Benthic Impacts of Intertidal Oyster Culture, with Consideration of Taxonomic Sufficiency

An investigation of the impacts from elevated intertidal Pacific oyster culture in a New Zealand estuary showed enhanced sedimentation beneath culture racks compared with other sites. Seabed elevation beneath racks was generally lower than between them, suggesting that topographic patterns more likely result from a local effect of rack structures on hydrodynamic processes than from enhanced deposition. Compared with control sites, seabed sediments within the farm had a greater silt/clay and organic content, and a lower redox potential and shear strength. While a marked trend in macrofaunal species richness was not evident, species composition and dominance patterns were consistent with a disturbance gradient, with farm effects not evident 35 m from the perimeter of the racks. Of the environmental variables measured, sediment shear strength was most closely associated with the distribution and density of macrofauna, suggesting that human-induced disturbance from farming operations may have contributed to the biological patterns. To evaluate the taxonomic sufficiency needed to document impacts, aggregation to the family level based on Linnean classification was compared with an aggregation scheme based on `general groups' identifiable with limited taxonomic expertise. Compared with species-level analyses, spatial patterns of impact were equally discernible at both aggregation levels used, provided density rather than presence/absence data were used. Once baseline conditions are established and the efficacy of taxonomic aggregation demonstrated, a `general group' scheme provides an appropriate and increasingly relevant tool for routine monitoring.     

The impact of an industrial effluent on the water quality,submersed macrophytes and benthic macroinvertebrates in a dammed river of Central Spain

This research was conducted in the middle Duratón River (Central Spain), in the vicinity of Burgomillodo Reservoir. An industrial effluent enters the river 300 m downstream from the dam. Fluoride and turbidity levels significantly increased downstream from the effluent, these levels being to some extent affected by differential water releases from the dam. The community of submersed macrophytes exhibited slighter responses and, accordingly, lower discriminatory power than the community of benthic macroinvertebrates, this indicating that metrics and indices based on macroinvertebrates may be more suitable for the biological monitoring of water pollution and habitat degradation in dammed rivers receiving industrial effluents. However, in relation to fluoride bioaccumulation at the organism level, macrophytes (Fontinalis antipyretica and Potamogeton pectinatus) were as suitable bioindicators of fluoride pollution as macroinvertebrates (Ancylus fluviatilis and Pacifastacus leniusculus). Fluoride bioaccumulation in both hard and soft tissues of these aquatic organisms could be used as suitable bioindicator of fluoride pollution (even lower than 1 mg F⁻ L⁻¹) in freshwater ecosystems. Echinogammarus calvus exhibited a great sensitivity to the toxicity of fluoride ions, with a 96 h LC₅₀ of 7.5 mg F⁻ L⁻¹ and an estimated safe concentration of 0.56 mg F⁻ L⁻¹. The great capacity of E. calvus to take up and retain fluoride during exposures to fluoride ions would be a major cause of its great sensitivity to fluoride toxicity. It is concluded that the observed fluoride pollution might be partly responsible for the absence of this native amphipod downstream from the industrial effluent.     

Sediment Contaminant Chemistry and Toxicity of Freshwater Urban Wetlands in Southern California1

Brown, Jeffrey S., Martha Sutula, Chris Stransky, John Rudolph, and Earl Byron, 2010. Sediment Contaminant Chemistry and Toxicity of Freshwater Urban Wetlands in Southern California. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):367-384. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00407.x Abstract: Wetlands provide many critical functions in urban ecosystems, including habitat for wetland-dependent fauna and enhancement of water quality. Interest in restoring or creating wetlands to enhance these functions is increasing due to the scale and extent of wetland loss and water quality problems associated with urbanization. One of the most pressing questions associated with urban wetland restoration is the extent to which urban wetlands tend to concentrate contaminants, and if so, whether an associated risk to wildlife exists. The goal of this study was to better understand these potential risks, and the associated tradeoffs with using wetlands to treat urban runoff. Sediment toxicity, contaminant chemistry, and macroinvertebrate (MI) community metrics were measured in 21 southern California wetlands that receive urban runoff as their primary water source. MI organisms in 18 of the 21 urban wetlands examined were considered to be at risk due to sediment contaminant concentrations and toxicity. Most of the sites were either toxic to the amphipod Hyalella azteca, exceeded a sediment quality guideline, or both. Sediment chemistry and toxicity identification evaluation studies suggest that pyrethroid pesticides may have been responsible for much of the toxicity documented in this study. The mean Probable Effects Concentration quotient (an index of degree of sediment contamination) was found to negatively correlate with MI diversity in these wetlands suggesting that toxicity was affecting organisms at the base of the food chain in these wetlands.     

