The derivation, performance and role of univariate and multivariate indicators of benthic change: Case studies at differing spatial scales

In Europe there is an extensive history of the derivation and use of benthic indicators which parallels similar developments in North America and elsewhere. Most recently, this has increased because major European Union Directives require that indicators of marine benthic change are used to confirm good ecological status quality (as in the Water Framework Directive) and favourable conservation status (as in the Habitats and Species Directive). Furthermore, these indicators have to fit within the current philosophy of the Ecosystem Approach requiring the development and use of Ecological Quality Objectives and Standards. Despite this, comparisons of families of indicators derived by differing methods have not been carried out such that the robust nature of the indicators on differing spatial scales and under differing benthic conditions has not been rigorously assessed. Using case studies from the Portuguese coasts and estuaries, this paper compares and contrasts univariate and multivariate macrobenthic indicators to quantify comparisons of change. The studies indicate the relative value of those indicators at contrasting spatial scales, e.g. in the transition from small areas around coastal submarine outfalls, to the local and regional estuarine and coastal scale. The analysis indicates the difficulties of deriving and using qualitative and quantitative indicators from benthic communities in stable, and in moderately and highly variable environmental conditions in estuarine, coastal and open sea habitats. In some areas, the variability in the indicators and indices within a station and site is as large as that between stations and sites. For those areas studied, there is an adequate quality and quantity of benthic data available for making management decisions but this is unlikely to be the case for all areas. Similarly, the interrogation of the methods shows that while their use and interpretation rely on a good understanding of the biology of the individual species and their responses to physical and polluting stress, that understanding is not yet available for many of the species. Most notably, while the indices and integrative indicators are becoming increasingly sophisticated, many are still dependent on the Pearson-Rosenberg model for organic enrichment hence they require to be validated for physical disturbance and for chemical pollution. Because of these features, the outcome of the analysis has repercussions for the management of coastal and estuarine areas. Although the present study indicates the value of indicators of benthic change for making management decisions at the various scales, further validation is required especially, for example, where one indicator over-estimates the ecological status for poor areas and underestimates it for good areas.     

Biodiversity in the Black Sea: effects of climate and anthropogenic factors

The Black Sea ecosystem and diversity underwent dramatic adverse changes during the 1960s and, especially, 1970s and 1980s of the last century. Anthropogenically-induced eutrophication increased through greater biogenic flow, dumping and pollutant discharge, in turn causing red tides, fish kills and oxygen depletion over the northwestern shelf. Anthropogenic pressures, associated with the economic situation of the Black Sea countries, has decreased during the last decade, allowing some improvement in the state and biodiversity of the ecosystem. The abundances of several native species have increased. However, mediterranization—the invasion by species from the adjacent basin and beyond—has continued. The conclusion is grounded, that biodiversity is not only inter- and intra-species diversity but also spatial–temporal variability, abundance and productivity dynamics, differences of the metabolic strategies providing sustainable existence in the changing environment. Biodiversity at the intra-species level expresses itself in spatial and temporal variations of the Black Sea biota. It has been shown, that рreservation of the Black Sea ecosystem’s biodiversity must be based on the measures which should be undertaken in national and social spheres, and be directed to the recreation, stabilization and conservation of this unique sea basin. Measures must be implemented nationally to conserve, stabilize or recreate the ecosystem biodiversity of this unique sea basin.     

