Changes In Aquatic Environment Research Articles

Modern distribution of Cladocera in lakes of northern China and western Mongolia and its environmental implications

Cladocerans are widely distributed in aquatic ecosystems and are sensitive to environmental changes; hence, they are commonly used to trace ecological changes in aquatic environments. However, the distribution of cladocerans in northern China is poorly known. We investigated the occurrence of cladocerans in 136 water bodies (including lakes and reservoirs), with varying hydro-chemical and climatic gradients, in northern China and western Mongolia. We identified 38 cladoceran taxa in the surface sediments of 88 different water bodies, while the remaining lakes, mainly saline, had no cladocerans. The spatial distribution characteristics of cladoceran species and the environmental factors determining their community composition were investigated using canonical correspondence analysis. The results demonstrate that water depth, trophic status, and water salinity were the top three variables influencing the composition of cladoceran taxa. Transfer functions between the surface sediment cladocerans and lake level and nutrient (NH4) levels in 62 lakes (26 lakes lacked environmental data) were established via multivariate statistical analyses. Using the subfossil cladocerans of Jili Lake, lake level and nutrient values were reconstructed for the past 100 years. The results agree overall with the observational data, and they reveal that the changes in the cladoceran community reflected mainly lake level fluctuations before 1988 CE, and mainly nutrient changes thereafter. Our research clarifies, for the first time, the environmental significance of modern Cladocera in the lakes of northern China and western Mongolia, and it provides a foundation for the future reconstruction of long-term changes in the ecological environment of lakes.

Diatom cell-size composition as a novel tool for quantitative estimates of the water table in peatlands.

Diatom cell-size composition is an indicator of aquatic environmental changes but has been rarely investigated, especially in semi-terrestrial peatlands. In this study, both taxonomic composition and cell-size composition of diatoms were analysed in 41 samples from two montane peatlands, northeastern China. Redundancy analyses revealed that diatom taxonomic composition was significantly related to the depth to the water table (DWT) and Ca2+, while cell-size composition was significantly associated with DWT and Si. DWT was the most important factor and its sole effect explained 26.2% and 17.9% of the total variance in taxonomic composition and cell-size composition, respectively. Accordingly, diatom-based water-table transfer functions were developed based on taxonomic composition and cell-size composition, respectively. The maximum-likelihood (ML) model based on diatom taxonomic composition had the best performance, with a correlation coefficient value (R2) of 0.78 and the root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP) of 6.66 cm. The ML model based on cell-size composition had similar performance, with an R2 of 0.78 and the RMSEP of 6.87 cm, suggesting that diatom cell-size composition can be a new quantitative means to track past water-table changes. This method requires further appraisal with palaeoecological data but offers a new option that deserves exploration.

Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms forecasting based on improved CNN-Transformer and Temporal Fusion Transformer

Harmful Cyanobacteria have the potential to produce toxins and odors, not only in drinking water but also in public waters where recreational activities take place. Thus, predicting the number of Harmful Cyanobacteria cells is crucial for managing their growth. However, predicting changes in aquatic environments is highly challenging, and predicting aquatic ecosystems is particularly difficult due to uncertainty and complexity in unknown areas. In the past, research has focused on mechanism-based prediction techniques, such as EFDC and Delft3D models. However, with the recent rise of artificial intelligence-based deep learning techniques, it has become imperative to leverage these methods. Additionally, it is crucial to develop a method that can directly predict the number of Harmful Cyanobacteria cells, rather than chlorophyll-a, which only indicates the total generation of algae. In this study, a technique based on artificial intelligence deep learning was proposed to directly predict the number of Harmful Cyanobacteria cells. Advanced analysis was conducted to achieve this goal, by combining the CNN and Transformer algorithms and comparing the results with the Temporal Fusion Transformer (TFT) technique. The models were trained using water quality and algae data collected between 2012 and 2021 and validated the predictions using data from 2022. Employing the proposed method for short-term prediction of Harmful Cyanobacteria is anticipated to assist in operating the algae warning system in Korea.

