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Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 29455

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Stefano Cozzi

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Guest Editor

CNR—ISMAR Marine Science Institute, 34149 Trieste, Italy
Interests: chemical oceanography; biogeochemistry; climate change; coastal ecosystems; air–sea interactions; eutrophication; runoff; mucilage phenomenon; polar marine ecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last century, freshwater and coastal marine environments have been impacted by growing anthropogenic pressure, which is now globally spread. Discharges of nutrients, pollutants, sediments, and biogeochemical transformations originated by an intensive usage of ecosystem services, have often definitively changed the structure of these aquatic environments, even in regions where recent improvements of environmental management practices have mitigated pollution and eutrophication.

At the same time, these environments are currently exposed to direct and indirect disturbances originated by the climate change, as their status depends on the evolution of meteorological conditions, runoff, extreme events, hydrology, circulation, sea level, and orographic characteristics. Today, there is a growing body of knowledge about climate change at regional scales.

This Special Issue will explore current and expected interactions between anthropogenic pressures and climate change in freshwater and coastal ecosystems. A large variety of environments can be considered, from tropical to high-latitude systems, provided that they are analyzed as case studies that highlight the combination of anthropogenic and climatic disturbances. Multidisciplinary studies based on experimental activities, reanalysis of data-series, ecological modeling, and review and synthesis of the scientific information are encouraged.

Dr. Stefano Cozzi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

hydrological regime
water quality
water resource management
eutrophication
ecosystem services
community dynamics
ecosystem structure
environmental indicators
coastal zones
river and lake ecosystems

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2603 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seasonal Variation of Water Quality Modulated Redox Regulatory System in the Apple Snail Pila globosa and Its Use as a Bioindicator Species in Freshwater Ecosystems across India

by Falguni Panda, Samar Gourav Pati, Taslima Nasim Anwar, Luna Samanta and Biswaranjan Paital

Water 2022, 14(20), 3275; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14203275 - 17 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1297

Abstract

Studies on oxidative stress physiology on molluscs to monitor the aquatic environment, influenced by pollutants and stressors are very limited in general and in Indian apple snails, P. globosa in particular. The main focus of the present study was to establish the baseline data on a redox regulatory system in P. globosa sampled across the Indian subcontinent. Snails were sampled from different zones of India in three seasons (rainy, summer and winter) and the redox regulatory system (levels of antioxidant enzyme activities and small redox regulatory molecules) and oxidative stress indicator (lipid peroxidation) were analyzed. The observed elevated lipid peroxidation level in the summer season accompanied with elevated pH, salinity and temperature indicates induction of stress. In the summer season, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR) enzymes were augmented, whereas the level of the free -SH group and the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were found to be increased. Similarly, correlation analysis between the antioxidant system and aquatic parameters revealed that SOD, CAT and GR were influenced by pH as well as salinity, whereas CAT was strongly correlated with temperature. Collectively, our data indicate the use of P. globosa as a model organism to monitor and access the freshwater environment by determining the redox regulatory status of this animal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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25 pages, 4616 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Ecological Importance of Alkaline Phosphatase Activity in Changing Marine Environmental Conditions

by Ingrid Ivančić, Romina Kraus, Mirjana Najdek and Stefano Cozzi

Water 2021, 13(19), 2750; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13192750 - 04 Oct 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2476

Abstract

The effects of changing hydrological and climatic conditions on the dynamics of phosphorus (P) were studied in the Northern Adriatic Sea (NA), a coastal system currently affected by these changes. P limitation is one of the key stresses in the NA and it is a globally important phenomenon in aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, the response to P stress by inducing alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) was studied in characteristic water types in the NA, formed by the changing freshwater input in different thermic conditions. APA was important in providing P for microbial growth in upper waters dominated by assimilation during the warmer part of the year in stratified conditions. Contrarily, APA was not important during mixing in the colder part of the year, as well as in waters dominated by regeneration. In waters influenced by freshwater, temperature had no effect on APA, while in high-salinity waters, temperature was an important factor for APA increase. The highest APA occurred during riverine nutrients supply, indicating that the alteration of anthropogenic nutrient loads might strongly change P status in this coastal system. Furthermore, predicted increases in winter sea temperature and summer Po River discharge could delay the water column mixing, prolonging periods of P limitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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14 pages, 2513 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climatic Changes and Anthropogenic Activities Driving the Increase in Nitrogen: Evidence from the South-to-North Water Diversion Project

by Yuanzhu Wang, Yuan Li, Jiankui Liang, Yonghong Bi, Shulei Wang and Yuming Shang

