Community composition of Hong Kong ants : spatial and seasonal patterns

Author(s):  
John Robert Fellowes
Author(s):  
Christine N.W. Lee ◽  
Brian Morton

Crab-baited traps, with a 5-mm diameter opening, were deployed 90 mm off the seabed monthly at Lobster Bay, Hong Kong, for one year between 1998 and 1999. Visitors drawn to the traps were mainly species of Ceradocus (Gammaridea: Melitidae), Tisbe (Harpacticoida: Tisbidae) and Nebalia (Leptostraca: Nebaliacea). Apart from Ceradocus sp., all were scavengers with catches using baited traps significantly exceeding unbaited controls. Ceradocus sp. was apparently drawn to traps for refuge. The trapped scavenger community composition changed with deployment duration in the presence of bait. Nebalia sp., Neanthes cricognatha (Polychaeta: Nereidae) and Lepedepecreum sp. (Gammaridea: Lysianassoidea) were identified mostly two/three-days post-deployment, exhibiting a potential preference for rotten organic matter. Seasonal catches were also identified for all three visitors with maxima between October 1998 and April 1999. Such seasonal patterns might be related to either turbulence destabilizing the substratum during this period or life cycle patterns in the study area.


2016 ◽  
Vol 101 (12) ◽  
pp. 1107-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ip ◽  
Frederick Ka-wing Ho ◽  
Ko Ling Chan ◽  
Paul Siu-fai Yip ◽  
Joseph Tak-fai Lau ◽  
...  

ObjectiveWe investigated the incidence and seasonal patterns of child maltreatment hospitalisations in Hong Kong.DesignA retrospective study of subjects aged under 19 years with a primary diagnosis of child maltreatment admitted to hospitals in Hong Kong from 2001 to 2010. Data were retrieved from the centralised database of all 42 public hospitals in the Hospital Authority.Main outcome measuresChild maltreatment incidence rate.ResultsA consistent seasonal pattern was found for non-sexual maltreatment in children aged 6–18 years (p<0.001). Hospitalisations peaked in May and October but dipped in August and January. No significant seasonal patterns were found for sexual maltreatment or among children under 6 years. The seasonal pattern of child maltreatment coincided with the two school examination periods. The annual child maltreatment hospitalisation rate in Hong Kong in 2010 was 73.4 per 100 000 children under 19 years, more than double that in 2001.ConclusionsA peculiar seasonal pattern and an alarming increasing trend in child maltreatment hospitalisation were observed in Hong Kong, which we speculated to be related to school examination stress and increasing socioeconomic disparity. Our findings highlighted differences in the trends of child maltreatment between Hong Kong and the West. Professionals and policymakers should be made aware of these trends and develop effective strategies to tackle child maltreatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
Chuanqi Jiang ◽  
Bin Liu ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Siyu Gu ◽  
Zhencheng Liu ◽  
...  

Ciliates are fundamental components of microzooplankton, with important ecological roles. However, ciliate communities are particularly difficult to monitor using conventional morphological approaches. New molecular tools, such as DNA metabarcoding, can facilitate the study of these communities. This study used high-throughput sequencing to examine the diversity and seasonal dynamics of ciliate communities in four estuarine ecosystems in the South China Sea from June 2019 to March 2020. The amplification of the V4 region of 18S rDNA using ciliate-specific primers identified a total of 1645 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), corresponding to 13 ciliate classes, 97 families, and 157 genera. The dominant species across all four sampling stations were spirotrichs (including choreotrichs, oligotrichs, and stichotrichs), oligohymenophorean scuticociliates, litostomateans Didinium, and prostomateans Cryptocaryon. Significant differences in ciliate diversity and community composition in the four stations were mainly due to differences in rare, rather than abundant, ASVs. Analysis of the ciliate communities and seasonal patterns in their composition revealed that variations in habitat and environmental conditions have a greater effect than seasonal changes on community composition.


Hydrobiologia ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. L. P. Vrijmoed ◽  
I. J. Hodgkiss ◽  
L. B. Thrower

2015 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 710-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Porter ◽  
J. Malia Andrus ◽  
Nicholas A. Bartolerio ◽  
Luis F. Rodriguez ◽  
Yuanhui Zhang ◽  
...  

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