Community structure of zooplankton and its response to aquatic environmental changes based on eDNA metabarcoding

Environmental DNA (eDNA), as a tool for rapid, non-invasive biodiversity monitoring and ecological assessment, is pivotal to the understanding of aquatic biodiversity. In this study, eDNA metabarcoding technology was compared with conventional microscopical approaches to identify the variability characteristics of Weihe River community structure under changing environment. The number of species identified by molecular method was 3 times that by traditional method, which significantly improved the identification ability of species. There was a positive correlation between sequence abundances and microscopical individual counts (r = 0.84, p < 0.05；r = 0.97, p < 0.05). COI gene markers were more discriminative for the biological communities' heterogeneity, and their first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) explained 55.54% of the variance of the total variables. Moreover, molecular methods elucidated the interaction between eco-hydrological variables and zooplankton community structure. The variation of land-use types led to significant differences in zooplankton abundance. Total nitrogen, Water temperature, river width and altitudewere the key impact factors of zooplankton community change (p < 0.01). We believe that our research would provide meaningful demos on the application of eDNA technology in river ecosystem monitoring and assessment.

IMPACT OF SEASONAL CHANGES IN FRESHWATER PHYTOPLANKTON AND ZOOPLANKTON BIODIVERSITY AT VALANKULAM LAKE, COIMBATORE DISTRICT, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

The plankton communities are important source of food for the aquatic organisms, and if any undesirable changes in aquatic environment may affect plankton diversity and density. Therefore, assessment of planktonic communities in the freshwater ecosystems is essential because they serve as bio-indicators of water quality parameters. Hence, the present research was focused to evaluate the freshwater phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity and their abundance in Valankulam Lake (Lat. 10.59° N and Long. 76.57° E), at Coimbatore city, Tamil Nadu, India. Results from the study revealed that a total of 77 species of phytoplankton and zooplankton were recorded, under 37 families and 46 genera. In addition to that, a total of 43 phytoplankton species were recorded under 25 families and 30 genera, (which includes; 15 species of Cyanophyceae, 17 species of Chlorophyceae, 08 species of Bacillariophyceae, 03 species of Euglenophyceae). and a total of 34 species of zooplankton were recorded under 12 families and 17 genera, (which includes 13 species of Rotifera, 09 species of Cladocera, 08 species of Copepoda and 04 species of Ostracoda). The maximum plankton diversity was observed during the monsoon season and the minimum in the summer season. Results from study revealed the ecological status of the lake is categorized as moderately polluted due to the presence of municipal waste and industrial discharges into the lake water. Therefore, the assessment of planktonic communities in water bodies will be useful to monitor and maintain the water quality parameters and wealth of aquatic biota in the aquatic ecosystem.

Impact of marine aquaculture wastewater discharge on microbial diversity in coastal waters

Numerous pollutants exist in marine aquaculture wastewater, such as organic matter and antibiotics, with uncontrolled discharge affecting both marine and coastal ecological environments. Microbial communities respond sensitively to changes in aquatic environment, exhibiting altered species numbers and population composition. In this study, NGS technology was applied to analyze the composition and diversity of microbial communities in marine aquaculture ponds and the surrounding seawater. The analysis aimed to explore the relationship between microbial diversity in the marine aquaculture industry and the surrounding marine environment, with Dongzhai bay selected as the research object. Water samples were collected from five sampling points, according to marine aquaculture water discharge and diffusion patterns. The dominant bacteria included Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, while the dominant fungi included Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota, and Rozellomycota. Diversity within microbial communities was found to be related to environmental factors such as pH, NH4+-N, COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), and TN (Total Nitrogen). Unique microbial species were found to exist in different environments. According to the analysis of OTUs and Alpha diversity, the population and species diversity of microbial populations in P. vannamei culture ponds were lower than in other areas, while mangrove areas showed increased microbial diversity in comparison to other areas. Results showed that the discharge of aquaculture water results in eutrophic substance diffusion in different areas of the bay, which in turn affects the surrounding oceanic microbial community.

Will a heavy sediment load affect responses of phytoplankton functional groups to aquatic environmental changes in different water body types?

