Insights into bioassessment of marine pollution using body-size distinctness of planktonic ciliates based on a modified trait hierarchy.
Based on a modified trait hierarchy of body-size units, the feasibility for bioassessment of water pollution using body-size distinctness of planktonic ciliates was studied in a semi-enclosed bay, northern China. An annual dataset was collected at five sampling stations within a gradient of heavy metal contaminants. Results showed that: (1) in terms of probability density, the body-size spectra of the ciliates represented significant differences among the five stations; (2) bootstrap average analysis demonstrated a spatial variation in body-size rank patterns in response to pollution stress due to heavy metals; and (3) the average body-size distinctness (Δz(+)) and variation in body-size distinctness (Λz(+)), based on the modified trait hierarchy, revealed a clear departure pattern from the expected body-size spectra in areas with pollutants. These results suggest that the body-size diversity measures based on the modified trait hierarchy of the ciliates may be used as a potential indicator of marine pollution.
College of Marine Life Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China. Electronic address: henglongxu@126.com.
Henglong
H
Xu
College of Marine Life Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
Yong
Y
Jiang
College of Marine Life Science, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
Guangjian
G
Xu
D002681:China; D016798:Ciliophora; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010933:Plankton; D014876:Water Pollution
D019216:Metals, Heavy
Bioassessment; Body-size distinctness; Marine pollution; Planktonic ciliate; Trait hierarchy