RT Journal Article
T1 The cotton-strip assay as an environmental surveillance tool for ecological integrity assessment of rivers affected by WWTP effluents
A1 Carballeira, Carlos
A1 Villares Pazos, Rubén
A1 Mata Rivas, Breixo
A1 Carballeira Ocaña, Alejo
K1 Ecosystem services
K1 Environmental monitoring plan
K1 Ecological integrity
K1 Biodegradation
K1 Monitoring
K1 Bioassay
AB Environmental impact studies of rivers affected by wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents have been greatly restricted by the difficulties associated with carrying out bioassays in the field and also by the complex interactions between the pollutants contained in the discharges. The cotton-strip assay (CSA) enables study of the organic matter decomposition potential, an important ecosystem process in rivers, by taking all of the factors affecting this process into account. However, the CSA has never been used for assessment of WWTP effluents. In the present study, we selected six fluvial zones affected by discharges from small WWTPs and placed cotton strips at increasing distances from the discharge points in each zone. After 17 days, we evaluated decay of the strips by measuring cotton tensile strength loss (CTSL) and cotton mass loss (CML). We then determined the relationships between these parameters and various physico-chemical and biological properties in the water, as well as the δ15N isotopic signal and metal contents of aquatic mosses transplanted in the same sampling sites and used as biomonitors. Although the WWTPs were similar, some of the discharges stimulated and others inhibited decomposition of the cotton strips. This was probably due to differences in the proportions of various types of pollutants (with trophic or toxic effects) in the discharges. The CSA proved to be a simple, practical and economic bioassay and suitable for evaluating the ecological integrity of fluvial ecosystems.
PB Elsevier
SN 0043-1354
YR 2020
FD 2020-02-01
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43590
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/43590
LA eng
NO Carballeira, C., Villares, R., Mata-Rivas, B., Carballeira, A. (2020). The cotton-strip assay as an environmental surveillance tool for ecological integrity assessment of rivers affected by WWTP effluents. "Water Research", 169, 115247.
NO The authors belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC/GPC2016-002, the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (AGRUP2015/02) and the postdoctoral FONDECYT project 3170795
DS Minerva
RD 28 abr 2026