Impact of temperature and dissolved oxygen level on the population dynamics of naidids and their reproduction in biological activated carbon filters: a life table demographic study

Aquatic macro-organisms, such as naidids, propagate excessively in biological activated carbon (BAC) filters. This has become a troublesome problem for drinking water plants. For successful control of naidid contamination risk, it is necessary to determine the population dynamics under different environmental conditions within drinking water plants, with special emphasis on BAC filters. In this study, field studies of naidid distribution in a drinking water plant were conducted, and the effects of temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) on naidid population dynamics were investigated using the life table method. The results indicated that naidid pollution in the water plant occurred seasonally and was induced by the excessive propagation of naidids in the BAC filters. Increased temperature and DO increased the naidid intrinsic rate of natural increase and decreased the naidid population doubling time. The life table method was also used to acquire the reproductive parameters of naidids in BAC filters based on simulative experiments. These results indicated that naidids can reproduce asexually in BAC filters, and the population doubling time was 12.60 days.