PLANKTON COMMUNITY AND FUNCTIONAL GROUPS IN FUHE RIVER, CHINA

Plankton are the foundation of the food chain in aquatic environments, and changes in phytoplankton community structure and function could pose risks to human health through their impacts on pollutant activity. We studied the correlation of plankton community and functional groups to the environmental factors in the Fuhe River, China. Water quality was evaluated based on Qr-index of phytoplankton diversity and functional group biomass. From September 2020 to August 2021, a total of 304 phytoplankton and 158 zooplankton species were collected. The phytoplankton were divided into 30 functional groups, whereas zooplankton were divided into nine functional groups. Phytoplankton functional groups were mainly composed of groups H1, MP, and W1. Among them, functional group MP had the greatest biomass, accounting for 34.37% of the phytoplankton biomass, followed by H1 (10.61%), and W1 (10.10%). The zooplankton functional groups mainly consisted of RF, RC, and SCF functional groups. The functional group RC accounted for 48.81% of the total zooplankton biomass, followed by RF (20.46%), and SCF (19.65%). The major environmental factors influencing phytoplankton functional groups were water temperature (WT), dissolved oxygen (DO), oxidationreduction potential (ORP), and transparency (TS), whereas the major environmental factors influencing zooplankton functional groups were WT, pH, and DO. Overall, water quality of Fuhe River Basin was good, being slightly polluted or pollution-free.