Submit to Water Review for Water Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Estuaries and Coastal Waters under Pressure: Present State, Restoration and Protection

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2019) | Viewed by 30838

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Adriano A. Bordalo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Matosinhos, Portugal
Interests: One Health; public health; microbial ecology; environment; water resources
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Catarina Teixeira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

CIIMAR—University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: water quality; biogeochemistry; bioremediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Estuaries are end-members of watersheds where the river meets the sea. Adjacent coastal waters are simultaneously influenced by the river flow, and also actuate within the estuarine boundaries due to the tidal excursion. Owing to their locations, they are particularly attractive to human settlements as a gateway to the hinterlands on one hand, and to the rest of the world, on the other hand. Presently, about 40% of the world population lives close to a coastline, putting additional pressure on the top of the ongoing climate change threats. Therefore, under the current situation, the identification of research priorities and the design of scientifically-sound measures to tackle the degradation of estuarine and coastal environments, towards the restoration and protection, are in dire need. The aim of this Special Issue is to launch a blueprint on how to deal with the increasing pressure applied to estuarine and coastal environments worldwide, as major providers of ecosystem services.

Prof. Adriano A. Bordalo
Dr. Catarina Teixeira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

estuaries
coasts
river flow
restoration
ecological protection
ecological metrics
human pressure
modelling
ecosystem services

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 1304 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Coupling between Hydrodynamics and Chlorophyll a and Bacteria in a Temperate Estuary: A Box Model Approach

by Élia Fernandes, Catarina Teixeira and Adriano A. Bordalo

Water 2019, 11(3), 588; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030588 - 21 Mar 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3498

Abstract

The spatial patterns of chlorophyll a and bacteria were assessed in a temperate Atlantic tidal estuary during seasonal surveys, as well as in consecutive summer spring and neap tides. A box model approach was used to better understand spatial and temporal dynamics of these key estuarine descriptors. The Lima estuary (NW Portugal) was divided into boxes controlled by salinity and freshwater discharge and balance equations were derived for each variable, enabling the calculation of horizontal and vertical fluxes of plankton and, therefore, production or consumption rates. Chlorophyll a tended to burst within the oligohaline zone, whereas higher counts of bacteria were found in the mesohaline stretch. Whenever the water column was stratified, similar tide-independent trends were found for chlorophyll a and bacterial fluxes, with net growth in the upper less saline boxes, and consumption beneath the halocline. In the non-stratified upper estuary, other controls emerged for chlorophyll a and bacteria, such as nitrogen and carbon inputs, respectively. The presented results show that, while tidal hydrodynamics influenced plankton variability, production/consumption rates resulted from the interaction of additional factors, namely estuarine geomorphological characteristics and nutrient inputs. In complex estuarine systems, the rather simple box model approach remains a useful tool in the task of understanding the coupling between hydrodynamics and the behavior of plankton, emerging as a contribution toward the management of estuarine systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Estuaries and Coastal Waters under Pressure: Present State, Restoration and Protection)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 2459 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Composition and Dynamics of Phytoplankton in the Coastal Bays of Maryland, USA, Revealed by Microscopic Counts and Diagnostic Pigments Analyses

by Ozuem F. Oseji, Chunlei Fan and Paulinus Chigbu

Water 2019, 11(2), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020368 - 21 Feb 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3914

Abstract

Maryland Coastal Bays (MCBs) have undergone changes in water quality in the past two decades due to nutrient enrichment but the composition and dynamics of the phytoplankton community have not been adequately described. Microscopic counts and photosynthetic pigments of samples collected monthly in 2012 at selected sites in MCBs that differed with regard to the degree of anthropogenic impacts were examined. Sixty-three (63) phytoplankton genera were recorded, of which 40 species are being reported for the first time in the Bays. Among the dominant species were Dactyliosolen fragilissimus (Bacillariophyta), Paulinella ovalis (Cercozoa) and Cryptomonas sp. (Cryptophyta). Bloom densities of Heterocapsa rotundata (Miozoa), which previously had not been reported in the Bays, were observed bay-wide in December, particularly at the mouth of St. Martin River. Diatoms dominated (>40%) the phytoplankton community in winter and decreased in spring (<40%), while Cercozoa and microphytoflagellates (MPF) co-dominated in summer (July). From August to October, diatoms dominated with maximum contributions from an unidentified small (<10 µM) centric species and co-dominated the assemblage with cryptophytes in late fall (November). Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that diatoms were favored by high salinity and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), cercozoans and chlorophytes by total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and cryptophytes by dissolved organic carbon. The spatial and seasonal differences in the composition of phytoplankton species, coupled with the occurrence of potentially toxic species and bloom densities of H. rotundata suggest that important changes have occurred in the phytoplankton assemblage that likely have affected the food web of these eutrophic bays. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Estuaries and Coastal Waters under Pressure: Present State, Restoration and Protection)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 5125 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Key Drivers for Copepod Assemblages in a Eutrophic Coastal Brackish Lake

by Neila Annabi-Trabelsi, Gamal El-Shabrawy, Mohamed E. Goher, Madhavapeddi N. V. Subrahmanyam, Yousef Al-Enezi, Mohammad Ali, Habib Ayadi and Genuario Belmonte

Water 2019, 11(2), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020363 - 20 Feb 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4002