Subtle population structure and male-biased dispersal in two <Emphasis Type="Italic">Copadichromis</Emphasis> species (Teleostei,Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi,East Africa

Marine protected areas are generally designed and managed on the basis of the presence and extent of specific habitat types or the habitats of important species. However, it has become clear that in addition to including these ‘structural’ elements of marine systems, management strategies should incorporate a consideration of the functional aspects of the ecosystems. Biological traits analysis (BTA) has been successfully used to describe ecological functioning in marine benthic systems. BTA uses a number of biological characteristics expressed by the taxa present as indicators of key ecosystem functions. Two expert workshops were used to examine the potential for the application of BTA in the designation and management of MPAs. They concluded that BTA represented the best tool currently available for quantifying ecological functioning and agreed on 10-key ecological functions delivered by marine benthic communities. Twenty-four biological traits were also identified by the workshops as indices of these ten functions. In order to demonstrate the practical utility of the approach, BTA using these traits, was applied to a dataset covering benthos from within and around the proposed Eddystone Special Area of Conservation (SW England). The case study demonstrated that with the type of data normally available from conservation assessment type surveys, and a knowledge of the relevant biological traits, it is possible to use a consideration of ecological functioning to set boundaries for the MPA and to inform the site management objectives. The use of structure and function information to inform the designation process and subsequent management of marine protected areas is discussed. Guest editors: J. Davenport, G. Burnell, T. Cross, M. Emmerson, R. McAllen, R. Ramsay & E. Rogan Challenges to Marine Ecosystems     

三江源区生态承载力与生态安全评价及限制因素分析

三江源区作为国家生态安全“两屏三带”战略格局的重要组成,其生态安全状况对全国乃至东南亚地区都有重要影响。本文以遥感参数反演和模型计算数据,结合实地调查和社会经济统计等数据,采用层次分析法和指标体系法,对三江源区生态承载力和生态安全状况进行了评价,并根据短板效应分析了限制三江源区生态承载力和生态安全的因素。结果表明：（1）三江源区生态承载力处于中等水平,空间上呈现出由东南向西北逐渐减少的格局;（2）限制三江源区生态承载力的因素主要是水源涵养量、初级生产力、地表水水质、植被覆盖度以及受威胁动物数量等;（3）三江源区生态安全状况基本处于濒危到较安全之间;（4）三江源区西部欠发达地区生态承载力水平较低,相对落后的经济水平限制了环境保护的力度和水平;而东部较发达地区,人口增长快但文化素质不足,难以满足社会经济快速发展与生态安全保护的双重需求。     

Relationships between benthic macrofauna and biogeochemical properties of sediments at different spatial scales and among different habitats in mangrove forests

In muddy intertidal sediments, there are reported complex interactions between the biological, physical and chemical properties of the sediment and the benthos that live in and on it. These are expected to be reflected in strong relationships between benthic animals and particular properties of the sediment, although some research has shown these relationships to be relatively weak. This study investigates the relationships between benthic macrofauna and biogeochemical properties of sediments within and among different habitats in multiple mangrove forests in a temperate estuary, in order to address the generality of any such relationships. Matched samples of benthos and sediment were collected from three habitats, which differed with respect to shading, the amounts of algae and leaf litter and the presence of pneumatophores. The sediment was sampled for water content, grain size, organic matter, chlorophylls a and b and colloidal and total carbohydrate.Spatial variation in sediment and benthos were significantly correlated across habitats in two of the three bays, but the sediment properties that contributed to differences between habitats and those that best correlated with the benthos varied among bays. In all bays, the single taxon that best correlated with the sediment was spionid polychaetes, but correlations were generally weak. There was no generality in the patterns of variation among the benthos or sedimentary properties among habitats. The benthos differed significantly among bays in all habitats, with large variation within and among sites. The sediment varied significantly at small scales in all habitats, but significant differences among bays were only found in two habitats. All spatial scales contributed to the total amount of variability in the sediment and there was little predictability from the patterns shown in one habitat to those in other habitats, or from one component of sediment to other components. Such variability suggests that there may be structural redundancy in this fauna, with different components of the benthos contributing to similar functions in different places. Such variability must be considered in experiments designed to understand relationships between ecological structure and function in these complex habitats and in any sampling studies to identify environmental impacts in these habitats.     

First steps in the Central-Baltic intercalibration exercise on lake macrophytes: where do we start?

The Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000) defines macrophytes as one of the biological groups required for the ecological assessment of European surface waters. Several indices for macrophyte assessment have been proposed or are currently in use by different European states. As a first step towards performing an intercalibration of these indices a common dataset was developed. This dataset contains abundance data on 789 macrophyte species from 316 different lake sites in ten European countries. Various common species and genera were identified as indicators of reference and impacted conditions within the dataset. Cluster analysis of macrophyte data, supported by non-metric multidimensional scaling, indicated that clusters formed were more reflective of their source country rather than lake type. This might be caused by differences in regional climate, biogeography, monitoring techniques, or a combination of these factors. A total of six national indices were applied to assign quality classes to the lakes. However, this produced results that often differed by one or two quality classes for the same site. We foresee that a more precise intercalibration exercise is necessary, and it should be based on more detailed data considering both seasonality and the latitudinal differences within the area covered.     

污染生态学研究的回顾与展望

自20世纪70年代开始,伴随着我国环境科学的兴起和应用生态学的发展,污染生态学经历发生、成长、发展和壮大等几个历史阶段。已经形成了具有自己学科特色的理论体系和研究方法论,如今,污染生态学已成为研究生物系统与被污染环境之间相互作用规律及采用生态学原理对污染环境进行控制与修复的一门独立科学,是应用生态学的重要组成部分,是生态学与环境科学相互融合,相互交叉的产物,在新世纪的头20年中,污染生态学面临着新的机遇和挑战,它将在复合污染生态学,污染生态过程研究、污染生态毒理学和污染生态修复等分支领域和科学前沿取得重要进展和突破。     

Can diatom-based pollution indices be used for biomonitoring in South Africa? A case study of the Crocodile West and Marico water management area

The inclusion of diatoms into the current suite of biomonitoring tools in use in South Africa, as well as the use of European and other diatom indices in South Africa, and in particular the Crocodile and West Marico water management area, is discussed. The indices, when compared to chemical analyses, proved useful in providing an indication of the quality of the investigated waters. Several widely distributed diatom species were shown to have similar ecological tolerances in South Africa when compared to Europe. Although most of the diatoms encountered in the study were cosmopolitan, several possibly endemic species were recorded. The occurrence of endemic species, not included in existing diatom indices may lead to miscalculations of diatom indices. It is concluded that although diatom indices developed in Europe and elsewhere are useful at the present to indicate water quality, a diatom index unique to South Africa including endemic species will have to be formulated. Handling editor: D. Hamilton     

晋冀鲁豫接壤区生态环境现状评价

对“中国资源、生态环境预警研究”的有关方法,建立了晋冀鱼豫接壤区１１个地、市的生态环境质量评价指标体系,并用层次分析法,对１１个地市作出的生态环境质量进行了排序,以表征该区经济持续发展能力及其潜力。     

广州海域环境质量评价

根据2003年8月至2004年8月的水质调查数据,运用水质质量单项标准指数法、综合指数WQI法和富营养化评价法,对广州海域环境质量进行评价.结果表明,广州海域主要污染物质为DIN、PO₄^3--P、油类、Cu和Pb,其年平均浓度分别为1.87 mg·L^-1、0.049 mg·L^-1、0.107 mg·L^-1、6.07 μg·L^-1和1.43 μg·L^-1.其中,DIN的污染情况最严重,所有监测站位DIN含量均超过四类海水水质标准,其平面分布呈现从湾内向湾外递减的特征.受珠江径流和陆源排污等的影响,广州海域大部分处于重度污染,且严重富营养化,其单项污染指数、综合污染指数和富营养化指数的平均值分别为2.22、6.80和48.44,表现为从湾内向湾外递减的趋势,高值区均出现在黄埔港至狮子洋海域.     

