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Water
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Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions
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Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2024) | Viewed by 17088

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jonathan Y.S. Leung

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
Interests: ecosystems; ecotoxicology; environmental chemistry; environmental pollution; environmental risk assessment; physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xiaoshou Liu

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Institute of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Interests: aquatic ecology; biodiversity; functional diversity; macrofauna; meiofauna; microplastics; pelagic-benthic coupling; pollution monitoring

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The integrity of aquatic ecosystems (e.g., lakes, rivers, estuaries, mangroves, seagrass meadows and oceans) is supported by a variety of animals, plants and microbes, which provide different ecological functions. Over the last few decades, however, aquatic ecosystems have been increasingly impacted by urbanization, exploitation, pollution and climate change, which can threaten the survival of aquatic organisms and thus undermine their contributions to the community. As such, many countries have implemented policies and taken measures to minimize habitat degradation and to restore degraded aquatic ecosystems. For the sake of biodiversity conservation, the regular monitoring of environmental quality and biodiversity is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of management measures.

This Special Issue seeks to understand (1) the impacts of human activities on the distribution and diversity of organisms in aquatic ecosystems, and (2) the management measures aiming to protect aquatic ecosystems and conserve biodiversity. We welcome original papers addressing research themes including, but not limited to, the following:

  1. Distribution and diversity of organisms in aquatic ecosystems, including freshwater (e.g., rivers, lakes and ponds), intertidal (e.g., mangroves, salt marshes and rocky shores) and marine ecosystems;
  2. Effects of pollution, species invasion, habitat degradation and climate change on the distribution and diversity of aquatic organisms with implications for potential changes in ecosystem functioning;
  3. Methods for monitoring species distribution (e.g., mapping and modelling), biodiversity and ecosystem services (e.g., indicators and indices) from local to global scales;
  4. Opinions on the strategies and policies to minimize habitat degradation and conserve biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems.

Dr. Jonathan Y.S. Leung
Prof. Dr. Xiaoshou Liu
Guest Editors

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

  • Biodiversity
  • Biogeography
  • Biological conservation
  • Ecosystem functioning
  • Environmental policy and management
  • Environmental pollution and degradation
  • Freshwater and marine ecosystems
  • Population and community ecology
  • Restoration ecology
  • Species distribution modelling

