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Approaches to Investigate How Aquatic Ecosystems Are Impacted By and...
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Approaches to Investigate How Aquatic Ecosystems Are Impacted By and Respond to Environmental Change

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2023) | Viewed by 3580

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xavier Benito

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marine and Continental Waters Programme, IRTA, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Spain
Interests: bioindicators; freshwaters; transitional waters; time series; ecological resilience; paleolimnology; metacommunity; diatoms; foraminifera
Dr. Paul Julian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Sanibel, FL, USA
Interests: aquatic biogeochemistry; aquatic ecology; limnology; soil biogoechemistry; landscape ecology; water quality; restoration
Dr. Luca Marazzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Thames21, London, UK
2. Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
Interests: algae; water quality; metacommunity; wetlands; restoration; plastic pollution; citizen science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human activities are causing diverse and unprecedented changes in coastal and freshwater ecosystems, which have been in the spotlight because their economic and ecological values are among the highest of any biome. Yet, understanding how accelerating environmental stressors in water ecosystems will impair their ecological status, requires overcoming two challenges in aquatic biomonitoring: shifting from short-term to long-term approaches, and from local to regional scale characterizations of species-environment relationships in organisms that are often used as bioindicators. The purpose of this special issue is to showcase and discuss the applications of potential of studies that use disparate sources of data and novel quantitative approaches to contribute to an effective monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in the context of accelerated rates of environmental change. We want to inform future applications of aquatic bioindicators using community ecology, aquatic ecology, paleolimnology, biodiversity, biochemistry, to assess the degree to which past, present and future human impacts drive multiple aquatic responses and biodiversity dynamics. This special issue will contribute to the ongoing work and dialogue to design and apply tools for evidence-based management, conservation, and restoration for aquatic ecosystems.

