The protection of the biological diversity and the maintenance of the regional ecological integrity for the Huanghe （Yellow River） Estuary and its adjacent areas are practically significant and valuable. However, fr...The protection of the biological diversity and the maintenance of the regional ecological integrity for the Huanghe （Yellow River） Estuary and its adjacent areas are practically significant and valuable. However, frequent human activities and natural climate changes have caused vigorous disturbances on the ecosystem in these sea areas. An objective assessment on the benthic habitat quality （BHQ） of the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas is conducted, using AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index （AMBI） and multivariate AMBI （M-AMBI） based on the data of macrobenthos in May and August 2011. The results show that both the indices do not correlate significantly, and their assessment results are greatly different. All of the samples assessed using the AMBI were ＂high＂ or ＂good＂, because the ecological group I （EGI） and the ecological group II （EGII） were dominant macrobenthic ecological groups in the research area. Owing to a low species＇ richness and a high individual abundance in some samples, the BHQ levels using the M-AMBI were worse than those of the AMBI. Significant correlations are observed between the M-AMBI, water depth, bottom water salinity and dissolved inorganic nitrogen, thus the M-AMBI could sensitively respond to environmental changes and distinguish influences from uninfluenced stations, but the AMBI could not. The consistent results between the AMBI and the M-AMBI mainly appeared in the uninfluenced （undisturbed or slightly disturbed） sta- tions. Therefore, the M-AMBI is more effective than the AMBI in assessing the benthic habitat quality in the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas. Using the M-AMBI to assess the BHQ of the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas, the results show that 3% of the stations are undisturbed and the BHQs are ＂high＂, and 61% of the stations are slightly disturbed and those of the BHQ are ＂good＂, and the rest are meanly disturbed and those of the BHQ are ＂moderate＂.展开更多
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 applicab...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.展开更多
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 respons...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.展开更多
To understand the ecological status and macrobenthic assemblages of the Xin＇an River Estuary and its adjacent waters, a survey was conducted for environmental variables and macrobenthic assemblage structure in Septem...To understand the ecological status and macrobenthic assemblages of the Xin＇an River Estuary and its adjacent waters, a survey was conducted for environmental variables and macrobenthic assemblage structure in September 2012（Yantai, China）. Several methods are adopted in the data analysis process： dominance index,diversity indices, cluster analysis, non-metric multi-dimentional scaling ordination, AMBI and M-AMBI. The dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus of six out of eight sampling stations were in a good condition with low concentration. The average value of DO（（2.89±0.60） mg/L） and p H（4.28±0.43） indicated that the research area faced with the risk of ocean acidification and underlying hypoxia. A total of 62 species were identified, of which the dominant species group was polychaetes. The average abundance and biomass was577.50 ind./m^2 and 6.01 g/m^2, respectively. Compared with historical data, the macrobenthic assemblage structure at waters around the Xin＇an River Estuary was in a relatively stable status from 2009 to 2012.Contaminant indicator species Capitella capitata appeared at Sta. Y1, indicating the animals here suffered from hypoxia and acidification. AMBI and M-AMBI results showed that most sampling stations were slightly disturbed,which were coincided with the abiotic measurement on evaluating the health conditions. Macrobenthic communities suffered pressures from ocean acidification and hypoxia at the research waters, particularly those at Stas Y1, Y2 and Y5, which displays negative results in benthic health evaluation.展开更多
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 we...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.展开更多
Based on the macrofauna data(2008-2011) in Xiaoqing River estuary and its adjacent sea, Laizhou Bay of Bohai Sea, China, the AZTI Marine Biotic Index(AMBI) and Multivariate AMBI(M-AMBI) were used for benthic habitat q...Based on the macrofauna data(2008-2011) in Xiaoqing River estuary and its adjacent sea, Laizhou Bay of Bohai Sea, China, the AZTI Marine Biotic Index(AMBI) and Multivariate AMBI(M-AMBI) were used for benthic habitat quality(BHQ) assessment. Results showed that BHQ presented an obvious trend of improvement along the direction of stream channel and river mouth, and in the coastal areas. AMBI and M-AMBI were significantly related to environmental pressure gradient data. Therefore, the two indices can well indicate BHQ in the studied area. However, there were significant differences between results of the two indices. In the cases of low taxa number and high abundance of single species, AMBI might overestimate BHQ. We thus adjusted its thresholds to solve this problem. And M-AMBI might overestimate BHQ when benthic assemblage was dominated by the opportunistic species. Then we could raise the weight of AMBI in the calculation of M-AMBI to handle the problem.展开更多
基金The Ocean Public Welfare Scientific Research Project of China under contract Nos 201105005 and 201005009the Environmental Assessment Projects of State Oceanic Administration People’s Republic of China under contract No.DOMEP(MEA)-01-01
