Use of cyanobacteria to monitor water quality in rivers.

Kurzfassung

A research group of a Spanish University offers a technology for monitoring river water quality based on the use of cyanobacteria as bioindicators of pollution, so changes in species richness, measured as the number of species present, and changes in the structure and composition of the cyanobacteria community in response to pollution are evaluated. This technique is highly suitable for assessing episodes of pollution and can be used to detect environmental impact of discharged materials rapidly

Details

Biomonitoring of waters attempts to characterise or typify river water quality through the use of bioindicator organisms. The use of organisms as bioindicators of water quality in aquatic ecosystems is based on the consideration of situations where there exists a range of pollutants that may determine synergistic and antagonistic effects on organisms. This may give rise to controversial interpretations if we base them exclusively on the chemical analysis of the water. However, organisms have an integrating response to their environment fluctuations in water quality, which may be missed by intermittent chemical analysis. In fact, these studies have been widely recommended for quantifying the conditions of the global status of aquatic resources and also for assessing the efficacy of ecosystem recovery methods.A wide range of organisms are used for evaluating river water quality, including algae, bryophytes, higher plants, macroinvertebrates and fish. Among these the algae are of special importance as, being primary producers, they are at the base of trophic chains, and experience the negative effects of pollution earlier than other organisms, and may also have repercussions at higher levels. Indeed, one of the approaches that is becoming increasingly powerful is the use of benthic algae, various biotic indices having been developed for monitoring rivers. In this context, our team has been able to test and develop a simple technique for evaluating water quality in river systems. Cyanobacteria are important representatives of the plant inhabitants of rivers and are dominant in some river systems. Our published work has shown that they may be good water quality bioindicators, as has been demonstrated for other algal groups (for example, the diatoms). Therefore, we have found changes in the structure and composition of the cyanobacteria community in response to pollution. Among these effects decreases in species richness, measured as the number of species present, species diversity and cyanobacterial biomass, measured in terms of the number of cells and the pigment concentration, are of particular note. This technique is highly appropriate for assessing river water quality as it is possible to detect the environmental impact of dumping rapidly and early on, in a simple and convenient fashion.

Innovative Aspects:
Innovative AspectsBiotic indices based on the use of other microalgae, especially diatoms, have been widely employed. However, the value of cyanobacteria as bioindicators has not been explored previously, even though this group of algae is the most widely distributed, and can be easily collected at any time and subsequently processed in the laboratory easily and conveniently. 1. Very sensitive to the potential impact of pollutants, with rapid response due to their short generation time. 2.Widely distributed in river environments. 3.Abundant throughout the year.4. Ecologically important due to their position at the base of food chains. 5. Provide a rapid warning of potentially dangerous incidents.6.“Profitable” in terms of the information provided for unit effort.7.Contribute to the development of improving measures for combating pollution