efficiency allows both quantitative and qualitative assessment of aquatic invertebrate populations in sphagnum and other substrates.Keywords:
Sphagnum
Cite
The difficulty of hand-sorting aquatic invertebrates from sphagnum moss led to the development of a behavioral extraction procedure. The method involves vertical temperature and dissolved oxygen gradients in a column of water with a sphagnum sample immersed at the top. When sphagnum was used as an artificial substrate in Southern Indian Lake, Manitoba, overall extraction efficiency was 85% (SD ± 1.5%, n = 4). Invertebrates in samples from the edge of the floating sphagnum mat surrounding bog ponds in New Brunswick were extracted with an overall efficiency of 75% (SD ± 15%, n = 17). Taxa not extracted by the procedure were represented by an average of fewer than two organisms in samples containing 289 (SD ± 153) organisms. Efficiencies for the more abundant groups of aquatic invertebrates ranged from 73 to 96%. Mean sorting time was reduced from >16 hr to <2 hr per sample. The method's high efficiency allows both quantitative and qualitative assessment of aquatic invertebrate populations in sphagnum and other substrates.
Sphagnum
Cite
Citations (15)
Sphagnum
Cite
Citations (1)
The present study focuses on the optical properties of the peat moss species Sphagnum teres by contrasting the optical properties of a fresh and a dry moss. We examined parameters such as the reflectance of the moss capitulum, the content of chlorophylls, carotenoids, antocyanins and UV absorbents, and the photochemical efficiency of the peat moss. Reflectance and photochemical efficiency were also measured after rehydration of the dried pad. The results have shown a statistically significant difference between the optical properties of the fresh and the dry moss. The reflectance spectra of the dry peat moss pad were higher than the reflectance spectra of the fresh moss. The reflectances of the wet and dry moss were the most similar in the visible part of the spectrum, but differ in the UV and NIR ranges. No statistically significantly differences were found in the pigment content between the dry and the fresh moss. The photochemical efficiency was significantly higher in the fresh moss. It was also found that Sphagnum teres plants do not recover shortly after rehydration.
Sphagnum
Cite
Citations (0)
Abstract Northern peatlands store approximately one‐third of the World's soil carbon through the long‐term accumulation of carbon as peat. However, when peatlands are exploited for Sphagnum moss and horticultural peat, they become degraded and large, persistent sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Recent advances in peatland restoration techniques have succeeded in the re‐vegetation of Sphagnum moss on previously cutover surfaces. The long‐term success of peatland restoration depends on the development of a sufficiently thick new peat layer that has ecohydrological and hydrophysical properties similar to natural peatlands. We determined these properties for an upper (0–4 cm) and lower (8–12 cm) peat layer in a recently restored peatland, a naturally re‐vegetated cutover peatland, and a natural peatland in eastern Québec. The properties of the new peat layer differed significantly between the sites, especially for the lower layer samples. Lower samples for the natural and naturally re‐vegetated sites had a bulk density of 43 ± 5 and 41 ± 11 kg m −3 , respectively, almost twice as high as the value for lower samples from the restored site (24 ± 4 kg m −3 ). Sphagnum rubellum capitula density (ρ C ) was significantly higher ( p < 0·05) for the restored peatland (28 726 # m −2 ) compared to the natural site (26 050 # m −2 ). Residual moisture content at a soil water pressure of − 200 mb (θ r ) was significantly lower ( p < 0·05) for the restored site in comparison to the natural and naturally re‐vegetated sites for the lower samples. This suggests that S. rubellum in a natural peatland is able to hold onto more moisture under increasing soil tension than the same species growing in a restored site likely due to its higher bulk density and relatively more decomposed state. We suggest that it is possible that S. rubellum growing in the harsher cutover peatland environment has possibly allocated more carbohydrates to vertical growth and as a consequence has a lower bulk density and poorer water retention. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sphagnum
Cite
Citations (33)
Peat cores from five Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in boreal continental Canada were analyzed for plant macro fossils. Results indicate that peatland development was influenced both by local autogenic and regional climatic factors. The general direction in peatland development from rich fen to poor fen to bog can primarily be ascribed to internal processes, especially peat accumulation. Quantitative paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on fossil moss assemblages indicate that all five peatlands were initially dominated by brown mosses with inferred pHs of approximately 6.0, and a water table at 5–15 cm below the surface of the peatland. Subsequently, Sphagnum-dominated peatlands developed with pHs of 4.0–4.5 and a water table at 15–30 cm of depth. Chemical factors triggered a rapid transition from rich fen (pH > 6) to poor fen and bog (Ph < 5). The two most southerly peatlands are youngest, with basal dates of 4670 BP and 4230 BP. Sphagnum peat accumulation at these sites started at 2620 BP and 1790 BP, respectively. Two sites located at intermediate latitudes have basal dates of > 5140 BP and 5020 BP, while the development of Sphagnum-dominated ecosystems dates back to ≈ 3100 BP and 3710 BP, respectively. The most northerly site has the oldest basal date (> 7870 BP), and the oldest date for the initiation of Sphagnum peat accumulation (≈ 7000 BP). The younger age of the peat deposits in the four southern sites is due to warm and dry climatic conditions during the middle Holocene that prevented peatland development until after 6000 BP when the climate gradually became cooler and moister. Farther north the climate was cool and moist enough to allow peatland development during the early to middle Holocene. In three southern peatlands, the development into a Sphagnum-dominated ecosystem took > 2000 years, while at the more northerly sites Sphagnum became dominant after < 1500 years. Key words: Sphagnum, peatlands, boreal, Holocene, climate.
