Lukhabi Dorothy Khasisi, Mensah Paul Kojo, Asare Noble Kwame, Akwetey Margaret Fafa Awushie, Faseyi Charles Abimbola
Centre for Coastal Management-Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast 00223, Ghana.
Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
Heliyon. 2024 Mar 13;10(7):e28018. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28018. eCollection 2024 Apr 15.
Increasing human activities in coastal areas of Ghana have led to the degradation of many surface waterbodies, with significant consequences for the ecosystems in the affected areas. Thus, this degradation extremely affects the health of ecosystems and disrupts the essential services they provide. The present study explored the use of benthic macroinvertebrates as an indicator of estuarine degradation along the coast of Ghana. Water and sediment samples were collected bimonthly from Ankobra, Kakum and Volta estuaries for physicochemical parameters, nutrients and benthic macroinvertebrates. The findings revealed the dominance of pollution-tolerant taxa such as sp., sp., sp., sp., sp. and sp. in Kakum Estuary while pollution-sensitive taxa such as sp., sp., sp. and sp. in the Volta Estuary. The species-environment interactions showed dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, orthophosphate, nitrates, ammonium, electrical conductivity, turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand as the most significant parameters that complement the use of benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of environmental quality in the studied estuaries. There were correlations of some benthic macroinvertebrate taxa with environmental factors in the estuaries suggesting low, moderate and high levels of pollution in the Volta, Kakum and Ankobra estuaries, respectively. Nevertheless, the study finds Kakum Estuary to be the ecologically healthiest estuary than the Volta and Ankobra Estuaries. Therefore, the study has shown benthic macroinvertebrates as a key indicator of ecosystem health alterations, and it is recommended that they should be incorporated with other environmental data for pollution monitoring in Ghanaian coastal waters.
加纳沿海地区人类活动的增加导致了许多地表水体的退化，给受影响地区的生态系统带来了重大后果。因此，这种退化极大地影响了生态系统的健康，并扰乱了它们提供的基本服务。本研究探索了利用底栖大型无脊椎动物作为加纳沿海河口退化的指标。每两个月从安科布拉河、卡库姆河和沃尔特河河口采集水和沉积物样本，用于分析理化参数、营养物质和底栖大型无脊椎动物。研究结果显示，卡库姆河口耐污染类群如 属、 属、 属、 属、 属和 属占主导地位，而沃尔特河口则是对污染敏感的类群如 属、 属、 属和 属占主导地位。物种与环境的相互作用表明，溶解氧、温度、盐度、正磷酸盐、硝酸盐、铵、电导率、浊度和化学需氧量是最重要的参数，这些参数补充了底栖大型无脊椎动物作为所研究河口环境质量指标的作用。一些底栖大型无脊椎动物类群与河口环境因素之间存在相关性，这表明沃尔特河、卡库姆河和安科布拉河河口的污染程度分别为低、中、高。然而，研究发现卡库姆河口比沃尔特河和安科布拉河河口在生态上更健康。因此，该研究表明底栖大型无脊椎动物是生态系统健康变化的关键指标，建议将它们与其他环境数据结合起来用于加纳沿海水域的污染监测。