Sediment, as a natural component of rivers, directly affects the abundance and function of phytoplankton by altering water physicochemical properties. Despite mounting evidence for the sensitivity of phytoplankton to environmental factors, the responses of phytoplankton functional groups to complex environmental changes in rivers with a heavy sediment load are still poorly understood. Herein, the effectiveness of phytoplankton functional groups was evaluated as an indicator of aquatic environmental changes in a heavily sediment-laden river. Samples were collected from 44 sites (22 free-flowing river sections and 22 man-made reservoir sections) with a mean annual sediment concentration of 4.69 kg m-3 in the Yellow River, China. A total of 31 phytoplankton functional groups were classified during spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) in 2019. Groups C, MP, and D, which are well adapted to strong water disturbances and turbid habitats, showed distinct advantages over other groups. Despite no significant differences in many environmental variables between the river and reservoir sections, these variables (especially nitrogen nutrients) had remarkable effects on the phytoplankton community structure. The phytoplankton functional groups were sensitive to environmental changes even under sediment interference, although geo-climatic variables also exhibited non-trivial effects. The mean niche breadth of the abundant taxa (river: 11.16; reservoir: 7.93) was higher than that of the rare taxa (river: 5.64; reservoir: 4.86) in different water bodies. Thus, growth and diffusion of the abundant taxa played paramount roles in maintaining ecosystem stability. The results indicate that, in a large-scale sediment-laden river, phytoplankton functional groups can effectively indicate changes in the aquatic environment of either a free-flowing river or a man-made reservoir.

Effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities on lake environmental dynamics: A case study in Lake Bosten Catchment, NW China

Arid and semiarid regions account for ∼ 40% of the world's land area. Rivers and lakes in these regions provide sparse, but valuable, water resources for the fragile environments, and play a vital role in the development and sustainability of local societies. During the late 1980s, the climate of arid and semiarid northwest China dramatically changed from “warm-dry” to “warm-wet”. Understanding how these environmental changes and anthropogenic activities affect water quantity and quality is critically important for protecting aquatic ecosystems and determining the best use of freshwater resources. Lake Bosten is the largest inland freshwater lake in NW China and has experienced inter-conversion between freshwater and brackish status. Herein, we explored the long-term water level and salinity trends in Lake Bosten from 1958 to 2019. During the past 62 years, the water level and salinity of Lake Bosten exhibited inverse “W-shaped” and “M-shaped” patterns, respectively. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) suggested that the decreasing water level and salinization during 1958–1986 were mainly caused by anthropogenic activities, while the variations in water level and salinity during 1987–2019 were mainly affected by climate change. The transformation of anthropogenic activities and climate change is beneficial for sustainable freshwater management in the Lake Bosten Catchment. Our findings highlight the benefit of monitoring aquatic environmental changes in arid and semi-arid regions over the long-term for the purpose of fostering a balance between socioeconomic development and ecological protection of the lake environment.

Evaluation of a diatom eDNA-based technique for assessing water quality variations in tropical lakes and reservoirs

Freshwater bodies, both lotic (canals, rivers) and lentic (lakes and reservoirs), in the tropics have only rarely been subjected to intense monitoring regimes owing to limited expertise and resources, despite tropical habitats being among the most dynamic and threatened globally. Diatoms are an important part of assessing aquatic environmental changes in parts of the world where monitoring is well-established because of their sensitivity to a range of indicators of water quality. In such cases, diatoms have traditionally been identified based on morphology. Morphological information on tropical diatom taxa and the expertise to assemble it are sparse. However, DNA-based assessment is less reliant on taxonomic expertise and has the potential to be more cost-efficient. The application of DNA-based technology could thus expedite the incorporation of diatoms into routine monitoring in the tropics. Here we evaluate an environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding workflow for diatom identifications based on 109 water samples from six freshwater reservoirs in Singapore, a highly urbanised part of tropical Southeast Asia. The six reservoirs span a range of sizes and catchment settings. We generate baseline information for lentic systems by targeting planktonic assemblages and including two commonly used barcodes, rbcL and 18S, to assess detection differences. Congruence with morphological identifications is generally low and each technique reveals distinct species lists, but overall congruence between methods improves when comparisons are at the genus level. We discuss the probable methodological and analytical causes for this incongruence and conclude that both approaches be used concurrently for generating reference databases of relatively poorly-known diatom diversity in tropical freshwater habitats. More promisingly, we find that eDNA datasets were sufficient to reveal both spatial and temporal patterns in diatom assemblages across the six study sites. We also show that regardless of the detection method used, diatom assemblages correlated with similar environmental variables. Results highlight the potential feasibility of eDNA-based diatom monitoring of freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia and in the tropics more broadly.

