Ecological Status Assessment of Transitional Waters

• Other Authors: FACCA, Chiara (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2021
• Subjects: Research & information: general; SWRO desalination; brine discharge; osmotic stress; coastal monitoring; impacted coastal systems; biological communities; transitional waters; community matrix; qualitative model; species interactions; freshwater flow; low salinity zone; simulation; ecological assessment; adaptive management; biological processes; air-sea CO2 exchange flux; net ecosystem production; potential CO2 emissions; trophic status; Changjiang River estuary plume; nekton; restoration; salinity; predictive models; biodiversity; spatial variation; sediments; confinement; saprobity; organic enrichment; coastal lagoons; Mediterranean sea; Macrophyte Quality Index (MaQI), transitional waters; uncertainty analysis; confidence interval; Kernel standard error; macroinvertebrates; eutrophication; organic pollution; invasive alien species; aquatic angiosperms; environmental restoration; ecological status; Venice Lagoon; coastal lagoon; morphological alterations; habitat conservation; killifishes; gobies; Mediterranean Sea; CO2 flux; desalinization; benthic fauna
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Coastal transitional ecosystems include a wide range of morphological features-i.e., lagoons, wetlands, estuaries, deltas, and so on. According to the Ramsar Convention, "they are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems" and are continually "degraded and converted to other uses". To protect and restore these highly valuable ecosystems, knowledge of their processes and the assessment of their ecological conditions under anthropogenic pressures is of fundamental importance. The present book contains eight original research papers and a review that provide useful tools to understand the structure and function of transitional waters worldwide. The results allow us to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities and inform stakeholders on the actions that can be taken to manage them. The papers in this book provide different ecological approaches to investigate some main impacts: - benthic and nekton communities were studied to assess the impact of eutrophication and salinity changes; - biological processes in carbon dioxide fluxes were assessed in the framework of climate change; - nekton communities were discussed in relation to habitat morphological degradation; - the role of invasive alien species was considered.