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Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2020) | Viewed by 37642

Special Issue Editors

Dr. José Maria Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: freshwater fish; fish passage; hydropower; fish migration; connectivity; river restoration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Maria Teresa Ferreira

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Landscape, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: freshwater ecology and management; river restoration; ecological quality; fish community ecology; fish habitat requirements and riparian ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Debuting one century ago, aquatic biota has been increasingly used worldwide to monitor and assess ecological changes as a result of environmental stressors, such as pollution, nutrient enrichment, habitat loss or overexploitation. A large number of types of biological indicators have arisen to express changes in the structure (patterns) and function (processes) of freshwater ecosystems, responding to the needs of important legislative tools, such as the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) or the Habitats directive (92/43/EEC), which require EU member states to evaluate the ecological status of surface waters using aquatic biota. Benthic invertebrates, macroscopic plants, fish, phytoplankton, and phytobenthos are all currently used as indicators in monitoring river and streams, and advances in biomonitoring are constantly described in the literature. Among these techniques, taxon-based biotic indices and multimetric approaches are the most frequently used; however, functional measures have been increasingly applied as a complementary approach to reflect ecological integrity. The latest advances in molecular techniques, such as environmental DNA and metabarcoding, seem promising in their ability to make the assessments faster, more accurate, and cost-effective, making them a promising tool to complement and replace morphological identifications. Following the experience gathered in the last quarter of a century, new issues have come to the surface, including the level of determinism of cause–effect links, the capacity of bioindicators to integrate multiscaled complex pressures, and the variability of responses of biota under different restoration scenarios and land use changes. This Special Issue invites fundamental and applied research which follows on from recent developments in the biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems to detect environmental stressors and point out future directions.

Dr. José Maria Santos
Prof. Maria Teresa Ferreira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • freshwater ecosystems
  • biological quality elements (BQE)
  • biomonitoring
  • ecological quality
  • multimetric indices
  • functional guilds
  • eDNA

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 204 KiB  
Editorial
Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions
by José Maria Santos and Maria Teresa Ferreira
Water 2020, 12(6), 1611; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061611 - 5 Jun 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3504
Abstract
Freshwater ecosystems have been severely damaged worldwide by a multitude of human pressures, such as pollution, nutrient enrichment, damming or overexploitation, and this has been more intense over the past five decades. It is therefore important that the impacts of such stressors can [...] Read more.
Freshwater ecosystems have been severely damaged worldwide by a multitude of human pressures, such as pollution, nutrient enrichment, damming or overexploitation, and this has been more intense over the past five decades. It is therefore important that the impacts of such stressors can be effectively detected, monitored and assessed in order to provide adequate legislative tools and to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems. The use of aquatic biota to detect, measure and track changes in the environment is often known as freshwater biomonitoring and is based on the premise that the presence or absence of biotic assemblages at a given site reflects its degree of environmental quality. For over a century, since the early pollution-oriented indicators, freshwater monitoring has been developing and testing progressively more complex indicator systems, and increasing the plethora of pressures addressed, using different biological groups, such as benthic macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, fish, phytoplankton and phytobenthos. There is an increasing demand for precision and accuracy in bioassessment. In this Special Issue, five high-quality papers were selected and are briefly presented herein, that cover a wide range of issues and spatial contexts relevant to freshwater biomonitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions)