Dr. Xavier Benito
Dr. Paul Julian
Dr. Luca Marazzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aquatic bioindicators
  • environmental change
  • ecological assessment
  • time series
  • community ecology
  • human impacts
  • synthesis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 3492 KiB  
Article
Assemblage Patterns of Microalgae along the Upstream to Downstream Gradient of the Okavango Delta: Abundance, Taxonomic Diversity, and Functional Diversity
by Luca Marazzi, Anson W. Mackay, Richard Mazebedi and Vivienne J. Jones
Water 2023, 15(15), 2692; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15152692 - 26 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1028
Abstract
This study addresses the gap in understanding the diversity, species, and functional trait distribution of different algal groups that occur in the Okavango Delta (a near-pristine subtropical wetland in northwestern Botswana) across hydrological and habitat gradients. We systematically characterize the delta’s algal flora, [...] Read more.
This study addresses the gap in understanding the diversity, species, and functional trait distribution of different algal groups that occur in the Okavango Delta (a near-pristine subtropical wetland in northwestern Botswana) across hydrological and habitat gradients. We systematically characterize the delta’s algal flora, addressing the gap left by previous research that was limited to single algal groups (e.g., diatoms) and/or only looking at upstream areas in the Okavango River basin. We analyzed 130 algal samples from 49 upstream and downstream sites with higher and lower flooding frequency, respectively, across a river-to-floodplain habitat gradient. Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta dominated both abundance and taxon richness (>80%) of the total 494 taxa found from 49,158 algal units counted (cells, colonies, coenobia, and filaments). Smaller algae were more abundant in downstream floodplains than in upstream channels and lagoons. Motile and siliceous algae were much more abundant than non-motile, nitrogen fixing, and phagotrophic algae. The frequency of these traits was associated more with flooding frequency than habitat type. The highest algal richness and diversity were found downstream, where shallow floodplain ecosystems with seasonally fluctuating water depths offer greater habitat heterogeneity, and macronutrients are resuspended. The increasing threats from upstream water abstraction plans, fracking, and climate change require enhanced protection and monitoring of the Okavango Delta’s natural annual flood-pulse to maintain the high species and functional diversity of this unique wetland’s microalgae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Approaches to Investigate How Aquatic Ecosystems Are Impacted By and Respond to Environmental Change)
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12 pages, 2260 KiB  
Article
Weathering Intensity Response to Climate Change on Decadal Scales: A Record of Rb/Sr Ratios from Chaonaqiu Lake Sediments, Western Chinese Loess Plateau
by Lipeng Liu, Keke Yu, Aizhen Li, Chao Zhang, Le Wang, Xingxing Liu and Jianghu Lan
Water 2023, 15(10), 1890; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15101890 - 16 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1369
Abstract
The Rb/Sr ratio of lake sediments has been widely adopted as an indicator of weathering intensity in studies of past climate change, but the geochemical significance of this ratio varies with timescale. Here, we present Rb/Sr data for the past 300 years for [...] Read more.
The Rb/Sr ratio of lake sediments has been widely adopted as an indicator of weathering intensity in studies of past climate change, but the geochemical significance of this ratio varies with timescale. Here, we present Rb/Sr data for the past 300 years for sediments collected from Chaonaqiu Lake in the Liupan Mountains of the western Chinese Loess Plateau as a decadal-scale record of weathering intensity. To validate the application of this weathering proxy, we correlated the record with those of other major elements, rock-forming minerals, and paleoclimatic proxies. We found that Rb/Sr ratios are influenced mainly by Sr activity within the lake catchment (where Sr is likely sourced from albite). In addition, higher (lower) Rb/Sr ratios of bulk sediments from Chaonaqiu Lake are correlated with lower (higher) fractions of terrigenous detritus (SiO2, Ti, K2O, Al2O3, and Na2O). These indicate that the Rb/Sr ratios of bulk sediments in Chaonaqiu Lake are closely linked to terrigenous detritus input on decadal scales and also correlate well with TOC (a precipitation indicator) and other high-resolution paleoclimate records (e.g., tree rings and drought/flood index) in neighboring regions, with higher (lower) Rb/Sr ratios corresponding to more (less) precipitation. Lake bulk sediment Rb/Sr ratios are dominated by the input of terrigenous detritus over decadal timescales. Our data show that physical and chemical weathering in the Chaonaqiu Lake watershed have opposing influences on Rb/Sr ratios of bulk sediment, competing to dominate these ratios of lake sediments over different timescales, with ratios reflecting the relative importance of the two types of weathering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Approaches to Investigate How Aquatic Ecosystems Are Impacted By and Respond to Environmental Change)
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16 pages, 4273 KiB  
Article
Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century
by Yanjie Zhao, Rong Wang, Xiangdong Yang, John A. Dearing, Charles Patrick Doncaster, Peter Langdon and Xuhui Dong
Water 2022, 14(7), 1136; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071136 - 01 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
Exogenous drivers may cause a gradual and reversible change in a lake equilibrium, or they may force it over a threshold to a persistent alternative stable state, described as a regime shift in the ecosystem. In the mid-and-lower Yangtze River Basin (MLYB), major [...] Read more.
Exogenous drivers may cause a gradual and reversible change in a lake equilibrium, or they may force it over a threshold to a persistent alternative stable state, described as a regime shift in the ecosystem. In the mid-and-lower Yangtze River Basin (MLYB), major environmental problems in shallow lakes have been eutrophication and abrupt algal blooms under anthropogenic disturbances for the recent century. Much value is therefore placed on understanding the changes in shallow-lake ecosystems that characteristically precede changes in the state of the lake. Here, we describe a case study of the paleolimnological signature in diatom assemblages of various types of regime shifts caused by historically documented anthropogenic drivers in a temperate shallow lake: Taibai Lake. We evaluate the effectiveness of paleolimnological data as a surrogate for long-term monitoring. Algorithms using sequential t and F statistics detected breakpoints in the time series of diatom assemblages, in 1994–1996, 1974–1977, 1952–1956, and 1931–1934, respectively. The regression statistics suggest that the hydrodynamic–ecosystem and aquacultural–ecosystem relationships fit better in the breakpoint regression model, and the relationship between nutrient loading and ecosystem state suits the linear model. Feedback loops help reconstruct dynamic changes in Taibai influenced by major stressors. Our study exemplifies the value of system approaches to identifying regime shifts and their possible causes in shallow lakes from paleolimnological records. The case study of Taibai set an example of reconstructing the ecological regime shifts in shallow lakes in the MLYB and understanding the state changes in lake ecosystems, which will benefit effective lake management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Approaches to Investigate How Aquatic Ecosystems Are Impacted By and Respond to Environmental Change)
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