1
|
Ridall A, Ingels J. Nematode community structures in the presence of wastewater treatment plant discharge. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2023; 195:991. [PMID: 37491643 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11555-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) represent major point sources of pollution in coastal systems, affecting benthic ecosystems. In the present study, we assessed the potential role that WWTPs have in shaping nematode communities and established baseline knowledge of free-living nematode community structures in St. Andrew Bay, Florida. Sediment samples were collected from four sites representing areas of WWTP outflow and areas with no apparent outflow, during the winter and summer. Nematode communities across sites were significantly different, and the differences were strongly associated with the distance to the nearest WWTP. While the communities were not different along transects at each site, nor across seasons, community dissimilarity across sites was high, implying strong contrasts throughout the bay system. Dominance of tolerant, opportunistic genera and Ecological Quality Status assessments suggest that the system is stressed by organic enrichment, possibly linked to the WWTPs. Our results suggest that knowledge on the life-history of dominant genera is imperative to assess the ecological quality of a benthic system, in addition to taxonomic and functional metrics. Considering the value of marine nematodes as bioindicators, more work should be done to monitor temporal variability in nematode communities in this system as future infrastructure changes alter its dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Ridall
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, 319 Stadium Dr, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA.
- Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, 3618 Coastal Highway 98, St. Teresa, FL, 32358, USA.
| | - Jeroen Ingels
- Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, 3618 Coastal Highway 98, St. Teresa, FL, 32358, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hong JH, Semprucci F, Jeong R, Kim K, Lee S, Jeon D, Yoo H, Kim J, Kim J, Yeom J, Lee S, Lee K, Lee W. Meiobenthic nematodes in the assessment of the relative impact of human activities on coastal marine ecosystem. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2020; 192:81. [PMID: 31897611 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-019-8055-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Ecological quality (EcoQ) status of the Southwest and West coasts of South Korea was evaluated within the "National Investigation of Marine Ecosystems in Korea" in the 2015. In particular, the study dealt to assess the ecological quality of the sediments using free-living nematode communities. A total of 149 species were found in the study area, and Daptonema, Sabatieria, Parodontophora, Sphaerolaimus, and Viscosia were found as dominant genera. Statistical analysis of both environmental and faunal parameters showed an increasing human pressure from Western to Southern coasts. The community structure changed with the environmental features of the study area and allowed the detection of a suite of possible nematode indicators that might be used in monitoring studies. In particular, Dorylaimopsis spp. appeared heavy metal and organic matter resistant taxa, Sabatieria an eutrophication resistant genus, while Paracanthonchus and Neotonchus as heavy metal and organic matter sensitive genera. The principal component analysis (PCA) results showed a clear negative correlation between maturity index and both heavy metal and organic matter increasing, while diversity indices did not appear to be significantly influenced by them. Appling the thresholds of the synthetic nematode indices, the EcoQ of the study area was assessed as poor to moderate.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jung-Ho Hong
- Biodiversity Research Institute, Marine Act co., Seoul, South Korea
| | - Federica Semprucci
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences (DiSB), Urbino University, Urbino, Italy.
| | - Raehyuk Jeong
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Kichoon Kim
- Biodiversity Research Institute, Marine Act co., Seoul, South Korea
| | - Seunghan Lee
- Biodiversity Research Institute, Marine Act co., Seoul, South Korea
| | - Donggu Jeon
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Hyunsu Yoo
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jungho Kim
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jaehyun Kim
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jisu Yeom
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Somin Lee
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Kanghyun Lee
- Biodiversity Research Institute, Marine Act co., Seoul, South Korea
| | - Wonchoel Lee
- Laboratory of Biodiversity, Department of Life Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|