scholarly journals Diverse role of Macrophytes in aquatic ecosystems: A brief review

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
Mitu De ◽  
◽  
Chayanika Roy ◽  
Suchismita Medda ◽  
Sulagna Roy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystem ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Submerged Macrophytes ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Aquatic Flora

The aquatic ecosystem is composed of aquatic flora and fauna which interact together in maintaining the aquatic ecosystem. Aquatic macrophytes are macroscopic forms of aquatic vegetation, including macro algae, mosses, ferns and angiosperms found in aquatic habitat. Macrophytes of freshwater ecosystems have diverse roles to play in the structure and functioning of these aquatic ecosystems. The depth, density, diversity and types of macrophytes present in a system are indicators of water body health. Aquatic vegetation can influence the water quality too. Macrophytes are considered as an important component of the aquatic ecosystem as the habitat and food source for aquatic life. Of all the biological treatments for controlling eutrophication, submerged macrophytes, has been recognized as being the most effective. This paper is a brief review of the diverse role of macrophytes in an aquatic ecosystem.

What happens when you add salt: predicting impacts of secondary salinisation on shallow aquatic ecosystems by using an alternative-states model

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny A. Davis ◽  
Megan McGuire ◽  
Stuart A. Halse ◽  
David Hamilton ◽  
Pierre Horwitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Submerged Macrophytes ◽  
Halophilic Bacteria ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Alternative States ◽  
Secondary Salinisation ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Restoration Strategies

Alternative-states theory commonly applied, for aquatic systems, to shallow lakes that may be dominated alternately by macrophytes and phytoplankton, under clear-water and enriched conditions, respectively, has been used in this study as a basis to define different states that may occur with changes in wetland salinity. Many wetlands of the south-west of Western Australia are threatened by rapidly increasing levels of salinity as well as greater water depths and permanency of water regime. We identified contrasting aquatic vegetation states that were closely associated with different salinities. Salinisation results in the loss of freshwater species of submerged macrophytes and the dominance of a small number of more salt-tolerant species. With increasing salinity, these systems may undergo further change to microbial mat-dominated systems composed mostly of cyanobacteria and halophilic bacteria. The effect of other environmental influences in mediating switches of vegetation was also examined. Colour and turbidity may play important roles at low to intermediate salinities [concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) <10 000 mg L–1]; however, coloured or turbid wetlands are rarely found at intermediate to high salinities (>10 000 mg L–1 TDS). The role of nutrients remains largely unquantified in saline systems. We propose that alternative-states theory provides the basis of a conceptual framework for predicting impacts on wetlands affected by secondary salinisation. The ability to recognise and predict a change in state with changes in salinity adds a further tool to decision-making processes. A change in state represents a fundamental change in ecosystem function and may be difficult to reverse. This information is also important for the development of restoration strategies. Further work is required to better understand the influence of temporal variation in salinity on vegetation states and probable hysteresis effects.

scholarly journals Group size and aquatic vegetation modulates male preferences for female shoals in wild zebrafish, Danio rerio

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditya Ghoshal ◽  
Anuradha Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Female Group ◽  
Aquatic Flora ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Individual

AbstractShoaling decisions in the wild are determined by a combination of innate preferences of the individual along with the interplay of multiple ecological factors. In their natural habitat as well as in the laboratory, zebrafish is a shoaling fish. Here, we investigate the role of group size and associated vegetation in shaping shoaling preferences of wild male zebrafish. We studied the association preference of males to groups of female shoals in a multi-choice test design. We found that males made greater proportion of visits to an 8-female group compared to 2 and 4-female groups. However, males spent similar proportions of time across the three female-containing groups. When artificial vegetation was incorporated along with female number as an additional factor, we found that males prefer high and moderately vegetated patches compared to low or no-vegetation groups, irrespective of the number of females in these patches. Based on experiments using a novel multi-choice design, our results show that preference for group size can change due to interaction of two separate factors. This work is a first attempt to understand the role of aquatic flora in determining shoaling preferences in zebrafish, using an experimental paradigm consisting of a gradation in female and vegetation densities.

Effects of aquatic macrophytes on physico-chemical conditions of three contrasting lowland streams: a consequence of diffuse pollution from agriculture?

