Assessing benthic ecological status in coastal area near Changjiang River estuary using AMBI and M-AMBI

The Changjiang （Yangtze） River estuary has been subject to a variety of anthropogenic pressures in recent decades. To assess the ecological health of the coastal benthic ecosystem adjacent to the estuary, three surveys were conducted in 2005, 2009, and 2010. The AZTI＇s Marine Biotic Index （AMBI） and multivariate-AMBI （M-AMBI） were used to analyse the benthic ecological status of this coast. The AMBI indicate that the ecological status of the coast adjacent to the Changjiang River estuary was only slightly degraded in all 3 years. In contrast, the M-AMBI indicated that the ecological status was seriously degraded, a result that is most likely due to pollution and eutrophication induced by human activities. The assessment of the coast＇s ecological status by the AMBI was not in agreement with that of the M-AMBI at some stations because of lower biodiversity values at those sites. The analysis of the two indices integrated with abiotic parameters showed that the M-AMBI could be used as a suitable bio-indicator index to assess the benthic ecological status of the coast adjacent to the Changjiang River estuary. The reference conditions proposed for the coast of the Changjiang River estuary should be further evaluated in future studies. Designation of local species could also provide an important reference for Chinese waters. To improve the reliability of AMBI and M-AMBI, further research into the ecology of local species is required to understand their arrangement in ecological groups.     

白洋淀浮游植物群落结构与水质评价

为掌握白洋淀浮游植物的群落结构及水质状况,对白洋淀8个典型采样点进行了采样调查,共发现浮游植物133种(属),群落组成以绿藻、硅藻和蓝藻为主;春季以绿藻和硅藻为优势门类,小球藻、尖尾蓝隐藻、不定微囊藻为优势种(属),浮游植物的密度在496×104 - 6256×104cells/L之间,平均密度为2384×104 ce...