Ecological, anatomical and physiological traits of benthic macroinvertebrates : their use on the health characterization of freshwater ecosystems

After some studies made in Northern Portuguese freshwater ecosystems using the benthic macroinvertebrate communities for water quality evaluation, it has been possible to see that only the analysis of some characteristics allowed to distinguish different levels of environmental disturbance. The studies of some characteristics of the macroinvertebrates and the comparison with the results of the physico-chemical parameters analysed show that the more disturbed the ecosystems had, the lower dissolved oxygen concentration and organisms with greater independence from this concentration. The objective of this work is to define groups of organisms, attending to some of their characteristics that are related to getting oxygen. The groups were defined through bibliographic information and from direct observation of their behaviour. The ability of these groups to distinguish different types of ecosystems was analysed by comparison of the obtained results on their distribution in a group of sampling sites located along gradients of contamination, with the results obtained by the calculation of biological indices, descriptive metric analyses of the community, and the water chemical quality. After this study, it is possible to say that the results obtained with the use of respiratory groups can be more informative than that obtained with the analysis of the physico-chemical parameters or other biological parameters.Tras diversos estudios efectuados en ecosistemas acuáticos del Norte de Portugal usando las comunidades de macroinvertebrados para evaluar la calidad del agua ha sido posible verificar que solo el estudio de algunas características permitía diferenciar niveles de perturbación ambiental. El estudio de algunas características de los macroinvertebrados y la comparación con los resultados de los parámetros físico-químicos analizados ha mostrado que cuanto más perturbados eran los sistemas, menor era la concentración de oxigeno disuelto y más independientes de su concentración los organismos presentes. El objetivo de este trabajo es definir grupos de organismos, atendiendo a algunas de sus características relacionadas con la obtención de oxigeno. Los grupos fueran definidos a través de información de bibliografía y de la observación directa de su comportamiento. La capacidad de los grupos para distinguir los diferentes tipos de ecosistemas fue analizada través la comparación de los resultados obtenidos de su distribución en un conjunto de puntos de muestreo ubicados a lo largo de gradientes de contaminación con resultados obtenidos por el cálculo de índices biológicos, análisis métricos descriptivos de la comunidad y de la calidad química del agua. Al final de este estudio es posible decir que los resultados obtenidos con los grupos respiratorios pueden ser más informativos que los obtenidos con el análisis de los parámetros físico y químicos o con otros parámetros biológico

Eco-physiological characterization of the macroinverterbate communities of an urban stream (Rio Tinto, Portugal)

The Water Framework Directive ( DQA-2000/60/EC ) establishes as its main objective the achievement of a good ecological quality of all inland surface waters and groundwater by 2015 , and introduces the concept of " ecological status " of an ecosystem , which includes the study of a wide range of parameters and factors for determining the " health " system ". This work, carried out within a project which main objective is the rehabilitation of a small watercourse in high degree of ecological degradation, aims to make the study of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and some parameters related to the ecological state of Rio Tinto (Douro watershed) in order to determine the main sources of pollution and to propose measures for its rehabilitation. This study compare results (metrics and functional structure) of samples of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities collected at 10 sampling sites along the river in 2013/14 and values of some hydro-morphological, physical and chemical parameters. The results indicate that it is a water course which presents a high degree of degradation due to problems with artificiality of the channel and receipt of domestic and industrial effluents.LIPORN/

Eco-physiological characterization of the macroinverterbate communities of an urban stream (Rio Tinto, Portugal)

The Water Framework Directive ( DQA-2000/60/EC ) establishes as its main objective the achievement of a good ecological quality of all inland surface waters and groundwater by 2015 , and introduces the concept of " ecological status " of an ecosystem , which includes the study of a wide range of parameters and factors for determining the " health " system ". This work, carried out within a project which main objective is the rehabilitation of a small watercourse in high degree of ecological degradation, aims to make the study of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and some parameters related to the ecological state of Rio Tinto (Douro watershed) in order to determine the main sources of pollution and to propose measures for its rehabilitation. This study compare results (metrics and functional structure) of samples of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities collected at 10 sampling sites along the river in 2013/14 and values of some hydro-morphological, physical and chemical parameters. The results indicate that it is a water course which presents a high degree of degradation due to problems with artificiality of the channel and receipt of domestic and industrial effluents.LIPORN/

Study of the effect of two WWTP’s discharges on benthic macroinvertebrate communities structure of the river Tinto (Portugal)

A diretiva quadro da água (DQA-2000/60/EC ) estabelece como um dos objetivos principais a obtenção de um bom estado ecológico das águas e introduz o conceito de “estado ecológico” de um ecossistema o que inclui o estudo de um amplo conjunto de parâmetros e fatores na determinação da saúde de um ecossistema. Este trabalho é parte de um projeto cujo principal objetivo é a reabilitação de um pequeno rio do norte de Portugal, que corre ao longo de uma área urbana e que apresenta um elevado nível de degradação ambiental e tem como objetivo estudar o efeito das descargas de duas estações de tratamento de águas residuais (ETAR’s) na estrutura das comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos do rio Tinto. O estudo compara resultados (métricas e índices) obtidos a partir da análise de amostras de macroinvertebrados bentónicos recolhidas em troços do rio a montante e a jusante das descargas das ETAR’s entre outubro de 2015 e setembro de 2017 e alguns valores parâmetros hidro-morfológicos e físico-químicos. Os resultados permitem verificar que apesar de as comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos se encontrarem muito condicionadas pelo estado mau estado ecológico geral do rio Tinto, nas áreas a jusante das ETAR’s as mesmas apresentam-se ainda mais perturbadas.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Study of the effect of two WWTP’s discharges on benthic macroinvertebrate communities structure of the river Tinto (Portugal)

