Insights into assessing water quality using taxonomic distinctness based on a small species pool of biofilm-dwelling ciliate fauna in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China

Wei Zhang; Yuanyuan Liu; Alan Warren; Henglong Xu

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.10.018

Insights into assessing water quality using taxonomic distinctness based on a small species pool of biofilm-dwelling ciliate fauna in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China

Mar Pollut Bull. 2014 Dec 15;89(1-2):121-127. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.10.018. Epub 2014 Oct 23.

Authors

Wei Zhang¹, Yuanyuan Liu¹, Alan Warren², Henglong Xu³

Affiliations

¹ College of Marine Life Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China; Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
² Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
³ College of Marine Life Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China; Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China. Electronic address: henglongxu@126.com.

PMID: 25455818
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.10.018

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of using a small species pool from a raw dataset of biofilm-dwelling ciliates for bioassessment based on taxonomic diversity. Samples were collected monthly at four stations within a gradient of environmental stress in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China from August 2011 to July 2012. A 33-species subset was identified from the raw 137-species dataset using a multivariate method. The spatial patterns of this subset were significantly correlated with the changes in the nutrients and chemical oxygen demand. The taxonomic diversity indices were significantly correlated with nutrients. The pair-wise indices of average taxonomic distinctness (Δ(+)) and the taxonomic distinctness (Λ(+)) showed a clear departure from the expected taxonomic pattern. These findings suggest that this small ciliate assemblage might be used as an adequate species pool for discriminating water quality status based on taxonomic distinctness in marine ecosystems.

Keywords: Biofilm-dwelling ciliate; Environmental stress; Maine bioassessment; Microbial ecology; Taxonomic diversity; Taxonomic sufficiency.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biodiversity
Biofilms
Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
China
Ciliophora / classification
Ciliophora / physiology*
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Seawater / chemistry*
Water Quality*