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 163-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Wilcock ◽  
J. W. Nagels
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Submerged Macrophytes ◽  
Third Stream ◽  
Lowland Streams ◽  
Riparian Plants ◽  
Agricultural Catchments ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Photosynthetic Production ◽  
Chemical Conditions

Three lowland streams in developed pasture catchments with different farming intensities exhibited contrasting summer diurnal variations in pH, DO and temperature. These are ascribed to differences in dominant aquatic vegetation and their respective effects on shade, and on photosynthetic production and respiration within each stream. The stream dominated by submerged macrophytes had the greatest amplitude swings in DO and pH, and DO levels of 86–128% saturation. Floating marginal macrophytes reduced photosynthetic inputs while providing additional organic loading for respiration, with consequent flat DO and pH curves and conditions not conducive to healthy stream ecosystems. The third stream was shaded by riparian plants, which inhibited photosynthetic effects on DO and pH so that diurnal variation was intermediate between the other two streams. The interaction between nutrients and increased insolation in agricultural catchments, in stimulating aquatic plants, needs to be better understood for managing the sustainability of stream habitats and ecosystems.

scholarly journals Water, Sediment and Macrophyte Quality of Some Shrimp Culture Ponds and Freshwater Ecosystems of Koyra

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Harun Chowdhury ◽  
Roxana Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Shrimp Culture ◽  
Physicochemical Conditions

A total of 29 genera belonging to 24 families of aquatic macrophytes were recorded. Among these, 25 species were recorded from the freshwater aquatic ecosystems, 4 species from both the shrimp culture ponds and freshwater aquatic ecosystems and only one from the shrimp culture ponds. The physicochemical conditions of both the habitats indicate that very poor number of macrophytes can grow in the shrimp culture ponds due to high salinity of water and soil. Low population and abundance indicate that the macrophytes are in alarming condition in Koyra due to increasing salinity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjb.v41i1.11080 Bangladesh J. Bot. 41(1): 35-41, 2012 (June)

scholarly journals Aquatic macrophytes of Northeastern Brazil: checklist, richness, distribution and life forms [with erratum]

Check List ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edson Gomes de Moura-Júnior ◽  
Liliane Ferreira Lima ◽  
Simone Santos Lira Silva ◽  
Raíssa Maria Sampaio de Paiva ◽  
Fernando Alves Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Aquatic Flora ◽  
Bibliographic Search ◽  
High Species Richness

Aquatic plants have great influence on the structure and dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, thereby contributing considerably to biodiversity. In Brazil, knowledge of the biodiversity of aquatic macroflora is still limited. We present a checklist of aquatic macrophytes occurring in the northeastern region of Brazil through a bibliographic search. We recorded a total of 412 species, 217 genera and 72 families. The most representative families were Cyperaceae (70 species), Poaceae (38), Fabaceae (27) and Asteraceae (20). The States with highest number of species were Pernambuco (370), Bahia (360), Ceará (267) and Paraíba (261). The best-represented life forms were amphibious (193 species) and emergent (100). The aquatic flora of Northeastern Brazil exhibits high species richness; however, there is a scarcity of records of aquatic macrophytes for the States of Alagoas, Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhão, Sergipe and Piauí.

Plant Pigments as Tracers of Emergent and Submergent Macrophytes from the Hudson River

1990 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Bianchi ◽  
Stuart Findlay
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Submerged Macrophytes ◽  
Photosynthetic Pigment ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Reversed Phase ◽  
Chlorophyll B ◽  
Reversed Phase Hplc ◽  
Chlorophyll Pigment ◽  
Aquatic Food

Ratios of photosynthetic pigment concentrations in aquatic macrophytes can provide a useful way to differentiate between inputs of emergent versus submergent macrophytes into aquatic food webs. Using reversed-phase HPLC we examined the distribution of carotenoid and chlorophyll pigment markers in eight macrophytes from the tidal freshwater portion of the Hudson River. Lutein was the most abundant carotenoid in all macrophytes, and concentrations in the emergent forms were significantly higher. Chlorophyll-b showed significantly higher concentrations in the submerged macrophytes than in the emergent forms. The chlorophyll-b/lutein ratio may be a useful marker to distinguish between organic inputs of submergent and emergent forms of macrophytes in aquatic ecosystems.

scholarly journals Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: Sources, Ecotoxicity, Detection & Remediation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 3407-3428
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Aquatic Contamination ◽  
Treatment Technologies ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Industrial Level

Microplastic pollutants are increasingly posing a significant threat of aquatic contamination and causing various adverse effects on the aquatic environment as well as human health. Microplastics are hazardous chemicals to marine and freshwater ecosystems; therefore, it is becoming a severe concern for ecology. Microplastics can also expose via drinking water and can be vulnerable to all living organisms. Microplastics work as carriers for various toxic components such as additives and other hazardous substances from industrial and urbanized areas. These microplastic contaminated effluents are ultimately transferred into water systems and directly ingested by organisms associated with a particular ecosystem. The microplastics components also pose an indirect threat to aquatic ecosystems by adsorbing surrounding other water pollutants. Due to the luxuriant discharge of billion tons of plastic waste from domestic to industrial level every year, degraded microplastics get accumulated in various aquatic systems, contaminate, and introduce into the food chain. This review mainly focuses on occurrence, factors influencing the release of microplastics into aquatic ecosystems, possible impact of these toxic micro-sized particles on human health and aquatic life. This study also briefly discusses removing microplastics from effluent and water systems using different advanced final-stage treatment technologies.

