Application of biofilm community structure analysis for assessing the impact of a stormwater system on the aquatic environment.

Spatiotemporal variation in occurrence and co-occurrence of pesticides, hormones, and other organic contaminants in rivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, United States

Suitability of artificial sweeteners as indicators of raw wastewater contamination in surface water and groundwater

Stormwater discharge: An overlooked source of disinfection byproduct precursors

Ecological indicators for aquatic biodiversity, ecosystem functions, human activities and climate change

Macrophytes are one of the important indicators used in assessing the anthropic impact on aquatic ecosystems. The structure of macrophyte communities of two rivers were compared by species composition, dominant species and projective cover using statistical methods. It is shown that the influence of storm runoff on these rivers is manifested in the form of a change in the dominant species composition. Based on the statistical analysis carried out, it can be argued that, despite the peculiarities of the flora composition of each of the rivers, the influence of storm runoffs largely neutralizes this specificity, determining the situation in local areas immediately below the runoff. In the area of the effluent discharge the dominance of individual species and an increase in the area overgrown with macrophytes was observed. In the area of stormwater discharge on the Psel River, species were usually present: Nuphar lutea, Ceratophyllum demersum, Myriophyllum spicatum and on the Bystrica River-Glyceria maxima, Sagitaria sagittiformis, Stuckenia pectinata and Potamogeton crispus. The use of the NMDS method has been found to provide good insight into the structural rearrangements in macrophyte communities affected by runoff from stormwater systems.

Route of exposure influences pesticide body burden and the hepatic metabolome in post-metamorphic leopard frogs.

Introduction: Reservoirs are artificial aquatic ecosystems created by damming rivers, and are influenced by different sorts of impacts. Anthropic land use and occupation are one of the main causes of the loss of environmental quality and biological diversity in aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of land use and occupation on the taxonomic and functional richness of benthic macroinvertebrates in reservoirs in the Brazilian semiarid region during a period of extreme drought. Material and methods: The study was conducted in six reservoirs located in the semiarid region from Brazilian Northeast (Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte states): Sabugí, Passagem das Traíras, Cruzeta, Cordeiro, Sumé and Poções. The collections of benthic macrofauna, physical and chemical variables of water and the mapping of land use and occupation were performed for the years 2014 and 2019, in June and September. The sampling period was characterized as the most severe drought in the last 50 years in this study area. The land use and occupation were verified through the semi-supervised classification method of images captured by the Landsat 8 satellite, within 100 meters of the reservoir margin. The diversity of benthic macrofauna was analyzed through the taxonomic richness and functional richness, according to five functional characteristics: feeding trophic groups, breathing mode, voltinism, body size and body protection. To check for significant differences in physical and chemical water variables and taxonomic and functional richness among land use and land cover categories we performed PERMANOVA test. Results and Discussion: Seven land use and land cover categories were found in the reservoirs studied in the years 2014 and 2019, these are: water, agriculture, pasture, exposed soil, human occupation, open vegetation (native and exotic species of small/medium size with continuous spacing) and tree/shrub vegetation (native and exotic species of medium/large size with associated herbaceous stratum and predominance of semi-continuous dorsel). In all reservoirs the prevalent-use was pasture. Physical and chemical variables of water varied significantly among land use and land cover types, they were soluble reactive phosphate (p=0.02), total phosphorus (p=0.002) and water volume (p=0.01). The highest concentrations of total phosphorus were associated with predominant human occupation and soluble reactive phosphate with agriculture. The highest percentage of water volume was associated with a predominant use of tree/shrub vegetation. In reservoirs of semiarid regions with low connectivity due to intermittent rivers and extreme drought periods, adjacent anthropic activities such as agriculture, pasture and human occupation are the main external sources of nutrients. The taxonomic and functional richness of benthic macrofauna was higher in areas of open vegetation, however, it did not vary significantly between land use and land cover categories. Conclusions: Our results show that the effects of anthropic use and occupation in reservoirs associated with water scarcity lead to the homogenization of the macrobenthic community, which can generate negative consequences in processes sustained by the community.

One of the activities in the field of environmental engineering is the monitoring of environmental pollution, in which a preliminary stage is carried out – bioindication studies. The Siberian spruce assimilation apparatus is a very reliable tool for the air environment estimation because of high sensitivity to pollutants and the possibility to perform an annual observation. The system of aerogenic pollution estimation in terms of biochemical parameters deviations is considered to be rather reliable. The anthropogenic air pollution leads to the change of the plant metabolism. The increase of the terpenoid compounds content in the needles is due to their biosynthesis intensification as the response of the plant to an unfavorable environment. Under similar conditions other secondary metabolites – phenol substances – are accumulated in tissues. The phenol compounds content in the Siberian spruce assimilation apparatus is increased by more than 60% in the polluted areas compared with the background one. The pigment system of the assimilation apparatus is influenced by the air pollution as well. This study suggests the Siberian spruce assimilation apparatus to be an indicator of air pollution. Results of its composition research and morphometric parameters give a full picture about environment condition.