Sphagnum
Cite
Citations (213)
Accumulations of six metals (Cu, Ni, Mn, Al, Fe, and Ca) were analysed in peat and water for 18 peatlands east northeast of Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada. The peatlands had a minimum of 30 cm accumulation of peat, < 10 μg mL −1 Ca 2+ in the water, and were from a variety of physiognomic dominance types. Significant correlations existed between the distance from smelting operations and the concentrations of Cu and Ni in the peat and water. Levels of Mn, Fe, and Ca were not related to distance. The vegetation was analysed on 11 of the 18 peatlands. With the exception of the two sites closest to the smelter, all are low shrub peatlands, dominated by Chamaedaphne calyculata. Effects on the vegetation range from severe within 2 km of the smelter to minimal at 30 km. Sphagnum species that normally dominate the moss layer of these peatlands begin to appear at approximately 12 km from the smelter and are found almost exclusively in the moat area. With increasing distance and decreasing concentrations of Cu and Ni, conditions gradually permit growth of the oligotrophic Sphagnum species. Beyond 30 km, Sphagnum dominates all portions of the peatlands.
Sphagnum
Dominance (genetics)
Cite
Citations (47)
The results of studies of sphagnum peats in the northern part of the Vasyugan peat deposit are presented. Peat sampling points were planned based on the materials of detailed exploration. The samples were collected in the form of mixed samples, which were taken at 3–4 points from the middle of the genetic layer of the peat deposit, the core height was 0.5 m. The peat quality assessment was carried out on the requirements for peat as a raw material for different uses. It is shown that the ash of different types of sphagnum peats may have elevated values of Ca, Mg and Fe. It is revealed that the elemental analysis of sphagnum peats has individual features of their content. It was found that the group composition of the organic matter of sphagnum peats is characterized by a high content of water-soluble and easily hydrolyzed matters and a low content of humic and fulvic acids. At the same time, in two samples, an increased content of bitumen was noted (samples 2 and 11), and in sample 9, a high content of humic and fulvic acids was detected and at the same time a low content of water-soluble and easily hydrolyzed matters. It is revealed that it is impossible to reduce all the variety of peat properties only to the species characteristic and the degree of decomposition due to the wide variability of the leading and subordinate peat-forming agents in the peat composition. It is shown that the properties of sphagnum peats of the oligotrophic type of the studied territory show their suitability for the production of many types of products, and the duration of operation of these reserves stretches up to 200 thousand years.
Sphagnum
Cite
Citations (1)
Sphagnum
Cite
Citations (32)
A minor outbreak of culture-proved cutaneous sporotrichosis occurred in three employees of a commercial nursery in eastern Minnesota. All three had known exposure to sphagnum moss used for the packing of plant roots. Sporothrix schenkii was grown from a culture of sphagnum moss used at the nursery. The supplier of the moss is located in Wisconsin.
Sphagnum
Sporothrix schenckii
Sporothrix
Cite
Citations (17)
Goetz, J. D. and Price, J. S. 2015. Role of morphological structure and layering of Sphagnum and Tomenthypnum mosses on moss productivity and evaporation rates. Can. J. Soil Sci. 95: 109–124. Morphological structures of peatland mosses control moss water relations and the rate of water loss by drainage and evaporation, thus influencing their physiological functions. While many of these mechanisms are understood for Sphagnum mosses, there is a limited understanding of how these processes operate in Tomenthypnum nitens, a dominant brown moss species in northern rich fens. This study contrasts how different hydrophysical characteristics of Tomenthypnum and Sphagnum species affect capillary water flow that supports evaporation and productivity. Laboratory investigations indicate that volumetric water content (θ), gross ecosystem productivity, and evaporation decreased with water table depth for both mosses, with Sphagnum capitula retaining 10–20% more water (θ range of 0.18–0.32 cm 3 cm −3 ) than Tomenthypnum (0.07−0.16 cm 3 cm −3 ). Despite lower θ and a smaller fraction of pores between 66 and 661 µm to retain water within the Tomenthypnum structure (10%) compared with Sphagnum (27%), both mosses had similar fractions of water conducting pore spaces and were able to maintain capillary rise throughout the experiment. While there was a larger difference in the bulk density and porosity of the Tomenthypnum moss compared with its underlying peat than there was in the Sphagnum profile, a layer of partially decomposed moss of intermediate properties was sufficient to provide a connection between the moss and peat under low water table conditions. In trying to characterize the soil-water pressure (ψ) in near-surface mosses of Tomenthypnum based on measurements of vapour pressure, we found disequilibrium conditions that severely underestimated ψ (i.e., very large negative pressures). It is this disequilibrium that drives evaporation and draws up capillary water to the moss surface for peatland–atmosphere carbon and water transfers.
Sphagnum
Layering
Cite
Citations (48)