Biodiversity of multi-trophic biological communities within riverine sediments impacted by PAHs contamination and land use changes

Abstract

River ecosystems currently face a significant threat of degradation and loss of biodiversity resulting from continuous emissions of persistent organic pollutants and human activities. In this study, multi-trophic communities were assessed using DNA metabarcoding in a relatively stable riverine sediment compartment to investigate the biodiversity dynamics in the Beiluo River, followed by an evaluation of their response to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and land use changes. A total of 48 bacterial phyla, 4 fungal phyla, 4 protist phyla, 9 algal phyla, 31 metazoan phyla, and 12 orders of fish were identified. The total concentration of PAHs in the Beiluo River sediments ranged from 25.95 to 1141.35 ng/g, with low molecular weight PAHs constituting the highest proportion (68.67%), followed by medium (22.19%) and high (9.14%) molecular weight PAHs. Notably, in contrast to lower trophic level aquatic communities such as bacteria, algae, and metazoans, PAHs exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on fish. Furthermore, the diversity of aquatic communities displayed obvious heterogeneity across distinct land use groups. A high proportion of cultivated land reduced the biodiversity of fish communities but increased that of metazoans. Conversely, an elevated proportion of built-up land reduced metazoan biodiversity, while simultaneously enhancing that of fungi and bacteria. Generally, land use changes exert both indirect and direct effects on aquatic communities. The direct effects primarily influence the abundance of aquatic communities rather than their diversity. Nevertheless, PAHs pollution may have limited potential to disrupt community structures through complex species interactions, as the hub species identified in the co-occurrence network did not align with those significantly affected by PAHs. This study indicates the potential of PAHs and land use changes to cause biodiversity losses. However, it also highlights the possibility of mitigating these negative effects in riverine sediments through optimal land use management and the promotion of enhanced species interactions.