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Riato L, Hill RA, Herlihy AT, Peck DV, Kaufmann PR, Stoddard JL, Paulsen SG. Genus-level, trait-based multimetric diatom indices for assessing the ecological condition of rivers and streams across the conterminous United States. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS 2022; 141:1-13. [PMID: 36003067 PMCID: PMC9393879 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Taxonomic inconsistency in species-level identifications has constrained use of diatoms as biological indicators in aquatic assessments. We addressed this problem by developing diatom multimetric indices (MMIs) of ecological condition using genus-level taxonomy and trait-based autecological information. The MMIs were designed to assess river and stream chemical, physical and biological condition across the conterminous United States. Trait-based approaches have the advantage of using both species-level and genus-level data, which require less effort and expense to acquire than traditional species-based approaches and eliminate the persistent taxonomic biases introduced over vast geographic extents. For large-extent assessment programs that require multiple taxonomic laboratories to process samples, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA's) National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA), the trait approach can eliminate discrepancies in species-level identification or nomenclature that hinder diatom data interpretation. We developed trait-based MMIs using NRSA data for each of the three large ecoregions across the U.S. - the East, Plains, and West. All three MMIs performed well in discriminating least-disturbed from most-disturbed sites. The MMI for the East had the greatest discrimination ability, followed by MMIs for the Plains and West, respectively. The performance of the MMIs was comparable to that observed in existing NRSA fish and macroinvertebrate MMIs. Our research shows that trait-based diatom indices constructed on genus-level taxonomy can be effective for large-scale assessments, and may also allow programs such as NRSA to assess trends in freshwater condition retrospectively, by revisiting older diatom datasets. Moreover, our genus-based approach facilitates including of diatoms into other assessment programs that have limited monitoring resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa Riato
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Post-Doctoral Fellow c/o U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, 200 SW 35 St., Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - Ryan A. Hill
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, 200 SW 35 St., Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - Alan T. Herlihy
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - David V. Peck
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, 200 SW 35 St., Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - Philip R. Kaufmann
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, 200 SW 35 St., Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - John L. Stoddard
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, 200 SW 35 St., Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - Steven G. Paulsen
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, 200 SW 35 St., Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
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Assessment of Aquatic Ecosystem Health of the Wutong River Based on Benthic Diatoms. WATER 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/w11040727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The community structure of benthic diatoms and water environmental characteristics were extensively investigated to assess the aquatic ecosystem health of the Wutong River (Heilongjiang Province, China). Several diatom indices were calculated, and a benthic diatom index based on biotic integrity (BD-IBI) was developed. Principal component analysis (PCA), Spearman correlation analysis (CA), cluster analysis, redundancy analysis (RDA), and the box plot analysis were used to analyze the benthic diatom communities, assess the river ecosystem health, and compare the applicability of different indexes. The results indicated that Gomphonema parvulum and other tolerant species were the dominant species. Meanwhile, most sites were in “poor” or “very poor” condition according to the diatom indexes evaluation, indicating that the river has been disturbed by human activities. The sampling sites of the Wutong River were divided into three groups based on different pollution levels. The derived BD-IBI included four individual metrics of different aspects, showed strong distinguishability for three grouping and robust correlation with environmental variables. Of all the indexes selected, IBI performed the best, followed by the species-level diatom indexes and the genus-level diatom indexes.
