title: Can tintinnids be used for discriminating water quality status in marine ecosystems?
abstract: Ciliated protozoa have many advantages in bioassessment of water quality. The ability of tintinnids for assessing water quality status was studied during a 7-yearcycle in Jiaozhou Bay of the Yellow Sea, northern China. The samples were collected monthly at four sites with a spatial gradient of environmental pollution. Environmental variables, e.g., temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a (Chl a), dissolved inorganic nitrogen, soluble reactive phosphate (SRP), and soluble active silicate (SRSi), were measured synchronously for comparison with biotic parameters. Results showed that: (1) tintinnid community structures represented significant differences among the four sampling sites; (2) spatial patterns of the tintinnid communities were significantly correlated with environmental variables, especially SRSi and nutrients; and (3) the community structural parameters and the five dominant species were significantly correlated with SRSi and nutrients. We suggested that tintinnids may be used as a potential bioindicator for discriminating water quality status in marine ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Marine Fishery Research Institute of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan 316004, China; Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316000, China.
authors.forename: Meiping
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China. Electronic address: wuchangzhang@163.com.
authors.forename: Wuchang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Marine Fishery Research Institute of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan 316004, China; Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316000, China.
authors.forename: Weiding
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Jiaozhou Bay Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Guangtao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Ecology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China. Electronic address: henglongxu@126.com.
authors.forename: Henglong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D016798:Ciliophora; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000379:methods*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010710:Phosphates / Q000032:analysis; D010933:Plankton; D054712:Salinity; D012623:Seawater; D013696:Temperature; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates; D002734:Chlorophyll; D009584:Nitrogen; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
keywords: Environmental pollution; Field community; Jiaozhou Bay; Marine bioassessment; Tintinnid