scholarly journals Artificial Aquatic Ecosystems

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Clifford ◽  
James Heffernan

As humans increasingly alter the surface geomorphology of the Earth, a multitude of artificial aquatic systems have appeared, both deliberately and accidentally. Human modifications to the hydroscape range from alteration of existing waterbodies to construction of new ones. The extent of these systems makes them important and dynamic components of modern landscapes, but their condition and provisioning of ecosystem services by these systems are underexplored, and likely underestimated. Instead of accepting that artificial ecosystems have intrinsically low values, environmental scientists should determine what combination of factors, including setting, planning and construction, subsequent management and policy, and time, impact the condition of these systems. Scientists, social scientists, and policymakers should more thoroughly evaluate whether current study and management of artificial aquatic systems is based on the actual ecological condition of these systems, or judged differently, due to artificiality, and consider resultant possible changes in goals for these systems. The emerging recognition and study of artificial aquatic systems presents an exciting and important opportunity for science and society.

2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 1523-1531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Snezana Pesic

Artificial stagnant aquatic ecosystems such as reservoirs, are suitable for monitoring the succession of biocenoses because they are usually formed by rearrangement of the former current river ecosystems. The weevil assembly, as part of such a dynamic biocenose, develops following host macrophytes. In the frame of weevil fauna studies realized during 2001 and 2002 in wet habitats beside four artificial lakes in Central Serbia (Gruza, Grosnica, Sumarice and Bubanj), the aquatic adults from 13 species, divided into two families, Eryrhinidae (Tanysphyrus lemnae and Notaris scirpi) and Curculionidae (Bagous bagdatensis, B. collignensis, B. lutulentus, Pelenomus canaliculatus, P. comari, P. waltoni, Phytobius leucogaster, Rhinoncus castor, R. inconspectus, R. pericarpius and R. perpendicularis), were collected. The quantitative and qualitative picture of the studied aquatic weevil assemblies, as well as indices of similarity among them, are given and related to the dimensions and ecological characteristics of studied aquatic systems (particularly the level of eutrophication).


10.1144/sp508 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 508 (1) ◽  
pp. NP-NP
Author(s):  
G. Di Capua ◽  
P. T. Bobrowsky ◽  
S. W. Kieffer ◽  
C. Palinkas

This is the second volume focused on geoethics published by the Geological Society of London. This is a significant step forward in which authors address the maturation of geoethics. The field of geoethics is now ready to be introduced outside the geoscience community as a logical platform for global ethics that addresses anthropogenic changes. Geoethics has a distinction in the geoscientific community for discussing ethical, social and cultural implications of geoscience knowledge, research, practice, education and communication. This provides a common ground for confronting ideas, experiences and proposals on how geosciences can supply additional service to society in order to improve the way humans interact responsibly with the Earth system. This book provides new messages to geoscientists, social scientists, intellectuals, law- and decision-makers, and laypeople. Motivations and actions for facing global anthropogenic changes and their intense impacts on the planet need to be governed by an ethical framework capable of merging a solid conceptual structure with pragmatic approaches based on geoscientific knowledge. This philosophy defines geoethics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Nichols ◽  
Bina Gogineni

The Anthropocene, generally defined, is the time when human activities have a significant impact on the Earth System. However, the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences have different understandings of how and when human activities affected the Earth System. Humanities and social science scholars tend to approach the Anthropocene from a wide range of moral-political concerns including differential responsibility for the change in the Earth System and social implications going forward. Geologists, on the other hand, see their work as uninfluenced by such considerations, instead concerning themselves with empirical data that might point to a ‘golden spike’ in the geologic record – the spike indicating a change in the Earth System. Thus, the natural sciences and the humanities/social sciences are incongruent in two important ways: (1) different motivations for establishing a new geologic era, and (2) different parameters for identifying it. The Anthropocene discussions have already hinted at a paradigm shift in how to define geologic time periods. Several articles suggest a mid-20th century commencement of the Anthropocene based on stratigraphic relationships identified in concert with knowledge of human history. While some geologists in the Anthropocene Working Group have stated that the official category should be useful well beyond geology, they continue to be guided by the stratigraphic conventions of defining the epoch. However, the methods and motivations that govern stratigraphers are different from those that govern humanists and social scientists. An Anthropocene defined by stratigraphic convention would supersede many of the humanities/social science perspectives that perhaps matter more to mitigating and adapting to the effects of humans on Earth’s System. By this reasoning, the impetus for defining the Anthropocene ought to be interdisciplinary, as traditional geologic criteria for defining the temporal scale might not meet the aspirations of a broad range of Anthropocene thinkers.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade L. Hadwen ◽  
Paul I. Boon ◽  
Angela H. Arthington

