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Water
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Ecological and Ecotoxicological Assessment of Water Quality
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Ecological and Ecotoxicological Assessment of Water Quality

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 June 2023) | Viewed by 7263

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sara Raquel Boaventura Rodrigues

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CIIMAR | Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: ecology; water quality; aquatic ecotoxicology; environmental risk assessment; biological responses; bioassays; biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Maintaining the quality of aquatic ecosystems is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st century, as a consequence of demographic pressure, urban and agricultural land use, hydropower generation, and climate change, which have also influenced the spread of emergent chemical pollutants or biotic agents. Thus, the availability and quality of water for basic functions is a threat. Therefore, pristine aquatic ecosystems are increasingly scarce and valuable, and as such, their deterioration should be prevented and good environmental quality should be achieved and maintained. To this end, the European Commission enacted the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) to manage European aquatic ecosystems and to protect them sustainably, taking into consideration the vulnerability of these aquatic resources.

This Special Issue is open to contributions on predictive models, conceptual assessment frameworks, or indicator metrics (functional, structural, ecotoxicological) to complement the existing set of tools for assessing water quality. The appropriate acquisition and processing of water quality data are crucial for water quality evaluation. As such, publications on water quality monitoring and assessment must convey essential and reliable information to water quality experts, decision makers, researchers, students, and the public. The implication is that such information must emanate from data obtained and analyzed in an up-to-date, scientifically sound manner. This Special Issue intends to work as a discussion forum for new ideas, appropriate data analysis, and reporting techniques, thus promoting scientific advances and legislative initiatives.

Dr. Sara Raquel Boaventura Rodrigues
Guest Editor

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

  • aquatic ecology
  • ecotoxicology
  • water framework directive
  • water quality
  • emergent chemical pollutants
  • bioassays
  • individual and sub-individual responses
  • physiology
  • biomarkers

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3165 KiB  
Article
Can Zooplankton Add Value to Monitoring Water Quality? A Case Study of a Meso/Eutrophic Portuguese Reservoir
by Ivo Pinto, Sandra Nogueira, Sara Rodrigues, Nuno Formigo and Sara C. Antunes
Water 2023, 15(9), 1678; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15091678 - 25 Apr 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2103
Abstract
Despite the key role of zooplankton communities in regulating the water quality of lentic ecosystems, they are absent from the list of biological elements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for the assessment of ecological status. Based on this, the present work was [...] Read more.
Despite the key role of zooplankton communities in regulating the water quality of lentic ecosystems, they are absent from the list of biological elements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for the assessment of ecological status. Based on this, the present work was a case study that aimed to understand the relevance of zooplankton as a bioindicator for classifying the water quality of reservoirs. For one year and in each season, the water quality of the Torrão reservoir was assessed using the mandatory elements proposed by the WFD in the sampling year (second cycle) and the legislation currently applicable (third cycle). Additionally, zooplankton samples were collected to characterize the community dynamic. The water quality of the Torrão reservoir does not reach the WFD good ecological potential. Furthermore, with the updating of the criteria, the classification tends to get worse. Concerning the zooplankton, the occurrence of Cyclopoida and Bosmina are associated with lower water quality, as well as the collapse or low abundance of the Daphnia population, in the same periods. Low abundances of zooplankton are associated with better water quality, and the Shannon-Wiener diversity values decrease with the increase of the trophic state. High-efficiency feed filters and macrofiltrator organisms dominate the Torrão reservoir in all seasons, which is associated with low water quality. The Calanoida/Cyclopoida ratio shows a strong and negative association with the trophic state. The occurrence and abundance of species, Shannon-Wiener diversity, functional groups (high and low efficiency feed filters and macrofiltrators), and different ratios (large Cladocera/total Cladocera and Calanoida/Cyclopoida) are promising and valuable tools to determine the water quality status, and should be considered within the WFD metrics. Notwithstanding this, further research including reservoirs from different geographical areas with various trophic status and pressures must be analyzed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Ecotoxicological Assessment of Water Quality)
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15 pages, 1850 KiB  
Article
Intermittent Rivers as a Challenge for Freshwater Ecosystems Quality Evaluation: A Study Case in the Ribeira de Silveirinhos, Portugal
by Sara Rodrigues, Bárbara Xavier, Sandra Nogueira and Sara C. Antunes
Water 2023, 15(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15010017 - 21 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2434
Abstract
Intermittent rivers and streams are aquatic ecosystems that lose hydrological connectivity during drought periods. Anthropogenic pressures combined with climate change accelerate the spatial and temporal intermittency of these ecosystems, promoting alterations in ecology and ecosystem functions. This study aimed to assess the ecological [...] Read more.
Intermittent rivers and streams are aquatic ecosystems that lose hydrological connectivity during drought periods. Anthropogenic pressures combined with climate change accelerate the spatial and temporal intermittency of these ecosystems, promoting alterations in ecology and ecosystem functions. This study aimed to assess the ecological status of Ribeira de Silveirinhos, located in the municipalities of Valongo and Gondomar (north of Portugal), using the metrics described in the Water Framework Directive. Thus, five sampling sites were selected along Ribeira de Silveirinhos. Sampling was done in three different periods, spring of 2019 and 2020, and autumn of 2019. At each site, physical and chemical water parameters were measured, and the benthic macroinvertebrates community was characterized. Physical and chemical parameters showed low pH values at upstream sites (where the dry phase occurs and is surrounded by Eucalyptus monoculture) and high concentrations of phosphorus at the downstream sites (subjected to several anthropogenic activities, iron waters, and agriculture). The macroinvertebrate community revealed low values of specific abundance and richness, especially during the dry period. Sensitive taxa (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) were negatively correlated with flow intermittency. Results showed that Ribeira de Silveirinhos is classified between “poor” and “moderate” in terms of ecological status. Intermittent streams are undervalued, so their protection is at risk. Thus, it is important to consider the specific ecological functioning of these ecosystems and to adjust the planning and management models in order to guarantee ecological quality and conservation processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Ecotoxicological Assessment of Water Quality)
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13 pages, 1179 KiB  
Article
Evidence for Links between Feeding Behavior of Daphnia magna and Water Framework Directive Elements: Case Study of Crestuma-Lever Reservoir
by Bárbara S. Diogo, Sara Rodrigues, Nelson Silva, Ivo Pinto and Sara C. Antunes
Water 2022, 14(24), 3989; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14243989 - 7 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1791
Abstract
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the European legislation on water policy that assesses water quality according to time-consuming metrics and specific taxonomic needs. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of Daphnia magna feeding rate assays [...] Read more.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the European legislation on water policy that assesses water quality according to time-consuming metrics and specific taxonomic needs. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of Daphnia magna feeding rate assays to assess/discriminate the water quality of heavily modified and artificial water bodies. Monthly, for one year, the quality of the Crestuma-Lever reservoir (in two sampling sites: Crestuma and Marina) was assessed using physical, chemical, and biological (concentration of chlorophyll-a) elements proposed by the WFD. Additionally, D. magna was exposed to the collected water samples and the feeding rates were evaluated to include an ecosystem function evaluation in water quality assessment. The WFD metrics showed that, overall, the Crestuma-Lever reservoir has a rating of Good to Moderate Ecological Potential, regardless of site. Feeding rates varied with the sampling site and months, demonstrating that feeding behavior evaluation is a sensitive tool that allows discriminate potential effects indicative of a lower water quality. This finding was recorded by the decrease in the feeding rate (Crestuma: May, Sept; Marina: Nov, Jan, May), despite the WFD classification, and once the organisms are affected by the components present in the water samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological and Ecotoxicological Assessment of Water Quality)
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