scholarly journals Improvement of the esca index for the evaluation of ecological quality of coralligenous habitat under the european framework directives

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 419 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. PIAZZI ◽  
P. GENNARO ◽  
E. CECCHI ◽  
F. SERENA
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Photographic Method ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Small Scales ◽  
High Good ◽  
Different Sources

The ESCA (Ecological Status of Coralligenous Assemblages) index was recently developed to evaluate the ecological quality of coralligenous habitat. The study aims to improve the first index proposal through testing response to different sources of anthropogenic pressures and optimizing the sampling effort. ESCA was calculated on 14 sites and tested against a gradient of human pressures. Moreover, the main scales of spatial variability of assemblages were evaluated and values of index obtained with different sampling designs were compared. Results showed that studied sites resulted in high, good or moderate ecological status, according to an increasing gradient of the anthropization level. Values of ESCA index obtained with different methods have been compared and photographic method provides EQR values lower than destructive method. Spatial variability of assemblages was higher at large and small scales than at intermediate ones. Two locations for each study site and 20 replicated samples for each location may be consider the best sampling combination providing reliable values of ESCA index for the evaluation of ecological quality of coralligenous assemblages.

scholarly journals The Influence of Flow Regime on Ecological Quality, Bird Diversity, and Shellfish Fisheries in a Lowland Mediterranean River and Its Coastal Area

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Belmar ◽  
Carles Ibáñez ◽  
Ana Forner ◽  
Nuno Caiola
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Environmental Flows ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Mantis Shrimp

Designing environmental flows in lowland river sections and estuaries is a challenge for researchers and managers, given their complexity and their importance, both for nature conservation and economy. The Ebro River and its delta belong to a Mediterranean area with marked anthropogenic pressures. This study presents an assessment of the relationships between mean flows (discharges) computed at different time scales and (i) ecological quality based on fish populations in the lower Ebro, (ii) bird populations, and (iii) two shellfish fishery species of socioeconomic importance (prawn, or Penaeus kerathurus, and mantis shrimp, or Squilla mantis). Daily discharge data from 2000 to 2015 were used for analyses. Mean annual discharge was able to explain the variation in fish-based ecological quality, and model performance increased when aquatic vegetation was incorporated. Our results indicate that a good ecological status cannot be reached only through changes on discharge, and that habitat characteristics, such as the coverage of macrophytes, must be taken into account. In addition, among the different bird groups identified in our study area, predators were related to river discharge. This was likely due to its influence on available resources. Finally, prawn and mantis shrimp productivity were influenced up to a certain degree by discharge and physicochemical variables, as inputs from rivers constitute major sources of nutrients in oligotrophic environments such as the Mediterranean Sea. Such outcomes allowed revisiting the environmental flow regimes designed for the study area, which provides information for water management in this or in other similar Mediterranean zones.

scholarly journals Monitoring Skeletal Anomalies in Big-Scale Sand Smelt, Atherina boyeri, as a Potential Complementary Tool for Early Detection of Effects of Anthropic Pressure in Coastal Lagoons

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Chiara Leone ◽  
Francesca De Luca ◽  
Eleonora Ciccotti ◽  
Arianna Martini ◽  
Clara Boglione
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Coastal Lagoons ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Skeletal Anomalies

Mediterranean coastal lagoons are increasingly affected by several threats, all concurrently leading to habitat degradation and loss. Methods based on fish for the assessment of the ecological status are under implementation for the Water Framework Directive requirements, to assess the overall quality of coastal lagoons. Complementary tools based on the use of single fish species as biological indicators could be useful as early detection methods of anthropogenic impacts. The analysis of skeletal anomalies in the big-scale sand smelt, Atherina boyeri, from nine Mediterranean coastal lagoons in Italy was carried out. Along with the morphological examination of fish, the environmental status of the nine lagoons was evaluated using a method based on expert judgement, by selecting and quantifying several environmental descriptors of direct and indirect human pressures acting on lagoon ecosystems. The average individual anomaly load and the frequency of individuals with severe anomalies allow to discriminate big-scale sand smelt samples on the basis of the site and of its quality status. Furthermore, a relationship between skeletal anomalies and the environmental quality of specific lagoons, driven by the anthropogenic pressures acting on them, was found. These findings support the potentiality of skeletal anomalies monitoring in big-scale sand smelt as a tool for early detection of anthropogenic impacts in coastal lagoons of the Mediterranean region.

