Developing and testing diatom indicators for wetlands in the Casco Bay watershed, Maine, USA

Wang, Yi-Kuang; Stevenson, R. Jan; Sweets, P. Roger; DiFranco, Jeanne L.

doi:10.1007/1-4020-5070-4_14

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Similar observations were reported by Stevenson et al (2013) when developing an MMI of lake diatom condition, who expected species-level metrics to be more responsive because species-level is generally associated with lower genetic and physiological variability than with higher taxonomic levels. Regardless, many genus-level metrics showed significant ability to discriminate reference from disturbed sites, as was also found by Stevenson et al (2013) and investigators of depressional wetland condition (Lane, 2007;Wang et al, 2006).…”

Section: Metric Selectionsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Of the final metrics useful in identifying heavily AMD impacted depressional wetlands in this study, five of those metrics were important in assessing AMD polluted Appalachian streams (Zalack et al, 2010). These five metrics were all from the similarity to reference site category, including % reference and % tolerant taxa, % similarity to reference sites and number of distinct references taxa; and have been recognised as being sensitive to a range of anthropogenic disturbances (Stevenson et al, 2013(Stevenson et al, , 2008Stevenson and Smol, 2003;Wang et al, 2006Wang et al, , 2005. As was expected from the literature, these metrics showed negative responses to increasing human disturbance, except for % tolerant taxa, which…”

Section: Metric Selectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Diatom-based MMIs developed for lentic systems have recently received increasing research attention, where efforts to develop MMIs for national-scale assessments of lakes (Stevenson et al, 2013) and ecoregional-scale assessments of freshwater wetlands (Miller et al, 2016) have benefited from US Environmental Protection Agency's National Aquatic Resource Surveys initiated programmes. On a relatively smaller scale, MMI development for diatom assemblages has been successful for statewide-scale assessments of depressional wetlands (those surrounded by upland) in the state of Florida (Lane and Brown, 2007) and for riverine and depressional wetlands in the Casco Bay watershed in Maine (Wang et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diatom-based MMIs to assess wetland condition have mostly been developed to quantify nutrient loading, elevated salinity and changes in pH resulting from agricultural and urban landuse (e.g., Lane and Brown, 2007;Miller et al, 2016;Wang et al, 2006), but no diatom index of wetland condition has been developed to quantify acid mine drainage (AMD) impacts related to mining activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a diatom-based multimetric index for acid mine drainage impacted depressional wetlands

Riato

Leira

Bella

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

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Acid mine drainage (AMD) from coal mining in the Mpumalanga Highveld region of South Africa has caused severe chemical and biological degradation of aquatic habitats, specifically depressional wetlands, as mines use these wetlands for storage of AMD. Diatom-based multimetric indices (MMIs) to assess wetland condition have mostly been developed to assess agricultural and urban land use impacts. No diatom MMI of wetland condition has been developed to assess AMD impacts related to mining activities. Previous approaches to diatom-based MMI development in wetlands have not accounted for natural variability. Natural variability among depressional wetlands may influence the accuracy of MMIs. Epiphytic diatom MMIs sensitive to AMD were developed for a range of depressional wetland types to account for natural variation in biological metrics. For this, we classified wetland types based on diatom typologies. A range of 4-15 final metrics were selected from a pool of ~140 candidate metrics to develop the MMIs based on their: (1) broad range, (2) high separation power and (3) low correlation among metrics. Final metrics were selected from three categories: similarity to reference sites, functional groups, and taxonomic composition, which represent different aspects of diatom assemblage structure and function. MMI performances were evaluated according to their precision in distinguishing reference sites, responsiveness to discriminate reference and disturbed sites, sensitivity to human disturbances and relevancy to AMD-related stressors. Each MMI showed excellent discriminatory power, whether or not it accounted for natural variation. However, accounting for variation by grouping sites based on diatom typologies improved overall performance of MMIs. Our study highlights the usefulness of diatom-based metrics and provides a model for the biological assessment of depressional wetland condition in South Africa and elsewhere.

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Section: Metric Selectionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Metric Selectionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Development of a diatom-based multimetric index for acid mine drainage impacted depressional wetlands

Riato

Leira

Bella

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

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“…MMIs using diatom metrics have been developed for use in streams, wetlands, and lakes (Fore and Grafe , Wang et al. , , Kane et al. , Stevenson et al.…”

Section: Designing Assessments: Selecting Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological assessments with algae: a review and synthesis

Stevenson

2014

Journal of Phycology

207

104

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Algae have been used for a century in environmental assessments of water bodies and are now used in countries around the world. This review synthesizes recent advances in the field around a framework for environmental assessment and management that can guide design of assessments, applications of phycology in assessments, and refinements of those applications to better support management decisions. Algae are critical parts of aquatic ecosystems that power food webs and biogeochemical cycling. Algae are also major sources of problems that threaten many ecosystems goods and services when abundances of nuisance and toxic taxa are high. Thus, algae can be used to indicate ecosystem goods and services, which complements how algal indicators are also used to assess levels of contaminants and habitat alterations (stressors). Understanding environmental managers' use of algal ecology, taxonomy, and physiology can guide our research and improve its application. Environmental assessments involve characterizing ecological condition and diagnosing causes and threats to ecosystems goods and services. Recent advances in characterizing condition include site-specific models that account for natural variability among habitats to better estimate effects of humans. Relationships between algal assemblages and stressors caused by humans help diagnose stressors and establish targets for protection and restoration. Many algal responses to stressors have thresholds that are particularly important for developing stakeholder consensus for stressor management targets. Future research on the regional-scale resilience of algal assemblages, the ecosystem goods and services they provide, and methods for monitoring and forecasting change will improve water resource management.

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Temporal and spatial changes in diatom community structure with the effects of environmental parameters, and ecological status assessment by diatom indices in three shallow lakes (Sakarya, Turkey)

2022

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Developing and testing diatom indicators for wetlands in the Casco Bay watershed, Maine, USA

Cited by 7 publications

References 31 publications

Development of a diatom-based multimetric index for acid mine drainage impacted depressional wetlands

Development of a diatom-based multimetric index for acid mine drainage impacted depressional wetlands

Ecological assessments with algae: a review and synthesis

Temporal and spatial changes in diatom community structure with the effects of environmental parameters, and ecological status assessment by diatom indices in three shallow lakes (Sakarya, Turkey)

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