Research

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23 pages, 1935 KiB  
Article
Can the Stream Quantification Tool (SQT) Protocol Predict the Biotic Condition of Streams in the Southeast Piedmont (USA)?
by Sara Donatich, Barbara Doll, Jonathan Page and Natalie Nelson
Water 2020, 12(5), 1485; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051485 - 22 May 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4623
Abstract
In some states, the Stream Quantification Tool (SQT) has been adopted to quantify functional change of stream mitigation efforts. However, the ability of the SQT protocol to predict biological function and uphold the premise of the Stream Functions Pyramid (Pyramid) remains untested. Macroinvertebrate [...] Read more.
In some states, the Stream Quantification Tool (SQT) has been adopted to quantify functional change of stream mitigation efforts. However, the ability of the SQT protocol to predict biological function and uphold the premise of the Stream Functions Pyramid (Pyramid) remains untested. Macroinvertebrate community metrics in 34 headwater streams in Piedmont, North Carolina (NC, USA) were related to NC SQT protocol (version 3.0) factors and other variables relevant to ecological function. Three statistical models, including stepwise, lasso, and ridge regression were used to predict the NC Biotic Index (NCBI) and Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) richness using two datasets: 21 SQT variables and the SQT variables plus 13 additional watershed, hydraulic, geomorphic, and physicochemical variables. Cross-validation revealed that stepwise and ridge outperformed lasso, and that the SQT variables can reasonably predict biology metrics (R2 0.53–0.64). Additional variables improved prediction (R2 0.70–0.88), suggesting that the SQT protocol is lacking metrics important to macroinvertebrates. Results moderately support the Pyramid: highly predictive ridge models included metrics from all levels, while highly predictive stepwise models included metrics from higher levels, and not watershed hydrology. Reach-scale metrics were more important than watershed hydrology, providing encouragement for projects limited by watershed condition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions)
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15 pages, 929 KiB  
Article
The Urgent Need for River Health Biomonitoring Tools for Large Tropical Rivers in Developing Countries: Preliminary Development of a River Health Monitoring Tool for Myanmar Rivers
by Nyein Thandar Ko, Phil Suter, John Conallin, Martine Rutten and Thom Bogaard
Water 2020, 12(5), 1408; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12051408 - 15 May 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4185
Abstract
Anthropogenic pressures such as river infrastructure, agriculture and power generation are rapidly increasing in Southeast Asia, aimed at providing food security within the region. However, this will lead to unintended river health consequences, and, currently, most Southeast Asian countries have no country-specific tools [...] Read more.
Anthropogenic pressures such as river infrastructure, agriculture and power generation are rapidly increasing in Southeast Asia, aimed at providing food security within the region. However, this will lead to unintended river health consequences, and, currently, most Southeast Asian countries have no country-specific tools for monitoring river health. In Myanmar, one of Southeast Asia’s poorest and most rapidly developing countries, no country-specific tools exist, and there is an urgent need to provide tools that can inform better management and trade-off decision making. This research evaluated three rapid macroinvertebrate bioassessment methods under Myanmar conditions. The objective of the research was to assess the applicability of existing internationally accepted indexing methods for use in Myanmar. Through taxa identification in the laboratory and statistical analysis, it was concluded that the method with the best fit for Myanmar taxa is The Asia Foundation index method, although differences were small. This Asia Foundation method is comparable to the Australian Waterwatch method but includes a family present in our samples that is not included in the Waterwatch method. We then modified this method to include Myanmar taxa not recorded in The Asia Foundation method. The modified index method could be further developed into a Myanmar specific tool for widespread use potentially in combination with the also tested miniSASS, a much easier order-based method better suitable for non-professionals. We recommend additional testing using sites on other rivers across the country to establish a professional indexing method for Myanmar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions)
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15 pages, 1276 KiB  
Article
A Fish-Based Index of Biotic Integrity for Neotropical Rainforest Sandy Soil Streams—Southern Brazil
by Gabriel Gonino, Evanilde Benedito, Vivian de Mello Cionek, Maria Teresa Ferreira and João Manuel Oliveira
Water 2020, 12(4), 1215; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041215 - 24 Apr 2020
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 10792
Abstract
Multimetric indices are considered a low-cost and rapid means of assessing ecological integrity in streams. This study aimed to develop a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (N3S-IBI) in an agricultural region within the domains of the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. We sampled 23 [...] Read more.
