Ethanol eDNA Reveals Unique Community Composition of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Compared to Bulk Tissue Metabarcoding in a Biomonitoring Sampling Scheme

The Earth’s freshwater ecosystems are currently under threat, particularly in developing countries. In Mexico, intensive land use and inadequate monitoring policies have resulted in the severe degradation of the country’s freshwater ecosystems. This study assesses how the macroinvertebrate communities in the Pesquería River, located in Northeastern Mexico, are affected by riparian land use, in order to determine their potential use as bioindicators to evaluate the macroinvertebrate integrity of the Pesquería River. First, we characterized the land use cover in the riparian channel. Second, we sampled 16 sites for benthic macroinvertebrates along the main channel during the wet and dry seasons. Third, we evaluated the influence of the riparian channel land use on the macroinvertebrate community using 42 different biological metrics. The land use characterization depicted a riparian channel mainly influenced by agricultural and urban land use. Eighty-one invertebrate taxa were identified during the study. Permutational analysis of the variance analysis confirmed significant differences across the different land use classes and the macroinvertebrate community composition while no differences were found between seasons. The indicator species analysis revealed 31 representative taxa for natural land use, 1 for urban, and 4 for agricultural land use. Our modelling analysis showed that 28 of the 42 biological metrics tested responded significantly to land use disturbances, confirming the impact of land use changes on the Pesquería River’s macroinvertebrate communities and suggesting that these metrics may have a use as bioindicators. Finally, this study may provide significant biological information for further studies in similar conditions.

Download Full-text

'Of Milk and Honey: A design strategy for the economical, ecological and ideological resilience of a cultural landscape and its people

10.26686/wgtn.17064158 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Findlay Sloane

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Cultural Landscape ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

The Body ◽

Food Sources ◽

Nutrient Runoff ◽

The North

<p>Wetlands are one of New Zealand’s most important freshwater ecosystems. They are low-lying waterlogged areas bordering rivers and streams and forming quiet edges of lakes, rivers, low- lying floodplains estuaries and harbours. In the last 150 years more than 90% of New Zealand’s wetlands have been destroyed or severely impacted by agricultural developments. The South Wairarapa region, in the lower part of the North Island, covers 2,485 km2 and is characterised by its expanses of lowland plains and lakes, surrounded by mountainous ranges. Once its wetlands provided important ecosystem services filtering nutrients and controlling floodwaters but they are now under pressure from agricultural land use, including drainage, grazing, nutrient runoff and the impacts of pest animals and plants. For the indigenous Māori culture of New Zealand, wetlands are often regarded as equivalent to organs that cleanse the body (tinana) such as the kidneys (nga whatumanawa) and the liver (te ate), and therefore represent important sites for purifying and cleaning, by filtering or reducing nutrients, chemicals and suspended sediment before it reaches the Lake Wairarapa. Many wetlands have historical and cultural importance as well as are regarded as source of food (mahinga kai) for the Māori tribes, providing important habitats for a range of culturally important food sources such as eel or important flora for carving such as flax, bulrush, tall grasses and bamboo spike sedges. Māori people perceive their own health as directly linked to the condition of their environments. This study examines how we can re-purpose / re-configure land use within the region to a more ecologically conscious industry, finding a balance between the existing farming and agricultural practices that the region relies on and a recognition to the cultural practices of the Māori people and its importance to healthy communities and resourceful environments.</p>

Download Full-text

Comparison of Water Sampling between Environmental DNA Metabarcoding and Conventional Microscopic Identification: A Case Study in Gwangyang Bay, South Korea

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9163272 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (16) ◽

pp. 3272

Author(s):

Kim ◽

Park ◽

Jo ◽

Kwak

Keyword(s):

South Korea ◽

Community Composition ◽

Late Summer ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Ecological Monitoring ◽

Data Sampling ◽

Biological Communities ◽

Microscopic Identification ◽

Gwangyang Bay ◽

Study Sites

Our study focuses on methodological comparison of plankton community composition in relation to ecological monitoring and assessment with data sampling. Recently, along with the advancement of monitoring techniques, metabarcoding has been widely used in the context of environmental DNA (eDNA). We examine the applicability of eDNA metabarcoding for effective monitoring and assessment of community composition, compared with conventional observation using microscopic identification in a coastal ecosystem, Gwangynag Bay in South Korea. Our analysis is based primarily on two surveys at a total of 15 study sites in early and late summer (June and September) of the year 2018. The results of our study demonstrate the similarity and dissimilarity of biological communities in composition, richness and diversity between eDNA metabarcoding and conventional microscopic identification. It is found that, overall, eDNA metabarcoding appears to provide a wider variety of species composition, while conventional microscopic identification depicts more distinct plankton communities in sites. Finally, we suggest that eDNA metabarcoding is a practically useful method and can be potentially considered as a valuable alternative for biological monitoring and diversity assessments.

