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Updated: Jun 20, 2026
08:30
Characterization of Aquatic Biofilms with Flow Cytometry
Published on: June 6, 2018
Microbial indicators of aquatic ecosystem change: current applications to eutrophication studies
Hans W Paerl1, Julianne Dyble, Pia H Moisander
1Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, NC 28557, USA. hpaerl@email.unc.edu
FEMS Microbiology Ecology
|September 2, 2009
Summary
Human activities and natural changes impact aquatic microbes. Microbial bioindicators help track these changes in diverse ecosystems, aiding environmental monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Microbiology
- Ecology
Background:
- Aquatic ecosystems face increasing human pressures like pollution and habitat alteration, impacting vital microbial processes.
- Natural disturbances such as droughts and floods, potentially intensified by climate change, also affect aquatic environments.
- Understanding the combined effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on microbial life is crucial for ecosystem health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the critical role of microbial bioindicators in detecting and characterizing environmental changes in aquatic ecosystems.
- To emphasize the need for integrating natural and human stressor impacts on microbial diversity and function.
- To showcase the application of microbial indicators in estuarine and coastal environments facing development and climate shifts.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing complementary analytical and molecular tools to study microbial populations and communities.
- Monitoring phytoplankton (microalgal and cyanobacterial) and bacterial communities in US coastal and estuarine systems.
- Adapting microbial indicators for various monitoring platforms, including ferries, instrumentation, and remote sensing.
Main Results:
- Human activities and climate change are altering microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems.
- Phytoplankton and bacterial communities in US estuaries show responses to watershed development and climatic changes.
- Microbial bioindicators effectively reveal environmentally driven changes in microbial structure and function.
Conclusions:
- Microbial bioindicators are essential for assessing the health and changes in aquatic ecosystems under various environmental pressures.
- Integrated monitoring approaches using microbial indicators can provide insights into ecosystem- to global-scale environmental controls.
- The complementary use of different indicator tools enhances our understanding of microbial responses to environmental perturbations.
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