Correlations between zooplankton assemblages and environmental factors in the downtown rivers of Shanghai, China

• Published in: Chinese journal of oceanology and limnology 2014-11, Vol.32 (6), p.1352-1363
• Main Authors: Yu, Na, Li, Erchao, Feng, Dexiang, Xiao, Baicai, Wei, Chaoqun, Zhang, Meiling, Chen, Liqiao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic crustaceans; Asplanchna priodonta; Biology; Brachionus calyciflorus; Cladocera; Conductivity; Copepoda; drainage; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Environmental factors; Eutrophic environments; Eutrophication; Flood control; Lepadella ovalis; Marine invertebrates; Microcyclops; nitrogen content; nutrient content; Oceanography; Plankton; Pollution; Population number; population size; Rivers; Rotifera; Salinity; Salinity effects; Water management; Water pollution; Water quality; Water temperature; Zooplankton; 上海; 中国; 城区河道; 城市河流; 浮游动物; 环境因素; 组合和; 防洪排涝
• ISSN: 0254-4059; 2096-5508; 1993-5005; 2523-3521
• DOI: 10.1007/s00343-014-3325-x

Most urban rivers play an important role in urban flood control and drainage in China, but pollution is fast becoming an issue of greater importance in water management. In this study, 63 zooplankton species were recorded in four downtown rivers in Shanghai between November 2007 and October 2008. Of these, 44 species belonged to the Rotifera, 13 to Cladocera, and six to Copepoda. The three most frequently occurring zooplankton (Brachionus calyciflorus, Microcyclops leuckarti, and Asplanchna priodonta) accounted for 80.00%, 76.84%, and 53.68%, respectively. Rotifera were found to be dominant, comprising 86.26% of total zooplankton, while cladoceran and copepod abundance amounted to 5.08% and 8.67%, respectively. Water temperature, salinity, electrical conductivity, and total nitrogen were of the greatest significance in the occurrence of zooplankton. Two species (Schmackeria forbesi and Lepadella ovalis) were notably more sensitive to environmental factors such as salinity and electrical conductivity than other species. The population size and community were inversely correlated with the increasing nutrient levels of the four rivers, suggesting that the water quality of the four rivers had been gradually recovering from a severe eutrophic state and that water conditions of the rivers had been gradually improved.