Impacts of different types of wastewater discharge on plankton community structure in the receiving rivers of the Yangtze River

作者：Rui Bian, Shier Huang, Xiaofeng Cao, Weixiao Qi, Jianfeng Peng, Huijuan Liu, Min Chen, Yufeng Chen, Jiuhui Qu · 发表于：Environmental Pollution · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127137 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics、Water Quality and Pollution Assessment、Marine and coastal ecosystems

The quantities of industrial and domestic wastewater are increasing in the Yangtze River Basin, which may have a significant impact on receiving rivers. Many studies have examined plankton distribution patterns influenced by wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. However, few have explored how different wastewaters (domestic, industrial, and mixed) affect plankton communities. To address this gap, 92 samples were collected from the receiving rivers within the Yangtze River Basin during various seasons. The results showed that the treated industrial wastewater significantly altered the plankton community structure via elevated salinity, particularly affecting phytoplankton seasonal variation. Phytoplankton numbers during the dry season were more than 10 % higher than those during the wet season, in contrast to trends from other wastewaters. Both plankton (specifically for Bacillariophyta ) density and biomass decreased by approximately 36 % following the input of treated wastewater, but increased again 500 m downstream of outfall in both seasons. Industrial wastewater samples exhibited stronger connections among higher taxa and more negative associations between F − , TDS, Cl − , K + , Na + , etc., with various species than those influenced by other wastewaters. Furthermore, ecosystem health levels gradually improved from poor status near the outfall to sub–health status 10 km downstream of the confluence with the mainstream. These findings reveal the impacts of differen...