基于底栖动物完整性指数的长江口-杭州湾潮间带水生态状况评价

利用生物完整性指数评价流域水生态状况,所得结果对水环境管理决策有重要指导意义。以2006年崇明东滩底栖动物监测数据为参照状态数据,利用长江口1991—2019年和杭州湾2004—2019年潮间带底栖动物监测数据构建底栖动物完整性指数(B-IBI),最终从56个候选指标中确定了6个核心指标:Marglef指数、软体动物相对多度、甲壳动物+多毛纲相对多度、ASPT、科级生物指数和捕食者相对多度。B-IBI评价结果显示:优秀等级样本有44个,良好等级72个,中等等级31个,较差等级7个,很差等级4个;杭州湾北岸水生态状况显著优于长江口南岸(P<0.05)。经验证,B-IBI与水质综合污染指数呈极显著相关(P<0.01),能够有效指示研究区域的水生态状况。     

A Constant Erosion Rate Model for Fine Sediment in the York River,Virginia

Results of field experiments using the Virginia Institute of Marine Science' Sea Carousel and tripod system reveal a highly dynamic sediment activity at the Clay Bank site in the York River. At the water-sediment interface, the critical bed shear stress for sediment erosion varied between 0.026 Pa and 0.1 Pa. For the well consolidated sediment below the interface, the critical bed shear stress increased significantly, to more than 0.6 Pa. The seasonal variation of erosion rate for the surficial sediment is significant. For the well consolidated sediment below the surficial sediment, however, the seasonal variation diminished and erosion rate approached a constant. Experimental results from the Carousel deployments imply that the erosion process for quasi-steady tidal flows is always near equilibrium. For this reason, a constant rate erosion model is proposed for the time during tidal acceleration phases. For other times, the erosion rate would be zero. The measured suspended sediment concentration at 10 cm above bed from the VIMS tripod system also Supports this model.     

Characterizing Small Subbasins: A Case Study from Coastal Oregon

A fine-grained statisticaly robust probability sample of stream segments is used to compare two small (20,000 hectare) subbasins of the Tillamook watershed, north coastal Oregon. The two subbasins are matched with respect to several variables [size coastal climates], but vary in terms of geology and consequently land use. A total of 67 wadeable + non-wadeable sizes were identified for sampling in the two subbasins (combined) over two field seasons from a sampling universe consisting of the River Reach File 3 (blue lines on 1:100,000 maps). Target variables include an extensive array of physical habitat endpoints, selected water chemistry endpoints, species composition, and relative abundance of both benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. Field protocols generally followed those of the U.S. EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP).Eleven fish species were encountered, a typically low number for coastal Oregon streams. Exploratory analysis using nonmetric multidimensional scaling revealed that 92.4% of the variation in the fish assemblages could be explained with two ordination axes. Environmental factors related to stream size and substate were the most correlated to these axes. Further, stream segments for the two subbasins tended to map in different areas of species space. Therefore, we also give unweighted probability distributions for several of the factors that heavily on these two axes by subbasins, as well as probability distributions for chemical endpoints. Results from the subset of sites sampled during the first year (21 wadeable sites) reveal: 1) differences between samples from the two subbasins relates to dream size and substrate composition that are consistent with known differences in geology and land use, 2) unexpectedly minor differences between samples from the two subbasins for stream temperature, canopy cover, and dissolved oxygen, 3) differences between samples from the two subbasins for total P, and total N, possibly related to land use, and 4) unexpected differences in samples from the two subbasins for conductivity, probably related to geological factors. Sample size for each subbasin is low and therefore our samples cannot be taken to necessarily characterize either subbasin. However, our findings are consistent with a comprehensive assessment that had been previously produced for one of the two subbasins.All field work was completed in 8 weeks 3-person field crew. We conclude that rapid assessment protocols, based on probability samples at this level of resolution, can be a cost-effective approach to watershed analysis. This approach should be seen as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, systematic surveys that produced finer scale, reach specific information on factors such as channel complexity and cover relevant to in-stream restoration planning.     