Super‐Moisturizing Materials from Morphological Deformation of Suprapolysaccharides

Front Cover: In article number 2200163, Kosuke Okeyoshi, Tatsuo Kaneko, and co-workers discover the morphological instability of polysaccharides, especially the reversible self-assembly/disassembly between micron-fibers and microparticles in response to changes in aquatic environments. Moreover, the microparticles having crosslinking points in the interior behave as super-moisturizing materials.

Histological and Chemical Analysis of Heavy Metals in Kidney and Gills of Boops boops: Melanomacrophages Centers and Rodlet Cells as Environmental Biomarkers.

Industrialization has resulted in a massive increase in garbage output, which is frequently discharged or stored in waterways like rivers and seas. Due to their toxicity, durability, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification, heavy metals (such as mercury, cadmium, and lead) have been identified as strong biological poisons. Their presence in the aquatic environment has the potential to affect water quality parameters and aquatic life in general. Teleosts’ histopathology provides a sensitive indicator of pollutant-induced stress, because their organs have a central role in the transformation of different active chemical compounds in the aquatic environment. In particular, the gills, kidneys, and liver are placed at the center of toxicological studies. The purpose of this study is to examine the morphological changes caused by heavy metals in the kidney and gills of Boops boops, with a focus on melanomacrophages centers (MMCs) and rodlet cells (RCs) as environmental biomarkers, using histological and histochemical stainings (hematoxylin/eosin, Van Gieson trichrome, Periodic Acid Schiff reaction, and Alcian Blue/PAS 2.5), and immunoperoxidase methods. Our findings show an increase of MMCs and RCs linked to higher exposure to heavy metals, confirming the role of these aggregates and cells as reliable biomarkers of potential aquatic environmental changes reflected in fish fauna. The cytological study of RCs and MMCs could be important in gaining a better understanding of the complicated immune systems of teleosts.

Super-Moisturizing Materials from Morphological Deformation of Suprapolysaccharides.

The evaporative interface on polysaccharides has evolved to form hierarchical structures with moisture sensitivity to enable organisms to live in drying environments. Here, the discovery of the morphological instability of polysaccharides, especially the reversible self-assembly/disassembly between micron-fibers and microparticles in response to changes in aquatic environments, is reported. This is similar but different to the dynamic instability observed in cytoskeletal proteins, in terms of an accompanying the polymeric deformation. The formation of the polymeric fibers containing crystalline structures can be flexibly controlled by controlling the polymer concentration and salt concentration in aqueous mixtures. Moreover, the microparticles having crosslinking points in the interior acquire the ability to retain a larger number of water molecules in drying environments and behave as super-moisturizing materials.

Mapping the trophic state index of eastern lakes in China using an empirical model and Sentinel-2 imagery data