芜湖市镜湖轮虫群落结构分析及水质的生态学评价

2003年1—12月,对芜湖市镜湖轮虫群落结构的周年动态进行了研究,并分析了轮虫密度与有关生态因子间的关系。经鉴定,共发现轮虫55种,隶属于15科21属。密度优势种为裂痕龟纹轮虫(Anuraeopsis fissa)、暗小异尾轮虫(Trichocerca pusilla)、前额犀轮虫(Rhinoglena frontalis)、红多肢轮虫(Polyarthra remata)、长三肢轮虫(Filinia longise-ta)、广布多肢轮虫(Polyarthra vulgaris)和多须伪前翼轮虫(Proalides tentaculates),而生物量优势种为前节晶囊轮虫(Asplanchna priodonta)、多须伪前翼轮虫和暗小异尾轮虫。全年轮虫的总密度与水温、叶绿素a浓度及小型纤毛虫密度具有显著的相关性;温度对全年轮虫总密度的影响最大,叶绿素a浓度对春、冬季轮虫总密度影响最大,小型纤毛虫密度对夏季轮虫总密度影响最大,而水温是影响秋季轮虫总密度的主要因素。根据污染指示生物、物种多样性指数和Q值并结合水理化性质对治理后的镜湖水质所进行的初步评价表明,经清淤、截流和换水等措施治理后,小湖区应偏属寡污-β中污至β中污型水体,大湖区属于β中污型水体;目前镜湖水体处于中营养后期—富营养化初期阶段。     

Do fish larvae have advantages over adults and other components for assessing estuarine ecological quality?

Using a novel approach to the assessment of ecological quality status of estuarine ecosystems, this study hypothesizes that compared to adult fishes and other components, the younger fish stages will be more sensitive and act as an early warning and will reflect more effectively the ecological status of estuaries. Larval stages of fishes were used to assess the ecological quality status (EQS) of four NW Portuguese estuaries, with different types and magnitudes of human pressures. The larval fish assemblages, together with water column characteristics and pollution indicators (faecal contamination and nutrient load) were sampled in the Lima, Cávado, Ave and Douro estuaries, during spring and autumn 2009. The four estuaries were classified in terms of human pressures by a global pressure index that identified the Cávado estuary as the least impacted estuary, followed by the Ave and Lima, both classified as moderately impacted system, while the Douro was classified as a highly impacted system. The Ave emerged as the most polluted system, carrying the highest nutrient load and sewage contamination. Larval fish assemblages included estuarine species, marine migrants, marine stragglers and the larger estuaries had higher species richness. Compared to adult fishes, three multimetric fish-based indices classified the Cávado, Ave and Douro estuaries with a lower ecological status when fish larvae were used. Similarly, the EQS assessed by macroinvertebrates were equal or higher when compared with fish larvae results. The EQS assessed by fish larvae was negatively correlated with sewage contamination and nitrogen nutrients, but did not reflect other anthropogenic pressures expressed by the global pressure index, which was only detected by adult fish. Fish larvae assessments were able to detect short-time events of hydrological manipulations observed in the Cávado estuary, as well as a seasonal decrease of water quality especially evident in the Ave estuary. The indices used denoted some limitations to the use of fish larvae data, thus emphasising the need for new indices to test the observed tendency for lower EQS given by fish larvae. The advantages and disadvantages of using fish larvae as more sensitive and accurate bioindicators of ecosystem integrity is also discussed as a means of providing strategically important information for improved estuarine management.     

Microbial diversity in a military impacted lagoon (Vieques,Puerto Rico) and description of “Candidatus Biekeibacterium resiliens” gen. nov., sp. nov. comprising a new bacterial family

