Abstract
Introduction
In order to evaluate water quality of a canal system, the spatial pattern of protozoan communities in response to physicochemical variables was studied in the Hangzhou section of the Grand Canal, northern China during a 1-year cycle (February 2008–January 2009).
Materials and methods
Protozoan samples were monthly collected at six sampling stations with a spatial gradient of environmental status. Physicochemical parameters, e.g., water temperature, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP), were measured synchronously for comparison with biotic parameters.
Results
The protozoan community structures represented significant differences among the six sampling stations. The spatial patterns of protozoan communities were significantly correlated with the changes of chemical variables, especially COD, either alone or in combination with TP and/or TN. Of 88 protozoan taxa recorded over the study period, ten species (e.g., Carchesium polypinum, Colpidium campylum, Prorodon teres, Vorticella putrina, Zoothamnium arbuscula, Euglena spp., and Phacus spp.) were significantly related to COD, either alone or in combination with TP and/or TN.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that protozoa can be used as a robust bioindicator of water quality in freshwater river systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson MJ, Gorley RN, Clarke KR (2008) PERMANOVA + for PRIMER guide to software and statistical methods. PRIMER-E Ltd, Plymouth
APHA (American Public Health Association) (1989) Standard methods for examinations of water and wastewater, 17th edn. APHA, Washington DC
Cairns J Jr, Lanza GR, Parker BC (1972) Pollution related to structural and functional changes in aquatic communities with emphasis on freshwater algal and protozoa. Proc Acad Nat Sci Phila 124:79–127
Chen QH, Xu RL, Tam NFY, Cheung SG, Shin PKS (2008) Use of ciliates (Protozoa: Ciliophora) as bioindicator to assess sediment quality of two constructed mangrove sewage treatment belts in Southern China. Mar Pollut Bull 57:689–694
Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2006) User manual/tutorial. PRIMER-E Ltd., Plymouth
Connell JH (1978) Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Sci, New Series 199:1302–1310
Foissner W, Berger H, Schaumberg J (1999) Identification and ecology of limnetic plankton ciliates. Bavarian State Office for Water Management, Munich
Huston M (1979) A general hypothesis of species diversity. Am Nat 113:81–101
Ismael AA, Dorgham MM (2003) Ecological indices as a tool for assessing pollution in El-Dekhaila Harbour (Alexandria, Egypt). Oceanologia 45:121–131
Jiang J, Wu S, Shen Y (2007) Effects of seasonal succession and water pollution on the protozoan community structure in a eutrophic lake. Chemosphere 66:523–532
Jiang Y, Xu H, Hu X, Zhu M, Al-Rasheid KAS, Warren A (2011) An approach to analyzing spatial patterns of planktonic ciliate communities for monitoring water quality in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China. Mar Pollut Bull 62:227–235
Kchaou N, Elloumi J, Drira Z, Hamza A, Ayadi H, Bouain A, Aleya L (2009) Distribution of ciliates in relation to environmental factors along the coastline of the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 83:414–424
Kiss ÁK, Ács É, Kiss KT, Török JK (2009) Structure and seasonal dynamics of the protozoan community (heterotrophic flagellates, ciliates, amoeboid protozoa) in the plankton of a large river (River Danube, Hungary). Eur J Protistol 45:121–138
Leonard DRP, Clarke KR, Somerfield PJ, Warwick RM (2006) The application of an indicator based on taxonomic distinctness for UK marine biodiversity assessment. J Environ Manage 78:52–62
Levine ND, Corliss JO, Cox FEG, Droux G, Grain J, Honiberg BM, Leedale GF, Loeblich AR, Lom J, Lynn D, Merinfeld EG, Page FC, Poljansky G, Sprague V, Vavra J, Wallace FG (1980) A newly revised classification of the protozoa. J Protozool 27:37–58
Panswad T, Chavalparit O (1997) Water quality and occurrences of protozoa and metazoa in two constructed wetlands treating different wastewaters in Thailand. Water Sci Technol 36:183–188
Patterson DJ, Hedley D (1992) Free-living freshwater protozoa: a colour guide. Wolfe Publishing, London
Shen Y, Zhang Z, Gong X, Gu M, Shi Z, Wei Y (1990) Modern biomonitoring techniques using freshwater microbiota. China Architecture Building Press, Beijing, in Chinese
Shi X, Tan X, Liu G, Yang X, Zhang Z, Liu X, Nie P (2009) Seasonal changes of phytoplankton community and biological evaluation about water quality of an artificial lake in Northeast China. J Hangzhou Norm Univ 8:132–142, in Chinese, with English abstract
Tan X, Shi X, Liu G, Xu H, Nie P (2010) An approach to analyzing taxonomic patterns of protozoan communities for monitoring water quality in Songhua River, northeast China. Hydrobiologia 638:193–201
Xu M, Cao H, Xie P, Deng D, Feng W, Xu J (2005) Use of PFU protozoan community structural and functional characteristics in assessment of water quality in a large, highly polluted freshwater lake in China. J Environ Monit 7:670–674
Xu H, Song W, Warren A, Al-Rasheid KAS, Al-Farraj SA, Gong J, Hu X (2008) Planktonic protist communities in a semi-enclosed mariculture pond: structural variation and correlation with environmental conditions. J Mar Biol Ass UK 88:1353–1362
Xu H, Min GS, Choi JK, Jung JH, Park MH (2009) An approach to analyses of periphytic ciliate colonization for monitoring water quality using a modified artificial substrate in Korean coastal waters. Mar Pollut Bull 58:1278–1285
Xu H, Warren A, Al-Rasheid KAS, Zhu M, Song W (2010) Planktonic protist communities in semi-enclosed mariculture waters: temporal dynamics of functional groups and their responses to environmental conditions. Acta Oceanol Sin 29:106–115
Xu H, Zhang W, Jiang Y, Min GS, Choi JK (2011a) An approach to identifying potential surrogates of periphytic ciliate communities for monitoring water quality of coastal waters. Ecol Indic 11:1228–1234
Xu H, Zhang W, Jiang Y, Zhu M, Al-Rasheid KAS, Warren A, Song W (2011b) An approach to determining the sampling effort for analyzing biofilm-dwelling ciliate colonization using an artificial substratum in coastal waters. Biofouling 27:357–366
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (project numbers: 31071880 and 41076089) and Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Y3100128), National Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China (2009FB11), and Hangzhou Key Laboratory for Animal Adaptation and Evolution (20100333T05), Hangzhou Normal University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Responsible editor: Thomas Braunbeck
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shi, X., Liu, X., Liu, G. et al. An approach to analyzing spatial patterns of protozoan communities for assessing water quality in the Hangzhou section of Jing-Hang Grand Canal in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 739–747 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0615-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0615-0