scholarly journals The role of biotic and abiotic components of the aquatic ecosystem in the formation of ecological trouble of Tsimlyansk and Manych reservoirs

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 544-554
Author(s):  
A. M. Nikanorov ◽  
T. A. Khoruzhaya
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystem ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Environmental Disaster ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Chemical Indicators ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
State Of Water ◽  
Abiotic Component

The relative importance of indicators of biotic and abiotic components of aquatic ecosystems of Tsimlyansky and Manych (Proletarian and Veselovsky) reservoirs is investigated in the process of formation of States of ecological trouble: “environmental stress, environmental emergency and ecological disaster”, which are provided by a number of existing normative- methodological documents. For this purpose, the shares of indicators as a percentage of their total number in the dynamics of negative changes in aquatic ecosystems were compared on the basis of long-term monitoring information of Roshydromet and data of own expeditionary studies in reservoirs on hydrobiological, toxicological and physico-chemical indicators. It is established that the role of the biotic component increases with the deterioration of the aquatic ecosystem of the Tsimlyansk reservoir, on the contrary, decreases in Manych. The role of the abiotic component is great and similar in all reservoirs; it increases already in a state of emergency environmental situation, but in an environmental disaster is somewhat reduced. It is concluded that the proposed new approach to the analysis of the role of biotic and abiotic components in the development of negative changes in the ecosystem opens up new opportunities in the study of the water quality formation and the state of water bodies.

scholarly journals Ecosystem-Based Restoration to Mitigate Eutrophication: A Case Study in a Shallow Lake

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2141
Author(s):  
Konghao Zhu ◽  
Yao Wu ◽  
Chunhua Li ◽  
Jun Xu ◽  
Min Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Submerged Macrophytes ◽  
Ecosystem Restoration ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
Eutrophic Lake ◽  
Eutrophic Lakes ◽  
Energy Flows ◽  
The Status

Under the influence of human activities, eutrophication has become an increasingly serious global phenomenon, especially in shallow lakes. Many studies have shown that aquatic macrophytes play a significant role in controlling eutrophication, but only few of these studies are ecosystem based. In this paper, we applied a mass-balance ecosystem model to a shallow eutrophic lake (Lake Datong, China) as a case study with the aims of evaluating the status of ecosystem restoration via the recovery of aquatic vegetation and providing adaptive management suggestions. Results showed that the ecosystem was immature with weak energy flows and nutrient cycling largely due to the excessive submerged macrophytes and the lack of fish as consumer. In the early stages of restoration, the number of fish should be reduced, and aquatic vegetation needs to be recovered to mitigate eutrophication. When the aquatic vegetation community tends to be stable, herbivorous and omnivorous fish should be moderately stocked, and dead aquatic macrophytes should be harvested to maintain the healthy and sustainable development of the ecosystem. This study provided insights for the ecological restoration of shallow eutrophic lakes and revealed the urgent need for ecosystem-based restoration.

scholarly journals Factors affecting the distribution patterns of aquatic macrophytes

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naseer Ahmad Dar ◽  
Ashok Kumar Pandit ◽  
Bashir Ahmad Ganai
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Nutrient Enrichment ◽  
Aquatic Macrophytes ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Quality Changes

AbstractAquatic macrophytes constitute important components of many freshwater ecosystems. The manifold role of aquatic macrophytes in freshwater habitats is closely linked to their distribution, which in turn depends on a myriad of factors. Foremost, among these are light, water temperature, water quality changes and nutrient enrichment, sediment composition and fluctuations in water levels. Light and temperature are of paramount importance in determining the distribution (with depth, season and latitude), thereby influencing productivity and species composition as well. Sediment compositions markedly affect the growth rates of macrophytes which in turn have a profound influence on the distribution of aquatic macrophytes. Water quality changes and nutrient enrichment can cause considerable variations in the species richness, composition, and density of aquatic vegetation. The reduction in water levels could bring drastic changes in the species composition and distribution of macrophytes. Factors associated with competition, herbivory, land use and land cover changes etc. also play an important role in shaping macrophyte distribution and community structure. In this review we examine both biotic and abiotic factors that influence the structural attributes like species composition, distribution, abundance and diversity of aquatic macrophytes.

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