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. 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.
Highlights
Communities occurring along urban rivers are increasingly near sources of pollution such as municipal wastewater, domestic garbage, and agricultural and industrial discharges [1,2,3]
Recent studies have shown that some bryophyte species living in contaminated rivers, like the thallose liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L., can be enriched by heavy metals like Cu, Zn, and Cd [12,13]
We further test if bryophyte community structure, beyond effects on individual species, responds to river pollution
Summary
Communities occurring along urban rivers are increasingly near sources of pollution such as municipal wastewater, domestic garbage, and agricultural and industrial discharges [1,2,3] Most of these effluents contain toxic substances, like heavy metals and metalloids, which are a considerable threat to the environment [4,5], and human health [6,7,8,9]. Water pollution [10] and level of urbanization [15,17,18,19,20] have an impact in other European bryophyte community structures Despite their great importance as bioindicators and bioaccumulators, most bryophyte studies have been carried out in temperate regions of the world [10]. We further test if bryophyte community structure, beyond effects on individual species, responds to river pollution. (1) Is M. polymorpha bioaccumulating toxic elements inside Loja city? (2) How do bryophyte species richness and community structure respond to water pollution? (3) Are there bryophyte species strictly associated either to forest or city areas? Previous research has shown a higher concentration of pollutants in centric zones of cities [10,14,20,26,27,28,29]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
