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Bretcan P, Tanislav D, Radulescu C, Serban G, Danielescu S, Reid M, Dunea D. Evaluation of Shallow Groundwater Quality at Regional Scales Using Adaptive Water Quality Indices. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:10637. [PMID: 36078359 PMCID: PMC9517783 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191710637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater, which is the main source of water for human consumption in many rural areas, has its quality determined by the complex interaction of environmental factors and anthropogenic activities. The present study evaluated the quality of shallow groundwater (1 to 25 m depth) in the rural area of the Târgovişte Plain, a densely populated area (200 inhabitants/km2) using 80 water samples collected from public wells. In order to explain the spatial distribution of the concentrations of the 19 physicochemical parameters considered (including heavy metals), the evaluation of groundwater quality for human consumption and potential impact on human health was conducted using the Water Quality Index (WQI), Integrated Weight Water Quality Index (IwWQI), Total Hazard Index (THI), and cumulative carcinogenic risk (CCR). For the WQI/IwWQI the comparative analysis of the two indices showed that for the WQI, it is important to select an optimal set of parameters, because use of a large number of physicochemical parameters can eclipse the values that exceed WHO guideline limits. In contrast, the use of entropy in the calculation of the IwWQI did not lead to eclipsing of exceedance, no matter the number of parameters used. Areas with poor and very poor groundwater quality according to the WQI/IwWQI overlapped, with a moderate risk to human health (THI > 1) for noncarcinogenic contaminants and also a risk of developing cancer according to the CCR average value (1.15 × 10-2). The health of 43% of the rural population in the Târgovişte Plain can be affected if they drink contaminated groundwater, and it is estimated that about 600 people can develop cancer during their lifetime. If the risk of developing cancer is reduced only in the rural population that does not have access to a water source from a centralized and verified network, the results suggest that 385 people (1.15%) can develop cancer as a result of consuming groundwater contaminated with heavy metals based on the average value of CCR. This value is lower than the general mortality rate in areas with high CCR and below the average number of cancer patients in Romania (2.65%). The quality of groundwater and the risk of developing diseases and cancer due to water consumption is directly proportional to the intensity of agricultural land use and inversely proportional to the depth of the groundwater layer, the distance from the main hydrographic network and the reservoirs, and the distance from the main city, Târgovişte. The complex and integrated analysis of groundwater quality using quality indices and indicators of health risk for the population, validated by hot-spot analysis and compared to the mortality rate, is an approach with practical applicability. This integrated approach allows public authorities, policymakers, and health services to implement an efficient monitoring program and optimize anthropogenic activities in order to prevent groundwater contamination and finally improve the quality of life for the residents in the area of this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petre Bretcan
- Faculty of Humanities, Valahia University of Târgovişte, 130105 Târgovişte, Romania
| | - Danut Tanislav
- Faculty of Humanities, Valahia University of Târgovişte, 130105 Târgovişte, Romania
| | - Cristiana Radulescu
- Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Valahia University of Târgovişte, 130004 Târgovişte, Romania
| | - Gheorghe Serban
- Faculty of Geography, Babes-Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Serban Danielescu
- Fredericton Research and Development Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7, Canada
| | - Michael Reid
- Department of Geography and Planning, School of Humanities, Arts and Social Studies, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
| | - Daniel Dunea
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Food Science, Valahia University of Târgovişte, 130004 Târgovişte, Romania
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Cha Y, Shin J, Go B, Lee DS, Kim Y, Kim T, Park YS. An interpretable machine learning method for supporting ecosystem management: Application to species distribution models of freshwater macroinvertebrates. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 291:112719. [PMID: 33946026 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Species distribution models (SDMs), in which species occurrences are related to a suite of environmental variables, have been used as a decision-making tool in ecosystem management. Complex machine learning (ML) algorithms that lack interpretability may hinder the use of SDMs for ecological explanations, possibly limiting the role of SDMs as a decision-support tool. To meet the growing demand of explainable MLs, several interpretable ML methods have recently been proposed. Among these methods, SHaply Additive exPlanation (SHAP) has drawn attention for its robust theoretical justification and analytical gains. In this study, the utility of SHAP was demonstrated by the application of SDMs of four benthic macroinvertebrate species. In addition to species responses, the dataset contained 22 environmental variables monitored at 436 sites across five major rivers of South Korea. A range of ML algorithms was employed for model development. Each ML model was trained and optimized using 10-fold cross-validation. Model evaluation based on the test dataset indicated strong model performance, with an accuracy of ≥0.7 in all evaluation metrics for all MLs and species. However, only the random forest algorithm showed a behavior consistent with the known ecology of the investigated species. SHAP presents an integrated framework in which local interpretations that incorporate local interaction effects are combined to represent the global model structure. Consequently, this framework offered a novel opportunity to assess the importance of variables in predicting species occurrence, not only across sites, but also for individual sites. Furthermore, removing interaction effects from variable importance values (SHAP values) clearly revealed non-linear species responses to variations in environmental variables, indicating the existence of ecological thresholds. This study provides guidelines for the use of a new interpretable method supporting ecosystem management.
