Diversity In Water Research Articles

Partial redescriptions of three holothurians with hook papillae (Apodida: Chiridotidae): Taeniogyrus japonicus (Marenzeller, 1882), T. dendyi (Mortensen, 1925), Scoliorhapis theelii (Heding, 1928).

New specimens of Taeniogyrus japonicus (Marenzeller) were collected from Iwami coast and Sado island of the Sea of Japan. According to detailed observations of external and internal organs, we transferred T. japonicus, T. dendyi (Mortensen), and Scoliorhapis theelii (Heding) to the newly revived genus Scoliodota, with a large retractor organ and hook papillae as major diagnostic characters. We also concluded that Scoliorhapis dianthus Solis-marin et al. is a synonym of T. japonicus. Our molecular phylogeny and genetic distance analysis showed that specimens from Iwami and specimens from Sado of T. japonicus form a monophyletic clade, indicating that they are most likely the same species despite their morphological variation. The phylogenetic analysis also indicated that T. japonicus forms a sister group relationship with Taeniogyrus verruculosus Yamana Tanaka and Scoliorhapis sesokoensis Yamana Tanaka, suggesting that Taeniogyrus is not monophyletic. Taken together, these results brought new insights to sea cucumber diversity in Japanese waters.

Variation in Plant Community Composition and Biomass to Macro and Micronutrients and Salinity across Egypt’s Five Major Coastal Lakes

To better assess the relationship between excess nutrient runoff and plant species diversity in the Egyptian northern coastal lakes, the relationships between aboveground biomass, species diversity, and both micro and macronutrient concentrations in sediment, water, and plant materials were investigated. A total of 38 sampling sites were established for the five Egyptian northern lakes (8 for Bardawil, 10 for Manzala, 8 for Burullus, and 6 for each of Edku and Mariut). Sediment, water, and plant materials were collected and analyzed for both micro and macronutrients including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), iron (Fe), boron (B), sodium (Na), and aluminum (Al). Based on the Sørensen similarity index, Burullus and Mariut lakes were very similar (0.70) in their vegetation composition, while Bardawil Lake had no similarity with the rest of the lakes. In sediment, Mariut Lake had the highest total P concentrations (1.3 g kg−1), while Bardawil Lake had the lowest (0.3 g kg−1). Bardawil, a hypersaline lake, had the highest concentrations for both Na and B (9.6 and 0.1 g kg−1, respectively). Among the deltaic lakes, Mariut Lake water bodies had the lowest plant species richness. The current study indicated that the excessive agricultural and industrial nutrient runoff had a greater impact on the nutrient distribution pattern and negatively impacted plant species diversity at the Egyptian coastal lakes. An integrated management plan, including establishing more pretreatment facilities for runoff and wastewater, should be implemented to reduce the nutrient loads from the main industrial and agricultural runoff sources. Moreover, periodic monitoring and assessment for nutrient runoff reaching the lakes are necessary to help reduce eutrophication levels.

The Invasion of Water Hyacinth and Its Impact on Diversity of Macro-Invertebrates in the Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley, Nepal

Invasion of Alien Invasive Plant species (IAPs) is one of the major drivers for the wetland ecosystem degradation and aquatic biodiversity loss. Among the wetland ecosystems, the freshwater habitats including lakes and streams are more susceptible to species extinction. In the Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley (LCPV), many aquatic species have been threatened by an abundant occurrence of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). Thus, this study aims to identity an association of the water hyacinth with different water parameters, diversity and abundance of macro-invertebrates. Water hyacinth is not only correlated with depth, transparency, pH and dissolved oxygen negatively, it is also correlated with temperature and free carbon dioxide positively. A total of 29 species and 26 genera from 21 families and 15 orders of macro-invertebrates were recorded. Among the macro-invertebrates, haplotaxida and diptera were found to be less abundant in the water hyacinth presence (HP) habitat than the water hyacinth absence (HA) habitat. However, the macro-invertebrates were found more abundant and diverse in the HP habitat than the HA habitat (Ranged: HP: 177 to 666; HA: 46 to 483). The abundance of orders like ephemeroptera, odonata, coleoptera, sphaeriida and caenogastropoda was significantly higher in the HP habitats. The direct and indirect effect of water hyacinth on the occurrence of macro-invertebrates and abundance can change the faunal structure of LCPV. Therefore, it is recommended to develop a plan of LCPV to manage the water hyacinth.

