Benthic macrophyte metrics as bioindicators of water quality: towards overcoming typological boundaries and methodological tradition in Mediterranean and Black Seas

Orfanidis, Sotiris; Dencheva, Kristina; Nakou, K.; Tsioli, Soultana; Papathanasiou, Vasillis; Rosati, Ilaria

doi:10.1007/s10750-014-1938-x

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…The results of this study showed that there are considerable differences between the structural and functional approaches to studying benthic macroalgal assemblages, with the latter related to chronic pollution (Panayotidis et al, 2004;Orfanidis et al, 2014) and in agreement with ecological theory (Odum, 1985;Scheffer et al, 2001). Obviously, functional grouping of organisms reduces spatial and temporal community variability and allows patterns to emerge without losing important information (Steneck & Watling, 1982).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…2B). This is an expected result because the ESGs used (Orfanidis et al, 2011(Orfanidis et al, , 2014 have been defined using functional traits related to nutrient and light responses that indicate species adaptation across a water pollution gradient. One site was separated from this scheme due to low benthic macrophyte abundance values and neighboring low-salinity water sources (CEK).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Gabriel et al (2014) used the EEI index to assess the environmental quality of the coastal waters off the Azorean Islands. Orfanidis et al (2014) tested the relationships among different structural and functional metrics with key abiotic parameters and an anthropogenic stress index in Mediterranean and Black Sea transitional waters. Recently, Caldeira et al (2017) and Amaral et al (2018) evaluated the ES off Brazilian coasts and lagoons, respectively, by using the functional features of macroalgal assemblages and the EEI-c methodology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological Quality Status of the Algiers coastal waters by using macroalgae assemblages as bioindicators (Algeria, Mediterranean Sea)

2018

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Macroalgal assemblages have been used as a quality element for the assessment of the ecological status classes (ESCs) in coastal water bodies for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC). To assess the suitability of this quality element in the coastal waters off Algiers, seven sampling sites with five (5) replications covering a wide range of anthropogenic pressures were studied during spring and summer 2015. Coverage data for the macroalgae at each sampling site were analyzed at the biological levels of species, i.e., structural (species number, nMDS, clustering, K-dominance and Simper analysis based on Bray-Curtis similarity), and ecological status groups, i.e., functional (nMDS, clustering, K-dominance, ecological evaluation index/EEI-c). Key water variables (temperature, salinity and pH) along with the anthropogenic stress index MALUSI were also estimated. The obtained results revealed a significant effect of anthropogenic stress on the macroalgal assemblages. The structural analysis showed the following: (1) species richness of 86 taxa in total; (2) dominance of Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta (late-successional) associated with Lithophyllum incrustans and Jania rubens at nonimpacted sites and with Ulva rigida, Ulva intestinalis and Caulerpa cylindracea (opportunistic) species at impacted sites; and (3) a higher proportion of low-abundance species in polluted communities than in less polluted communities. The functional analysis showed the following: (1) classification of sites based on multivariate and K-dominance analyses into four groups, three in agreement with the water degradation information and one in agreement with a low salinity influence; (2) classification of sites into "bad", "high", "moderate" and "good" ESCs based on the EEI-c index; and (3) a strong nonlinear relationship (R²=0.85) of the EEI-c index with the MALUSI index. Therefore, the EEI-c index will be a suitable tool to implement a national monitoring program within the scope the WFD along Algerian coasts.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological Quality Status of the Algiers coastal waters by using macroalgae assemblages as bioindicators (Algeria, Mediterranean Sea)

2018

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“…The area of S. pectinata increased more than threefold in 2015 compared with 1985. According to Orfanidis et al (2014), Stuckenia spp. are similar to opportunistic species, since they are very tolerant to salinity and their surface-to-volume (S/V) ratio is the highest, as compared to perennial seagrass and some macroalgae species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These sets of samples were analysed in the Chemical Laboratory of the State Maritime University (Novorossiysk) in accordance with standard procedures (Drugov & Rodin, 2012) with the participation of N.S. Berezenko. The ecological status of the Sudzhuk Lagoon in 2015 was assessed using the Ecological Index (EI) (Orfanidis et al, 2014) according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Index EI was calculated by a simplified formula as the percentage ratio of biomass (wet weight) of late-sensitive (highly sensitive) species (Ecological Status Group I, ESG I) divided by biomass of opportunistic-tolerant species (Ecological Status Group II, ESG II).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term changes of macrophytobenthos of «Sudzhuk Lagoon» Natural Monument (Black Sea)

Березенко¹,

Milchakova²

2018

Nat. Conserv. Res.

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The Sudzhuk Lagoon, including Sudzhuk Spit and the adjacent territory, is a unique natural complex of the northeastern part of the Black Sea, that has been studied throughout the last century. In accordance with the environmental importance of lagoon ecosystems, the «Sudzhuk Lagoon» Natural Monument of regional significance was created in 1983, which was included within the network of Protected Areas of the Krasnodarsky Krai. The goal of the present research was to characterise the long-term changes in lagoon's bottom vegetation from 1921 to 2015, and to reveal the features of species composition and the communities changes. During the investigation period, the number of macrophyte species increased from 16 to 27. Five new species typical for eutrophic water have been found, and more than ten species disappeared. Despite the Sudzhuk Lagoon being included within the protected areas, almost a complete disappearance of the Lamprothamnium papulosum + Chara vulgaris community and a dominance of the Ruppia cirrhosa-Lophosiphonia obscura-Cladophora albida community have been observed. By 2015, the biomass of the opportunistic green alga Ulva intestinalis near the channel, which connect the lagoon with the sea, increased by an order of magnitude compared to 1985. At the present time, intensive transformation has occurred in communities of aquatic vegetation, and the dominance of Phragmites australis and Stuckenia pectinata were found. Almost all research areas of the Sudzhuk Lagoon were in a poor ecological status according to the Ecological Index (EI), except for a few locations in the central and southeastern parts with a moderate ecological status. The lack of a management plan to protect the Sudzhuk Lagoon and intensification of unregulated recreation, along with other natural and anthropogenic factors, can lead to the loss of this unique natural complex. Effective measures aiming at preserving the ecosystem of the Sudzhuk Lagoon with its biological and landscape diversity were proposed.

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Submerged benthic macrophytes in Mediterranean lagoons: distribution patterns in relation to water chemistry and depth

et al. 2017

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Benthic macrophyte metrics as bioindicators of water quality: towards overcoming typological boundaries and methodological tradition in Mediterranean and Black Seas

Cited by 22 publications

References 78 publications

Ecological Quality Status of the Algiers coastal waters by using macroalgae assemblages as bioindicators (Algeria, Mediterranean Sea)

Ecological Quality Status of the Algiers coastal waters by using macroalgae assemblages as bioindicators (Algeria, Mediterranean Sea)

Long-term changes of macrophytobenthos of «Sudzhuk Lagoon» Natural Monument (Black Sea)

Submerged benthic macrophytes in Mediterranean lagoons: distribution patterns in relation to water chemistry and depth

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