A diretiva quadro da água (DQA-2000/60/EC ) estabelece como um dos objetivos principais a obtenção de um bom estado ecológico das águas e introduz o conceito de “estado ecológico” de um ecossistema o que inclui o estudo de um amplo conjunto de parâmetros e fatores na determinação da saúde de um ecossistema. Este trabalho é parte de um projeto cujo principal objetivo é a reabilitação de um pequeno rio do norte de Portugal, que corre ao longo de uma área urbana e que apresenta um elevado nível de degradação ambiental e tem como objetivo estudar o efeito das descargas de duas estações de tratamento de águas residuais (ETAR’s) na estrutura das comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos do rio Tinto. O estudo compara resultados (métricas e índices) obtidos a partir da análise de amostras de macroinvertebrados bentónicos recolhidas em troços do rio a montante e a jusante das descargas das ETAR’s entre outubro de 2015 e setembro de 2017 e alguns valores parâmetros hidro-morfológicos e físico-químicos. Os resultados permitem verificar que apesar de as comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos se encontrarem muito condicionadas pelo estado mau estado ecológico geral do rio Tinto, nas áreas a jusante das ETAR’s as mesmas apresentam-se ainda mais perturbadas.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Study of the effect of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP’s) discharges on the benthic macroinvertebrate communities’ structure of the River Tinto (Portugal)

The Water Framework Directive (DQA-2000/60/ EC) establishes, as one of its main objectives, the achievement of good ecological status of water bodies and introduces the concept of "ecological status", which includes the study of a broad set of parameters and factors to determining the health of an ecosystem. This work is part of a project whose main objective is the rehabilitation of a small urban river in the north of Portugal, the Tinto river, that presents a high degree of environmental degradation. This work aims to study the effect of the two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP’s) discharges in the structure of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities. The study compares results (metrics and indices) obtained from the analysis of benthic macroinvertebrates samples collected in river sections upstream and downstream of the discharges of WWTP’s, between october 2015 and july 2017, and values of hydro-morphological and physico-chemical parameters. Although the benthic macroinvertebrate communities are very conditioned by the bad status of the Tinto river, in the sections downstream of the WWTP's the macroinvrtebrates communities present characteristics that indicate a higher degree of environmental disturbance.A Diretiva Quadro da Água (DQA-2000/60/EC) estabelece como um dos seus objetivos principais, a obtenção de um bom estado ecológico dos sistemas aquáticos, e introduz o conceito de “estado ecológico”, que inclui o estudo de um amplo conjunto de parâmetros e fatores na determinação da saúde de um ecossistema. Este trabalho é parte de um projeto cujo principal objetivo é a reabilitação de um pequeno rio do norte de Portugal, o rio Tinto, que corre ao longo de uma área urbana, e que apresenta um elevado nível de degradação ambiental. O objetivo do presente trabalho é estudar o efeito das descargas de duas estações de tratamento de águas residuais (ETAR’s) na estrutura das suas comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos. O estudo compara resultados (métricas e índices) obtidos a partir da análise de amostras de macroinvertebrados bentónicos, recolhidas em troços do rio a montante e a jusante das descargas das ETAR’s, entre outubro de 2015 e julho de 2017 e valores de parâmetros hidro-morfológicos e físico-químicos. Os resultados permitem verificar que apesar de as comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos se encontrarem muito condicionadas pelo mau estado do rio Tinto, as áreas a jusante das ETAR’s apresentam características que indiciam, ainda, um maior grau de perturbação ambiental.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Considerations on the monitoring of water quality in urban streams: a case study in Portugal

Monitoring water quality in urban stream is of utmost importance for water resources managers, who are pressured to optimize monitoring schemes in order to reduce costs. The present study aims to use the results of a 2-year-long water quality monitoring pro- gram of an urban stream in Portugal to identify improve- ment opportunities. The urban stream under study was subjected to wastewater treatment plants effluent dis- charges, leachates from a major sealed landfill, low- class housing effluents, and nonpoint sources of pollu- tion. Contributing watersheds are mostly artificial sur- faces and agricultural land, which irrigate directly from the river. River water quality was evaluated on 11 sam- pling locations for 24 months from October 2013 to September 2015. The present paper describes statistical analysis of the results obtained for 12 physicochemical parameters in order to optimize the monitoring scheme. Cluster analysis detected a seasonal variation in the water quality and a spatial pattern based on the major point sources of pollution. A factor analysis showed that the parameters that mostly contribute to water quality assessment in this urban river are alkalinity, ammonia, electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Results suggest that the monitoring efforts— and associated costs—may be reduced by decreasing monitoring frequency, sampling points, and monitored parameters. The statistical analysis described in this study may be replicated in other water quality monitor- ing programs, providing useful and important informa- tion for the systematic and iterative assessment of the adequacy of water quality sampling programs towards a sustainable management of water quality surveillance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio