Towards multi-level biomonitoring of nematodes to assess risk of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in Jinchuan Wetland of Northeast China.

ABSTRACT

Cultivation for agricultural production often poses threats to nearby wetlands ecosystems in fertile landscapes. In this study, nematode ecological indexes were assessed through the main soil properties of the wetlands, farmlands, and edges of wetlands and farmlands in Jinchuan Wetland by the random sampling. Behavior and reproduction in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) exposed to the sampled waters were also examined. Stress proteins Hsp70 and Hsp90 were measured both in the living field samples of C. elegans and the lab-tested C. elegans. Our results suggested that disturbance to wetland ecosystems by nitrogen and phosphorus reduced nematode richness and proportions of bacterivore nematodes. Bacterivore nematode diversity and plant-parasitic ecological index were proven to be sensitive indicators of the ecological health of wetlands. Nematode Hsp70 were useful biosensors to monitor and assess the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus pollutions in wetlands. Furthermore, multi-level soil faunal assessments by canonical correspondence analysis showed that Jinchuan Wetland is threatened with non-point source pollution from nearby farmlands.