Development and evaluation of a Planktonic Integrity Index (PII) for Jingpo Lake, China

Abstract

A Planktonic Integrity Index (PII) for the China’s largest alpine barrier lake (Jingpo Lake) was developed to assess the water quality of Jingpo Lake by using phytoplankton and zooplankton metrics. Phytoplankton and zooplankton assemblages were sampled at 26 sites in Jingpo Lake. A total of 140 species of phytoplankton and 92 species of zooplankton were obtained in the investigations. We used a stepwise process to evaluate properties of candidate metrics and selected five for the PII: Algal cell abundance, Species richness of algae, Trophic diatom index, Zooplankton Shannon index, and Zooplankton Margalef index. Evaluation of the PII showed that it discriminated well between reference and impaired sites and the discriminatory biocriteria of the PII were suitable for the assessment of the water quality of Jingpo Lake. The further scoring results from the 26 sites showed that the water quality of Jingpo Lake was fair to good. The results of analyses between PII and major environmental factors indicated that water temperature (WT), transparency (SD), dissolved oxygen (DO), potassium permanganate (CODMn) and total nitrogen (TN) were the main factors influencing on the composition and distribution of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Additionally, more metrics belonging to habitat, hydrology, physics and chemistry should be considered for the PII, so as to establish comprehensive assessment system which can reflect the community structure of aquatic organisms, physical and chemical characteristics of water environment, human activities, etc.

Structural Characteristics and Driving Factors of the Planktonic Eukaryotic Community in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, China

“…Its application in water quality monitoring has attracted the attention of an increasing number of researchers [21], who currently use this method to study the composition, distribution characteristics, and factors influencing the microplankton eukaryotic community [19,22]. In the Danjiangkou Reservoir, alterations in water quality and the related structure of the phytoplanktonic eukaryote community seem particularly important for studying temporal and spatial changes in sediment nutrients, heavy metal concentrations, and phytoplanktonic, macroscopic algal, bacterial and fungal taxa [8,[23][24][25][26]. Many studies have shown that dissolved oxygen (DO), chlorophyll a (Chla), water temperature (WT), pH, and ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) may be the main factors affecting planktonic eukaryotes [27][28][29][30].…”

Can relative abundance of diatoms (RAD) serve as an indicator for the water quality assessment in river-connected lakes? A case study at Dongting Lake

“…Consequently, the TP of Dongting Lake remained high. Local authorities urgently need practical evaluation indicators and methods that can comprehensively reflect the water quality status of Dongting Lake and other large and medium-sized river-connected lakes (e.g., Jingpo Lake [57] in northern China).…”

“…In particular, the waterways in the east Dongting Lake area have largely the same hydrological characteristics as rivers, and the phytoplankton of Dongting Lake is dominated by diatoms (in both species and biomass) [55,69]. Previous studies have also shown that the index of biotic integrity (IBI) can suitably assess the water quality of rivers and lakes [56,57], thus providing the foundation for the biological evaluation of the water quality of Dongting Lake based on diatoms. Using the water quality and diatom data of Dongting Lake from 2017 to 2022, this study aimed to clarify: (1) the spatio-temporal succession characteristics of diatom communities, diatom indices and water quality indicators, (2) the relationship between diatom indices and water quality indicators, and (3) the feasibility of using diatom indices to replace water quality indices in water quality evaluation.…”

Can Relative Abundance of Diatoms (RAD) Serve as an Indicator for the Water Quality Assessment in River-Connected Lakes? A Case Study at Dongting Lake

“…In particular, the waterways in the east Dongting Lake area have largely the same hydrological characteristics as rivers, and the phytoplankton of Dongting Lake is dominated by diatoms (in both species and biomass) (Yin et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2012). Previous studies have also shown that the index of biotic integrity (IBI) can suitably assess the water quality of rivers and lakes (Wang et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2019), thus providing the foundation for the biological evaluation of the water quality of Dongting Lake based on diatoms. Using the water quality and diatom data of Dongting Lake from 2017 to 2022, this study aimed to clarify:…”