Assessing benthic ecological status in coastal area near Changjiang River estuary using AMBI and M-AMBI

The Changjiang(Yangtze)River estuary has been subject to a variety of anthropogenic pressures in recent decades.To assess the ecological health of the coastal benthic ecosystem adjacent to the estuary,three surveys were conducted in 2005,2009,and 2010.The AZTI's Marine Biotic Index(AMBI)and multivariate-AMBI(M-AMBI)were used to analyse the benthic ecological status of this coast.The AMBI indicate that the ecological status of the coast adjacent to the Changjiang River estuary was only slightly degraded in all 3 years.In contrast,the M-AMBI indicated that the ecological status was seriously degraded,a result that is most likely due to pollution and eutrophication induced by human activities.The assessment of the coast's ecological status by the AMBI was not in agreement with that of the M-AMBI at some stations because of lower biodiversity values at those sites.The analysis of the two indices integrated with abiotic parameters showed that the M-AMBI could be used as a suitable bio-indicator index to assess the benthic ecological status of the coast adjacent to the Changjiang River estuary.The reference conditions proposed for the coast of the Changjiang River estuary should be further evaluated in future studies.Designation of local species could also provide an important reference for Chinese waters.To improve the reliability of AMBI and M-AMBI,further research into the ecology of local species is required to understand their arrangement in ecological groups.

Assessing benthic ecological status in stressed Liaodong Bay (China) with AMBI and M-AMBI

Rapid economic development in recent decades has resulted in environmental degradation of Liaodong Bay, North China, where eutrophication is becoming more evident because of excess nutrients inputs. To assess the benthic ecological status in Liaodong Bay, AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index （AMBI） and multivariate-AMBI （MoAMBI） were applied using both benthic macroinvertebrate density and biomass data collected from Liaodong Bay in July 2007. This first application of AMBI and M-AMBI in Liaodong Bay showed that the nearshore areas of the bay, especially near river estuaries, were severely disturbed, with a clear gradient of disturbance decreasing seaward. Ecological status assessed from density and biomass data was quite similar. Significant relationships were also found between both indices and environmental variables in Liaodong Bay. Moreover, the spatial distributions of both AMBI and M-AMBI matched those of plotted eutrophication indices （EI） in the surface water layer, and significant linear correlations were found between both benthic indices and EI. In general, both AMBI and M-AMBI worked well on assessing the ecological status of Liaodong Bay under eutrophication stress due to excess nutrients inputs.

Evaluation of the ecological status with benthic indices in the coastal system： the case of Bohai Bay （China）

Based on biologic and environmental materials collected from coastal areas of Bohai Bay （China） in April, 2008, three biotic indices （AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index （AMBI）, Shannon-Wiener Index and W-statistic） were applied together to evaluate the ecological status of the sampling area. The results showed a clear spatial gradient from a worse ecological status in the near-shore areas （especially around Haihe and Jiyun River Estuaries） to a better status in the offshore areas. While all the three indices could assist decision makers in visualizing spatial changes of organic pollutants in Bohai Bay, two indices, i. e., AMBI and Shannon-Wiener index, were effective in distinguishing sites from Haihe River Estuary, Jiyun River Estuary and other area. However, W-statistic can＇t tell the differences between estuaries and other area. It would be explained that organic pollutants and/or other environ- mental stresses in Bohai Bay were not strong enough to reduce the size ofmacrozoobenthos, which may cause both of the abundance and biomass curves crossed. To our knowledge, this is the first time that several benthic indices were used to assess the benthic ecological status in Bohai Bay, which gave the similar results. Furthermore, there is indication that the ecological status is related to excess input of wastewater along main rivers and outlets. In a word, AMBI, Shannon-Wiener Index and W-statistic could be able to assess the benthic ecological status of Bohai Bay under the organic pollutants pressure.