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Responses to Increasing Levels of Cattle Grazing in Blue Ridge Mountain Streams, Virginia, USA

The relationship between benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages and cattle density was assessed from fall 2002 through spring 2004 in five small streams that represented a gradient of cattle grazing intensity. All study stream reaches were in pasture with no woody riparian vegetation, but varied in the intensity of cattle grazing (0 cattle ha⁻¹ at site 1 to 2.85 cattle ha⁻¹ at site 5). Regression analysis indicated highly significant and strong macroinvertebrate metric responses to cattle density during most sampling periods. The majority of metrics responded negatively to increased grazing, while a few (total taxa richness, number of sensitive taxa, and % collector filterers) increased along the gradient before declining at the most heavily grazed sites. Total number of sensitive taxa and % Coleoptera had the strongest relationship with cattle density throughout the study period. During some sampling periods, nearly 80% of the variation in these metrics was explained by cattle density. The elmid beetle, Oulimnius, had a particularly strong negative response to the grazing gradient. Study site groupings based on taxa composition, using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), indicated that benthic samples collected from the reference site and light rotational grazing site were more similar in macroinvertebrate taxa composition than samples collected from the intermediate grazing and heavy grazing sites. Our findings demonstrate that biological integrity, as measured by benthic macroinvertebrate metrics and assemblage composition, is highly related to cattle density in small streams in the Blue Ridge mountains, Virginia, USA. This suggests that the degree of agricultural intensity should be given consideration in stream assessments, as well as land use planning and regulatory decisions.     

海河流域河流生态系统健康评价

随着经济发展,人类活动对河流生态系统的胁迫日益强烈,生态系统健康状况受到严重威胁.本研究以海河流域2010年73个采样点的水质、营养盐和底栖动物指标为例,采用指标体系法,从化学完整性和生物完整性两方面评价了流域内河流生态系统健康.结果表明,海河流域河流生态系统健康状况整体较差,有72.6%的样点处于"极差"健康状态,同时表现出明显的地区集聚效应;河流水质与人类活动强度密切相关;海河流域水体富营养化趋势明显;流域内底栖动物多样性低,清洁物种较少.氨氮、总氮、总磷等营养盐指标是影响河流生态系统健康的关键因子,应从控制上述指标入手,遏制海河流域河流生态系统健康恶化.对于河流生态系统健康评价,多因子的综合评价法优于单因子评价法.     

底栖藻对水丝蚓生物扰动效应的抑制研究

霍甫水丝蚓(Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri)是富营养化湖泊中的底栖动物优势种,通过生物扰动可以提高水体营养盐浓度,并促进浮游植物生长.富营养浅水湖泊经生态修复后,水体透明度会得到改善,有利于底栖藻快速生长,从而降低水体营养盐水平.那么,底栖藻能否抑制水丝蚓对富营养水体水质的不良影响?为此,本文开展了双因素(底栖藻和水丝蚓)的室外受控实验,结果表明:在无底栖藻处理中,水丝蚓显著提高了水体总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)、总溶解磷(TDP)和叶绿素a(Chl-a)浓度,同时显著降低水体溶解氧(DO)浓度;而在有底栖藻处理中,水丝蚓对水体TP、DO及Chl-a浓度的影响不显著.研究结果表明,水丝蚓的生物扰动提高了水体营养盐和浮游植物浓度,促进水体富营养化.但底栖藻群落的发展能在一定程度上抑制水丝蚓的生物扰动效应.     

浑太河不同水生态区营养盐对底栖硅藻的影响及阈值

为全面了解浑太河不同水生态区营养盐对底栖硅藻的影响状况及进行底栖硅藻群落的保护,本研究对3个水生态区共287个采样点的营养盐因子(NH_4~+-N、TP)及底栖硅藻群落进行调查分析,并通过局部加权回归散点修匀法(locally weighted scatterplot smoothing,LOWESS)探究了底栖硅藻群落的NH_4~+-N、TP保护阈值.结果表明:(1)浑太河3个水生态区NH_4~+-N、TP浓度差异性显著并呈现出水生态Ⅰ区水生态Ⅱ区水生态Ⅲ区的趋势.(2)底栖硅藻特征指标[运动性硅藻百分比、敏感性硅藻百分比、具柄硅藻百分比、Pielou均匀度指数、特定污染敏感指数(specific polluosensitivity index,IPS)、硅藻生物指数(biological diatom index,IBD)、硅藻属指数(generic diatom index,IDG)]均在3个水生态区间存在差异,运动性硅藻百分比呈现出水生态Ⅰ区水生态Ⅱ区水生态Ⅲ区的变化,而其余6个生物参数的变化与之相反,表明水生态Ⅲ区底栖硅藻受到的干扰最大,水生态Ⅰ区最小.(3)经LOWESS拟合和独立样本T检验,发现3个水生态区底栖硅藻的NH_4~+-N、TP保护阈值不同,水生态Ⅰ区、Ⅱ区、Ⅲ区的NH_4~+-N阈值分别为0.13、0.30、1.98 mg·L~(-1),TP阈值分别为0.04、0.06、0.20 mg·L~(-1).本研究可为浑太河3个水生态区底栖硅藻群落的保护和水生态区管理提供理论依据.