Lake eutrophication has become a critical environmental issue due to the global effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change, and has been comprehensively studied for many years. A series of models and indicators have been proposed to assess the trophic state of lakes. The trophic state index (TSI) is a synthetic index that integrates chlorophyll-a, water clarity, and total phosphorus and is widely used to evaluate the trophic state of aquatic environments. In this study, we collected in situ lake samples (N = 431) from typical lakes to match Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) imagery data using the Case 2 Regional Coast Color processor. Then we developed a new empirical model, TSI = –34.04 × (band 4/band 5) – 1.114 × (band 1/band 4) + 97.376). This model is valid for all of China, with good performance and few errors (RMSE = 7.36; MAE = 6.25) for the validation dataset. Recognizing that over 94% of the Chinese population located along eastern watersheds and large lakes have competing water uses, and given the TSI model on the seasonal scales, we further estimated the mean TSI and trophic state in eastern Chinese lakes (>100 km2) from 2019 to 2020. The results revealed that more lakes were eutrophic in autumn (94.28%) than in spring (>77.14%), indicating a serious eutrophication of eastern lakes. Although the eastern lakes have been studied in more detail, this study found that eutrophication still has markedly negative impacts on lake ecosystems. In addition, no significant improvement was observed in spring, most likely due to the months of curfew/lockdown from January 2020 onwards due to COVID-19. This may be due to the enrichment of nutrients deposited in sediment or watershed soil, which can be characterized as “autochthonous sources” of lake eutrophication, over decades with high rates of economic development. This study demonstrates the applicability of Sentinel-2 MSI data to monitor lake eutrophication as well as the feasibility of blue/red and red/red edge combinations. The framework and TSI model used bands available on MSI sensors to develop a novel approach for generating historical eutrophication data for large-scale evaluation of and decision-making related aquatic environmental changes, even in poorly studied areas.

Approaches and involved principles to control pH/pCO2 stability in algal cultures

Experimental cultures of both microalgae and macroalgae are commonly carried out by phycologists or environmental biologists to look into morphological, physiological, and molecular responses to aquatic environmental changes. However, the species of inorganic carbon in algae cultures is often altered by algal photosynthetic CO2 removal and/or bicarbonate utilization. The pH changes associated with altered carbonate chemistry in cultures impact physiological processes in microalgae and macroalgae even at their exponential growth phases, since extra energy is required to sustain intracellular acid–base homeostasis. Usually, pH increases during light period due to inorganic carbon uptake and utilization for photosynthesis and decreases during dark period because of respiratory CO2 release. Therefore, to obtain relevant data aimed for physiological and/or molecular responses of algae to changed levels of environmental factors, stability of pH/pCO2 in the cultures should be considered and controlled to rule out impacts of carbonate chemistry and pH changes. In this work, principles involved in changing pH processes in algal cultures are mechanistically analyzed and several approaches to control pH and pCO2 are introduced. In order to sustain stability of pH/pCO2, the principles underline the following key points: (1) maintaining the rate of photosynthetic C removal less than or equal to the rate of CO2 dissolution into the cultures which are aerated; or (2) sustaining dilute cultures with very low cell density without aeration, so that photosynthetic C removal is small enough not to cause significant pH/pCO2 changes; or (3) stabilizing the changes in micro-environments surrounding the cells or thallus. To maintain pH drift < 1% in growing typical unicellular microalgae, the recommended cell concentration ranges from 50 × 103 to 200 × 103 mL−1 with aeration (air replacement rate of ca 500–1000 mL L−1 min−1) in semi-continuous cultures of < 1 L, and it ranges from 100 to 5000 cells mL−1 for diatoms and from 100 to 100 × 103 cells mL−1 for coccolithophores in dilute cultures without aeration, respectively. For macroalgae, maintaining the thalli in flowing through- system or in semi-continuous cultures (continuously control algal biomass density) is recommended.

Three crayfish species of different origin in a medium-sized river system: a new state of affairs

In view of contemporary changes in aquatic environments, determining the distribution of both native and emerging invasive crayfish species is increasingly important. In central Europe, the three invasive crayfish species of the signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1852), the spiny-cheek crayfish Faxonius limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) and the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarki (Girard, 1852) are of North American origin. The spiny-cheek crayfish was first brought to the southern Baltic basin at the end of nineteenth century, and its expansion ensued rapidly. At the same time, the indigenous species of the noble crayfish Astacus astacus (Linnaeus, 1758) began to disappear. The spread of the signal crayfish started in the second half of twentieth century; however, it has progressed strongly in recent years. Latest studies of fish fauna in the Drwęca River system, a tributary of the lower Vistula River, have simultaneously revealed new information on the occurrence of crayfish. The most widespread was spiny-cheek crayfish found at ten sites throughout the river basin. The second alien species, the signal crayfish, was noted in four locations in the upper part of the river system, but no mixed populations were noted. A particularly valuable result of the study was the discovery of an unknown site of noble crayfish in a small stream.

