Journal
WATER
Volume 13, Issue 20, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/w13202836
Keywords
bacteria; bioindicator; ecological quality; heavily modified water bodies; lentic ecosystem
Categories
Funding
- FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology
- European Regional Development Fund [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029368, UIDB/04423/2020, UIDP/04423/2020]
- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) program [CEECIND/01756/2017]
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The study aimed to evaluate the use of bacterioplankton community as an indicator of water quality. Different reservoirs showed varying bacterial total abundance, with no clear trend in diversity and richness values. Negative correlations were found between certain nutrients and the bacterial community. Some reservoirs did not show any relationships with the bacterial community, possibly due to differences in water characteristics.
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is used to evaluate the water quality of aquatic ecosystems. Phytoplankton is the only biological element considered in the reservoirs water quality assessment. In this study, we aimed to assess the use of the bacterioplankton community as an indicator of water quality, using a culture-independent assay (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, DGGE). Four Portuguese reservoirs (Miranda, Pocinho, Aguieira and Alqueva) were analysed in four periods (autumn 2018, spring and autumn 2019, and spring 2020). Bacterial total abundance had similar values for Miranda, Pocinho and Aguieira, and generally lower values for Alqueva. Diversity and richness values did not show a clear trend. Negative correlations were observed between some nutrients and the bacterial community. Overall, members of Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Nitrospirae and Proteobacteria were identified in all sampling sites. In Alqueva, no spatial, temporal or water body quality relationships with bacterial community were observed, which may be due to its higher size, low water velocity rate and higher residence times. However, in Miranda, Pocinho and Aguieira, a strong spatial and temporal bacterial community dynamic was observed. Furthermore, the presence of some species (e.g., Acinetobacter sp.) may reflect the poor water quality that was not detected by the WFD approach.
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