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Water Quality Assessment and Ecological Monitoring in Aquatic System

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2022) | Viewed by 21014

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Hydrobiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Kazimierz Wielki, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: ecology; aquatic biodiversity macroinverebrates; freshwater ecosystems; floodplain lakes; coastal lakes; water quality
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Guest Editor
Department of Tourism, Recreation and Ecology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
Interests: freshwater ecology; nature conservation; habitat and species conservation; biodiversity monitoring; biomonitoring; ecosystem function and ecosystem services; landscape ecology; land use change; environmental impact assessment; restoration ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the greatest environmental challenges of the 21st century is maintaining the natural biological, structural, and functional attributes of both freshwater and marine aquatic ecosystems. However, this requires knowledge of the state of these dynamic systems and how certain types of stressors affect them. We can now readily see that there are many destabilizing factors in the environment, caused by both anthropogenic activities and natural factors. Habitat mosaic loss, erosion, invasive species, river fragmentation, pollution, disease, and climate change result in a decline in biodiversity in aquatic environments. Therefore, water quality assessment and classification using multi-indicator methods can help protect and manage aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, this type of assessment allows for a change from the mechanistic paradigm to the evolutionary–ecosystem paradigm, which reflects the regularities of changes in aquatic ecosystems in the Anthropocene era.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present reviews, notes, and original research that concern the following issues: assessment of the quality of the aquatic environment, habitat heterogeneity, quantification of the importance of individual stressors in aquatic ecosystems, monitoring and ecohealth, complementary monitoring methods, and assessment of habitat quality with the use of indicator species. Research that improves our understanding of anthropogenic influences and changes in aquatic ecosystems at different levels of the organization is also appropriate.

Prof. Dr. Krystian Obolewski
Prof. Dr. Mirosław Grzybowski
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • aquatic ecosystem monitoring
  • aquatic ecosystem assessment
  • aquatic ecosystem management
  • aquatic ecosystem services
  • restoration
  • conservation
  • biological indicators
  • streams/rivers/lakes/wetlands/sea/ocean
  • ecohaelth
  • ecohydrology