The value of aquatic systems for biodiversity, agriculture, pastoralism and mining is widely recognised, whereas their significance for tourism and recreation is often poorly acknowledged. We surveyed protected-area managers, local governments and tour operators (river and general) to determine how aquatic systems were used in inland Australia for tourism and recreation and the perceived impacts of these uses. Inland waterbodies were reported by all respondent groups to be highly significant foci for visitors. Natural features were rated as more important to visitors than infrastructure by protected-area managers and river-tour operators, whereas all respondent groups identified water clarity, water quality and accessibility to water as important aspects of visitor appeal. Although >75% of respondents nominated visitors as being environmentally aware, visitors were reported to have a range of negative effects on the ecological condition of inland waterbodies, especially on water quality, and to also increase erosion and the loss of fringing vegetation. Managing the recreational use of inland waterbodies will become increasingly important as demand from all sectors intensifies and climate-change impacts become more severe. Management must take into account variations in perceptions by different stakeholder groups and the paradox of inappropriate visitor behaviour despite visitors’ apparent environmental awareness.


2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry T. Hart ◽  
P. S. Lake ◽  
J. Angus Webb ◽  
Michael R. Grace

Salinity is a major problem in many regions of Australia, and is predicted to get considerably worse over the next 30–50 years. Most effort has focused on the terrestrial environment, and specifically on the loss of productive agricultural land. Increased salinity can also result in unwanted changes to aquatic ecosystems in rivers, streams and particularly wetlands.This paper first reviews the importance of assessing risks from salinity increases in a catchment context, and then introduces a disturbance–response conceptual model to assist with the understanding of such situations. Two factors are shown to be particularly important in assessing which freshwater systems will be most susceptible to increases in salinity—the location of the systems in the landscape, and the current ecological condition of the system. The resilience of an ecosystem to salinity disturbances is shown to be a useful concept which with further knowledge may be incorporated into risk-assessment approaches.The development of a new ecological risk assessment approach for assessing risks to aquatic systems in the Goulburn–Broken catchment from increases in salinity over the medium (20 years) and long (100 years) term is reported. The risks to the biota in Hughes Creek, a tributary of the Goulburn River, are assessed by using a probabilistic approach. Current salinity levels in the creek present a low risk to the biota.Finally, the paper addresses the challenge of making the ecological risk assessment method more quantitative by discussing the following two key aspects: how to better quantify the linkages between the key stressors and the biotic components, and how to better handle uncertainties.


Author(s):  
I. Yezlovetska ◽  
◽  
M. Ladyka ◽  
A. Doroshenko ◽  
◽  
...  

The problem of environmental safety of water bodies is relevant today, especially for the basins of small and medium-sized rivers, which are clear indicators of the environment state. One of them is the Trubizh River. The water resources of this river are formed under the anthropogenically changed conditions of the drainage and humidification complex of the Trubizh reclamation system. These resources are also receivers of effluents from point and diffuse sources. Thus, there is a need for constant monitoring of the ecological condition of the river. The water quality of it is a consequence of anthropogenic activities in the watershed. The aim of the work is a comprehensive assessment of the Trubizh River ecological condition under the modern conditions of water quality formation. The analysis has been conducted using official data from the state monitoring of water quality for 2015-2019 years and our own research for 2015-2016 years. 7 observation points have been considered from souse to mouth of the river: border areas of Brovary and Baryshivka; Baryshivka – 1 km above and 0.9 km below the village, Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky – 0.5 km above and 1 km below the town, the mouth of the Alta and Trubizh rivers). We used such methods as analytical (determination of water quality indicators according to generally accepted standardized methods); analysis, systematization and generalization of the monitoring database; method of calculation of integrated block indices and complex ecological index of water quality (IE). It is established that during the five-year period (2015-2019) according to the weighted average and the worst values of the complex ecological index (IEworst 4.2) the waters are characterized as "satisfactory", "slightly polluted" of the III class quality 4 category. In 2018 and 2019 years, there was a deterioration in water quality by one category (III quality class 5 category) - "mediocre", "moderately polluted" water. This is due to a set of conditions of natural and climatic (insufficient rainfall and rising air temperature) and anthropogenic nature (water pollution, unauthorized surface water abstraction, runoff obstruction, etc.). It is noted that Trubizh river is characterized by stable uniform spatial water pollution. The largest values of IE are recorded in the area of influence of the village Baryshivka (IE worst 3.7-3.8) and Pereyaslav-Khmelnytskyi in the sampling points: the Alta river mouth (IEworst 4.0) and the Trubizh river mouth (IEworst 3.7). The water quality in these sampling points corresponded to class III of category 4 and was generally characterized as "satisfactory", "polluted". In general, the deterioration of water quality is caused by organic pollution (according to the indicator of dichromate oxidation (IV class, 6 category), BOD5 (Biochemical oxygen demand) (III class, 5 category), nitrogen compounds (ammonium, nitrite and nitrate) – V class, 7 category) and phosphorus compounds (phosphate ions – III class, 5 category), total iron and general chromium – III class, 5 category, phenols and SSAS (synthetic surfactants active substances) – IV class, 6 category. Thus, one of the main reasons for the degradation of the river is the anthropogenic conditionality of its development as a result of the urbanized and agricultural areas impact. The obtained data open the prospect of continuing work on monitoring and assessing the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems of the Trubizh River for the further development of scientifically based recommendations. It is necessary for making management decisions for sustainable use and protection of surface waters and restoration of aquatic ecosystems of Trubizh River Basin.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Waśkiewicz ◽  
Karolina Gromadzka ◽  
Jan Bocianowski ◽  
Paulina Pluta ◽  
Piotr Goliński