Spatial multi-criteria analysis to capture socio-economic factors in mangrove conservation

Mangrove forests are among the most productive ecosystems, located in tropical and subtropical coastal waters and river estuaries. Mangroves benefit both people and the environment by providing shelter for brackish-water organisms, such as fish and shrimp. They form a green-belt area that protects land from abrasion and tsunamis, along with goods and services for people, e.g., fruit, fish and charcoal. However, unmanaged use of mangrove ecosystems has resulted in a widespread decline in their function and conflicts between users. A paucity of research on mangrove management and spatial zoning is also contributing to the decline of these ecosystems. This study develops a prioritisation process with Spatial Multi-criteria Analysis (SMCA) for social-ecological mangrove management, based on a case study in Baros, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. We include social (participation and perception), demographic, economic (economic value of mangroves) and ecological criteria (water quality, mangrove density and diversity, phytoplankton diversity and density) criteria and spatial considerations informed by remote sensing imagery. We consider the three different conservation scenarios of habitat protection areas, sanctuary areas, and restricted areas to help configure management plan options. We demonstrate how SMCA can support managers and policymakers in mapping conservation areas based on complex and diverse social-ecological data. However, further discussion with stakeholders in Baros is required to validate the produced map for future use. The involvement of stakeholders and governing bodies from the beginning or within the SMCA analysis will always be crucial in community-based prioritisations.

The Role of Volunteers and Citizen Scientists in Addressing Declining Water Quality in Irish River Catchments

Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) frames water management in Ireland to account for the complex hydrological, biophysical, and environmental interactions along with the political, socio-economic and cultural influences inherent in the management of river catchments. Despite a range of European Union (EU) Directives, national laws, policies, and incentives, the quality of water and biological diversity in Irish rivers is declining. In response, there has been an increased effort to involve local communities in ICM through a bottom-up, nature-based citizen science approach to activate local cooperation and environmental stewardship. This paper assembles 157 examples of citizen science water-based projects (48 in Ireland as of 2021) to appraise the position of community-led water monitoring in ICM. Notable differences found between the Irish and international programmes found a greater emphasis on habitat internationally, while a taxonomy focus was evident in Ireland despite a lower number of skilled volunteer activity-based citizen science projects. The continuing decline in water quality in Ireland, even with appropriate regulations, commendable governance changes, and expansion of citizen science, suggests more work is necessary before there will be successful ICM and improvements to river water quality.

Dynamics of the Galionella spp. and Leptothrix spp. Communities of Polluted Mine Drainage Water in Slovinky and Markušovce (Slovakia)

Tailings ponds Slovinky and Markušovce (Slovakia) belong to the group of high-risk areas threatening human health and the environment due to the high concentrations of potentially toxic elements. The aim of this study was to identify iron bacteria living in these extreme environments and to assess the impact of selected physicochemical parameters of drainage water, flowing from tailings ponds, on the dynamics of their population. The material deposited on the Slovinky and Markušovce tailings pond showed a circumneutral pH. The values of electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids were significantly higher in drainage water in Slovinky compared to Markušovce. The concentration of total iron was notably higher in drainage water in Markušovce than in Slovinky. Direct microscopic observations showed the presence of iron-oxidizing bacteria as Gallionella spp. and Leptothix spp. exhibiting significant seasonal changes in their prevalence. The differences in the environmental characteristics of drainage waters did not affect the dynamics of iron-oxidizing bacteria populations, but cultivable heterotrophic bacterial community showed significantly lower abundance in Markušovce drainage water. The findings contribute to the understanding of bacterial diversity in neutral mine drainage waters and demonstrate an important role of environmental factors in shaping the microbial population in mine environments.

Innovative ecological approaches to ensure clean and adequate water for all

Innovative ecological approaches to ensure clean and adequate water for all

Ichthyofaunal Diversity of Atpadi Lake, Tal-Atpadi, Dist-Sangli (MS) India

The present study to find out ichthyofaunal diversity of Atpadi Lake was carried out between Feb. 2018 to Jan. 2020. The samples were collected at four stations with the help of local fishermen. The specimens were collected during the period Feb. 2018 to Jan. 2020, and studied the fish diversity of the lake water. Out of 25 fish specimens identified, 14 were from order Cypriniformes, 7 from order Siluriformes, 3 from Perciformes and 1 from order Synbranchiformes. By analyzing the data, it is confirmed that the lake is rich in ichthyofauna and needs to be more exploited for commercial fishery and management for conservation of native ichthyofauna is must.