Water 2021, 13(18), 2517; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13182517 - 14 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2241

Abstract

As one of the most widespread elements, nitrogen has been broadly concerned in water bodies. Understanding variations in nitrogen is of paramount importance to ecosystem stability and human health. The spatiotemporal variations in total nitrogen (TN) and ammonia in the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (MRP) during the period from 2015 to 2019 were evaluated. The correlation between anthropogenic activities based on quantitative land use cover and nitrogen concentration was addressed. The results indicated that TN increased by 0.072 mg/L from south to north over the period (p < 0.05), but ammonia decreased by 0.018 mg/L (p < 0.05), notably, in five years. In addition, Chl a had the highest concentration in autumn, showing seasonal variation. The linear regression showed that ammonia concentration was significantly negatively correlated with Chl a (p < 0.1). Furthermore, as human activities’ intensity increased by 6‰ from 2015 to 2019, TN increased and ammonia decreased. The rhythm of meteorological conditions could also result in the variation in nitrogen, which affected N concentration in the MRP. The increase in construction land and agricultural land led to TN increase, and algae absorption was one of the reasons leading to the decrease in ammonia. It could be concluded that climatic changes and anthropogenic activities were the driving forces of nitrogen changes in the MRP. Thus, land use changes around the MRP should be the focus of attention to reduce the nitrogen concentration. This study is the first report on the nitrogen distribution pattern in the MRP. It could be useful to authorities for the control and management of nitrogen pollution and better protection of water quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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19 pages, 4255 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Bacterial Diversity in a Dynamic and Extreme Sub-Arctic Watercourse (Pasvik River, Norwegian Arctic)

by Maria Papale, Alessandro Ciro Rappazzo, Anu Mikkonen, Carmen Rizzo, Federica Moscheo, Antonella Conte, Luigi Michaud and Angelina Lo Giudice

Water 2020, 12(11), 3098; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12113098 - 04 Nov 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3154

Abstract

Microbial communities promptly respond to the environmental perturbations, especially in the Arctic and sub-Arctic systems that are highly impacted by climate change, and fluctuations in the diversity level of microbial assemblages could give insights on their expected response. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was applied to describe the bacterial community composition in water and sediment through the sub-Arctic Pasvik River. Our results showed that river water and sediment harbored distinct communities in terms of diversity and composition at genus level. The distribution of the bacterial communities was mainly affected by both salinity and temperature in sediment samples, and by oxygen in water samples. Glacial meltwaters and runoff waters from melting ice probably influenced the composition of the bacterial community at upper and middle river sites. Interestingly, marine-derived bacteria consistently accounted for a small proportion of the total sequences and were also more prominent in the inner part of the river. Results evidenced that particular conditions occurring at sampling sites (such as algal blooms, heavy metal contamination and anaerobiosis) may select species at local scale from a shared bacterial pool, thus favoring certain bacterial taxa. Conversely, the few phylotypes specifically detected in some sites are probably due to localized external inputs introducing allochthonous microbial groups. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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22 pages, 7631 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Phytoplankton–Macrophyte Interaction in the Lagoon of Venice (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy)

by Fabrizio Bernardi Aubry, Francesco Acri, Gian Marco Scarpa and Federica Braga

Water 2020, 12(10), 2810; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12102810 - 10 Oct 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2918

Abstract

The coexistence of phytoplankton and macrophytes in the Lagoon of Venice (Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy) was investigated using in situ data collected monthly as part of International Long Term Ecosystem Research (LTER), together with satellite imagery for the period 1998–2017. The concentrations of chlorophyll a and hydrochemical parameters were measured in three areas of the lagoon, where the expansion of well-developed stands of submerged vegetation was observed by remote sensing. Our results suggest interaction between phytoplankton and macrophytes (macroalgae and seagrasses) in the last few years of the time series, evidenced by decreasing chlorophyll a concentrations in the vicinity of the macrophyte stands. The integration of LTER and remotely sensed data made it possible to evaluate the interaction of macrophytes and phytoplankton at the ecosystem scale for the first time in the Lagoon of Venice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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27 pages, 9232 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climatic and Anthropogenic Impacts on Environmental Conditions and Phytoplankton Community in the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)

by Stefano Cozzi, Marina Cabrini, Martina Kralj, Cinzia De Vittor, Massimo Celio and Michele Giani

