Use of PFU protozoan community structural and functional characteristics in assessment of water quality in a large, highly polluted freshwater lake in China

Abstract

Structural and functional parameters of protozoan communities colonizing on PFU (polyurethane foam unit) artificial substrate were assessed as indicators of water quality in the Chaohu Lake, a large, shallow and highly polluted freshwater lake in China. Protozoan communities were sampled 1, 3, 6, 9 and 14 days after exposure of PFU artificial substrate in the lake during October 2003. Four study stations with the different water quality gradient changes along the lake were distinguishable in terms of differences in the community's structural (species richness, individual abundance, etc.) and functional parameters (protozoan colonization rates on PFU). The concentrations of TP, TN, COD and BOD as the main chemical indicators of pollution at the four sampling sites were also obtained each year during 2002-2003 for comparison with biological parameters. The results showed that the species richness and PFU colonization rate decreased as pollution intensity increased and that the Margalef diversity index values calculated at four sampling sites also related to water quality. The three functional parameters based on the PFU colonization process, that is, S eq , G and T 90% , were strongly related to the pollution status of the water. The number of protozoan species colonizing on PFU after exposure of 1 to 3 days was found to give a clear comparative indication of the water quality at the four sampling stations. The research provides further evidence that the protozoan community may be utilized effectively in the assessment of water quality and that the PFU method furnishes rapid, cost-effective and reliable information that may be useful for measuring responses to pollution stress in aquatic ecosystems.

Impacts of land use and population density on seasonal surface water quality using a modified geographically weighted regression

“…6) during both seasons. The higher population density results in higher organic contaminant discharge, such as food waste, human sewage and industrial wastes, which contribute to increased COD concentrations (Xu et al, 2005;Campos et al, 2012;Mohseni-Bandpei and Yousefi, 2013;Sivri et al, 2014). …”

Effects of seasonal succession and water pollution on the protozoan community structure in an eutrophic lake

“…PFU microbial communities have been shown to form complex species assemblages, which exhibit many of the characteristics of structural communities (Xu et al, 2005). Various structural and functional characteristics of PFU microbial communities have been tested to be correlated with the degree of the lake's eutrophication (Cairns and McCormick, 1993).…”

Effects of flow speed and circulation interval on water quality and zooplankton in a pond–ditch circulation system

“…Previous studies have shown that the functional parameters were utilized effectively in assessing the water quality (Xu et al 2005). Among the three functional parameters, the S eq is a sensitive parameter to confirm pollution levels, which is negatively correlated with the concentrations of pollutants (Shen et al 1990).…”