DNA Barcoding Reveals High Hidden Species Diversity of Chinese Waters in the Cephalopoda

Species delimitation by traditional morphological methods is challenging in cephalopods due to their flexible bodies, changeable pigment traits, and sometimes high morphological homoplasy. Molecular information provides important assistance for taxonomic decision. In this study, we applied three species delimitation methods on 132 cephalopods from 7 families along Chinese waters, and we found anunderestimated species diversity in these taxa. A maximum of 56 molecular operational taxonomic units was detected, and possible cryptic diversities were revealed in Loliolus beka, Uroteuthis edulis, Octopus minor, Amphioctopus fangsiao, and Hapalochlaena lunulate. This study provides molecular evidence for the hidden species diversity along Chinese waters, and it provides insight into further taxonomic research on these morphologically variable taxa.

Community Structure of Eukaryotic Phytoplankton in Wetland of Golmud River and Its Lower Reaches and Relative Environmental Factors

Identification of the community structure of phytoplankton is an important link in studying the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. However, research on the community structure of phytoplankton in the Golmud area is very scarce at present. To explore the composition of phytoplankton in the Golmud area, eukaryotic phytoplankton and environmental parameters were sampled in September 2020. The composition and diversity of the eukaryotic phytoplankton community were determined by microscopic observation and Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that a total of 40 species of eukaryotic phytoplankton from 4 phyla were identified by microscopic observation, and 154 species of eukaryotic phytoplankton from 7 phyla were obtained by high-throughput sequencing, mainly Bacillariophyta and Chlorophyta. The dominant species were Dunaliella sp., Teleaulax sp., Parvodinium mixtum, and Lindavia radiosa. The eukaryotic phytoplankton density in summer was 0.09–12.08 × 105 cells/L, the total biomass was 0.002–0.55 mg/L, and the concentration of chlorophyll-a was 0.00–0.91 μg/L. Multiple α diversity indices showed that the diversity of water in different salinities was in the order of freshwater > brackish > saline. The β diversity results showed that the eukaryotic phytoplankton community composition was more similar in water with the same salinity. The redundancy analysis results of water with different salinities showed that environmental factors susc as salinity, total phosphorus concentration, and dissolved oxygen affected the eukaryotic phytoplankton community structure, among which salinity had the greatest influence.

Dietary Outcomes, Nutritional Status, and Household Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Practices

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe Government of Ethiopia has made a major commitment toward improving food security, diet, nutrition, and health through a series of national nutrition plans. The focus of these plans is on providing both nutrition-specific as well as nutrition-sensitive approaches for achieving national priorities for health and nutrition. The present study conducted a secondary analysis of data provided through a larger birth cohort study conducted in Ethiopia between 2014 and 2016.ObjectivesThe overall objectives of this research were to assess the relation between minimum dietary diversity in women and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and evaluate the association between midupper arm circumference (MUAC) in women and WASH.MethodsIn addition to descriptive statistics, the study used mixed effects logistic regression analyses to investigate the relation between dietary diversity, MUAC, and household WASH practices.ResultsImproved WASH practices were associated with an increased probability (p = 0.04) that a woman would consume a diet with foods from 5 or more food groups. A beneficial effect was observed for improved WASH practices and a decrease in low MUAC. Improved household WASH practices were successful in contributing to improved dietary diversity in women as well as an improved MUAC.ConclusionsInterventions aimed at improving the diet and nutritional status of women during and after pregnancy should include relevant WASH components as essential elements in multisector nutrition programming.

Analysis of prokaryotic microbial diversity in hot spring water from Bantang (China) using the targeted amplicon analysis

Bantang hot spring is natural, geologically formed by the aggregation of both cold and hot spring water. For the first time, this study combined 16S rRNA genes high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analyses to determine the prokaryotic microbe diversity and community structure in the water. A total of 5266 OTUs were obtained, and the community of water was found to comprise 32 bacterial phyla with the most abundant phylum of members belonging to Proteobacteria, and six archaeal phyla with the most abundant phylum of members belonging to Woesearchaeota. Alphaproteobacteria, Burkholderiales, and Comamonadaceae were the highest represented classified species at the level of class, order, and family, respectively. The most abundant bacterial and archaeal genus were Subdivision3 genera incertae sedis and Pacearchaeota Incertae Sedis AR13, and more than a quarter of microorganisms were unclassified genus. Among the top 50 most abundant OTUs, 18 OTUs including the earliest and latest species in evolution have not yet been classified. In the COG analysis, ‘General function prediction only’ was found to be the highest represented category, whereas among predicted KEGG pathways, ‘Membrane Transport’ was the most abundant. Thus, findings from this study greatly improve our understanding to explore novel microorganisms in future.

