In brackish-water ecosystems, planktonic populations are well-known to be influenced by space–time variations in hydrochemical parameters and tidal dynamics.
Anthropogenic activities often generate further effects, which also interfere to a greater or lesser extent with the ecosystem.
The Lagoon of Venice receives several types of inputs: urban, industrial and thermal effluents, and agricultural run-off.
These have produced significant variations in the trophic state of the ecosystem in question, sometimes accompanied by alterations in specific biological populations.
As regards plankton, algal blooms have been described in the central and northern basins of the Lagoon, while one species of zooplankton (Acartia tonsa Dana) has undergone explosive increases in numbers, especially in the innermost
areas of the Lagoon.
The question therefore arises as to whether planktonic organisms in the Lagoon can be exploited as bio-indicators of water quality.
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Aiming to answer this question, a research program started since 1997.
This study consisted of two years of observations in the Venice lagoon, to follow the spacetime variations of plankton populations in areas subjected to anthropogenic influences.