Water 2020, 12(9), 2652; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12092652 - 22 Sep 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3457

Abstract

During the last century, human activities have exerted an increasing pressure on coastal ecosystems, primarily inducing their eutrophication, with a more recent partial mitigation of this phenomenon where improvements of environmental management practices were adopted. However, a reanalysis of the pressures on coastal zones and surrounding drainage basins is needed because of the alterations induced nowadays by the climate changes. A comparative analysis of long-term oceanographic and environmental data series (1986–2018) was performed, in order to highlight the effects of anthropogenic and climatic disturbances on the phytoplankton community in the Gulf of Trieste (GoT). After the 1980s, the decline in phytoplankton abundance was matched to increasing periods of low runoff, an overall deficit of the precipitation and to a decrease in phosphate availability in the coastal waters (−0.003 µmol L⁻¹ yr⁻¹), even in the presence of large riverine inputs of nitrogen and silicates. This trend of oligotrophication was reversed in the 2010s by the beginning of a new and unexpected phase of climatic instability, which also caused changes of the composition and seasonal cycle of the phytoplankton community. Beyond the management of nutrient loads, it was shown that climatic drivers such as seawater warming, precipitation and wind regime affect both nutrient balance and phytoplankton community in this coastal zone. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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23 pages, 6941 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Seasonal and Interannual Trends of Oceanographic Parameters over 40 Years in the Northern Adriatic Sea in Relation to Nutrient Loadings Using the EMODnet Chemistry Data Portal

by Federica Grilli, Stefano Accoroni, Francesco Acri, Fabrizio Bernardi Aubry, Caterina Bergami, Marina Cabrini, Alessandra Campanelli, Michele Giani, Stefano Guicciardi, Mauro Marini, Francesca Neri, Antonella Penna, Pierluigi Penna, Alessandra Pugnetti, Mariangela Ravaioli, Francesco Riminucci, Fabio Ricci, Cecilia Totti, Pierluigi Viaroli and Stefano Cozzi

Water 2020, 12(8), 2280; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12082280 - 13 Aug 2020

Cited by 57 | Viewed by 4064

Abstract

Long-term data series (1971–2015) of physical and biogeochemical parameters were analyzed in order to assess trends and variability of oceanographic conditions in the northern Adriatic Sea (NAS), a mid-latitude shallow continental shelf strongly impacted by river discharges, human activities and climate changes. Interpolation maps and statistical models were applied to investigate seasonal and spatial variability, as well as decadal trends of temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a and nutrients. This analysis shows that sea surface temperature increased by +0.36% year⁻¹ over four decades. Annual mean flow of the Po River markedly changed due to the occurrence of periods of persistent drought, whereas the frequency of flow rates higher than 3000 m³ s⁻¹ decreased between 2006 and 2015. Moreover, we observed a long-term decrease in surface phosphate concentrations in Po River water (−1.34% year⁻¹) and in seawater (in summer −2.56% year⁻¹) coupled, however, to a significant increase in nitrate concentration in seawater (+3.80% year⁻¹) in almost all seasons. These changes indicate that the nutrient concentrations in the NAS have been largely modulated, in the last forty years, by the evolution of environmental management practices and of the runoff. This implies that further alteration of the marine environment must be expected as a consequence of the climate changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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17 pages, 3957 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factors Controlling Hypoxia Occurrence in Estuaries, Chester River, Chesapeake Bay

by Richard Tian

Water 2020, 12(7), 1961; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12071961 - 10 Jul 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2493

Abstract

The Chester River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay, provides critical habitats for numerous living species and oyster aquaculture, but faces increasing anthropogenic stresses due to excessive nutrient loading and hypoxia occurrence. An application of the Integrated Compartment Water Quality Model (ICM), coupled with the Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM), was carried out to study the controlling mechanisms and interannual variability in hypoxia occurrence from 2002 to 2011. Our study shows that hypoxia occurs mostly in the main stem in July, followed by August and June. On an interannual scale, 2005 had the highest hypoxia occurrence with an accumulative hypoxia volume of about 10 km³-days, whereas 2008 had the lowest occurrence with an accumulative hypoxia volume of about 1 km³-days. Nutrient loading is the predominant factor in determining the intensity and interannual variability in hypoxia in the Chester River estuary, followed by stratification and saltwater intrusion. Phosphorus has been found to be more efficient in controlling hypoxia occurrence than nitrogen due to their different limiting extent. On a local scale, the Chester River estuary is characterized by several meanders, and at certain curvatures helical circulation is formed due to centrifugal forces, leading to better reaeration and dissolved oxygen (DO) supply to the deeper layers. Our study provides valuable information for nutrient management and restoration efforts in the Chester River. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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17 pages, 3036 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Urea Distribution, Sources, and Indication of DON Bioavailability in Zhanjiang Bay, China