scholarly journals Assessment of the ecological status of Sicilian coastal waters according to a macroalgae based index (CARLIT)

2020 ◽  
pp. 519-528
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Bellissimo ◽  
Benedetto Sirchia ◽  
Vincenzo Ruvolo
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Water Framework Directive ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
European Water Framework Directive ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Local Factors ◽  
High Good ◽  
First Time

In the frame of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC), a macroalgae based index (CARLIT) was applied along the Sicilian coastal water bodies (WBs) in order to assess for the first time their ecological status and collect accurate information on the distribution and abundance of shallow-water communities, especially of those most sensitive. The ecological quality ratio values, sensu WFD, showed “high”/“good” levels in all WBs with lushy forests of Cystoseira amentacea except two with “moderate” level due to the presence of stress-tolerant species related to local factors.

scholarly journals Evaluating the ecological status of mountain streams from a megacity (Mexico City) with diatoms: development and implementation of morphological and eDNA-based methods

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Hugo Salinas Camarillo ◽  
Javier Carmona-Jiménez ◽  
Nelida Abarca ◽  
Jonas Zimmermann ◽  
Demetrio Mora
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Fish Farming ◽  
Organic Pollution ◽  
Mountain Streams ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Basin Of Mexico ◽  
Diatom Communities

In central Mexico, streams flow from mountain protected areas at high elevations, i.e. abive 2,400 m a.s.l., being exposed to different human activities along their course. The main human threats of these aquatic ecosystems include the presence of hydraulic infrastructure (e.g. canals and dams), the construction of bridges or roads, fish farming, agriculture, livestock, unregulated tourism or irregular human settlements, resulting in nutrient enrichment, organic pollution and low hydromorphological quality. Diatoms, widely recognized as valuable indicators of environmental conditions, offer a unique opportunity to assess the ecological quality of the streams in and around this megacity, as they respond directly and sensitively to specific physical, chemical and biological changes. To conduct ecological assessment, the composition of diatom communities has traditionally been characterized by morphological methods and most recently by environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding. However, the diatom communities of only a few of these streams in the Basin of Mexico have been characterized morphologically at low resolution light microscopy (LM), and no eDNA-based studies have been conducted yet. In this context, our aims are to 1) implement morphological and eDNA metabarcoding methods for the identification and quantification of epilithic diatoms and to assess their seasonal and spatial response in three peri-urban mountain streams from the Basin of Mexico, and 2) develop a metric to assess and monitor the ecological quality in these streams. For this purpose, we characterized a) the physical, environmental and hydro-morphological conditions related to ecosystem quality, and b) the diatom diversity and community structure of nine sites per stream (27 sites). The sites include headwaters, as well as middle and lower reaches with different land-use and anthropologic pressures, and were investigated over three hydrological periods, i.e. post-rainy, dry-cold and dry-warm. Species identification was first conducted under LM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and is currently been done by eDNA metabarcoding of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene and a fragment of the chloroplast marker rbcL. Our study has resulted in 520 infrageneric taxa identified by LM and SEM, the largest diversity ever found for freshwater diatoms of Mexico. From this data, we found a clear environmental gradient from almost pristine conditions towards heavily polluted states as the streams enter the city. These changes are well reflected by variations in the diatom community structure, as revealed by the Diatom Ecological Quality Index (DEQI), newly developed to evaluate the ecological quality of the streams in and around this megacity.