AbstractThe aim of this study was to establish a relation between zearalenone contamination of crops in the Polish province of Wielkopolska and its occurrence in aquatic ecosystems close by the crop fields. Water samples were collected from water bodies such as drainage ditches, wells, or watercourses located in four agricultural areas. Moreover, control water samples were collected from the Bogdanka river, which was located outside the agricultural areas and near an urban area. Cereal samples were collected in the harvest season from each agricultural area close to tested water bodies. Zearalenone (ZEA) was found in all water and cereal samples. The highest concentrations were recorded in the postharvest season (September to October) and the lowest in the winter and spring. Mean ZEA concentrations in water ranged between 1.0 ng L-1 and 80.6 ng L-1, and in cereals from 3.72 ng g-1 to 28.97 ng g-1. Our results confirm that mycotoxins are transported to aquatic systems by rain water through soil.


Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 464
Author(s):  
Tatiana Kondrateva ◽  
Tatiana Nikonenkova ◽  
Nadezhda Stepanova

We assess the quality of surface water in water bodies located in the Middle Volga region (Russian Federation). The water quality is assessed using 19 chemical compounds and cilioplankton indicators, such as the total number of species, the abundance of each species, and, based on both of them, the saprobity index and the Shannon–Weaver diversity index (H). We classify the water quality from polluted to extremely dirty by using abiotic indicators, and from conditionally clean to dirty by means of biotic indicators. Using the logistic regression method, we are able to predict the water quality (clean or dirty) in correspondence with the species diversity index (H) and to clarify how the quality of the water is related to its physicochemical properties. The seven most significant chemical predictors of both natural origin (mineralization, hydro carbonates, and chlorides) and natural-anthropogenic origin (organic substances (according to BOD5), nitrates, total petroleum hydrocarbons, iron), identified during the stepwise selection procedure, have a substantial influence on the outcome of the model. Qualitative and quantitative indicators of development of ciliates, as well as indices calculated on their basis, allow assessing with a very high level of accuracy the water quality and the condition of aquatic ecosystems in general. The Shannon index calculated for the number of ciliates can be successfully used for ranking water bodies as “clean/dirty”.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen F. Dallas

Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used to assess water quality and ecological condition of aquatic ecosystems and they form the basis of several biotic indices. Many of these biotic indices are based on rapid bioassessment protocols (RBP). The first RBP based on macroinvertebrates, developed in Africa in the early 1990s, was the South Africa Scoring System (SASS). Since then SASS has been widely used in southern Africa and beyond, and has formed the basis of several other RBPs developed in Africa. This paper explores the RBPs and associated biotic indices currently used in Africa, primarily those that are rapid, field-based with low taxonomy (mostly family level) and which rely on sensitivity weightings of individual taxa to generate three metrics for interpreting water quality and ecological condition of aquatic ecosystems. Recommendations for future regional adaptation of RBPs, including calibration, validation, and modification of RBPs and biotic indices for new regions are provided. To date, five RBPs have been developed in Africa, while some existing biotic indices have been used outside their intended regional range. Key to the efficacy of any RBP and associated biotic index is the ability to detect a water quality impact, or change in river health. Important considerations when adapting an index for a new region or country include evaluating the suitability of the sampling protocol to local river conditions, evaluating the distribution of aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa in the region, assigning sensitivity weightings to new taxa in the region, evaluating the ability of the biotic index to detect impacts, evaluating within-country spatial and temporal variability in macroinvertebrate assemblages, and developing appropriate data interpretation guidelines based on metric scores and reference conditions. Often several iterations of a biotic index are needed, with improvement in efficacy with each version, following spatially and temporally comprehensive sampling. Future RBPs developed for bioassessment of rivers in Africa will promote the protection, conservation, and management of African riverine ecosystems.


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