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3413 KiB  
Article
Diel Variation of Phytoplankton Communities in the Northern South China Sea under the Effect of Internal Solitary Waves and Its Response to Environmental Factors
by Zhenyu Guan, Ruping Ge, Yunxia Li, Li Zou and Shimin Yang
Water 2023, 15(13), 2422; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15132422 - 30 Jun 2023
Viewed by 974
Abstract
Internal solitary waves (ISWs) are a common marine internal wave phenomenon in the northern South China Sea that cause significant changes in environmental factors and affect phytoplankton communities. This study investigates the short-term response of phytoplankton communities affected by ISWs based on day–night [...] Read more.
Internal solitary waves (ISWs) are a common marine internal wave phenomenon in the northern South China Sea that cause significant changes in environmental factors and affect phytoplankton communities. This study investigates the short-term response of phytoplankton communities affected by ISWs based on day–night continuous sampling analysis of the sea area following the passage of an internal wave. The results revealed that, due to the IW-mediated transport of nutrients from deeper to shallower layers, the cell abundance of most small- and medium-volume phytoplankton significantly increased after the passage of ISWs. Using a method based on functional traits, we categorized phytoplankton into four functional groups. Moreover, this study revealed the differences in functional group changes in phytoplankton before and after ISWs. The abundance of mixotrophic phytoplankton in the community decreased, whereas autotrophic and heterotrophic phytoplankton increased. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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15 pages, 1347 KiB  
Article
The Multi-Generational Effect of Seawater Acidification on Larval Development, Reproduction, Ingestion Rate, and ATPase Activity of Tigriopus japonicus Mori, 1938
by Fei Li, S. G. Cheung, P. K. S. Shin, Xiaoshou Liu, Yanan Li and Fanghong Mu
Water 2023, 15(4), 816; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15040816 - 20 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1488
Abstract
Ocean acidification threatens marine organisms continuously. To ascertain if adaptation of marine species to ocean acidification enhanced over multiple generations, we studied the transgenerational effects of ocean acidification on the development, reproduction, ingestion rate, and ATPase activity of a copepod Tigriopus japonicus Mori, [...] Read more.
Ocean acidification threatens marine organisms continuously. To ascertain if adaptation of marine species to ocean acidification enhanced over multiple generations, we studied the transgenerational effects of ocean acidification on the development, reproduction, ingestion rate, and ATPase activity of a copepod Tigriopus japonicus Mori, 1938. In the first mode, individuals were exposed to either one of the pH levels (8.1 (control), 7.7, 7.3) for five successive generations. In the second mode, each successive generation was exposed to a lower pH level (pH levels: 8.1, 7.9, 7.7, 7.5, 7.3). After prolonged exposure to a constant seawater acidification level, the capacity to adapt to the stress increased. However, when exposed to seawater of descending pH, the detrimental effects gradually increased. Energy allocated to development and reproduction was reduced although the ingestion rate continued to improve in successive generations. Therefore, ongoing ocean acidification might lower the energy transfer of copepods to higher trophic levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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20 pages, 3546 KiB  
Article
Salinity Shapes the Microbial Communities in Surface Sediments of Salt Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, China
by Yuanyuan He, Lele He, Zhe Wang, Ting Liang, Shichun Sun and Xiaoshou Liu
Water 2022, 14(24), 4043; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14244043 - 11 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1826
Abstract
The extreme geographical and climatic conditions of the Tibetan Plateau result in lakes spanning a diverse range of environmental conditions. Studying microbial response to extreme environmental conditions is important for understanding their adaptation and evolution in the natural environment. In this study, the [...] Read more.
The extreme geographical and climatic conditions of the Tibetan Plateau result in lakes spanning a diverse range of environmental conditions. Studying microbial response to extreme environmental conditions is important for understanding their adaptation and evolution in the natural environment. In this study, the microbial community composition in the surface sediments from 12 lakes with different salinities on the Tibetan Plateau were analyzed using the Illumina high-throughput sequencing platform. The results showed that the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota were the major bacteria, and Crenarchaeota was the major group of archaea in low and moderately saline lakes (salinity 0.64–33.88PSU), whereas Firmicutes and Halobacterota increased significantly in high saline lakes (salinity 44.25–106.9PSU). Salinity was the most important factor impacting bacterial α-diversity, characterized by a significant decrease in microbial diversity indices with increasing salinity. Salinity was also the main driving factor determining the microbial community composition of these lakes. Other factors, including Chl-a, OM and glacial meltwater, also had important effects to some extent. In contrast, geographic factors had no remarkable effect on microbial community composition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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21 pages, 1816 KiB  
Article
Challenges of Comparing Marine Microbiome Community Composition Data Provided by Different Commercial Laboratories and Classification Databases
by Monika Mioduchowska, Anna Iglikowska, Jan P. Jastrzębski, Anna-Karina Kaczorowska, Ewa Kotlarska, Artur Trzebny and Agata Weydmann-Zwolicka
Water 2022, 14(23), 3855; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14233855 - 26 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1929
Abstract
In the high-throughput sequencing (HTS) era, a metabarcoding technique based on the bacterial V3–V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA analysis requires sophisticated bioinformatics pipelines and validated methods that allow researchers to compare their data with confidence. Many commercial laboratories conduct extensive HTS analyses; [...] Read more.
