Effects of the ecological restoration project in the coastal wetlands of the Yangtze River Estuary on benthic ciliate communities

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-5641.2026.03.009

Abstract

Abstract:

To evaluate the effects of the ecological restoration project involving Bolboschoenus maritimus in the Chongming Dongtan salt marsh wetland of the Yangtze River Estuary on the benthic community, this study employed principal coordinates analysis (PCoA), similarity percentage (SIMPER), and other methods to compare the community structure and diversity of benthic ciliates in the restoration area and the adjacent natural Bolboschoenus maritimus area over four consecutive seasons. The results are as follows: ① After restoration, the sediment median grain size, organic matter content, and ammonium levels in the restored area increased significantly; ② Significant differences were observed in the species composition of benthic ciliate communities between the restored and natural areas of Bolboschoenus maritimus. Salinity, phosphate, pH, oxidation-reduction potential, and meiofaunal biomass were the primary driving factors; ③ The α diversity of the benthic ciliate community in the natural area was significantly higher than that in the restored area. Silicate, salinity, ammonium, organic matter content, and sediment median grain size were the main factors influencing the diversity. In summary, the restored area exhibited a distinct benthic ciliate community composition and lower diversity compared to the natural area, suggesting that a longer recovery period may be needed for the sedimentary environment and benthic ciliate community in the restored area to reach the natural state.

Key words: bioindicator, marine protozoan, Spartina alterniflora, coastal wetlands, Yangtze River Estuary

CLC Number:

P735

Pengquan ZHONG, Wei WANG, Jiawei ZHANG, Xu LI, Ziqing ZHOU, Miaoxun WANG, Yuan XU. Effects of the ecological restoration project in the coastal wetlands of the Yangtze River Estuary on benthic ciliate communities[J]. J* E* C* N* U* N* S*, 2026, 2026(3): 110-123.

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区域	盐度/‰		SED/μm		TOC/%		TN/%		ORP/mV
区域	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围
修复区	13±6	5~23	18.34±9.18	5.09~34.85	0.75±0.40	0.14~1.39	0.10±0.05	0.03~0.20	406.64±67.80	203.70~534.00
天然区	3±5	0~13	43.01±8.36	24.16~53.53	0.12±0.08	0.07~0.41	0.03±0.01	0.02~0.06	430.02±66.58	306.30~593.80

区域	pH		Chl a/(μg/g)		BA/(10⁹ ind/mL)		MEB/(μg C/mL)		NH₄⁺/(μmol/L)
区域	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围
修复区	7.88±0.45	7.05~9.07	5.33±2.27	1.23~10.52	1.65±0.75	0.49~3.35	51.48±28.6	9.48~157.56	28.36±31.57	2.95~144.75
天然区	8.32±0.60	7.45~9.45	3.76±1.95	0.92~7.40	1.75±0.81	0.40~3.60	40.59±25.11	13.55~136.63	3.23±2.65	0.02~10.30

区域	NO₃^–/(μmol/L)		NO₂^–/(μmol/L)		PO₄^3–/(μmol/L)		SiO₃^2–/(μmol/L)
区域	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围	平均值± 标准差	范围
修复区	10.16±14.19	0.13~42.06	0.96±1.24	0.05~4.85	1.48±1.53	0.20~9.37	68.63±37.08	2.40~121.02
天然区	40.74±33.32	0.32~86.05	0.86±0.67	0.04~2.24	0.92±0.44	0.38~1.80	91.98±42.61	40.79~150.82

参数	p值 (显著性)
参数	区域	季节
盐度	***	***
SED	***	**
TOC含量	***	***
TN含量	***	***
ORP		***
pH	**	***
Chl a含量	***	***
BA		***
MEB	*	*
NH₄⁺含量	**
NO₃^–含量	***	***
NO₂^–含量	***
PO₄^3–含量		**
SiO₃^2–含量	*	***
物种数	**	***
丰度	**	**
香农-威纳指数	*	**

类型	样点	优势物种组合
修复区	R1	阿克洛裸口虫(Holophrya aklitolophon) (45.12%), 苏珊娜甲吸管虫(Loricophrya susannae) (19.74%), 卡佩裸口虫(Holophrya caspica) (9.79%)
修复区	R2	苏珊娜甲吸管虫 (25.79%), 阿克洛裸口虫 (23.21%), 卡佩裸口虫 (10.73%), 福摩萨吸管虫(Thecacineta fumosae) (8.26%), 细小哈特曼虫(Hartmannula angustipilosa) (5.93%)
天然区	N	阿克洛裸口虫 (13.85%), 马里兰伪膜袋虫(Pseudocyclidium marylandi) (12.58%), 食藻伪斜管虫(Pseudochilodonopsis algivora) (10.31%), 食藻裸口虫(Holophrya alviolata) (9.67%), 卡佩裸口虫 (7.37%), 盐扁丝虫(Platynematum salinarum) (6.76%), 波戈漫游虫(Litonotus bergeri) (5.65%)

环境因子组合	环境变量数	相关性
盐度、PO₄^3–含量、MEB、pH、ORP	5	0.394
盐度、MEB、pH、ORP	4	0.387
盐度、PO₄^3–含量、MEB、pH	4	0.379
盐度、MEB、pH	3	0.377
盐度、PO₄^3–含量、MEB、ORP	4	0.375

区域	SED/μm		TN/%		铵盐/(μmol/L)
区域	平均值±标准差	范围	平均值±标准差	范围	平均值±标准差	范围
修复前	22.74±4.12	14.98~34.98	0.02±0.02	0~0.09	9.10±7.97	1.19~30.50
修复后	18.34±9.18	5.09~34.85	0.10±0.05	0.03~0.20	28.36±31.57	2.95~144.75