by Peng Zhang, Cong-Hui Peng, Ji-Biao Zhang, Zhan-Bin Zou, Yu-Zhen Shi, Li-Rong Zhao and Hui Zhao

Water 2020, 12(3), 633; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w12030633 - 26 Feb 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3840

Abstract

In marine environments, urea is an important component of the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen. The autochthonous and allochthonous sources (rivers, aquaculture, waste water input, etc.) of urea play a key role in urea cycles in adjacent coastal waters. Because urea is a specific marker to trace the sewage fluxes in coastal waters, we investigated urea associated with terrestrial source input and coastal water in Zhanjiang Bay (ZJB) during the time from November 2018 to July 2019, and the spatiotemporal urea distribution and the bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) based on urea concentration in the ZJB were explored. The results showed that the urea enrichment in coastal water was mainly due to discharge from urban sewage systems, rivers, and coastal aquaculture. The concentration of urea ranged from 1.14 to 5.53 μmol·L⁻¹, and its mean value was 3.13 ± 1.02 μmol·L⁻¹ in the ZJB. The urea concentration showed a significantly different seasonal variation in the ZJB (p < 0.05), and the highest and lowest concentrations were found in November 2018 and April 2019, respectively. Its high value appeared in the north and northeast of the ZJB, which were polluted by coastal aquaculture and agriculture fertilizer utilization. The range of urea concentration of terrestrial source inputs in the ZJB was 1.31–10.29 μmol·L⁻¹, and the average urea concentration reached 3.22 ± 0.82 μmol·L⁻¹. Moreover, the total urea flux surrounding the ZJB was 2905 tons·year⁻¹. The seasonal terrestrial source of urea flux contributions had significant seasonal variation in wet, normal, and dry seasons (p < 0.05). The ZJB was subjected to a large flux of urea by estuaries and sewage outlet discharges. The seasonal urea concentration in all stations (>1 μmol·L⁻¹) indicated that urea in the ZJB may have a bioavailable DON source. As a bioavailable nitrogen source, the ability of terrestrial source-derived urea to increase eutrophication should not be ignored in ZJB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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Review

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30 pages, 7623 KiB

Open AccessReview

Influence of Anthropogenic Activities on Redox Regulation and Oxidative Stress Responses in Different Phyla of Animals in Coastal Water via Changing in Salinity

by Abhipsa Bal, Falguni Panda, Samar Gourav Pati, Taslima Nasim Anwar, Kajari Das and Biswaranjan Paital

Water 2022, 14(24), 4026; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14244026 - 09 Dec 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2224

Abstract

Salinity is a decisive abiotic factor that modulates the physiology of aquatic organisms. Salinity itself is modulated by various factors—most notably by anthropogenic factors. In coastal regions, increasing salinity is observed mostly due to the elevated rate of evaporation under high temperatures, especially under global warming. In addition, many other anthropogenic factors, climatic factors, chemicals, etc., also contribute to the changes in salinity in coastal water. Some of these include rainfall, regional warming, precipitation, moisture, thermohaline circulation, gaseous pollutants, dissolved chemicals, wind flow, and biocrusts. Salinity has been found to regulate the osmotic balance and, thus, can directly or indirectly influence the biomarkers of oxidative stress (OS) in aquatic organisms. Imbalances in OS potentially affect the growth, production, and reproduction of organisms; therefore, they are being studied in organisms of economic or aquacultural importance. Salinity-modulated OS and redox regulation as a function of phylum are covered in this review. The literature from 1960 to 2021 indicates that the altered OS physiology under changing salinity or in combination with other (anthropogenic) factors is species-specific, even within a particular phylum. Thus, knowing the response mechanisms of such organisms to salinity may be useful for the management of specific aquatic animals or their habitats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropogenic and Climatic Disturbances in Freshwater and Coastal Ecosystems: Interactive Impacts and Expected Threats)

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