Detection of Organic Pollution of Streams in Southern Sweden Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates

Abstract

Benthic macroinvertebrates samples were collected in spring and autumn 2000. Fifteen streams in southern Sweden were sampled twice both for chemical, physical, and biological parameters. Eighty-four macroinvertebrate `single' metrics were calculated and tested for their ability of detecting organic pollution of streams. A comparison of the `best' single metrics with two multimetric indices was also done. The Belgian Biotic Index (BBI), the Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT), the Saprobic Index (Zelinka & Marvan), the German Saprobic Index, percentage hypopotamal preferences, the Danish Stream Fauna Index (DSFI) and percentage pelal preferences were found to be good indicators of organic pollution. Both DSFI and ASPT are frequently used for detecting organic pollution in southern Sweden and could be recommended for further use. Although saprobic indices are not commonly used in Sweden, our results indicate that they may be appropriate. BBI, percentage hypopotamal preferences, and percentage pelal preferences are seldom used for detecting organic pollution of Swedish streams, but could maybe prove useful for future uses. Two multimetric indices recently developed for detecting the effects of organic pollution in southern Sweden, the AQEM Type S05 Index and the DJ Index, were compared to the `best' single metrics by determining their responses to total phosphorous concentration, conductivity, and percentage cropland. The comparison showed that the DJ Index proved to be a better indicator of the effects of organic pollution than the single metrics. The other multimetric index, the AQEM Type S05 Index, had slightly lower statistical power, but performed well in comparison to the other metrics.