Mediterranean temporary ponds (MTPs) comprise an endangered habitat with several endemic species that can be found in many countries, mainly in the Mediterranean region but are disappearing at a high rate. For designing optimal conservation and management strategies for the particular ecosystems, appropriate characterization and classification of these ponds is necessary based on the different ...

Mercury is an environmental contaminant that negatively affects the health of vertebrate consumers such as fish, birds, and mammals. Although aquatic macroinvertebrates are a key link in the trophic transfer of Hg to vertebrate consumers, Hg contamination in macroinvertebrate communities has not been well studied. The purpose of the present study was to examine how Hg in macroinvertebrate commu...

Three techniques for treating fish ponds with agricultural limestone were evaluated in ponds with clayey soils in Brazil and in ponds with sandy soils in South Africa. Amounts of agricultural limestone equal to the lime requirement of bottom soils were applied by the following methods to each of three ponds: (1) direct application over the pond surface; (2) spread uniformly over the bottom of t...

The regional dynamics of pond-breeding amphibians are often discussed in the context of metapopulations, under the assumption that individual ponds support distinct subpopulations. We used a combination of indirect and direct methods to assess the spatial population structure of California tiger salamanders (Ambystoma californiense) relative to two basic requirements of metapopulation models: (...

Caribbean salt ponds are unique wetlands that have received little scientific attention. They are common features of dry Caribbean coastlines, but they are threatened by rapid coastal development. We compared hydrology and salinity of 17 salt ponds in the British Virgin Islands. Ponds were mostly hypersaline (>50 ppt), and they exhibited dramatic salinity fluctuations in response to rainfall an...

The influences of coal-mine hollow fills and associated settling ponds in three headwater streams were assessed in southern West Virginia, USA. Fill drainage waters had elevated conductivities and metal concentrations, compared to a regional reference. Benthic macroinvertebrate richness was not affected consistently by the hollow fill drainages, relative to a regional reference, although a more...

The Copper River Delta in the southeast Alaskan Chugash National Forest offers unique opportunities for investigations of pond and stream ecosystem structure and function and the implications of climate change on plant and animal communities of these aquatic habitats. The economic, recreational, and social impact of these investigations is large and carries very significant management implicati...

The loss of inorganic and organic material export and habitat produced by freshwater tidal wetlands is hypothesized to be an important contributing factor to the long-term decline in fishery production in San Francisco Estuary. However, due to the absence of freshwater tidal wetlands in the estuary, there is little information on the export of inorganic and organic carbon, nutrient or phytoplan...

The study was undertaken to determine bacterial contamination of warm-water fish ponds and silver carps harvested from those ponds in Guilan province, Iran. In this respect, water samples were taken from 7 ponds and investigated by testing total bacteria, coliforms, and Escherichia coli. In addition, skin swab samples of silver carps caught from each pond were studied for enumeration of the sam...