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In situ variations and relationships of water quality index with periphyton function and diversity metrics in Baiyangdian Lake of China

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Abstract

The variations and associations of abiotic and biotic variables in Baiyangdian Lake, China, were analyzed in situ. Abiotic variables included eleven water quality parameters, and were characterized by water quality index (WQI). Biotic variables included periphyton function and diversity metrics. WQI differed in different seasons at sampling sites and the highest value of WQI was observed in October 2009. Periphyton function metrics, expressed by extracellular enzyme activities of alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase and leucine aminopeptidase, gross primary productivity and daily respiration rate, and diversity indices, in terms of Shannon diversity index and Berger-Parker abundance index, showed significantly temporal and spatial variations. Regression linear analysis illustrated a fairly good correlation of WQI with periphyton function and diversity indices, Shannon diversity index was the best correlated with WQI (r = 0.904, P < 0.01), followed by leucine aminopeptidase (r = −0.847, P < 0.01) and Berger-Parker abundance index (r = −0.840, P < 0.01), alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase and gross primary productivity also showed a good inverse correlation with WQI. Redundancy analysis suggested that eleven environmental variables explained a significant amount of the variation in the periphyton community data. The study was helpful for us to understand chemical and ecological status of water quality, and give us messages for monitoring water quality accurately.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Water Pollution Control Important Specialized Science and Technology of China (NO. 2011ZX07203-006; NO.2008ZX07209-009). We acknowledge Lulu Zhang from Beijing Normal University for her help in manuscript writing, we also thank anonymous reviewers for their suggestions.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekou-waida Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China

    Jinxia Yan, Jingling Liu & Muyuan Ma

  2. School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, No. 36 Beihuan Road, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou, 450044, China

    Jinxia Yan

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  1. Jinxia Yan
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Correspondence to Jingling Liu.

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Yan, J., Liu, J. & Ma, M. In situ variations and relationships of water quality index with periphyton function and diversity metrics in Baiyangdian Lake of China. Ecotoxicology 23, 495–505 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1199-5

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