Temporal effects of biocontrol processes on nutrient dynamics in a shallow lake: Case study of Lake Xini, Okavango Delta in Botswana

Little is known about the effects of weeds on nutrient concentration changes in aquatic environments. We examined alterations to nutrient dynamics from the biocontrol process of Salvinia molesta by the weevil Cyrtobagous salviniae in the Lake Xini of Okavango, Botswana. The abundance of weevils steadily increased from March to December 2009 in the range of 15 to 62 ind. kg−1 fresh biomass with 93% bud damage at the time of mat sinking. Dissolved oxygen was 1.2 mg l−1 with >90% salvinia coverage in March 2009 and increased to 4.56 mg l−1 after 12 months of biocontrol, when salvinia cover was reduced to <10% cover. The study was conducted by placing plastic containers in the lake containing 1 kg weevil infested salvinia and water from the lake. The declines in weevil-damaged ‘floating salvinia’ were inversely proportional to the increases in ‘salvinia detritus’ in the study containers. Leaching of nutrients (N and P) and major ions (Ca, Mg, Na and K) in floating salvinia and salvinia detritus, as a result of weevil damage, showed P and K consistently leached at higher rates. Nutrients in the lake were high during biocontrol process, compared with after control. Biocontrol resulted in an increase in dissolved oxygen and re-emergence of native vegetation.

Functional rather than taxonomic diversity reveals changes in the phytoplankton community of a large dammed river

River damming reduces the dispersal rates of biota and filter species by altering the local environmental conditions. Although phytoplankton is a key biotic group to indicate changes in aquatic environments, the effects of river damming on the longitudinal distribution of phytoplankton communities are not widely addressed. Here we investigated the changes on the taxonomic and functional composition of the phytoplankton community in a large tropical dammed river. We expect compositional changes to be higher at taxonomic than functional level especially in the dam-free stretches of the river because running waters select species able to cope with the water turbulence. Furthermore, flow regulation allows species with different traits to colonize the increasingly lentic stretches resulting in higher functional diversity towards dams. Phytoplankton samples were taken in 210 sites, spaced by 5 km, along the whole river channel. Data were split at a reservoir level considering the sites within 30 km before and after each dam to analyze the effects of damming on the community composition. Compositional changes were assessed by estimating the degree to which each community differed from all other communities within the regional pool (community distinctiveness) considering taxonomic and functional composition separately. Functional diversity was estimated as the degree to which species within the same community differed from each other with respect to their trait composition (functional dispersion). We used community-weighted means to test how the different traits were filtered by river damming. Furthermore, we assessed the effects of local environmental conditions on the phytoplankton taxonomic and functional composition using boosted regression trees (BRT). We observed no effects of river damming on species dispersal. Functional turnover was low, suggesting that compositional changes occurred mainly among functionally similar species. However, there was a noticeable reduction of phytoplankton diversity that persisted for more than 100 km after one of the dams. Flow regulation allowed flagellated and mucilaginous species to colonize the dammed areas. After the dams, such species were filtered due to the increase of water mixing downstream, as evidenced by a hump-shaped trend in the functional diversity of the sites within 30 km distance of the dams. BRT analyses highlighted the role of nutrient input in the dammed areas for the community compositional change. This study highlights the importance of considering both taxonomical and functional diversity to describe the effects of human intervention such as damming on aquatic ecosystems.