Abstract

The copepod assemblages and abiotic parameters were investigated at 11 stations in a large coastal lake (Lake Manzalah, Nile Delta) from 2009–2010 in order to verify any impacts of eutrophication and salinity on the copepod species composition. The environmental conditions and the copepod assemblages appeared to have changed in comparison with previous studies, possibly because of increasing eutrophication and invasions of non-indigenous species (NIS). The aim of the present study was the identification of species which can be used as ecological indicators of high trophic status. Among the nine copepod species of Lake Manzalah, Acartia tonsa, Mesocyclops ogunnus, and Apocyclops panamensis were reported for the first time. Acartia tonsa, a well-known NIS for the Mediterranean, numerically dominated the copepod assemblages in some portions of the lake. The distribution of Acanthocyclops trajani and Thermocyclops consimilis was insensible to eutrophication because they can stand high levels of nutrients and hypoxia. Compared with previous reports, the copepod assemblage of Lake Manzalah was richer in species. The invasions of NIS, in addition to the heterogeneous progress of eutrophication in the lake, created an environmental mosaic with many species in total, but with single areas suitable for only a small number of them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Estuaries and Coastal Waters under Pressure: Present State, Restoration and Protection)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

26 pages, 8971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Salinity and Marine Mammal Dynamics in Barataria Basin: Historic Patterns and Modeled Diversion Scenarios

by Eric D. White, Francesca Messina, Leland Moss and Ehab Meselhe

Water 2018, 10(8), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10081015 - 31 Jul 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 5055

Abstract

Understanding spatiotemporal patterns of salinity in Barataria Basin in coastal Louisiana is important to better understand and manage operations of existing and proposed freshwater and sediment diversions from the Mississippi River into the estuary. In this study, a comprehensive salinity dataset was compiled which covered the entire basin and included data from 1990 through 2015. The data were aggregated into daily mean salinity timeseries across Barataria Basin at a variety of spatial scales and used to analyze historic patterns. Simulations were conducted with two hydrodynamic models, the Integrated Compartment Model (ICM) and Delft3D. The Delft3D model output was overlaid with observed geo-tagged locations of bottlenose dolphins that were sampled from the southwest quadrant of the basin. The ICM simulations were used to assess the impact of existing freshwater and proposed sediment diversion projects which reintroduce riverine water into the estuary. The salinity in the uppermost portions of the basin is sensitive primarily to the existing freshwater diversion, whereas additional flows from a proposed sediment diversion result in additional freshening. The lowermost region of the basin is most sensitive to the proposed sediment diversion; however, the magnitude varies by diverted flow volumes and assumed sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Estuaries and Coastal Waters under Pressure: Present State, Restoration and Protection)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 7053 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Epibenthic Communities on Artificial Reefs in Greece, Mediterranean Sea

by Katerina Achilleos, Maria Patsalidou, Carlos Jimenez, Nikolaos Kamidis, Andreas Georgiou, Antonis Petrou and Argyris Kallianiotis

Water 2018, 10(4), 347; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10040347 - 21 Mar 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4295

Abstract

The marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean are in alarming condition due to the complex and cumulative impacts of anthropogenic activities and natural disturbances. Management, conservation, and restoration of resources in these impacted ecosystems are among the priorities set by Mediterranean countries. Artificial reefs (ARs) are one of the countermeasures widely promoted. The present study describes the hard substrate epibenthic communities found on three ARs (Ierisssos, Kalymnos, and Preveza) located in the Aegean and Ionian Seas (Greece). Samples were collected from the ARs seasonally (four times/year), during 2013 and 2014. Overall, 117 species were identified and a multivariate analysis showed that each area holds a distinct diversity. Serpulid polychaetes dominate Ierissos and Preveza communities, while gastropods were identified as the prevailing taxa in Kalymnos. No seasonal effects were detected, suggesting “stability” and good adaptation of the communities to the local environmental conditions. Salinity was found to affect the community structure. The results of this study illustrate the need for comparative research on ecological processes under contrasting environmental abiotic and biotic local conditions affecting epibenthic communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Estuaries and Coastal Waters under Pressure: Present State, Restoration and Protection)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

27 pages, 2339 KiB

Open AccessReview

Marine Ranching Construction and Management in East China Sea: Programs for Sustainable Fishery and Aquaculture

by Xijie Zhou, Xu Zhao, Shouyu Zhang and Jun Lin

Water 2019, 11(6), 1237; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11061237 - 13 Jun 2019

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 8995

Abstract

Marine ranching, which is considered a sustainable fishery mode that has advantages for the ecosystem approach to fishery, the ecosystem approach to aquaculture, and capture-based aquaculture, is rapidly growing in China. The development of marine ranching requires integrating different theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches for conceptual exploring, and models and management of ecosystem frameworks. We reviewed the definition of marine ranching, the history of marine ranching construction in China, and the techniques, principles, and cases of marine ranching construction and management in the East China Sea (ECS). We highlight four major developments in marine ranching in the ECS: (1) marine ranching site selection and design, (2) habitat restoration and construction technologies, (3) stock enhancement and the behavioral control of fishery resources, and (4) marine ranching management. We conclude that this step-wise procedure for marine ranching construction and management could have comprehensive benefits in terms of ecology, the economy, and society. Finally, a synthesis of the existing problems in ECS marine ranching construction, along with future challenges and directions, are outlined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Estuaries and Coastal Waters under Pressure: Present State, Restoration and Protection)

► Show Figures