The potential use of fauna and bacteria as ecological indicators for the assessment of groundwater quality

Heide Stein; Claudia Kellermann; Susanne I. Schmidt; Heike Brielmann; Christian Steube; Sven E. Berkhoff; Andreas Fuchs; Hans Jürgen Hahn; Barbara Thulin; Christian Griebler

doi:10.1039/B913484K

The potential use of fauna and bacteria as ecological indicators for the assessment of groundwater quality†

Heide Stein,^a Claudia Kellermann,^b Susanne I. Schmidt,^c Heike Brielmann,^b Christian Steube,^b Sven E. Berkhoff,^a Andreas Fuchs,^a Hans Jürgen Hahn,^a Barbara Thulin^d and Christian Griebler*^b

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* Corresponding authors

^a University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Department of Biology, Im Fort 7, Landau, Germany

^b Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Institute of Groundwater Ecology, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg, Germany
E-mail: christian.griebler@helmholtz-muenchen.de
Fax: +49 89 3187 3361
Tel: +49 89 3187 2564

^c Centre for Systems Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK

^d Geo Innova AB, Arvid Hedvalls Backe 4, Göteborg, Sweden

Abstract

The use of ecological criteria for the assessment of aquatic ecosystem status is routine for surface waters. So far no ecological parameters are considered for the assessment and monitoring of groundwater quality. It has been well known for decades that aquifers are ecosystems harbouring a vast diversity of invertebrates and microorganisms. The growing knowledge on groundwater microbial and faunal communities as well as the molecular and statistical tools available form a solid ground for the development of first ecologically sound assessment schemes. The sensitivity of groundwater communities towards impacts from land use and surface waters is exemplarily demonstrated by a data set of two geologically similar but hydrologically partially separated aquifer systems. Subgroups of the fauna in groundwater (stygobites vs. stygophiles and stygoxenes) successfully indicated elevated nitrate impacts linked to land use activities. Within the microbial communities, impacts from land use are mirrored by high bacterial biodiversity values atypical for pristine groundwater of comparable systems. The data show that there is legitimate hope for the application of ecological criteria for groundwater quality assessment in the future.

Journal of Environmental Monitoring

The potential use of fauna and bacteria as ecological indicators for the assessment of groundwater quality†

Abstract

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The potential use of fauna and bacteria as ecological indicators for the assessment of groundwater quality

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