Use of biological trait analysis of periphytic protozoan assemblages for evaluating effects of harmful algal blooms on ecological quality status in marine ecosystem

Uroosa,; Kazmi, Syed Shabi Ul Hassan; Rahman, Mohammad Shafiqur; Xu, Henglong

Use of biological trait analysis of periphytic protozoan assemblages for evaluating effects of harmful algal blooms on ecological quality status in marine ecosystem

2021

Uroosa, | Kazmi, Syed Shabi Ul Hassan | Rahman, Mohammad Shafiqur | Xu, Henglong

The effects of two harmful algal bloom (HAB) species Alexandrium tamarense and Gymnodinium catenatum on ecological quality status were studied using 14-day protozoan samples as test organisms. A fuzzy coding system with four traits and 11 categories of the test organisms was used for biological trait analysis. Five treatments were designed following the concentrations of 10⁰, 10², 10³, 10⁴ and 10⁵ cell ml‐¹ of each algal species. The community-weighted means were used to summarize the functioning process of the test organism assemblages. The community functioning of the protozoa showed a significant change in the treatments with high algal concentrations (10⁴ and 10⁵ cell ml⁻¹). The functional richness of the test organisms showed continuous increasing trend from 10² to 10⁴ cell ml⁻¹, and sharply dropped. These findings suggest that the BTA may be used as a useful tool for assessing the effects of HABs on ecological quality status in marine ecosystems.

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