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Affiliation(s)
- YoonKyung Cha
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02504, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jihoon Shin
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - ByeongGeon Go
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - Dae-Seong Lee
- Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea
| | - YoungWoo Kim
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - TaeHo Kim
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Seuk Park
- Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea
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Effects of sample size and network depth on a deep learning approach to species distribution modeling. ECOL INFORM 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2020.101137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Souza NFD, Baptista DF, Buss DF. A predictive index based on environmental filters for the bioassessment of river basins without reference areas in Atlantic Forest biome, Brazil. BIOTA NEOTROPICA 2019. [DOI: 10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2018-0601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract: Biological assessments that use the reference condition approach are based on the concept of comparing a site's observed biology to sites where disturbance is minimal or absent. However, in many regions of the world, such areas are scarce or nonexistent. In this study, an alternative approach proposed by Chessman and Royal for bioassessment without reference areas based on environmental filters was tested in Brazil. This approach assumes that key environmental features act in the selection of potential colonists, from a regional pool of taxa, based on the ecological traits (tolerances) possessed by each taxon. We developed the approach by: 1) determining the regional pool, based on a large Atlantic Forest biome database; 2) selecting environmental filters (elevation, original vegetation and soil type); and 3) including information on the tolerance and preferences of aquatic insects to these filters. With this information we were able to determine the expected taxon under natural conditions and compare with observed taxon, developing a predictive index (Observed/Expected). Although the model was intended to predict the fauna in regions without reference sites, we included reference areas to test the model responsiveness, precision and sensitivity. Our results indicated that the index was able to discriminate impairment classes (F=56.9; p<0,001), it has high precision due to low standard deviation across reference sites values (SD=0.098) and high sensitivity due the correlation with environmental variables that are sensitive to human alteration (r=0.74, p<0.01). Also, it was strongly correlated with multimetric indices developed for multiple watersheds in the state, showing agreement between the methods in relation to ecological quality classification. Even though the predictive index had performed well in our study, we make some considerations that may help to improve its sensitivity of similar methods that are being tested using the environmental filters approach.
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Peters DPC, Burruss ND, Rodriguez LL, McVey DS, Elias EH, Pelzel-McCluskey AM, Derner JD, Schrader TS, Yao J, Pauszek SJ, Lombard J, Archer SR, Bestelmeyer BT, Browning DM, Brungard CW, Hatfield JL, Hanan NP, Herrick JE, Okin GS, Sala OE, Savoy H, Vivoni ER. An Integrated View of Complex Landscapes: A Big Data-Model Integration Approach to Transdisciplinary Science. Bioscience 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biy069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Debra P C Peters
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - N Dylan Burruss
- New Mexico State University, Jornada Experimental Range Unit, and Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Luis L Rodriguez
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, in Orient Point, New York
| | - D Scott McVey
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, in Manhattan, Kansas
| | - Emile H Elias
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Angela M Pelzel-McCluskey
- US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, in Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Justin D Derner
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit, in Cheyenne, Wyoming
| | - T Scott Schrader
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Jin Yao
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Steven J Pauszek
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, in Orient Point, New York
| | - Jason Lombard
- US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, in Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Steven R Archer
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona, in Tucson
| | - Brandon T Bestelmeyer
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Dawn M Browning
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Colby W Brungard
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces
| | - Jerry L Hatfield
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, in Ames, Iowa
| | - Niall P Hanan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces
| | - Jeffrey E Herrick
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Jornada Experimental Range Unit and the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Gregory S Okin
- Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Osvaldo E Sala
- School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, in Tempe
| | - Heather Savoy
- New Mexico State University, Jornada Experimental Range Unit, and Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program, in Las Cruces, New Mexico
| | - Enrique R Vivoni
- School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University, in Tempe
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Olaya-Marín EJ, Martínez-Capel F, Costa RMS, Alcaraz-Hernández JD. Modelling native fish richness to evaluate the effects of hydromorphological changes and river restoration (Júcar River Basin, Spain). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2012; 440:95-105. [PMID: 23031292 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2012] [Revised: 07/26/2012] [Accepted: 07/26/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The richness of native fish is considered to be an indicator of aquatic ecosystem health, and improving richness is a key goal in the management of river ecosystems. An artificial neural network (ANN) model based on field data from 90 sample sites distributed throughout the Júcar River Basin District was developed to predict the native fish species richness (NFSR). The Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm was used for model training. When constructing the model, we tried different numbers of neurons (hidden layers), compared different transfer functions, and tried different k values (from 3 to 10) in the k-fold cross-validation method. This process and the final selection of key variables with relevant ecological meaning support the reliability and robustness of the final ANN model. The partial derivatives method was applied to determine the relative importance of input environmental variables. The final ANN model combined variables describing riparian quality, water quality, and physical habitat and helped identify the primary drivers of the NFSR patterns in Mediterranean rivers. In the second part of the study, the model was used to evaluate the effectiveness of two restoration actions in the Júcar River: the removal of two abandoned weirs and the progressive increase in the proportion of riffles. The model indicated that the combination of these actions produced a rise in NFSR, which ultimately reached the maximum values observed in the reference site of that river ecotype (sensu the European Water Framework Directive). The results demonstrate the importance of longitudinal connectivity and riffle proportion for improving NFSR and the power of ANNs to help decisions in the management and ecological restoration of Mediterranean rivers. Furthermore, this model at the basin scale is the first step for further research on the effects of water scarcity and global change on Mediterranean fish communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Julia Olaya-Marín
- Institut d'Investigació per a la Gestió Integrada de Zones Costaneres, Universitat Politècnica de València, C/Paranimf, 1, 46730 Grau de Gandia, València, Spain.
