Rhetorical and phraseological features of research article introductions: Variation among five social science disciplines

This study investigated variation in the rhetorical and phraseological features of research article introductions among five social science disciplines. Our dataset consisted of the introduction sections of 500 published research articles from Anthropology, Applied Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. All texts in the dataset were manually annotated for rhetorical moves and steps by a team of seven researchers using an extensively adapted version of Swales’ (2004) revised Create a Research Space (CARS) model. Our rhetorical and phraseological analysis of the corpus revealed substantial disciplinary variation in both the distribution of rhetorical move-steps and the associations between phrase-frames and rhetorical move-steps among the five social science disciplines. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of disciplinary variation in the rhetorical and linguistic features of research article writing and have useful implications for academic writing research and pedagogy

The host musselSinanodonta woodianaalleviates negative effects of a small omnivorous fish (Acheilognathus macropterus) on water quality: A mesocosm experiment

Omnivorous fishes are prevalent in warm waters and may have strong impacts on water quality by excreting nutrients and reducing periphyton biomass. However, most studies have focused on large-sized species and overlooked the role of small omnivores. Filter-feeding mussels may modulate the negative effects of small omnivorous fishes on water quality, and stocking of mussels has been frequently used in shallow eutrophic freshwaters in China to improve the water clarity. However, the mechanisms behind such management practices are poorly studied. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to examine the ecosystem effects of the bitterlingAcheilognathus macropterusas modulated by the musselSinanodonta woodiana, one of the mussels upon which it relies for breeding. We hypothesized that bitterling would exert negative effects on the lake environment, specifically higher phytoplankton biomass and lower water clarity, but that these effects might be alleviated by the filter-feeding activities ofS. woodiana. In a 56-d mesocosm experiment with and without bitterling in the presence and absence of mussels, we found interactive effects of bitterling and mussels. In mesocosms with bitterling, nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton biomass, and total suspended solids (TSS) increased, but there were no changes in periphyton biomass in the mussel-free treatments. In contrast to the effects of large-sized omnivorous fishes reported from the literature, bitterling mainly affected TSS levels by increasing organic suspended solids rather than inorganic solids, indicating weak effects on sediment resuspension. However, the presence of mussels alleviated the negative effects of bitterling by decreasing nutrient levels, phytoplankton biomass, and TSS concentrations. Mussels alone had no effects on periphyton biomass, but the mussel-bitterling interactions boosted the growth of periphyton. Our study suggests that the negative effects of bitterling on water quality (e.g., increased nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton biomass) are alleviated by the presence of filter-feeding mussels, but the stimulatory interactive effects of mussels and bitterling on periphyton may impair the recovery of submerged macrophytes

Carbon transfer from dissolved organic carbon to the cladoceran Bosmina: a mesocosm study

A mesocosm study illuminated possible transfer pathways for dissolved organic carbon from the water column to zooplankton. Organic carbon was added as 13C enriched glucose to 15 mesocosms filled with natural lake water. Stable isotope analysis and phospholipid fatty acids-based stable isotope probing were used to trace the incorporation of 13C into the cladoceran Bosmina and its potential food items. Glucose-C was shown to be assimilated into phytoplankton (including fungi and heterotrophic protists), bacteria and Bosmina, all of which became enriched with 13C during the experiment. The study suggests that bacteria play an important role in the transfer of glucose-C to Bosmina. Furthermore, osmotic algae, fungi and heterotrophic protists might also contribute to the isotopic signature changes observed in Bosmina. These findings help to clarify the contribution of dissolved organic carbon to zooplankton and its potential pathways

Carbon transfer from dissolved organic carbon to the cladoceran

A mesocosm study illuminated possible transfer pathways for dissolved organic carbon from the water column to zooplankton. Organic carbon was added as 13C enriched glucose to 15 mesocosms filled with natural lake water. Stable isotope analysis and phospholipid fatty acids-based stable isotope probing were used to trace the incorporation of 13C into the cladoceran Bosmina and its potential food items. Glucose-C was shown to be assimilated into phytoplankton (including fungi and heterotrophic protists), bacteria and Bosmina, all of which became enriched with 13C during the experiment. The study suggests that bacteria play an important role in the transfer of glucose-C to Bosmina. Furthermore, osmotic algae, fungi and heterotrophic protists might also contribute to the isotopic signature changes observed in Bosmina. These findings help to clarify the contribution of dissolved organic carbon to zooplankton and its potential pathways