In the high-throughput sequencing (HTS) era, a metabarcoding technique based on the bacterial V3–V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA analysis requires sophisticated bioinformatics pipelines and validated methods that allow researchers to compare their data with confidence. Many commercial laboratories conduct extensive HTS analyses; however, there is no available information on whether the results generated by these vendors are consistent. In our study, we compared the sequencing data obtained for the same marine microbiome community sample generated by three commercial laboratories. Additionally, as a sequencing control to determine differences between commercial laboratories and two 16S rRNA databases, we also performed a “mock community” analysis of a defined number of microbial species. We also assessed the impact of the choice of two commonly used 16S rRNA databases, i.e., Greengenes and SILVA, on downstream data analysis, including taxonomic classification assignment. We demonstrated that the final results depend on the choice of the laboratory conducting the HTS and the reference database of ribosomal sequences. Our findings showed that the number of produced ASVs (amplicon sequence variants) ranged from 137 to 564. Different putative bacterial endosymbionts could be identified, and these differences correspond to the applied 16S rRNA database. The results presented might be of particular interest to researchers who plan to perform microbiome community analysis using the 16S rRNA marker gene, including the identification of putative bacterial endosymbionts, and serve as a guide for choosing the optimum pipeline to obtain the most accurate and reproducible data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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17 pages, 4344 KiB  
Article
Variations of Free-Living Marine Nematode’s Taxonomic Structure and Functional Traits in Contrasting Sandy Beach Habitats
by Huili Song, Fanghong Mu, Yan Sun and Er Hua
Water 2022, 14(22), 3788; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14223788 - 21 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1727
Abstract
In the present study, two temperate sandy beaches, which were located on the coast of different seas with different hydrological states, were selected to investigate the variations and drivers of the taxonomic structure and functional traits of the free-living marine nematode. According to [...] Read more.
In the present study, two temperate sandy beaches, which were located on the coast of different seas with different hydrological states, were selected to investigate the variations and drivers of the taxonomic structure and functional traits of the free-living marine nematode. According to the present study, Xyalidae and Chromadoridae were widely observed in both locations, but the species composition and functional traits were not completely the same. In fine sands, non-selective deposit feeders or colonizers (nematodes with c-p = 2) were far more quantitatively than other functional traits, suggesting a relatively restricted range of functional traits. The increased microhabitat heterogeneity in coarse sands can support species with more diverse functional traits. Chl-a was the most prominent variable that significantly related to nematode species composition and functional traits at XB sites. Nematode data were closely related to temperature or temperature-related environmental factors, such as DO and salinity, at GB sites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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20 pages, 16339 KiB  
Article
Phytoplankton Community Diversity and Its Environmental Driving Factors in the Northern South China Sea
by Wenqing Chen, Jie Gao, Zongjun Xu, Yantao Yan and Shimin Yang
Water 2022, 14(22), 3777; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14223777 - 21 Nov 2022
Viewed by 2324
Abstract
The South China Sea (SCS) plays an important role in global marine ecology. Studies of phytoplankton diversity promote the sustainable utilization of resources in the SCS. From July to August 2020, the phytoplankton community structure at 47 stations in the northern SCS was [...] Read more.
The South China Sea (SCS) plays an important role in global marine ecology. Studies of phytoplankton diversity promote the sustainable utilization of resources in the SCS. From July to August 2020, the phytoplankton community structure at 47 stations in the northern SCS was investigated. Species composition and distribution of phytoplankton, water quality, diversity index, main influencing factors, and succession characteristics of the community structure were analyzed in combination with the survey results from previous years. A total of 332 separate taxa from 83 genera and three phyla were identified, including 142 species and 45 genera of Bacillariophyta, 188 species and 36 genera of Dinophyta, and two species and two genera of Chrysophyta. Average phytoplankton cell abundance was 649.97 cells/L. Nitzschia spp., Thalassionema nitzschioides, and Scrippsiella spp. were the dominant species. Scrippsiella spp. was found for the first time as a dominant species in the northern SCS. Meanwhile, Nitzschia spp. was associated with organic-polluted water. The high-value areas of Nitzschia spp. also indicated eutrophication, and water was slightly polluted. The Shannon–Weiner diversity index of the surface layer was 0.99–4.56 (with a mean of 3.57), and the evenness index was 0.23–0.96 (with a mean of 0.83). The phytoplankton community structure in the northern SCS was deemed to be stable. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the sum of nitrate and nitrite was significantly negatively correlated with the abundance of dinoflagellate, which indicated restrictions as a result of the sum of nitrate and nitrite, with no significant correlation between ammonium salt and various groups. Small- and medium-sized phytoplankton are usually dominant in the SCS, where nitrogen is limited. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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15 pages, 5225 KiB  
Article
Effects of Temperature and Food Concentration on the Population Recruitment of Acartia bifilosa (Copepoda, Calanoida): Implications for the Over-Summering Life History Strategy in Jiaozhou Bay
by Zhan Zhang, Zhencheng Tao, Xiaotong Gao, Lei Wang and Song Sun
Water 2022, 14(21), 3541; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14213541 - 04 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1427
Abstract
