ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AND BIOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS: INTEGRATING WATER QUALITY, MICROBIAL DIVERSITY, AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES
Keywords:
Freshwater ecosystems, Water quality, Environmental stressors, Microbial indicators, Ecological monitoring
Abstract
Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly affected by interacting physicochemical pressures and microbial contamination, creating a need for integrated approaches to environmental assessment. This research evaluated water-quality conditions and microbial responses across rivers, canals, ponds, and lakes using 120 freshwater monitoring records collected between 2021 and 2023. Temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, conductivity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrate-N, fecal coliform, and total coliform were assessed using descriptive statistics, temporal and water-body comparisons, and Spearman correlation analysis. Mean DO was 6.66 ± 1.73 mg/L, while median fecal and total coliform concentrations were 397.5 and 824 MPN/100 mL, respectively. Median DO decreased from 8.70 mg/L in 2021 to 6.22 mg/L in 2023, whereas total coliform increased from 95 to 1,065 MPN/100 mL. Rivers exhibited the highest median DO, while lakes recorded the highest median microbial indicators. Total coliform was positively associated with BOD (ρ = 0.458) and temperature (ρ = 0.380) and negatively associated with DO (ρ = −0.362) and pH (ρ = −0.587). These findings demonstrate the value of combining physicochemical and microbial indicators to identify environmental stress patterns and strengthen freshwater monitoring and ecological assessment.
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9.De Carvalho, F. G., Loyau, A., Kelly-Irving, M., & Schmeller, D. S. (2025). Aquatic ecosystem indices, linking ecosystem health to human health risks. Biodiversity and conservation, 34(3), 723-767.
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13.Hernandez, D. J., David, A. S., Menges, E. S., Searcy, C. A., & Afkhami, M. E. (2021). Environmental stress destabilizes microbial networks. The ISME journal, 15(6), 1722-1734.
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20.Morsy, K. M., Mishra, A. K., & Galal, M. M. (2020). Water quality assessment of the Nile Delta lagoons. Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1178622120963072.
21.Perveen, S. (2023). Drinking water quality monitoring, assessment and management in Pakistan: A review. Heliyon, 9(3).
22.Sangwan, S., Kumar, M., Lamba, R., Singh, S., Kumari, A., & Wati, L. (2024). Bioindicators: Natural biotic sensors of environmental pollution and ecological disturbance. In Environmental Nexus Approach (pp. 311-337). CRC Press.
23.Sarker, S. (2025). Role of management information systems in environmental risk assessment: a systematic review of geographic and ecological applications. American Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 6(1), 95-126.
24.Tagar, S., Qambrani, N. A., Ahmed, Z., Ansari, K., Mahar, R. B., Muqeet, M., & Zaidi, S. M. Z. (2025). Surface water analysis for physical parameters, fecal indicator bacteria, and identification of the origin of contamination. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 236(2), 118.
25.Weller, D., Brassill, N., Rock, C., Ivanek, R., Mudrak, E., Roof, S., ... & Wiedmann, M. (2020). Complex interactions between weather, and microbial and physicochemical water quality impact the likelihood of detecting foodborne pathogens in agricultural water. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11, 134.
Published
2026-08-29
How to Cite
Prof. Irene Gregory-Eaves, Prof. Kumar Sapkota, & Prof. Frances Renata Pick. (2026). ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AND BIOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS: INTEGRATING WATER QUALITY, MICROBIAL DIVERSITY, AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES. IJRDO - JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 12(3), 140-151. https://doi.org/10.69980/bs.v12i3.6818
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Articles
Copyright (c) 2026 IJRDO - JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
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