Development and preliminary application of a method to assess river ecological status in the Hai River Basin,north China

The river ecosystem in the Hai River Basin（HRB）, an important economic region in China, is seriously degraded. With the aim of river restoration in the HRB, we developed a method to assess the river＇s ecological status and conducted a preliminary application of the method.The established method was a predictive model, which used macroinvertebrates as indicator organisms. The river＇s ecological status was determined by calculating the ratio of observed to expected values（O/E）. The method included ecoregionalization according to natural factors, and the selection of reference sites based on combinations of habitat quality and macroinvertebrate community. Macroinvertebrate taxa included Insecta,Crustacea, Gastropoda, and Oligochaeta, with 39 families and 95 genera identified in the HRB. The HRB communities were dominated by pollution tolerant taxa, such as Lymnaeidae, Chironomus, Limnodrilus, Glyptotendipes, and Tubifex. The average Shannon–Wiener index was 1.40 ± 0.5, indicating a low biodiversity. In the river length of 3.31 × 10^4 km, 55% of the sites were designated poor, with a bad ecological status. Among nine secondary river systems, Luan and Zi-ya had the best and worst river conditions,respectively. Only 17 reference site groups were selected for river management in the 41 ecoregions examined. This study lays the foundation for river restoration and related research in the HRB, and we anticipate further developments of this novel method.

Assessing the benthic quality status of the Bohai Bay(China)with proposed modifications of M-AMBI

Multivariate AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index （M-AMBI） was designed to indicate the ecological status of European coastal areas. Based upon samples collected from 2009 to 2012 in the Bohai Bay, we have tested the response of variations of M-AMBI, using biomass （M-BAMBI） in the calculations, with different transformations of the raw data. The results showed that the ecological quality of most areas in the study indicated by M-AMBI was from moderate to bad status with the worse status in the coastal areas, especially around the estuaries, harbors and ouffalls, and better status in the offshore areas except the area close to oil platforms or disposal sites. Despite large variations in nature of the input data, all variations of M-AMBI gave similar spatial and temporal distribution patterns of the ecological status within the bay, and showed high correlation between them. The agreement of new ecological status obtained from all M-AMBI variations, which were calculated according to linear regression, was almost perfect. The benthic quality, assessed using different input data, could be related to human pressures in the bay, such as water discharges, land reclamation, dredged sediment and drilling cuts disposal sites. It seems that M-BAMBI were more effective than M-NABMI （M-AMBI calculated using abundance data） in indicating human pressures of the Bay. Finally, indices calculated with more severe transformations, such as presence/absence data, could not indicate the higher density of human pressures in the coastal areas of the north part of our study area, but those calculated using mild transformation （i.e., square root） did.

The Countermeasures of Ecological Rehabilitation in Jinghe National Wetland Park

By analyzing the ecological status of Jinghe National Wetland Park of Qinggang,Heilongjiang,the countermeasures of ecological rehabilitation in Jinghe National Wetland Park are put forward.

A comparison of the applicability of the Shannon-Wiener index,AMBI and M-AMBI indices for assessing benthic habitat health in the Huanghe(Yellow River) Estuary and adjacent areas

From a dataset of macrobenthos obtained from 18 cruises from 2004 to 2013 in the Huanghe（Yellow River）Estuary and its adjacent areas,the composition and characteristics of macrobenthos were analyzed,and the applicability of the Shannon-Wiener Index（H′）,AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index（AMBI） and multivariate AMBI（MAMBI） for assessing benthic habitat quality was compared.The results showed a total of 203 macrobenthos in the study area.The macrobenthos were dominated by polychaetes,followed by mollusks and crustaceans.The macrobenthic ecological groups were dominated by EGI,EGII and EGIII,which respectively accounted for 31.5%,36.0% and 21.2% of the total.There were significant differences between the evaluation results of the three indices.The ecological quality status（EQS） levels given by the AMBI were greater than those given by the H′ and M-AMBI.The AMBI could not reflect the differences between 11 sites but the H′ and M-AMBI could do.Moreover,the three indices responded well to the variations in salinity（S） and dissolved oxygen（DO） in the waters.The H′ and MAMBI also responded sensitively to the differences in physical parameters,such as water depth and sediment texture.The correlation between M-AMBI and environmental pressure gradient data was the strongest.The MAMBI could effectively distinguish degraded conditions from undegraded but the H′ and AMBI could not.Therefore,the M-AMBI reflected benthic habitat health well in the study areas.However,the objectivity of evaluation results of M-AMBI needs further verification by physical,chemical and biological methods.The thresholds also need further discussion.