The Anones Lagoon, located in the Island Municipality of Vieques, Puerto Rico (PR), received extensive bombing by the US Navy during military exercises for decades until 2003 when military activities ceased. Here, we employed shotgun metagenomic sequencing to investigate how microbial communities responded to pollution by heavy metals and explosives at this lagoon. Sediment samples (0–5 cm) from Anones were collected in 2005 and 2014 and compared to samples from two reference lagoons, i.e., Guaniquilla, Cabo Rojo (a natural reserve) and Condado, San Juan (PR’s capital city). Consistent with low anthropogenic inputs, Guaniquilla exhibited the highest degree of diversity with a lower frequency of genes related to xenobiotics metabolism between the three lagoons. Notably, a clear shift was observed in Anones, with Euryarchaeota becoming enriched (9% of total) and a concomitant increase in community diversity, by about one order of magnitude, after almost 10 years without bombing activities. In contrast, genes associated with explosives biodegradation and heavy metal transformation significantly decreased in abundance in Anones 2014 (by 91.5%). Five unique metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were recovered from the Anones 2005 sample that encoded genetic determinants implicated in biodegradation of contaminants, and we propose to name one of them as “Candidatus Biekeibacterium resiliens” gen. nov., sp. nov. within the Gammaproteobacteria class. Collectively, these results provide new insights into the natural attenuation of explosive contaminants by the benthic microbial communities of the Anones lagoon and provide a reference point for assessing other similarly impacted sites and associated bioremediation efforts.     

Applicability of ecological evaluation tools in estuarine ecosystems: the case of the lower Mondego estuary (Portugal)

In accordance with the Water Framework Directive guidelines (WFD, 2000, European Communities Official Journal L327 2000/60/EC), classification schemes and ecological evaluation tools (based on benthic invertebrate fauna data sets from 1990 to 2002) were applied in the lower Mondego estuary. Two distinct scenarios could be tested due to the implementation of mitigation practices in 1999, following a long eutrophication process, which started by the early 1980s. Some discrepancies in the results were found by the application of the different indices. The AMBI index (accounting for taxonomic composition) and the ABC method (accounting for abundance and biomass k-dominance patterns) classifications often disagreed with those based on species diversity (Margalef and Shannon-Wiener). The ambiguous results made the classification a complex task to achieve, contrary to the Directive’s objective of maintaining it simple and clear. Our results suggest the necessity of adjusting some of the indices and their ranges to estuarine characteristics, namely to account the typical dominance and abundance of some particular species. These aspects are not taken into consideration by some of the indices proposed, which are more adapted to typical marine conditions. Based on our results, these widely applied indices might still improve their efficiency in estuarine systems allowing their use in the resembling types already established within the new Directive agenda.     

The fuzzy index of ecosystem integrity (FINE): a new index of environmental integrity for transitional ecosystems

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) requires assessing the ecological quality status of water bodies, and gives great importance to the biological components of the ecosystem. Within this framework, a multimetric, fuzzy-based index for the evaluation of environmental quality (FINE: fuzzy index of ecosystem integrity) has been developed using data from several Italian coastal lagoons, gathered with seasonal frequency at diverse sites in each lagoon. The rationale of FINE is that certain attributes, selected on the basis of established principles of benthic ecology, are fundamental for lagoon ecosystem function. FINE is composed of seven ecosystem attributes (variables) each of which have ecological relevance for lagoon ecosystems. Individually, all these attributes are themselves useful indices of environmental conditions. However, the combination of these attributes into a single fuzzy index, provides a more robust, overall index of the response of the natural communities to environmental perturbations and avoids misleading or ambiguous results. Each variable is not represented by a single numerical value, but by several categories that describe its properties: in the present model we considered a total of seven variables: two with four modalities (low–medium–high–very high), one with three (low–medium–high) and three with two (low–high), plus a qualitative variable (yes–no), that altogether generate 768 rules. FINE is a low-cost, flexible and robust routine index of lagoon ecosystem impairment and could be of particular benefit to environmental managers and policymakers who require tools capable of expressing the degree of degradation or environmental quality of different lagoon habitats. For its relative simplicity in the application, FINE could be a good candidate to assess the environmental quality of Mediterranean transitional ecosystems. Guest editors: A. Razinkovas, Z. R. Gasiūnaitė, J. M. Zaldivar & P. Viaroli European Lagoons and their Watersheds: Function and Biodiversity