To obtain a clear understanding of the over-summering life history strategy of the dominant species A. bifilosa in the Jiaozhou Bay, the effects of high temperature and food concentration (represented by chlorophyll a, Chl a) simulating in situ summer conditions on [...] Read more.
To obtain a clear understanding of the over-summering life history strategy of the dominant species A. bifilosa in the Jiaozhou Bay, the effects of high temperature and food concentration (represented by chlorophyll a, Chl a) simulating in situ summer conditions on the reproduction and post-embryonic development of A. bifilosa were studied. We found that the A. bifilosa population did not disappear from the seawater column in summer, and its abundance increased from June to July, and then sharply declined in August. Both temperature and food concentration had a significant influence on the reproduction of A. bifilosa. The results showed that 20 °C could not trigger the decline in population abundance and the resting egg strategy, and 28 °C was the upper threshold of A. bifilosa in the Jiaozhou Bay. Higher food concentration was essential for A. bifilosa to maintain population recruitment at a higher temperature. Nauplii could develop to adults in the higher-food-level treatments (10 and 15 μg/L Chl a). However, nauplii could not develop to copepodite at 28 °C with 5 μg/L Chl a. Neither temperature nor food concentration could induce resting eggs, and no resting eggs were detected in our study. A principal components analysis showed that temperature plays a more vital role than food concentration in determining the population recruitment of A. bifilosa. We suggest that A. bifilosa populations could sustain the high-temperature season independent of producing resting eggs in the Jiaozhou Bay, and implications for the over-summering life history strategy of A. bifilosa in the Jiaozhou Bay should be further discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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14 pages, 1959 KiB  
Article
Active Protection of Endangered Species of Peat Bog Flora (Drosera intermedia, D. anglica) in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District
by Joanna Sender, Monika Różańska-Boczula and Danuta Urban
Water 2022, 14(18), 2775; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14182775 - 06 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1670
Abstract
Protecting endangered plant species is crucial to maintaining biodiversity. Currently, there is a rapid decline in the populations of many moisture-loving plant species throughout Poland. These include the entire genus Drosera, so this paper attempts to determine the main reasons for the [...] Read more.
Protecting endangered plant species is crucial to maintaining biodiversity. Currently, there is a rapid decline in the populations of many moisture-loving plant species throughout Poland. These include the entire genus Drosera, so this paper attempts to determine the main reasons for the decline of Drosera intermedia and Drosera anglica in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District. For this purpose, the habitat conditions, climatic factors of the sites, as well as the vegetation of their current and historically abundant occurrence were compared, and it was shown that an important reason for the receding of sundews may be changes associated with rising temperatures in the study area. In the case of Drosera anglica, a clear preference was observed for colonising sites associated with the shoreline of lakes, more hydrated and almost devoid of companion plants. For Droseraintermedia, on the other hand, it was revealed that it acclimatises to mid-forest peatlands, rich in magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, and manganese, with moderate carbon content, medium levels of groundwater and air temperature, and low concentrations of organic matter. In addition, it was noted that sundew sites are characterised by lower diversity indices but a greater number of rare and protected species and significantly lower concentrations of iron and potassium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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23 pages, 4661 KiB  
Article
Eukaryotic Diversity Based on High-Throughput 18S rRNA Sequencing and Its Relationship with Environmental Factors in a Salt Lake in Tibet, China
by Lele He, Qi Wang, Zhe Wang, Fang Wang, Shichun Sun and Xiaoshou Liu
Water 2022, 14(17), 2724; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14172724 - 01 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2015
Abstract
Eukaryotes exist widely in aquatic ecosystems. It is of great importance to study their species composition, diversity, and relationship with environmental factors to protect and maintain ecosystem balance. Salt lakes are essential lakes rich in biological and mineral resources and have significant research [...] Read more.
Eukaryotes exist widely in aquatic ecosystems. It is of great importance to study their species composition, diversity, and relationship with environmental factors to protect and maintain ecosystem balance. Salt lakes are essential lakes rich in biological and mineral resources and have significant research value. To understand the characteristics of eukaryotic diversity in salt lake sediments, we conducted a sampling survey of the benthos in Kyêbxang Co, Tibet, in July and August 2020. The sampling area was divided into littoral, sublittoral, and profundal zones. A total of 42 species of Metazoa, 159 species of Protozoa, 63 species of Viridiplantae, and 46 species of Fungi were identified by the high-throughput sequencing of 18S ribosomes. Alpha diversity analysis revealed significant differences in species composition among the three study zones. The littoral zone had the highest Sobs index and Chao index, indicating that the eukaryotic diversity and richness in this zone were significantly higher than those in the profundal and sublittoral zones. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that water depth, temperature, and sediment organic matter content significantly affected the community structure of eukaryotes zones, especially the distribution of dominant genera such as Dunaliella, Psilotricha and Brachionus. Cooccurrence network analysis showed that Dunaliella, Aphelidium, temperature, water depth, and organic matter represent essential nodes in the entire network. This study can provide baseline data and new insights for eukaryotic diversity research for salt lakes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conserving Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Challenges and Solutions)
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