Protistology 7 (1) 34–41 (2012) |
Use of planktonic protists for assessing water quality in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China |
Laboratory of Protozoology, Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China Summary Spatial patterns of planktonic protist communities were studied for assessing water quality in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China, from June 2007 to May 2008. Samples were collected biweekly at five sampling sites with a gradient of environmental stress. A range of physico-chemical parameters were also measured in order to determine water quality. Multivariate/univariate analyses demonstrated that: (1) the spatial patterns of planktonic protist communities represented significant differences among the five sites; (2) the spatial variations in protist community structures correlated with environmental variables, especially the nutrients nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) and soluble reactive phosphates (SRP); and (3) species diversity indices significantly correlated with nutrients (e.g., NO3-N). The results suggest that planktonic protists may be used as bioindicators of marine water quality. Key words: bioassessment, water quality, marine ecosystem, planktonic protists
Address for correspondence: Henglong Xu. Laboratory of Protozoology, Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China; e-mail: henglongxu@126.com |
| Load PDF | Back to Contents | |