A diatom-based biological condition gradient (BCG) approach for assessing impairment and developing nutrient criteria for streams

Hausmann, Sonja; Charles, Donald F.; Gerritsen, Jeroen; Belton, Thomas J.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.173

Cited by 69 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The BCG approach assigns taxa to different levels representing stream ecological conditions from natural to highly disturbed (Davies and Jackson, 2006). This approach has recently been applied using diatoms in the northeastern United States and is currently under further development and regional refinement (Hausmann et al, 2016; S. Spaulding, personal communication, 2017). It is somewhat analogous to trophic diatom indices developed in Europe to assign streams to different trophic statuses according to diatom assemblage structure (Besse‐Lototskaya et al, 2011), but rather than trophic condition, BCG attributes are designed to provide classification of overall stream impairment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Assemblage Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diatom Assemblage Changes in Agricultural Alluvial Plain Streams and Application for Nutrient Management

Hicks¹,

Taylor

2019

J of Env Quality

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In large, alluvial floodplains dominated by agriculture, small streams have the potential to experience nutrient enrichment affecting algal assemblage structure and metabolism. Nutrient enrichment is largely driven by application of nutrients and altered hydrologic regimes. To inform stressor–response‐based nutrient reduction goals for agricultural alluvial plain streams, diatom assemblages were sampled from 25 streams located within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) with various land management practices and associated P and N inputs. From August through September 2015, epidendric diatom assemblage samples were collected from instream woody debris. Field nutrient gradients were skewed toward higher concentrations, and ranges of previously reported diatom assemblage response thresholds indicative of oligotrophic conditions were not well represented. Ordination analysis identified a gradient in species composition associated with increasing P and decreasing dissolved oxygen. A significant shift in diatom assemblage structure occurred when total P concentrations in the MAP streams exceeded 0.12 mg L−1. Phosphorus‐enriched systems were represented by a distinct set of indicator species, lower abundances of ubiquitous species, greater abundances of highly tolerant species, and greater abundances of high‐P indicator species. No relationships were observed among diatom assemblage measures or traits with increasing N. Current results do not address potential criteria for identifying high‐quality, oligotrophic streams. However, measures of diatom assemblage structure have potential for helping set benchmarks to reduce nutrient impacts and monitor effects of agricultural best management practices on MAP streams. Core Ideas Identifying stream nutrient indicators is difficult in agricultural landscapes. Diatoms found in Mississippi Alluvial Plain streams are sensitive to changes in P concentrations. Diatom assemblages shifted when stream total P concentrations exceeded ∼0.12 mg L−1. Diatom measures can help set nutrient reduction goals for agricultural streams. Stream diatom indicators may improve monitoring success of nutrient best management practices.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Assemblage Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diatom Assemblage Changes in Agricultural Alluvial Plain Streams and Application for Nutrient Management

Hicks¹,

Taylor

2019

J of Env Quality

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“…For instance, an approach based on the major functional switch from clear water to a turbid state was recently developed for shallow lakes (Poikane et al, 2014a). Hausmann et al (2016) used Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN; Baker and King, 2010) to determine diatom-assemblage change points, and related these to nutrient concentrations and Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) levels. In those cases when no other approach is available, boundaries can be set by dividing the ecological impact gradient in five equal classes (EC, 2003).…”

Section: Ecological Rationale For Setting Good Status Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 9th meeting breaks with tradition by including both rivers and lakes within its ambit, recognizing that many of the processes which influence the condition of algal assemblages in lake littoral zones and shallow rivers are similar (Cantonati and Lowe, 2014) and the methods adopted for their assessment also show considerable overlap (DeNicola and Kelly et al, 2014). The papers in the special series of papers allow a comparison with current approaches in the USA (Hausmann et al, 2016;Tang et al, 2016), present new methods for the assessment of acidification and ecological status (Juggins et al, 2016;Kelly et al, 2016b), discuss the importance of quantitative estimates of headwater stream productivity, provide tools for better management of petrifying springs (Cantonati et al, 2016), critically review the utility of phytobenthos for lake assessments (Kelly et al, 2016a), and test the utility of functional measures (such as biofilm phosphorus uptake capacity, PUC; Proia et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic algal assessment of ecological status in European lakes and rivers: Challenges and opportunities

Poikāne

Kelly²,

Cantonati

2016

Science of The Total Environment

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This opinion paper introduces a special series of articles dedicated to freshwater benthic algae and their use in assessment and monitoring. This special series was inspired by talks presented at the 9th International Congress on the Use of Algae for Monitoring Rivers and Comparable Habitats (Trento, Italy, 2015), the latest of a series of meetings started in 1991. In this paper, we will first provide a brief overview of phytobenthos methods in Europe. Then, we will turn towards the 'dark side' of phytobenthos and describe four particular problems for phytobenthos assessment in the European Union: (1) over-reliance on a single group of algae (mostly diatoms) to the exclusion of other groups; (2) relatively low adoption of benthic algae for ecological assessments in lakes; (3) absence of measures of phytobenthos abundance; (4) approaches used to define boundaries between ecological classes. Following this, we evaluate the strengths and limitations of current phytobenthos assessment methods against 12 criteria for method evaluation addressing four areas: ecological rationale, performance, feasibility of implementation, and use in communication and management. Using these criteria, we identify and discuss three general challenges for those developing new methods for phytobenthos-based assessment: a weak ecological rationale and insufficient consideration of the role of phytobenthos as a diagnostic tool and for communicating ecosystem health beyond a narrow group of specialists. The papers in the special series allow a comparison with the situation and approaches in the USA, present new methods for the assessment of ecological status and acidification, provide tools for an improved management of headwaters and petrifying springs, discuss the utility of phytobenthos for lake assessments, and test the utility of functional measures (such as biofilm phosphorus uptake capacity, PUC).

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“…Rimet 2012; Kelly et al 2014), with the Water Framework Directive, and the US (e.g. Barbour et al 1999;Potapova & Charles 2007;Haussmann et al 2016), with the Clean Water Act. Until now standard methods for freshwater ecological assessment based on diatoms (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) of natural samples as a source of primary taxonomic information for reference libraries of diatom barcodes

Rimet¹,

Abarca²,

Bouchez³

et al. 2018

Fottea

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Diatoms are used routinely to assess pollution level in rivers and lakes. Current methods are based on identification by light microscopy, which is laborious. An alternative is to identify species based on short DNA fragments and High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS). However a potential limitation is the incomplete coverage of species in reference barcode libraries. Usually these libraries are compiled by isolating cells, before culturing and sequencing them, which is tedious and often unsuccessful. Here we propose the use of rbcL sequences from environmental samples analysed by HTS. We set several criteria to ensure good sequence quality and correspondence with the target species observed in microscopy: the sequence needed to be abundant in the sample, and with no insertions nor deletions or stop codon, phylogenetic neighbour taxa had to correspond to neighbour taxonomic taxa expected from morphological observations. Four species from tropical rivers are given as examples, including one that is new to science.

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A diatom-based biological condition gradient (BCG) approach for assessing impairment and developing nutrient criteria for streams

Cited by 69 publications

References 20 publications

Diatom Assemblage Changes in Agricultural Alluvial Plain Streams and Application for Nutrient Management

Diatom Assemblage Changes in Agricultural Alluvial Plain Streams and Application for Nutrient Management

Benthic algal assessment of ecological status in European lakes and rivers: Challenges and opportunities

The potential of High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) of natural samples as a source of primary taxonomic information for reference libraries of diatom barcodes

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