Phytoplankton community structure and its driving factors in autumn in Jinan, China

Mengdi Ma; Peixun Zhu; Yujun Jin

doi:10.62051/ijafsr.v1n1.04

Authors

Mengdi Ma
Peixun Zhu
Yujun Jin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62051/ijafsr.v1n1.04

Keywords:

Phytoplankton, Community structure, Jinan City, Water environment

Abstract

Human activities often cause multiple impacts on aquatic ecosystems, including changes in water quality, biodiversity, community composition, etc. However, the effects of human activities on phytoplankton in highly urbanized aquatic ecosystems are poorly understood. In this study, we conducted an in-depth analysis of phytoplankton communities and water environment factors in the Jinan City watershed in September 2020, focusing on 18 water environment factors. We found that nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and phosphate were the key drivers affecting the quality of the water environment in the area through principal component analysis (PCA). The results of the phytoplankton investigation showed that 143 species of phytoplankton from 8 phyla were found in the Jinan watershed, dominated by Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Cyanobacteria, of which cyanobacteria were dominant in density, while cryptophytes were the first in biomass. The assessment of phytoplankton diversity showed that the Jinan City watershed had high biodiversity, with an average Shannon Wiener Diversity Index of 3.12. RDA analysis revealed that permanganate index, total phosphorus, bathymetry, chlorophyll a, pH, and phosphate were significantly correlated with the structure of the phytoplankton community. Comprehensive trophic index (TLI) analysis showed that most of the watersheds in Jinan were moderately eutrophic. These results provide essential information for understanding the water quality status and aquatic biodiversity in Jinan City watersheds and provide a scientific basis for water environment management and protection.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Arthington, A.H., Naiman, R.J., McClain, M.E., Nilsson, C., 2010. Preserving rivers' biodiversity and ecological services: new challenges and research opportunities. Freshwater Biology 55, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02340.x.

Borowitzka, M.A., 1997. Microalgae for aquaculture: Opportunities and constraints. Journal of Applied Phycology 9, 393–401. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007921728300.

Bužančić, M., Ninčević Gladan, Ž., Marasović, I., Kušpilić, G., Grbec, B., 2016. Eutrophication influences phytoplankton community composition in three bays on the eastern Adriatic coast. Oceanologia 58, 302–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2016.05.003.

Cao, J., Hou, Z., Li, Z., Chu, Z., Yang, P., Zheng, B., 2018. Succession of phytoplankton functional groups and their driving factors in a subtropical plateau lake. Science of The Total Environment 631–632, 1127–1137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.026.

Dunck, B., Felisberto, S.A., de Souza Nogueira, I., 2019. Effects of freshwater eutrophication on species and functional beta diversity of periphytic algae. Hydrobiologia 837, 195–204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-03971-x.

Jiang, Y.-J., He, W., Liu, W.-X., Qin, N., Ouyang, H.-L., Wang, Q.-M., Kong, X.-Z., He, Q.-S., Yang, C., Yang, B., Xu, F.-L., 2014. The seasonal and spatial variations of phytoplankton community and their correlation with environmental factors in a large eutrophic Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu). Ecological Indicators 40, 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.01.006.

Lepistö, L., Holopainen, A.-L., Vuoristo, H., 2004. Type-specific and indicator taxa of phytoplankton as a quality criterion for assessing the ecological status of Finnish boreal lakes. Limnologica 34, 236–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0075-9511(04)80048-3.

Vaughn, C.C., 2010. Biodiversity Losses and Ecosystem Function in Freshwaters: Emerging Conclusions and Research Directions. BioScience 60, 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2010.60.1.7.

Wang, H., Zhang, X., Shan, H., Chaochao lv, Ren, W., Wen, Z., Tian, Y., Weigel, B., Ni, L., Cao, T., 2022. Biodiversity buffers the impact of eutrophication on ecosystem functioning of submerged macrophytes on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Southwest China. Environmental Pollution 314, 120210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120210.

Xu, F.-L., Tao, S., Dawson, R.W., Li, P., Cao, J., 2001. Lake Ecosystem Health Assessment: Indicators and Methods. Water Research 35, 3157–3167. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(01)00040-9.

Yang, J.R., Lv, H., Isabwe, A., Liu, L., Yu, X., Chen, H., Yang, J., 2017. Disturbance-induced phytoplankton regime shifts and recovery of cyanobacteria dominance in two subtropical reservoirs. Water Research 120, 52–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.04.062.

Yi, Z.-F., Cannon, C.H., Chen, J., Ye, C.-X., Swetnam, R.D., 2014. Developing indicators of economic value and biodiversity loss for rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna, southwest China: A case study from Menglun township. Ecological Indicators 36, 788–797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.03.016.

Zhang, Y., Cheng, L., Li, K., Zhang, L., Cai, Y., Wang, X., Heino, J., 2019. Nutrient enrichment homogenizes benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages' taxonomic and functional diversity in shallow lakes. Limnology and Oceanography 64, 1047–1058. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11096.