Further record of the deep-sea euphausiid, Thysanopoda cristata G. O. Sars, 1883 (Euphausiacea, Euphausiidae) from the southwestern Atlantic: with comments on morphological variations

Abstract Euphausiids are a diverse order of crustaceans that play a key role in pelagic food webs. The genus Thysanopoda H. Milne Edwards, 1830 is composed of 14 valid species, widely distributed in all oceans. However, some gaps remain in our knowledge of the geographic distribution of Thysanopoda cristata G. O. Sars, 1883, and its actual occurrence in Brazil. This study aims to expand the knowledge on krill diversity in Brazilian waters, confirming the occurrence of T. cristata and providing illustrations of its morphological variations. Four specimens, two males and two females, were collected on board R/V “Antea” in October 2015, using a micronekton net with 1 mm mesh size, at depths ranging between 10 and 1660 m. Before this study, reports of T. cristata from Brazil were provided only in species lists or unpublished data. Our study confirms the presence of the species from the southwestern Atlantic and brings new information on its morphology.

A Tale of Four Danish Cities: Legionella pneumophila Diversity in Domestic Hot Water and Spatial Variations in Disease Incidence.

Denmark has one of the highest Legionnaires’ disease notification rates within Europe, averaging 4.7 cases per 100,000 population annually (2017 to 2020). The relatively high incidence of disease is not uniform across the country, and approximately 70% of all domestically acquired cases in Denmark are caused by Legionella pneumophila (LP) strains that are considered less virulent. The aim of this study was to investigate if colonization rates, levels of colonization, and/or types of LP present in hot water systems were associated with geographic differences in Legionnaires’ disease incidence. Domestic water systems from four cities in Denmark were analyzed via culture and qPCR. Serogrouping and sequence typing was performed on randomly selected isolates. Single nucleotide polymorphism was used to identify clonal relationship among isolates from the four cities. The results revealed a high LP colonization rate from 68% to 87.5% among systems, composed primarily of non-serogroup 1. LP serogroup 1 reacting with the monoclonal antibody (MAb) 3/1 was not identified in any of the systems tested, while MAb 3/1 negative serogroup 1 strains were isolated from 10 systems (9.6%). We hypothesize that a combination of factors influences the incidence rate of LD in each city, including sequence type and serogroup distribution, colonization rate, concentration of Legionella in Pre-flush and Flush samples, and potentially building characteristics such as water temperature measured at the point of use.

Sustainable restoration of anoxic freshwater using environmentally-compatible oxygen-carrying biochar: Performance and mechanisms

The long-term decline in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in freshwater systems including rivers and lakes has become a worldwide concern, which can threaten biodiversity, nutrient biogeochemistry, water quality and ultimately human health. Herein, we report a sustainable restoration strategy for anoxic freshwater using local sediment-based biochar as novel oxygen nanobubble carriers. Column incubation experiments were conducted with water and sediment samples from an urban tributary of the Yangtze River. The oxygen-carrying sediment-based biochar (O-SBC) showed long-lasting re-oxygenation performance for anoxic river waters during 28-day period, in which DO was rapidly elevated from ∼0.14 to ∼7.87 mg/L and gradually maintained at ∼4.78 mg/L until the end. O-SBC with multiple functions switched the sediments from a source to a sink of nutrients, and its release of oxygen nanobubbles contributed further decrements of 66.3% NH4+-N and 142.9% PO43−-P except for physical blocking and physicochemical adsorption. Notably, a comprehensive focus on restoration mechanism was explored in view of microbial community response. The re-oxygenation was followed by a ∼5.05% increase of bacterial diversity (Shannon index) in water, but a ∼2.40% decrease in sediments. A proliferation of some specific aerobic populations was observed, of which the nitrifying Nitrospira abundances were ∼10-fold higher in the water from O-SBC than the control. Additionally, functional genes involved in nitrous oxide reduction, polyphosphate synthesis/degradation, and thiosulfate oxidation were also enriched. Taken together, our findings can not only expand the promising candidates for oxygen nanobubble carriers based on sediment recycling, but also highlight the microbial molecular mechanisms for anoxic freshwater restoration based on nutrient cycle regulation.