Download Full-text

Assessing effects of change in land use on size-related variables of fish in subtropical streams

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2015-0025 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 73 (4) ◽

pp. 547-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Lluís Benejam ◽

Franco Teixeira-de Mello ◽

Mariana Meerhoff ◽

Marcelo Loureiro ◽

Erik Jeppesen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Species Richness ◽

Species Diversity ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Global Changes ◽

Fish Length

Transformation of the natural land cover is one of the most important global changes. Changes in land use may strongly affect ecosystem functions and biodiversity by directly or indirectly modifying key structural properties. Here, we examined the effects of land use on the size structure of fish communities in subtropical Uruguayan streams. We analysed the suitability of non-taxonomic, size-related variables as a tool to elucidate shifts in stream fish assemblages along a gradient in land use change. We also tested some taxonomic variables (e.g., species richness and species diversity) to compare their response with size-related variables. In the more anthropogenic disturbed basins (i.e., dominance of urban and agricultural land use), we found higher size diversity, slope of size spectrum (flatter slopes) and total range of fish length, whereas higher species richness, fish abundance and species diversity were detected in more pristine stream basins (i.e., dominance of rangelands). In combination with traditional taxonomic variables, size-related variables of fish communities in streams may be effective tools in evaluating the changes occurring in freshwater ecosystems associated with anthropogenic changes in land use.

Download Full-text

Comparison of Fish, Macroinvertebrates and Diatom Communities in Response to Environmental Variation in the Wei River Basin, China

Water ◽

10.3390/w12123422 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 3422

Author(s):

Linfei Liu ◽

Zongxue Xu ◽

Fan Yang ◽

Xuwang Yin ◽

Wei Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

River Basin ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Aquatic Organisms ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

The Wei River Basin ◽

The Relationship ◽

Wei River Basin ◽

Wei River

Land use changes usually lead to the deterioration of freshwater ecosystems and reduced biodiversity. Aquatic organisms are considered valuable indicators for reflecting the conditions of freshwater ecosystems. Understanding the relationship between organisms and land use type, as well as physiochemical conditions, is beneficial for the management, monitoring and restoration of aquatic ecosystems. In this study, fish, macroinvertebrates, and diatoms were investigated at 60 sampling sites in the Wei River basin from October 2012 to April 2013 to determine the relationships between the environment and aquatic organisms. The richness, abundance, Shannon diversity, evenness, Margalef diversity, and Simpson diversity were selected as biological indices for analyzing the correlation between these communities and environmental variables according to Pearson’s coefficient. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to analyze the relationship between the biotic communities and environmental variables. The results showed that three diatom indices were weakly correlated with chemical oxygen demand (COD), qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QH), and dissolved oxygen (DO). Four macroinvertebrate indices were associated with total phosphorus (TP) while total nitrogen (TN), and agricultural land (AL) had a significant influence on assemblages, suggesting that macroinvertebrates could respond to nutrient levels in the Wei River basin. All land use types had a strong effect on fish indices except AL, indicating that fish would be better used as indicators of spatial changes in the aquatic ecosystem. In conclusion, fish and macroinvertebrates have the potential for use in routine monitoring programs in the Wei River basin.

Download Full-text

'Of Milk and Honey: A design strategy for the economical, ecological and ideological resilience of a cultural landscape and its people

10.26686/wgtn.17064158.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Findlay Sloane

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Cultural Landscape ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

The Body ◽

Food Sources ◽

Nutrient Runoff ◽

The North

<p>Wetlands are one of New Zealand’s most important freshwater ecosystems. They are low-lying waterlogged areas bordering rivers and streams and forming quiet edges of lakes, rivers, low- lying floodplains estuaries and harbours. In the last 150 years more than 90% of New Zealand’s wetlands have been destroyed or severely impacted by agricultural developments. The South Wairarapa region, in the lower part of the North Island, covers 2,485 km2 and is characterised by its expanses of lowland plains and lakes, surrounded by mountainous ranges. Once its wetlands provided important ecosystem services filtering nutrients and controlling floodwaters but they are now under pressure from agricultural land use, including drainage, grazing, nutrient runoff and the impacts of pest animals and plants. For the indigenous Māori culture of New Zealand, wetlands are often regarded as equivalent to organs that cleanse the body (tinana) such as the kidneys (nga whatumanawa) and the liver (te ate), and therefore represent important sites for purifying and cleaning, by filtering or reducing nutrients, chemicals and suspended sediment before it reaches the Lake Wairarapa. Many wetlands have historical and cultural importance as well as are regarded as source of food (mahinga kai) for the Māori tribes, providing important habitats for a range of culturally important food sources such as eel or important flora for carving such as flax, bulrush, tall grasses and bamboo spike sedges. Māori people perceive their own health as directly linked to the condition of their environments. This study examines how we can re-purpose / re-configure land use within the region to a more ecologically conscious industry, finding a balance between the existing farming and agricultural practices that the region relies on and a recognition to the cultural practices of the Māori people and its importance to healthy communities and resourceful environments.</p>

Download Full-text