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Stewart-Koster B, Olden JD, Kennard MJ, Pusey BJ, Boone EL, Douglas M, Jackson S. Fish response to the temporal hierarchy of the natural flow regime in the Daly River, northern Australia. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2011; 79:1525-44. [PMID: 22136238 DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03072.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In this study, relationships between flow variation across multiple temporal scales and the distribution and abundance of three fish species, western rainbowfish Melanotaenia australis, sooty grunter Hephaestus fuliginosus and barramundi Lates calcarifer were examined at eight sampling reaches in the Daly River, Northern Territory, Australia. Discharge was highly seasonal during the study period of 2006-2010 with a distinct wet-dry discharge pattern. Significant catchment-wide correlations were identified between species abundance and hydrologic variables across several scales describing the magnitude and variability of flow. A Bayesian hierarchical model which accounted for >80% of variation in abundances for all species and age classes (i.e. juvenile and adult), identified the extent to which the influence of short-term flow variation was dependent upon the historical flow regime. There were distinct ontogenetic differences in these relationships for H. fuliginosus, with variability of recent flows having a negative effect on juveniles which was stronger at locations with higher historical mean daily flow. Lates calcarifer also displayed ontogenetic differences in relationships to flow variation with adults showing a positive association with increase in recent flows and juveniles showing a negative one. The effect of increased magnitude of wet-season flows on M. australis was negative in locations with lower historical mean daily flow but positive in locations with higher historical mean daily flow. The results highlighted how interactions between multiple scales of flow variability influence the abundance of fish species according to their life-history requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Stewart-Koster
- Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.
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Case study: Comparing the use of nonlinear discriminating analysis and Artificial Neural Networks in the classification of three fish species: acaras (Geophagus brasiliensis), tilapias (Tilapia rendalli) and mullets (Mugil liza). ECOL INFORM 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2010.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Hale SS, Hollister JW. Beyond data management: how ecoinformatics can benefit environmental monitoring programs. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2009; 150:227-235. [PMID: 19051047 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-008-0675-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2008] [Accepted: 01/28/2008] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We review ways in which the new discipline of ecoinformatics is changing how environmental monitoring data are managed, synthesized, and analyzed. Rapid improvements in information technology and strong interest in biodiversity and sustainable ecosystems are driving a vigorous phase of development in ecological databases. Emerging data standards and protocols enable these data to be shared in ways that have previously been difficult. We use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Coastal Assessment (NCA) as an example. The NCA has collected biological, chemical, and physical data from thousands of stations around the U.S. coasts since 1990. NCA data that were collected primarily to assess the ecological condition of the U.S. coasts can be used in innovative ways, such as biogeographical studies to analyze species invasions. NCA application of ecoinformatics tools leads to new possibilities for integrating the hundreds of thousands of NCA species records with other databases to address broad-scale and long-term questions such as environmental impacts, global climate change, and species invasions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen S Hale
- Atlantic Ecology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
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Diefenderfer HL, Montgomery DR. Pool Spacing, Channel Morphology, and the Restoration of Tidal Forested Wetlands of the Columbia River, U.S.A. Restor Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-100x.2008.00449.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Olden J, Lawler J, Poff N. Machine Learning Methods Without Tears: A Primer for Ecologists. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2008; 83:171-93. [DOI: 10.1086/587826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 460] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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