Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental Approach
Reservoirs are dynamic ecosystems subject to different pressures that influence and compromise their ecological structure. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of using the macroinvertebrate to assess the water quality of four reservoirs (one site in Miranda—M and Pocinho—P...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/23/3391 |
| _version_ | 1797507147759616000 |
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| author | Ivo Pinto Sara Rodrigues Sara C. Antunes |
| author_facet | Ivo Pinto Sara Rodrigues Sara C. Antunes |
| author_sort | Ivo Pinto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reservoirs are dynamic ecosystems subject to different pressures that influence and compromise their ecological structure. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of using the macroinvertebrate to assess the water quality of four reservoirs (one site in Miranda—M and Pocinho—P; four sites in Aguieira—Ag1 to Ag4; and five sites in Alqueva—Al1 to Al5). The sites were sampled in autumn 2018 (A18), spring and autumn 2019 (S19 and A19) and spring 2020 (S20). In situ physical and chemical parameters were measured and a sample of water and macroinvertebrate were collected for further analyses. Total phosphorus exceeded the allowed concentrations (maximum values recorded: M—0.13 mg/L, P—0.09 mg/L, Ag3—0.22 mg/L and Al5—0.18 mg/L). Total abundance varied between 4 and 3088. Taxonomic richness was always low, between 1 and 12 taxa. The highest Shannon–Wiener value (1.91) was recorded in Ag1_A18 and Al2_A18. Pielou’s evenness varied widely across all reservoirs, from 0.06 to 0.92. Almost all the organisms found were associated with polluted water, according to the index ratings. Organisms tolerant of disturbances (e.g., Chironomidae and Oligochaeta) were associated with sites with the worst water quality, according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), (M, Ag3, Ag4 and Al5) while organisms with moderate tolerance to disturbances (e.g., Cordullidae and Polycentropodidae) were associated with sites with better water quality (P, Ag1, Ag2 and Al1 to Al4). The macrozoobenthos index (MZB) used proved to be a sensitive tool to Portuguese reservoirs, corroborating most of the results obtained in the remaining analyses, as well as providing a clear ecological potential complementing the analysis carried out by the WFD. Based on this, the macroinvertebrate community appeared to be sensitive and able to characterize the reservoirs’ water quality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:42:32Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:42:32Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-79442e09bd4b43afa1189190771657672023-11-23T03:14:49ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-12-011323339110.3390/w13233391Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental ApproachIvo Pinto0Sara Rodrigues1Sara C. Antunes2Departamento de Biologia da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, PortugalDepartamento de Biologia da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, PortugalDepartamento de Biologia da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, PortugalReservoirs are dynamic ecosystems subject to different pressures that influence and compromise their ecological structure. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of using the macroinvertebrate to assess the water quality of four reservoirs (one site in Miranda—M and Pocinho—P; four sites in Aguieira—Ag1 to Ag4; and five sites in Alqueva—Al1 to Al5). The sites were sampled in autumn 2018 (A18), spring and autumn 2019 (S19 and A19) and spring 2020 (S20). In situ physical and chemical parameters were measured and a sample of water and macroinvertebrate were collected for further analyses. Total phosphorus exceeded the allowed concentrations (maximum values recorded: M—0.13 mg/L, P—0.09 mg/L, Ag3—0.22 mg/L and Al5—0.18 mg/L). Total abundance varied between 4 and 3088. Taxonomic richness was always low, between 1 and 12 taxa. The highest Shannon–Wiener value (1.91) was recorded in Ag1_A18 and Al2_A18. Pielou’s evenness varied widely across all reservoirs, from 0.06 to 0.92. Almost all the organisms found were associated with polluted water, according to the index ratings. Organisms tolerant of disturbances (e.g., Chironomidae and Oligochaeta) were associated with sites with the worst water quality, according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), (M, Ag3, Ag4 and Al5) while organisms with moderate tolerance to disturbances (e.g., Cordullidae and Polycentropodidae) were associated with sites with better water quality (P, Ag1, Ag2 and Al1 to Al4). The macrozoobenthos index (MZB) used proved to be a sensitive tool to Portuguese reservoirs, corroborating most of the results obtained in the remaining analyses, as well as providing a clear ecological potential complementing the analysis carried out by the WFD. Based on this, the macroinvertebrate community appeared to be sensitive and able to characterize the reservoirs’ water quality.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/23/3391ecological qualityheavily modified water bodieslentic ecosystembioindicator |
| spellingShingle | Ivo Pinto Sara Rodrigues Sara C. Antunes Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental Approach Water ecological quality heavily modified water bodies lentic ecosystem bioindicator |
| title | Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental Approach |
| title_full | Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental Approach |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental Approach |
| title_short | Assessment of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in the Evaluation of the Water Quality of Portuguese Reservoirs: An Experimental Approach |
| title_sort | assessment of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the evaluation of the water quality of portuguese reservoirs an experimental approach |
| topic | ecological quality heavily modified water bodies lentic ecosystem bioindicator |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/23/3391 |
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