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 6659 KiB  
Article
Development of Aquatic Index of Biotic Integrity and Its Driving Factors in the Diannong River, China
by Lin Lee, Shuangyu Liu, Xiaocong Qiu, Ruizhi Zhao, Zengfeng Zhao, Yongpeng Wan and Zhanqi Cao
Water 2023, 15(6), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15061130 - 15 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2520
Abstract
To investigate the health of the Diannong River water ecosystem, we collected and analyzed phytoplankton, zooplankton, and microorganisms from the Diannong River in April, July, and October 2021. We also analyzed the physical and chemical factors of the water environment and analyzed the [...] Read more.
To investigate the health of the Diannong River water ecosystem, we collected and analyzed phytoplankton, zooplankton, and microorganisms from the Diannong River in April, July, and October 2021. We also analyzed the physical and chemical factors of the water environment and analyzed the habitat quality. The reference points were determined by the habitat composite index and water quality score. Phytoplankton index of biotic integrity (P-IBI), Zooplankton index of biotic integrity (Z-IBI), and microbial index of biotic integrity (M-IBI) which evaluated the health status of Diannong River were constructed by distribution range analysis, discriminatory ability analysis and correlation analysis of candidate biological indicators. Stepwise regression analysis and path coefficient analysis were conducted to determine the environmental factors driving the changes in aquatic IBI. The results showed that the indicators of P-IBI were the number of Cyanobacteria taxonomic units %, the number of Green Algae taxonomic units%, the relative abundance of Euglena, the relative abundance of Green Algae, and the relative abundance of toxic-producing algae. The indicators of Z-IBI were the total number of zooplankton taxonomic units, the relative abundance of Copepods, the relative abundance of the top 3 dominant species, and the Simpson index; the indicators of M-IBI were the Observed species, the relative abundance of Chloroflexi, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria, the relative abundance of the highest dominant taxonomic unit, the relative abundance of the top 5 dominant taxonomic units, the relative abundance of pollution intermediate genus, and the Ace index. The results of the IBI evaluation for three aquatic organisms showed that most of the sites in the upper reaches of the Diannnong River were at healthy or healthier levels; most of the sites in the middle reaches of the Diannnong River and the Yuehai Lake area were at mediocre or poor levels; and most of the sites in the downstream reaches of the Diannong River were average or mediocre levels. the main water environment factors driving the changes in P-IBI were water temperature (WT) and pH. The main water environment factors driving the changes in Z-IBI were total dissolved solids (TDS), WT and total nitrogen (TN); the main water environment factors driving the changes of M-IBI were fluoride ion (F) and electrical conductivity (EC). This study provides the scientific reference for the application of the index of biotic integrity (IBI) for a variety of aquatic organisms in the river and lake waters and a basis for the management and optimization of the Diannong River aquatic ecosystem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality Assessment and Ecological Monitoring in Aquatic System)
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16 pages, 1464 KiB  
Article
Biomathematical Model for Water Quality Assessment: Macroinvertebrate Population Dynamics and Dissolved Oxygen
by Jair J. Pineda-Pineda, Jesús Muñoz-Rojas, Y. Elizabeth Morales-García, Juan C. Hernández-Gómez and José M. Sigarreta
Water 2022, 14(18), 2902; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14182902 - 16 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2866
Abstract
Sustainable water management is important to ensure its availability for future generations. The study of water quality is fundamental for this purpose. Assessing the health of aquatic ecosystems through bioindicators has been shown to be reliable and inexpensive. The objective of this work [...] Read more.
Sustainable water management is important to ensure its availability for future generations. The study of water quality is fundamental for this purpose. Assessing the health of aquatic ecosystems through bioindicators has been shown to be reliable and inexpensive. The objective of this work was to evaluate water quality through a biomathematical model that involves environmental stress indicator organisms and their close relationship with dissolved oxygen. In this direction, a system of differential equations describing the population dynamics of aquatic macroinvertebrates under the influence of dissolved oxygen is proposed. The model is validated by its application in the Coyuca Lagoon, Mexico. Likewise, population changes over time were represented, which allowed us to deduce that the increase or decrease in the aeration/oxygenation rate significantly affects the population dynamics of the bioindicator organisms. In addition, to classify water quality, a one-to-one correspondence was established between water quality and the equilibrium points of the system of differential equations. The results obtained allow inferring that the proposed techniques are useful for the study of water quality since they can predict significant changes in the ecosystem and provide researchers and water managers with tools for decision making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality Assessment and Ecological Monitoring in Aquatic System)
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12 pages, 2871 KiB  
Article
Effect of Rainfall and pH on Musty Odor Produced in the Sanbe Reservoir
by Sangyeob Kim, Shohei Hayashi, Shingo Masuki, Kazuhiro Ayukawa, Shuji Ohtani and Yasushi Seike
Water 2021, 13(24), 3600; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13243600 - 15 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8921
Abstract
Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are continuously formed in water systems such as reservoirs and lakes around the world. Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) produced by some species of cyanobacteria have caused odor problems in the drinking water of the Sanbe Reservoir in Japan. Field observations [...] Read more.
Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are continuously formed in water systems such as reservoirs and lakes around the world. Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) produced by some species of cyanobacteria have caused odor problems in the drinking water of the Sanbe Reservoir in Japan. Field observations were conducted for four years (2015–2019) to investigate the cause of this musty odor. It was found that geosmin was produced by Dolichospermum crassum and Dolichospermum planctonicum (cyanobacteria), and 2-MIB was due to Pseudanabaena sp. and Aphanizomenon cf. flos-aquae (cyanobacteria). Changes in water temperature and pH caused by rainfall were correlated with changes in the concentration of geosmin and 2-MIB. In particular, geosmin and 2-MIB tended to occur under low rainfall conditions. When there was low rainfall, the reservoir changed to an alkaline state because the phytoplankton consumed CO2 for photosynthesis. In an alkaline reservoir, dissolved inorganic carbon mainly existed in the form of bicarbonate (HCO3). Thus, the results suggest that under such conditions in reservoirs, cyanobacteria grew easily because they could use both CO2 and HCO3 for photosynthesis. Specifically, our study suggests that in order for the musty odor problem in the reservoir to be solved, it is important that the pH of the reservoir be controlled. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality Assessment and Ecological Monitoring in Aquatic System)
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13 pages, 3170 KiB  
Article
The Use of Phytoplankton in the Assessment of Water Quality in the Lower Section of Poland’s Largest River
by Ewa Anna Dembowska
Water 2021, 13(23), 3471; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233471 - 6 Dec 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5134
Abstract
Phytoplankton studies were carried out in the lower course of Poland’s largest river, the Vistula. This section of the Vistula has changed much since the 19th century due to regulation of the bed and limitation of its flood banks. In the years 1994–2020, [...] Read more.
Phytoplankton studies were carried out in the lower course of Poland’s largest river, the Vistula. This section of the Vistula has changed much since the 19th century due to regulation of the bed and limitation of its flood banks. In the years 1994–2020, hydrobiological studies of physical and chemical parameters and phytoplankton were carried out. On the basis of these studies, this research investigated the water quality of the river. Since 2000, a gradual improvement in water quality in the river has been observed, as manifested by decreasing phytoplankton biomass (from over 15 mg/L in 1994 and 2003 to less than 10 mg/L in the 2000s) and lower chlorophyll a concentrations (from 48 µg/L in 1998 to 12.5 µg/L in 2020). The river’s ecological potential index, calculated on the basis of indicator species of phytoplankton and chlorophyll a concentration, also indicates a progressive improvement. In the 1990s, the ecological potential was poor; at the turn of the century, it was moderate; and in the following years, the phytoplankton studies showed an ecological potential that was good or moderate (slightly below the lower threshold of good potential). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Quality Assessment and Ecological Monitoring in Aquatic System)
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