Future Socio-Political Scenarios for Aquatic Resources in Europe: An Operationalized Framework for Aquaculture Projections

Climate-driven changes in aquatic environments have already started to affect the European aquaculture sector’s most commercially important finfish and shellfish species. In addition to changes in water quality and temperature that can directly influence fish production by altering health status, growth performance and/or feed conversion, the aquaculture sector also faces an uncertain future in terms of production costs and returns. For example, the availability of key ingredients for fish feeds (proteins, omega-3 fatty acids) will not only depend on future changes in climate, but also on social and political factors, thereby influencing feed costs. The future cost of energy, another main expenditure for fish farms, will also depend on various factors. Finally, marketing options and subsidies will have major impacts on future aquaculture profitability. Based on the framework of four socio-political scenarios developed in the EU H2020 project climate change and European aquatic resources (CERES), we defined how these key factors for the aquaculture sector could change in the future. We then apply these scenarios to make projections of how climate change and societal and economic trends influence the mid-century (2050) profitability of European aquaculture. We used an established benchmarking approach to contrast present-day and future economic performance of “typical farms” in selected European production regions under each of the scenarios termed “World Markets,” “National Enterprise,” “Global Sustainability” and “Local Stewardship.” These scenarios were based partly on the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios framework and their representative concentration pathways (RCPs) and the widely used shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs). Together, these scenarios contrast local versus international emphasis on decision making, more versus less severe environmental change, and different consequences for producers due to future commodity prices, cash returns, and costs. The mid-century profitability of the typical farms was most sensitive to the future development of feed costs, price trends of returns, and marketing options as opposed to the direct effect of climate-driven changes in the environment. These results can inform adaptation planning by the European aquaculture sector. Moreover, applying consistent scenarios including societal and economic dimensions, facilitates regional to global comparisons of adaptation advice both within and across Blue Growth sectors.

Aquatic landscape change, extirpations, and introductions in the Chicago Region

Prior to European settlement, swamps, marshes, lakes, and streams were the major landscape features of the Chicago region. Much of this has been altered or lost in the past one-hundred-and-fifty years. We examined the changes in aquatic environments and fauna in Cook County, Illinois, using 1890–1910 and 1997–2017 as our focus intervals. The extents of aquatic features from historical topographic maps were imported into a GIS database and compared with the modern USGS National Hydrography Dataset. Historical and modern spatial data on aquatic animals were collected from museum collection and survey reports. Overall, the total area of wetlands and water bodies has decreased by about a third, while swamps and marshes have been drained or converted into lakes and ponds. Fifty-four of 80 historic molluscan species are not recently recorded, and 26 current species are not recorded in the historical data, including 6 considered to be invasive. Of 54 fish species in the historic data, 23 are no longer present and about 50% of the remaining species have undergone range reductions. Three out of 10 species of reptiles have disappeared. All 25 aquatic birds reported from the 1890–1910 period are still extant and an additional 13 have been reported in recent times, possibly due to increased collection effort. The Chicago region provides a case study of the impact of anthropogenic landscape change on biota. Large scale extirpations of native species have corresponded to a shift to a highly fragmented landscape of small ponds and reduced swamps and marshes.

Potential use of morphological deformities in Chironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) as a bioindicator of heavy metals pollution in North-East Algeria.

Human activities have led to profound changes in aquatic environments and degradation at several levels. Preserving the quality of aquatic environments, their good functioning, and the species that are dependent on them has become a crucial element. In order to monitor the overall health of aquatic ecosystems, it is necessary to develop early indicators of environmental quality. In this work, we have tried to evaluate whether the analysis of morphological deformities affecting Chironomidae larvae could tell us about the state of degradation of water courses that are subjected to different discharges. To do this, water, sediment, and larvae of Chironomidae were sampled in dry weather in August-September of 2017 at three sites located in the North-East of Algeria. The heavy metals in the three compartments as well as the deformities affecting the mentum and mandibles of Chironomus were analyzed. The results showed a metal contamination especially in sediments; the highest values were found in Meboujda River and Seybouse River. The three sites have high deformities incidences, more than 33%, which suggests the presence of toxic stress. This study reflected the relationship between heavy metal concentrations in water, sediments, and deformities larval mouthparts (mentum and mandibles) in Chironomus. The use of deformities in Chironomus sp. can serve as an effective tool for bioassessment of freshwater ecosystems.