Response of the mollusc communities to environmental factors along an anthropogenic salinity gradient

Abstract

Anthropogenic salinisation of freshwater ecosystems is frequent across the world. The scale of this phenomenon remains unrecognised, and therefore, monitoring and management of such ecosystems is very important. We conducted a study on the mollusc communities in inland anthropogenic ponds covering a large gradient of salinity located in an area of underground coal mining activity. A total of 14 gastropod and 6 bivalve species were noted. No molluscs were found in waters with total dissolved solids (TDS) higher than 17.1 g L −1. The share of alien species in the communities was very high in waters with elevated salinity and significantly lower in the freshwaters. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that TDS, pH, alkalinity, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, iron, the content of organic matter in sediments, the type of substrate and the content of sand and gravel in sediments were the variables that were significantly associated with the distribution of molluscs. The regression analysis revealed that total mollusc density was positively related to alkalinity and negatively related to nitrate nitrogen. The taxa richness was negatively related to TDS, which is consistent with previous studies which indicated that a high salinity level is a significant threat to freshwater malacofauna, causing a loss of biodiversity and contributing to the colonisation and establishment of alien species in aquatic ecosystems.

MODB: a comprehensive mitochondrial genome database for Mollusca

“…Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda; the number of valid recent species is currently estimated to be ∼110 000 and 23% of all named marine organisms are contained within this phylum ( 1 , 2 ). Mollusks can adapt to different natural environments ( 3 ), from cold or temperate to tropical, and live in both freshwater and terrestrial habitats ( 4 ). Fossil shells recognizable as gastropods and bivalves are present in rocks from the Cambrian period, ∼ 570 million years ago ( 5 ).…”

The Relationship between Salinity and Benthic Fauna Diversity and Abundance at Songkhla Port, Thailand

“…High fluctuations in mixing and related physicochemical parameters along this area, especially because of the seawater in this ecosystem, showed salinity variations in the range of 0 to 35 ppt and seasonal changes (Angsupanich, 1997;Angsupanich and Kuwabara, 1995;Angsupanich, Phromthong, and Srichuer, 1997;Wangkulangkul, 2017). Salinity is the main driver shaping the benthic fauna community in an ecosystem (Alipoor, Rahimibashar, and Alior, 2011;Mulik, Sukumaran, and Srinivas, 2020;Norouzi and Tavani, 2016;Sasikala, Saravanakumar, and Balasubramanian, 2017;Sowa et al, 2019). The benthic organisms need tolerance for this factor, aside from the seasonal changes.…”

Impact of anthropogenic transformations on the vegetation of selected abiotic types of rivers in two ecoregions (Southern Poland)

“…Increased salinity has a negative impact on the abiotic and biotic characteristics of freshwater ecosystems (Williams, 2001;Herbert et al, 2015). The chronic salinity of inland water leads to the loss of biodiversity and the replacement of freshwater species with brackish or salt-resistant species (Hart et al, 1991;van den Brink and van der Velde, 1993;James et al, 2003;Nielsen et al, 2003;Halabowski et al, 2018;Sowa et al, 2019). In the Bolina River, we recorded only two plant communities, namely Phragmitetum australis, one of the most widespread in the world, and the algae community Enteromorphetum compresae, which is often reported as a community associated with the contaminated coastal regions of the Baltic Sea (see Ratyńska et al, 2010).…”