Zooplankton Diversity and Water Quality Assessment of Lentic Waters of Jammu, India

An attempt was made to study the abiotic parameters of three water bodies of Jammu region along with their impact on distribution and presence of zooplankton. The total of 49 organisms belonging to five groups of zooplankton viz Protozoa, Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda and Ostracoda were identified. Of the three stations, ostracods were recorded from station 1 only. Phylum Rotifera was observed to be dominant in all the three stations. Many pollution indicator species like Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus angularis, Keratella tropica, Polyarthra vulgaris, Filinia longiseta, Moina brachiata, and Chydorus sphaericus were recorded from Station 1. Both biotic and abiotic components indicate that station 1 is progressing towards eutrophication.

Observing Phylum-Level Metazoan Diversity by Environmental DNA Analysis at the Ushimado Area in the Seto Inland Sea.

The dynamics of microscopic marine plankton in coastal areas is a fundamental theme in marine biodiversity research, but studies have been limited because the only available methodology was collection of plankton using plankton-nets and microscopic observation. In recent years, environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis has exhibited potential for conducting comprehensive surveys of marine plankton diversity in water at fixed points and depths in the ocean. However, few studies have examined how eDNA analysis reflects the actual distribution and dynamics of organisms in the field, and further investigation is needed to determine whether it can detect distinct differences in plankton density in the field. To address this, we analyzed eDNA in seawater samples collected at 1 km intervals at three depths over a linear distance of approximately 3.0 km in the Seto Inland Sea. The survey area included a location with a high density of Acoela (Praesagittifera naikaiensis). However, the eDNA signal for this was little to none, and its presence would not have been noticed if we did not have this information beforehand. Meanwhile, eDNA analysis enabled us to confirm the presence of a species of Placozoa that was previously undiscovered in the area. In summary, our results suggest that the number of sequence reads generated from eDNA samples in our project was not sufficient to predict the density of a particular species. However, eDNA can be useful for detecting organisms that have been overlooked using other methods.

Changes in the sediment microbial community structure of coastal and inland sinkholes of a karst ecosystem from the Yucatan peninsula

The karst underground river ecosystem of Yucatan peninsula is composed of cave systems and sinkholes. The microbial diversity of water from this underground river has been studied, but, structure of the microbial community in its cave sediments remained largely unknown. Here we describe how the microbial community structure of these sediments changes due to different environmental conditions found in sediment zones along the caves of a coastal and an inland sinkhole. We found that dominant microbial groups varied according to the type of sinkhole (Coastal: Chloroflexi and Crenarchaeota; inland: Methylomirabilota and Acidobacteriota) and that the community structures differed both among sinkhole types, and within the sediment zones that were studied. These microorganisms are associated with different types of metabolism, and differed from a microbial community dominated by sulfate reducers at the coastal sinkhole, to one dominated by methylotrophs at the inland sinkhole, suggesting there are biogeochemical processes in the coastal and inland sinkholes that lead to changes in the microbial composition of the underground river ecosystem’s sediments. Our results suggest sediments from unexplored sinkhole caves are unique environmental niches with distinct microbial assemblages that putatively play an important role in the biogeochemical cycles of these ecosystems.

Interactions of nutrient and water availability control growth and diversity effects in a Salix two‐species mixture

AbstractPlant growth is constrained by resource availability and interactions among limiting resources—abundance in one resource (e.g., nutrients) might promote growth, thereby causing the depletion of other resources (e.g., water), potentially inducing stress or mortality. In a diverse plant community, complementary resource use has been hypothesized to increase the overall productivity, but how diversity effects vary with interacting water and nutrient limitation and through time is not known. Here, we address this knowledge gap in a controlled pot experiment where species composition (two Salix species in monoculture or mixture), nutrient addition, and watering frequency (for fixed total water inputs) were varied during two growing seasons. High nutrient availability promoted plant growth and nitrogen accumulation at the pot scale, as well as increased allocation aboveground, but also triggered more intense water stress and mortality, as larger plants depleted soil water during warm periods. Supplying water more frequently slightly alleviated water stress under high nutrient availability, thus promoting growth and nitrogen accumulation. The species mixtures performed better than the average of the mixture constituents (positive net diversity effects) and increasingly so through time. The complementarity and selection effects, respectively, increased and decreased under both high nutrient availability and high watering frequency. Overall, these results suggest that as plants grow larger, plant interactions and resource partitioning intensify, causing the positive diversity effects, but also that drought consequences might be exacerbated in plant communities rapidly growing thanks to high nutrient supply.

Isolation of Bacterial Diversity in Oil Mill Water Using Ribosomal Genes Based Fingerprinting from Morocco

Isolation of Bacterial Diversity in Oil Mill Water Using Ribosomal Genes Based Fingerprinting from Morocco