Multimetric indices are considered a low-cost and rapid means of assessing ecological integrity in streams. This study aimed to develop a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (N3S-IBI) in an agricultural region within the domains of the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. We sampled 23 first-order streams and used large-scale land use and a local physical condition index to choose reference sites and to classify sites according to the disturbance level. N3S-IBI resulted in six metrics (Simpson’s dominance; the numbers of Characiformes and non-native individuals (Poecilia reticulata); and the percentages of Characidae species, intolerant insectivorous individuals, and tolerant species), contemplating tolerance, composition, abundance, richness, trophic habits, and origin. The low number of metrics contributes to a quick and easy biomonitoring process. N3S-IBI showed an excellent performance to separate least and most disturbed sites in our study area and can provide additional knowledge about anthropogenic effects within this impacted region. In fact, this tool could be utilized by managers to direct restoration actions for the most disturbed sites and to strengthen the preservation of the least disturbed sites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions)
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15 pages, 1036 KiB  
Article
The Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR) as an Advantageous Approach to Running Water Assessment in Local Geographical Conditions
by Krzysztof Szoszkiewicz, Szymon Jusik, Karol Pietruczuk and Daniel Gebler
Water 2020, 12(1), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12010108 - 29 Dec 2019
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 8185
Abstract
The Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR) was developed in 2007, and it was one of the first biological methods developed in Poland under the requirements of the Water Framework Directive to assess the ecological status of running waters. It is based on the [...] Read more.
The Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR) was developed in 2007, and it was one of the first biological methods developed in Poland under the requirements of the Water Framework Directive to assess the ecological status of running waters. It is based on the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of 153 indicator taxa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of the MIR method to detect trophic degradation in rivers and to compare its efficiency with other macrophyte metrics. Our investigation was based on 100 sites, representing a very clear gradient from near oligotrophic to eutrophic conditions. The results showed that macrophytes can be distinguished in terms of their ecological requirements for nutrient concentration in water, and this can be used to develop an effective system of freshwater assessment. The MIR was shown to be the indicator most strongly correlated with various forms of nutrients, and it was demonstrated that calibration of the macrophyte method to local biogeographical conditions resulted in greater effectiveness of the assessment method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions)
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12 pages, 1639 KiB  
Article
Bryophyte Communities along a Tropical Urban River Respond to Heavy Metal and Arsenic Pollution
by Cristina Vásquez, James Calva, Ramiro Morocho, David A. Donoso and Ángel Benítez
Water 2019, 11(4), 813; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040813 - 18 Apr 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5447
Abstract
Aquatic and rheophilous bryophytes can indicate water pollution as they bioaccumulate toxic water elements. We evaluated (1) bioaccumulation of eight heavy metals and arsenic by Marchantia polymorpha L., and (2) changes in bryophyte community structure, as responses to urban pollution in southern Ecuador. [...] Read more.
Aquatic and rheophilous bryophytes can indicate water pollution as they bioaccumulate toxic water elements. We evaluated (1) bioaccumulation of eight heavy metals and arsenic by Marchantia polymorpha L., and (2) changes in bryophyte community structure, as responses to urban pollution in southern Ecuador. To this end, we registered presence/absence and coverage of submerged bryophytes in 120 quadrats across three zones of the Zamora river inside Loja city, and a control zone in a nearby forest. We found that the concentrations of five (Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Zn) of the eight chemical elements and arsenic were highest in urban M. polymorpha. Moreover, bryophyte species richness decreased in urban zones. Bryophyte community structure also differed between control and city zones, but no differences were found among city zones. The control zone was composed by a more distinct set of bryophyte species, e.g., an indicator species analysis showed that 16 species had high and significant indicator values for control zone, but only 11 species were indicators of at least one of the three urban zones. We concluded that bryophytes, in general, and M. polymorpha, in particular, can be suitable biomonitors of water quality in tropical urban rivers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Use of Aquatic Biota to Detect Ecological Changes in Freshwater: Current Status and Future Directions)
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