Zooplankton community structure in relation to environmental factors and ecological assessment of water quality in the Harbin Section of the Songhua River

• Published in: Chinese journal of oceanology and limnology Vol. 32; no. 6; pp. 1344 - 1351
• Main Authors: Li, Xiaoyu, Yu, Hongxian, Ma, Chengxue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.11.2014; Science Press; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Autumn; Biology; Biomass; Community structure; correspondence analysis; Dissolved oxygen; Dry season; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Environmental factors; Freshwater ecology; Marine; Oceanography; Oxygen content; Plankton; Quality assessment; Residence time; Rivers; saprophytes; Saturation; Seasonal variation; Seasonal variations; Spatial variations; spring; summer; temperature; Turbidity; Water quality; Water quality assessments; Water temperature; Zooplankton; 典范对应分析; 季节性变化; 松花江哈尔滨段; 水质; 浮游动物生物量; 环境因素; 生态评估; 群落结构; Songhua River; China, People's Rep., Heilongjiang Prov., Songhua R; canonical correspondence analysis (CCA); Saprobic index; Songhua River; zooplankton; Harbin
• ISSN: 0254-4059; 2096-5508; 1993-5005; 2523-3521
• DOI: 10.1007/s00343-014-3303-3

To study the relationship between zooplankton community structure and environmental factors and water quality in the Harbin Section of the Songhua River, investigations were carried out in June, August, and October 2011. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and saprobic indices were used to process and analyze the data. Seasonal variability was identified as a significant source of variation, which explains the fluctuation in zooplankton density. In autumn, the dry season, water residence time increased and zooplankton biomass and abundance accumulated in the slow flowing waters. Zooplankton abundance increased when food conditions improved. Therefore, the total zooplankton abundance in autumn is much higher than that in spring and summer. According to the saprobic indices, all the sample sites had mesosaprobic water and water quality was worse in autumn. CCA revealed that temperature accounted for most of the spatial variation in the zooplankton community. Moreover, pH, dissolved oxygen saturation, and turbidity were important factors affecting zooplankton community distribution.