An approach to analyzing spatial patterns of planktonic ciliate communities for monitoring water quality in Jiaozhou Bay, northern China |
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Authors: | Jiang Yong Xu Henglong Hu Xiaozhong Zhu Mingzhuang Al-Rasheid Khaled A S Warren Alan |
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Affiliation: | a Laboratory of Protozoology, Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China b Zoology Department, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia c Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK |
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Abstract: | Spatial patterns of planktonic ciliate communities for assessment of marine environmental status were studied from June 2007 to May 2008 in Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, northern China. Ciliate communities were sampled biweekly at five sampling sites with a spatial gradient of environmental stress. Multivariate/univariate analyses demonstrated that: (1) the planktonic ciliate community structures represented significant differences among the five sites; (2) spatial patterns of the ciliate communities were significantly correlated with environmental variables, especially the nutrients nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) and soluble reactive phosphates (SRP); (3) five dominant species (e.g., Rimostrombidium veniliae, Strombidium capitatum, Mesodinium pupula and Strombidinopsis acutum) were significantly correlated with nitrogen and/or SRP; and (4) both species richness and species diversity indices were correlated with NO3-N and salinity. These results suggest that planktonic ciliated protozoa might be used as a robust bioindicator of marine water quality. |
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Keywords: | Planktonic ciliate Bioindicator Environmental stress Bioassessment Jiaozhou Bay |
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