Towards good ecological status of surface waters in Europe - interpretation and harmonisation of the concept

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 169-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.-S. Heiskanen ◽  
W. van de Bund ◽  
A.C. Cardoso ◽  
P. Nõges
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Reference Conditions ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
High Good

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a new legislative framework to manage, use, protect, and restore surface water and groundwater resources and coastal waters in the European Union (EU). The aim is to ensure sustainable water management and to reach good water quality by 2015. The assessment of the ecological status and setting of the practical management goals require several steps. The process has started with the characterisation of the river basins including identification of surface water bodies and types, and identification of significant anthropogenic pressures and impacts. The water bodies will be classified in five quality classes (high, good, moderate, poor, bad) based on the Ecological Quality Ratio, which is a ratio between reference conditions and measured status of the biological quality elements. The normative criteria for high, good and moderate ecological status described in the WFD need to be made operational because those will be used to set the practical quality targets for surface water management. National ecological assessment systems and classifications will be harmonised through the WFD intercalibration exercise in order to ensure an equal level of ambition in achieving good surface waters status all over Europe.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Temporal and Spatial Changes of Ecological Quality in the Hami Oasis Based on RSEI

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7716
Author(s):  
Pengwen Gao ◽  
Alimujiang Kasimu ◽  
Yongyu Zhao ◽  
Bing Lin ◽  
Jinpeng Chai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Quality Level ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
P Values ◽  
Ecological Index ◽  
Poor Grade ◽  
Window Method

Given the restrictions on special geographic locations in development processes, the measurement and analysis of the ecological quality of the Hami Oasis are of great significance for the protection of this fragile oasis. In this study, the ecological quality of the Hami Oasis was monitored by constructing a remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) for arid areas. Using the standard deviation ellipse and moving window method, the ecological status and space–time changes were explored for both their external and internal factors in the Hami Oasis. Finally, a geo-detector was employed to determine the driving factors of the ecological quality of the Hami Oasis. The results revealed that: (1) In the remote sensing ecological index constructed in the Hami Oasis, the main influencing factors were dryness and wetness. The average value of the ecological quality of the oasis was less than 0.5, and the ecological quality level was relatively poor. Among the five grades of ecological quality in the Hami Oasis, the poor grade and the good grade showed the largest changes, decreasing by 200 and increasing by 300, respectively, which were mainly concentrated in the periphery of the oasis. (2) The improved ecological quality of the Hami Oasis was mainly manifested in the expansion of the artificial oasis, while the deteriorated area was manifested as an increase in the built-up area. Moreover, the ecological quality of the Hami Oasis presented a ringlike nesting distribution pattern from the internal built-up area to the artificial oasis periphery. (3) The external expansion direction of the ecological quality of the Hami Oasis featured southeast–northwest expansion, which was consistent with the direction of the rivers and traffic roads. The transformation between different ecological qualities in the oasis and the expansion of the built-up area were the reasons for the fragmentation of the Hami Oasis’ landscape. (4) Compared to a single factor, the dual-factor for the ecological quality of the Hami Oasis had stronger explanatory power. Moreover, changes in land use types caused changes in the ecological quality of the Hami Oasis. During the study period, we found that human activities had a more significant impact than natural factors on the development of the Hami Oasis. (5) The Moran’s I Index increased from 0.835268 in 2000 to 0.923976 in 2018, and the p values in the study area all reached a 0.05 significant level. At the same time, the areas with p values above the 0.01 and 0.001 significant levels have also increased significantly in the past 18 years.

scholarly journals Integración de el índice ESCA por medio de los macro-invertebrados sésiles

2017 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Piazzi ◽  
Paola Gennaro ◽  
Enrico Cecchi ◽  
Fabrizio Serena ◽  
Carlo Nike Bianchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Biological Indicator ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Environmental Condition ◽  
Human Pressure ◽  
Sensitivity Level ◽  
Nw Mediterranean ◽  
Nw Mediterranean Sea

The ESCA (Ecological Status of Coralligenous Assemblages) index was developed to assess the ecological quality of coralligenous habitat using macroalgae as a biological indicator. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response to human-induced pressures of macroalgae and sessile macro-invertebrates shaping the coralligenous habitat and to integrate their sensitivity into the ESCA index. Coralligenous assemblages were sampled at 15 locations of the NW Mediterranean Sea classified into three groups: i) marine protected areas; ii) low urbanized locations; and iii) highly urbanized locations. A sensitivity level value was assigned to each taxon/group on the basis of its abundance in each environmental condition, the data available in the literature and the results of an expert judgement survey. The index that includes the totality of the assemblages (named ESCA-TA), calculated using both macroalgae and sessile macro-invertebrates, detected the levels of human pressure more precisely than the index calculated with only macroalgae or with only invertebrates. The potential for assessing the ecological quality of marine coastal areas was thus increased with the ESCA-TA index thanks to the use of a higher variety of descriptors.

scholarly journals A new fish-based index of biotic integrity for lowland rivers in Flanders (Belgium)

2021 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Breine ◽  
Ericia Van den Bergh ◽  
Gerlinde Van Thyune ◽  
Claude Belpaire
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Independent Set ◽  
Index Of Biotic Integrity ◽  
Biotic Integrity ◽  
Reference List ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Lowland Rivers ◽  
Pressure Indicators ◽  
Using Data

The first fish-based index to assess the ecological quality of lowland rivers in Flanders (Belgium) is based on data obtained from different fishing techniques without considering the gear specificity. As a consequence, this index could not be intercalibrated with other European indices which concentrate on one gear type only. In order to comply with the European Water Framework Directive, we developed a new fish-based index using data obtained from surveys in rivers with electric gear only. All 293 selected rivers belonged to the bream or barbel zone. An updated reference list of fish species was compiled based on previous work and recent data. Abiotic data were collected according to standard methods and habitat quality of all surveyed sites was pre-classified using pressure indicators. To develop the new index candidate metrics were selected from the literature and metric values were calculated. Linear mixed regression models selected metrics based on their response to the pre-classified habitat status. Correlation tests were performed to avoid redundancy among responsive metrics. Boundaries for metric scores were defined based on the calculated metric values. The new index of biotic integrity (IBI) was calculated by summation of the metric scores, and transformed to an ecological quality ratio (EQR), ranging between 0 and 1. Five integrity classes, ranging from bad to maximal ecological potential, were attributed and compared to the pre-classified habitat status of the site. In addition, the new index was also validated with an independent set of data. The new IBI proved to successfully assess the ecological status of the rivers.

scholarly journals Harmonization of the assessment method for classifying the ecological quality status of very large Greek rivers

2018 ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Lazaridou ◽  
Chrysoula Ntislidou ◽  
Ioannis Karaouzas ◽  
Nikolaos Skoulikidis ◽  
Sebastian Birk
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Organic Pollution ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Biological Assessment ◽  
Ecological Quality Status ◽  
Status Assessment ◽  
High Good ◽  
Good Ecological Status

The intercalibration exercise is required by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) to harmonize the national ecological class boundaries across Member States. It is applied to individual types of water bodies, comparing WFD-compliant biological assessment methods using specific quality elements. This study addresses the harmonization of the STAR_ICMi index for the ecological status assessment of very large Greek rivers in compliance with the completed intercalibration exercise for European very large rivers. River sites were sampled biannually for benthic invertebrates (as biological quality element) and environmental data during different surveys. The water quality of the samples ranged from high to bad. STAR_ICMi was significantly correlated to the Combined Abiotic Pressure index (CAPi) and its component pressures channelization, riparian vegetation alteration, and to a lesser extent to organic pollution. During the intercalibration approach benchmark standardization was applied to the component metrics of the intercalibration index prior to boundary comparison to minimize typological differences. The Greek class boundaries of high/good and good/moderate ecological status were compared and harmonized with the “Global Mean View” defined in the completed European intercalibration exercise. Similarity percentage analysis of biological community variation was performed for sites in high, good, and less than good ecological status according to the intercalibrated Greek classification.

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