Assessing benthic habitat quality using biotic indices in the Laizhou Bay, China

As an important part of the Bohai economic rim,the Laizhou Bay has been stressed by serious eco-environmental problems in recent years.In this study,the Shannon-Wiener index(H′),AZTI’s marine biotic index(AMBI)and the multivariate AMBI(M-AMBI)were used to assess the ecological quality status(EQS)of the Laizhou Bay according to macrobenthos data collected annually in August 2011–2014.The results showed that the overall benthic habitat quality in the Laizhou Bay was assessed as“Good”.However,25%of the samples were classified as“Moderate”,“Bad”or“Poor”status under degraded conditions.Ecological group III(EGIII)species which had a certain tolerance to environmental disturbances had a higher proportion in each station,and most of them had appeared the pollution indicator species Capitella capitata.This indicated that the benthic habitat in the Laizhou Bay had been disturbed and polluted to some extent.The comparison of the three indices evaluation result and the RDA analysis showed that the H′and M-AMBI were more suitable when the relative abundance of the single species was high and the macrobenthic community was significantly imbalanced;when the relative abundance of opportunistic species(EGIV and EGV)was high,the AMBI and M-AMBI could reflected the EQS objectively;in an undisturbed and polluted environment,all the three indices could indicate the benthic habitats quality.In summary,the better correlation between the three indices and environmental factors showed that they were well responsive to the tendency of the benthic habitats quality in the Laizhou Bay.

Nematode community structure in relation to metals in the southern of Caspian Sea

Spatial distribution and structure of nematode assemblages in coastal sediments of the southern part of the Caspian Sea were studied in relation to environmental factors. By considering metals, organic matter, Shannon diversity index（H）, maturity index（MI） and trophic diversity（ITD）, ecological quality status of sediment was also determined. Fifteen nematode species belonging to eleven genera were identified at the sampling sites. Average density of nematode inhabiting in sediment of the studied area was 139.78±98.91（ind. per 15.20 cm^2）. According to redundancy analysis（RDA）, there was high correlation between metals and some species. Based on biological indicators, the studied area had different environmental quality. Generally, chemical and biological indices showed different results while biological indices displayed similar results in more sites.

Assessing the Ecological Carrying Capacity of Countries along the Belt and Road

The Belt and Road Initiative(B&R Initiative)is a crucial strategy to promote regional sustainable development in the new era.However,the realization of the B&R Initiative faces huge challenges because of the dual characteristics of a fragile eco-environment and strong dependence on ecological resources for economic development in the Belt and Road(B&R)countries.The ecological carrying capacity(ECC)is a crucial indicator for evaluating regional sustainable development.From the perspective of the relationship between the supply and consumption of ecological resources,this study uses net primary productivity data to measure the supply capacity of ecological resources,and it uses the agricultural production and trade data provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to measure the level of ecological resource consumption.These supply and consumption data are then used to assess the ECC and ecological carrying status(ECS)of the B&R countries in 2017.The results show that:(1)The ECC of the B&R is 11.097 billion people;the ecosystem can also support 6.433 billion people,and the ECC is in a state of rich and surplus.(2)The ECS is polarized among the regions and countries along the B&R.Of the 65 countries,the ECC of 40 countries is in a rich and surplus state,mainly in Mid-East Europe and Southeast Asia,while the ECC of 19 countries is in severe overload,mainly in West Asia/Middle East.(3)Although the ecosystems still have ample carrying space in countries along the B&R,ecological protection is still facing enormous challenges during the implementation of the B&R Initiative combined with the internationally recognized ecological protection standards as well as the forecasts of the population and economic development.As the core content of building a new international trade network,the B&R Initiative will help to solve the spatial mismatch between the supply and consumption of ecological resources,which provides a new opportunity to coordinate the contradiction between the ecological protection and social demands of the B&R countries.

Differences in functional traits among distinct populations of the plant invader Bunias orientalis

Plants that expand their range and become invasive in other areas may shift several functional traits in response to specific environments.However,local conditions at the place of origin may have shaped the functional traits,which may to some extent remain visible in plants growing in new habitats.The present study aimed to explore the trait variation in different plant populations of native,invasive and naturalized status of Bunias orientalis grown in common conditions in relation to the climatic conditions at their place of origin.Seeds of B.orientalis were collected from 12 populations(4 per status)in 8 countries and grown under standardized conditions in a common field garden.The variation in several functional traits related to phenology,growth and reproduction was compared among status and among populations.Phenology did not differ according to status.However,several plants of the native populations,originating from areas with low annual temperatures,did not start flowering.Plants of the invasive populations produced more leaves than natives,potentially indicating their vigor in building up vegetative biomass.Number and mass of silicles and other growth traits did not differ among status groups but varied among populations.Some of the variation in functional traits may be explained by long-term adaptations to local conditions at the areas of origin and genetic diversity,while other environmental factors differing in the novel environment may contribute to a high trait variation.