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Çelekli A, Kayhan S, Lekesiz Ö, Toudjani AA, Çetin T. Limno-ecological assessment of Aras River surface waters in Turkey: application of diatom indices. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2019; 26:8028-8038. [PMID: 30684177 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-04295-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
This study is the first attempt to evaluate the limno-ecological status of freshwater ecosystems in Aras River system (Turkey) using diatom metrics and multivariate analyses according to the European Union Water Framework Directive requirements. Samples were collected using the standard protocols from 17 sampling stations in August and October of 2014, and June of 2015. Deterioration of water quality in the Aras River catchment was remarked from the downstream of Karakoyunlu, Sarısu, and Bozkuş creeks, which showed higher values of trophic index Turkey (TIT), trophic index (TI), and eutrophication and/or pollution index-diatom (EPI-D). These sites were also characterized by pollution tolerant taxa e.g., Cocconeis placentula, Gomphonema parvulum, Navicula cryptocephala, Navicula trivialis, and Tryblionella angustata. Sites S14-S17 had high ecological status according to TIT, supported by the score of EPI-D which indicated a good ecological condition for S14. The occurrence of pollution-sensitive species (e.g., Hannaea arcus, Cymbella affinis, Didymosphenia geminata, Meridion circulare, and Encyonema silesiacum) and the low nutrients like total phosphorus, orthophosphate and nitrate, conductivity, and BOD5 supported the high ecological status of S14-S17. The relationships between diatom assemblages and environmental variables were also illustrated by multivariate analyses. Spearman correlation analysis revealed that TIT had positive important correlations with total phosphorus (p < 0.01, r = 0.768). Trophic index and EPI-D had also significant correlations with environmental variables, but they had lower correlation coefficient than that of TIT. It seems that TIT could be a suitable diatom metric for assessing the ecological status of sampling stations in Aras River system and Mediterranean region. Our findings showed also that ecological statuses of surface waters should be evaluated due to the indices developed in their ecoregions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abuzer Çelekli
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Science, University of Gaziantep, 27310, Gaziantep, Turkey.
| | - Seda Kayhan
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Science, University of Gaziantep, 27310, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Ömer Lekesiz
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Science, University of Gaziantep, 27310, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Assane Anabi Toudjani
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Science, University of Gaziantep, 27310, Gaziantep, Turkey
| | - Tolga Çetin
- T.R. Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, Directorate General for Water Management, Ankara, Turkey
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Taniwaki RH, Matthaei CD, Cardoso TKM, Ferraz SFB, Martinelli LA, Piggott JJ. The effect of agriculture on the seasonal dynamics and functional diversity of benthic biofilm in tropical headwater streams. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo H. Taniwaki
- Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz; Universidade de São Paulo; Piracicaba Brazil
- Centro de Engenharia; Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas; Universidade Federal do ABC; Santo André Brazil
| | | | - Tatima K. M. Cardoso
- Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz; Universidade de São Paulo; Piracicaba Brazil
| | - Silvio F. B. Ferraz
- Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz; Universidade de São Paulo; Piracicaba Brazil
| | - Luiz A. Martinelli
- Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura; Universidade de São Paulo; Piracicaba Brazil
| | - Jeremy J. Piggott
- Department of Zoology and Trinity Centre for the Environment; School of Natural Sciences; Trinity College Dublin; The University of Dublin; Dublin 2 Ireland
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Mangadze T, Dalu T, William Froneman P. Biological monitoring in southern Africa: A review of the current status, challenges and future prospects. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 648:1492-1499. [PMID: 30340294 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 08/18/2018] [Accepted: 08/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Biological monitoring programmes have gained popularity around the world particularly in southern Africa as they are fast, integrative and cost-effective approaches for assessing the effects of environmental stressors on aquatic ecosystems. This article reviews current efforts that have been made to use bioindicators (i.e. macroinvertebrates, diatoms and fish) in monitoring water resources and to summarise the challenges in employing these biological monitoring tools in southern Africa. In South Africa, macroinvertebrate (South African Scoring System (SASS)) and diatom based indices (e.g. South African diatom index (SADI)) have demonstrated their utility in identifying sources of impairment and determining the extent of impacts thus giving natural resource managers a scientifically defensible rationale for developing guidelines for conservation and management. Despite this advancement in South Africa, however, developing regionally appropriate quantitative tools for diagnosing ecosystem health is a pressing need for several other southern African countries. Together with sound scientific research, it is imperative for southern African countries to develop specific legislation and have mandated agencies, with proper training and funding to implement biomonitoring and bioassessments. We recommend for the advancement and adoption of biological criteria as an integrated approach to assessing the impact of human activities in riverine ecosystems of the southern African region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tinotenda Mangadze
- Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa.
| | - Tatenda Dalu
- Ecology and Resource Management, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
| | - P William Froneman
- Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
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