Seasonal implications for taxonomic sufficiency to simplify M-AMBI methodology in the coastal area adjacent to a eutrophic estuary

Taxonomic sufficiency(TS)refers to identifying taxa to a taxonomic level sufficient to detect community changes in stressed environments and may provide a cost-effective approach in routine monitoring programs.However,there is still limited information regarding the seasonal impact of applying TS and its implications for the ecological quality evaluation in the estuarine ecosystem.This study investigated the relationship between the multivariate-AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index(M-AMBI)and environmental variables in three seasons(i.e.,spring,summer,and autumn)in the Liaohe River Estuary.We tested the reliability of TS for simplifying the M-AMBI methodology.The results showed that family and genus level data could reproduce the spatial-temporal patterns of community structure at the species level.The M-AMBI values showed a consistent spatial distribution pattern in all sampling seasons,with a decreasing trend with the increasing distance from the estuary mouth.Both genus and family level data performed nearly as well as species level in detecting the seasonal variations of pollutants(i.e.,nutrients and total organic content).The family level M-AMBI was feasible to discern stress in the Liaohe River Estuary because of the high aggregation ratios at different taxonomic levels in all sampling seasons.These findings suggest that applying taxonomic sufficiency based on the M-AMBI provides an efficient approach for evaluating ecological quality in the Liaohe River Estuary.

Benthic bacterial communities indicate anthropogenic activity footprints in coastal area under long-term marine spatial planning practice

Marine spatial planning(MSP)is designed to divide the sea area into different types of functional zones,to implement corresponding development activities.However,the long-term impacts of anthropogenic activities associated with MSP practice on the marine microbial biosphere are still unclear.Yalu River Estuary,a coastal region in northeast of China,has been divided into fishery&agricultural(F&A)zone,shipping&port(S&P)zone and marine protected area(MPA)zone by a local MSP guideline that has been run for decades.To examine the effects of long-term executed MSP,benthic bacterial communities from different MSP zones were obtained and compared in this study.The results revealed significant differences in the bacterial community structure and predict functions among different zones.Bacterial genera enriched in different zones were identified,including SBR1031 in MPA,Woeseia and Sva0996 in S&P,and Halioglobus in F&A.In addition,correlations between some bacterial genera and sediment pollutants were uncovered.Furthermore,bacteria related to sulphide production were more abundant in the F&A zone,which was according to the accumulation of sulphides in this area.Moreover,bacteria associated with chemoheterotrophy and fermentation were more predominant in the S&P zone,consistent with high levels of organic matter and petroleum caused by shipping.Our findings indicated benthic bacterial communities could bring to light the anthropogenic activity footprints by different activities induced by long-term MSP practice.

Long-term nutrient variation trends and their potential impact on phytoplankton in the southern Yellow Sea,China

The concentration and composition of nutrients,such as N,P,and Si,respond to biogeochemical processes and in turn,impact the phytoplanktons'community structure and primary production.In this study,historical data was systematically analyzed to identify long-term variations in nutrient trends,red tide frequency,phytoplankton community abundance,and dominant species succession in the southern Yellow Sea(SYS).Results showed that N/P concentration ratios dramatically increased as a function of increasing dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations,and Si/N concentration ratios were generally larger than 1,indicating that N limitation morphed to P limitation and potentially to Si limitation,which impacted the phytoplankton community.Furthermore,inter-annual trends over the past 50 years show that phytoplankton community abundance has been higher in spring and summer,relative to autumn and winter.Moreover,with respect to red tide frequency,diatom abundance gradually decreased,while that of dinoflagellates gradually increased.Dominant species succession showed that the phytoplankton community exhibited an evident tendency to transform from diatoms to dinoflagellates.These research results clearly depict the presence of an important correlation between the phytoplankton community and nutrient structure in the SYS.

Photodegradation of hydroxyfluorenes in ice and water: A comparison of kinetics, effects of water constituents, and phototransformation by-products

The photochemical behavior of organic pollutants in ice is poorly studied in comparison to aqueous photochemistry.Here we report a detailed comparison of ice and aqueous photodegradation of two representative OH-PAHs,2-hydroxyfluorene(2-OHFL)and 9-hydroxyfluorene(9-OHFL),which are newly recognized contaminants in the wider environment including colder regions.Interestingly,their photodegradation kinetics were clearly influenced by whether they reside in ice or water.Under the same simulated solar irradiation(λ>290 nm),OHFLs photodegraded faster in ice than in equivalent aqueous solutions and this was attributed to the specific concentration effect caused by freezing.Furthermore,the presence of dissolved constituents in ice also influenced photodegradation with 2-OHFL phototransforming the fastest in‘seawater’ice(k=(11.4±1.0)×10^(−2) min^(−1))followed by‘pure-water’ice((8.7±0.4)×10^(−2) min^(−1))and‘freshwater’ice((8.0±0.7)×10^(−2) min^(−1)).The presence of dissolved constituents(specifically Cl^(−),NO_(3)^(−),Fe(Ⅲ)and humic acid)influences the phototransformation kinetics,either enhancing or suppressing phototransformation,but this is based on the quantity of the constituent present in the matrixes,the specific OHFL isomer and the matrix type(e.g.,ice or aqueous solution).Careful derivation of key photointermediates was undertaken in both ice and water samples using tandem mass spectrometry.Ice phototransformation exhibited fewer by-products and‘simpler’pathways giving rise to a range of hydroxylated fluorenes and hydroxylated fluorenones in ice.These results are of importance when considering the fate of PAHs and OH-PAHs in cold regions and their persistence in sunlit ice.