Biodiversity is changing at an accelerating rate at both local and regional scales. Beta diversity, which quantifies species turnover between these two scales, is emerging as a key driver of ecosystem function that can inform spatial conservation. Yet measuring biodiversity remains a major challenge, especially in aquatic ecosystems. Decoding environmental DNA (eDNA) left behind by organisms offers the possibility of detecting species sans direct observation, a Rosetta Stone for biodiversity. While eDNA has proven useful to illuminate diversity in aquatic ecosystems, its utility for measuring beta diversity over spatial scales small enough to be relevant to conservation purposes is poorly known. Here we tested how eDNA performs relative to underwater visual census (UVC) to evaluate beta diversity of marine communities. We paired UVC with 12S eDNA metabarcoding and used a spatially structured hierarchical sampling design to assess key spatial metrics of fish communities on temperate rocky reefs in southern California. eDNA provided a more-detailed picture of the main sources of spatial variation in both taxonomic richness and community turnover, which primarily arose due to strong species filtering within and among rocky reefs. As expected, eDNA detected more taxa at the regional scale (69 vs. 38) which accumulated quickly with space and plateaued at only ~ 11 samples. Conversely, the discovery rate of new taxa was slower with no sign of saturation for UVC. Based on historical records in the region (2000–2018) we found that 6.9 times more UVC samples would be required to detect 50 taxa compared to eDNA. Our results show that eDNA metabarcoding can outperform diver counts to capture the spatial patterns in biodiversity at fine scales with less field effort and more power than traditional methods, supporting the notion that eDNA is a critical scientific tool for detecting biodiversity changes in aquatic ecosystems.

Illicit or inappropriate inflows into urban drainage systems cause significant operational issues, impacting utilities, communities, and the environment. The continued deterioration of system assets increases these inflows. Groundwater infiltration, rain-derived inflows, and misconnections contribute to reduced system performance, amongst other detrimental inflows. Climate change effects and the revised EU Wastewater Treatment Directive put pressure on utilities to reduce combined sewage and polluted stormwater discharges and overflows while promoting carbon neutrality. The effective management of undue inflows requires identifying cause–effect relationships and quantifying their consequences. This paper proposes a performance-based methodology with metrics and reference values to assess and categorise various undue inflows in wastewater, stormwater, or combined systems. This approach allows the tracking of performance over time, the comparing of systems, and requires data commonly available to utilities. The reliable quantification of inflows depends on the availability and accuracy of flow data from relevant system locations, rainfall data, and pertinent contextual information. This paper uses data from eight utilities and the Portuguese regulator to validate its approach, calculate metrics, refine reference values and enable better-targeted control measures. The results enhance the value of a unified approach to this problem in making better decisions to improve the urban water drainage system’s performance, enhance pollution control, and promote sustainable water management.

Stormwater drains act as important vectors for microplastics, enabling the transportation of microplastic polymers from terrestrial systems where they are produced and consumed to aquatic and marine ecosystems. In this study, microplastic concentrations and their size fractions were measured in six stormwater catchments in the Perth and Peel region of Western Australia. Stormwater drains with contrasting land uses and catchment characteristics were selected and two sites along each drain were sampled. Water samples were filtered in situ with a purpose-built fractionation device. Catchment boundaries and contributing drainage areas were derived from a hydrologically enforced digital elevation model. Microplastic concentrations within the sites varied from 8.8 to 25.1 microplastics/L (mean 14.2 microplastics/L). Fibrous microplastics were the most common morphology, followed by fragments. Polymer types identified using Raman spectroscopy included polypropylene (64.6% of samples), polyethylene (64.7%), polytetrafluoroethylene (5.9%) and polyvinylidene fluoride (5.9%). There was no statistically significant variation in microplastic concentrations across or within stormwater catchments. A linear mixed-effect model showed that several components of the land use pattern: catchment area, catchment population, and the proportion of industrial land, natural land and public open space, were positively related to microplastic concentrations. The proportion of residential land was negatively related to microplastic concentrations. The lack of significant variation in microplastic concentration observed both across and within the catchments points to their ubiquitous presence in stormwater systems in the region. This study is the first to examine microplastic contamination in the water of stormwater drainage systems in Perth, Western Australia. These stormwater systems contain considerable concentrations of microplastics, confirming their importance as transport mechanisms for plastics into aquatic and marine ecosystems.

Although there is a general consensus in ecology that more diverse communities tend to be more productive, it is still unclear whether this holds for aquatic ecosystems, especially with indicators of productivity rates and not just standing biomass proxies. Furthermore, most evidence is based on the results of experimental studies in which biodiversity was assessed through taxonomic richness, although functional indicators could be more relevant. Consequently, we still have a poor understanding of how real community performance is linked to the various features of community structure in natural aquatic ecosystems. Here we explicitly assessed the effect of functional traits and diversity on crustacean zooplankton productivity rates measured across 84 boreal Canadian lakes spanning wide limnological gradients. Productivity was assessed using the chitobiase enzyme method. Redundancy analyses and structured equation modelling were used to assess the relationship between zooplankton production rates, community structure (diversity and functional composition), while accounting for standing biomass and environmental factors After controlling for the effect of environmental factors, zooplankton production rates were positively linked to dominance (lower functional evenness) by certain feeding traits (Daphnia filtration and Chydorus filtration), demonstrating an identity (selection) effect. Overall, the magnitude of the functional compositional effect on production was comparable to the aggregate effect of the environmental variables. Our study demonstrates that zooplankton functional community structure plays an important role in the regulation of a pivotal lake ecosystem function.