文摘The protection of the biological diversity and the maintenance of the regional ecological integrity for the Huanghe （Yellow River） Estuary and its adjacent areas are practically significant and valuable. However, frequent human activities and natural climate changes have caused vigorous disturbances on the ecosystem in these sea areas. An objective assessment on the benthic habitat quality （BHQ） of the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas is conducted, using AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index （AMBI） and multivariate AMBI （M-AMBI） based on the data of macrobenthos in May and August 2011. The results show that both the indices do not correlate significantly, and their assessment results are greatly different. All of the samples assessed using the AMBI were ＂high＂ or ＂good＂, because the ecological group I （EGI） and the ecological group II （EGII） were dominant macrobenthic ecological groups in the research area. Owing to a low species＇ richness and a high individual abundance in some samples, the BHQ levels using the M-AMBI were worse than those of the AMBI. Significant correlations are observed between the M-AMBI, water depth, bottom water salinity and dissolved inorganic nitrogen, thus the M-AMBI could sensitively respond to environmental changes and distinguish influences from uninfluenced stations, but the AMBI could not. The consistent results between the AMBI and the M-AMBI mainly appeared in the uninfluenced （undisturbed or slightly disturbed） sta- tions. Therefore, the M-AMBI is more effective than the AMBI in assessing the benthic habitat quality in the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas. Using the M-AMBI to assess the BHQ of the Huanghe Estuary and its adjacent areas, the results show that 3% of the stations are undisturbed and the BHQs are ＂high＂, and 61% of the stations are slightly disturbed and those of the BHQ are ＂good＂, and the rest are meanly disturbed and those of the BHQ are ＂moderate＂.
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers under contract No.U1406403the National Marine Public Welfare Research Project of China under contract No.201405007the Environmental Assessment Projects of State Oceanic Administration People's Republic of China under contract No.DOMEP(MEA)-01-01
文摘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.
基金The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41406160 and 51209190the Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Environmental Protection under contract No.201309007the Special Foundation of Chinese Research Academy of Sciences under contract No.gyk5091201
文摘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.
基金The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences under contract Nos XDA11020403 and XDA1102702the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences under contract No.KZZD-EW-14+2 种基金the NSFC-NOW “Water Ways,Harbours,Estuaries and Coastal Engineering” Scheme co-supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No.NSFC41061130543the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research under contract No.843.10.003the International Cooperation,CAS,Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Key Projects under contract No.133337KYSB20160002
文摘To understand the ecological status and macrobenthic assemblages of the Xin＇an River Estuary and its adjacent waters, a survey was conducted for environmental variables and macrobenthic assemblage structure in September 2012（Yantai, China）. Several methods are adopted in the data analysis process： dominance index,diversity indices, cluster analysis, non-metric multi-dimentional scaling ordination, AMBI and M-AMBI. The dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus of six out of eight sampling stations were in a good condition with low concentration. The average value of DO（（2.89±0.60） mg/L） and p H（4.28±0.43） indicated that the research area faced with the risk of ocean acidification and underlying hypoxia. A total of 62 species were identified, of which the dominant species group was polychaetes. The average abundance and biomass was577.50 ind./m^2 and 6.01 g/m^2, respectively. Compared with historical data, the macrobenthic assemblage structure at waters around the Xin＇an River Estuary was in a relatively stable status from 2009 to 2012.Contaminant indicator species Capitella capitata appeared at Sta. Y1, indicating the animals here suffered from hypoxia and acidification. AMBI and M-AMBI results showed that most sampling stations were slightly disturbed,which were coincided with the abiotic measurement on evaluating the health conditions. Macrobenthic communities suffered pressures from ocean acidification and hypoxia at the research waters, particularly those at Stas Y1, Y2 and Y5, which displays negative results in benthic health evaluation.
基金Supported by the National Special Research Fund for Non-profit Sector(Environmental Protection)(No.2008467041)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.40976086)
文摘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.
基金supported by the NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (Grant No. U1406404)the National Marine Public Welfare Research Project of China (Grant No. 201405007)
文摘Based on the macrofauna data(2008-2011) in Xiaoqing River estuary and its adjacent sea, Laizhou Bay of Bohai Sea, China, the AZTI Marine Biotic Index(AMBI) and Multivariate AMBI(M-AMBI) were used for benthic habitat quality(BHQ) assessment. Results showed that BHQ presented an obvious trend of improvement along the direction of stream channel and river mouth, and in the coastal areas. AMBI and M-AMBI were significantly related to environmental pressure gradient data. Therefore, the two indices can well indicate BHQ in the studied area. However, there were significant differences between results of the two indices. In the cases of low taxa number and high abundance of single species, AMBI might overestimate BHQ. We thus adjusted its thresholds to solve this problem. And M-AMBI might overestimate BHQ when benthic assemblage was dominated by the opportunistic species. Then we could raise the weight of AMBI in the calculation of M-AMBI to handle the problem.