Chironomidae stand out among aquatic insects associated with organic matter decomposition due to their abundance, cosmopolitan distribution, the varied forms in which they use detritus, as well as the feeding plasticity of their larvae. The objective of this study was to investigate the structure and composition of the Chironomidae community (Diptera) in the decomposition of Eichhornia azurea leaves in a marginal lake. The working hypothesis is that the taxonomic and functional density and richness of Chironomidae increase over time during the degradation of E. azurea leaves. Decomposition was analyzed in leaves kept in 2-mm mesh litter bags and collected at set successive sampling intervals. Significant differences were found in Chironomidae density and composition in the time scale. The density of individuals increased significantly during the experiment, in contrast to the taxonomic and functional richness. Subfamily Chironominae was the most representative in terms of density and taxonomic richness. The densities of taxa Labrundinia sp., Tanytarsus sp., Dicrotendipes sp., Endotribelos sp. Chironomus sp. and Ablabesmyia sp. were mainly responsible for intragroup similarity in the groups formed at each sampling time. In contrast, the taxonomic composition varied throughout the experiment with characteristic ecologic succession and dynamic stabilization of the colonizing community towards the end of the experiment. In conclusion, the Chironomidae community structure presented an increase in larva density during the experimental period associated with changes in taxon composition; however, the total taxonomic richness variation was low and functional richness did not vary.

Glyphosate (C3H8NO5P) is an organic substance in phosphonomethyl glycine group consisting of phosphorus in its structure. Its well-known trading name is Roundup, which is globally applied as herbicide. In Thailand, it has been widely applied, which results in it occupy in the top order of imported ago-chemical even though it was banned in many countries. Glyphosate application can cause contamination in groundwater and nearby surface water. Recently, there have been studies indicating that glyphosate contamination causes adverse effects on aquatic organism and is bio-accumulated and bio-magnified through food chain and finally reaches to human beings as top consumer. Glyphosate causes alterations in behavior, physiology, DNA, chromosome and bio-chemistry and moreover mortality in the case of exposure in high level. In this case, it may effect on aquatic population which is an important fishery stock in the future. In Thailand, there are lacks of fundamental data and knowledge thus it requires more studies or tests to fulfill this gap. As the importance mentioned above, the effect of glyphosate should be studied for developing the protection and management plan to reduce glyphosate contamination in aquatic organisms and environments. Keywords: acetycholinesterase, aquatic organism, glyphosate, herbicide, roundup

The systematic review follows rigid rules to find the best scientific evidence. This kind of publication aims to bring evidence together to answer a pre-defined research question. The research needs to make a search in all available databases. Systematic reviews should include a synthesis of the data that have been found. Data synthesis can involve summarizing quantitative and/or qualitative findings (1). Systematic reviews of quantitative data may include meta-analysis. The analysis of quantitative data in meta-analysis is the key to interpret the results of the study (1). In this comment we show the most important topics in the Forest plot interpretation. When studying we must be familiar with the various types of graphs used in a meta-analysis. In the left column of a quantitative data the author's name of the studies included in meta-analysis are registered (Figure-1) (2). In the right column of the figure 2 we can observe the confidence intervals (CI) registered in the quantitative data of a meta-analysis. Some forest plots may also provide information about the weights assigned to each study or independent variable in the analysis (Figure -2 ). These weights can be represented by the size of the "boxes" on the plot or by a number associated with each study. In some situations, the authors can include the values of the mean, standard deviation (SD) and the mean difference assigned to each group studied in meta-analysis in the center of the graphic (Figure-3) (3). The vertical axis of the forest plot typically represents the independent variables or individual studies included in the analysis. Each study or independent variable is represented by a line on the plot (Figure -4 ). The horizontal axis usually represents the outcome measure or estimated effect. It can be a measure of risk, such as odds ratio or hazard ratio, or a measure of difference, such as mean difference or proportion difference (Figure -4 ). The vertical lines represent the confidence intervals for each study or independent variable. The length of the line indicates the precision of the estimate. The longer the line, the less precise the estimate. The central line in each "box" represents the point estimate for each study or independent variable. It can be the point estimate or the weighted average of the studies (Figure 4 ). If the confidence intervals of different lines do not overlap, it suggests that there is a statistically significant difference between the represented studies or independent variables. If the lines cross the null vertical line (typically a vertical line at a value of 1 or 0), it indicates that there is no statistically significant difference between the compared interventions or independent variables (Figure -4 ).