Pollution Tolerant Taxa Research Articles

Spatial and temporal variation of stream communities in a human-affected tropical watershed

We explored the spatial and temporal variability of benthic macroinvertebrate communities (density, taxon richness, evenness and taxonomic composition) in a tropical Panamanian stream that is potentially affected by organic and chemical pollution resulting from human activities. As predicted, pristine headwaters of Site 1, located within the Altos de Campana National Park, showed the lowest macroinvertebrate densities, suggesting an increase in pollution-tolerant taxa at downstream sites located near human settlements and agricultural land. Moreover, Site 1 had higher accumulated taxon richness than downstream sites (except Site 5), although evenness was higher at Site 3. Density and taxon richness were higher and more variable in the dry season, while evenness was only higher in the dry season at Site 1. Multivariate analysis showed that the fauna responded to a natural longitudinal gradient, but there was also a strong water quality signal associated with human settlements. Community composition was related to abiotic variables commonly associated to pollution, such as alkalinity, dissolved solids, phosphates, and total organic carbon.

A method to identify estuarine macroinvertebrate pollution indicator species in the Virginian Biogeographic Province

Abstract Macroinvertebrates are commonly used as biomonitors to detect pollution impacts in estuaries. The goal of this research was to identify estuarine benthic invertebrates that could be used as indicator species to detect presence or absence of pollution in the Virginian Biogeographic Province using available monitoring data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program. The data were first subdivided by habitat. Then we summarized the benthic community using principal coordinates analysis and projected the results onto a pollution gradient. Then we compared medians and corrected interquartile ranges to identify indicator species that were sensitive to pollution (or lack thereof) and showed low variation in response. Our data set was divided into smaller subsets that ranged from 108 to 532 stations per habitat. Out of 707 species in the Virginian Province, 67 were identified as pollution indicator species; 37 pollution sensitive taxa and 30 pollution tolerant taxa. The pollution sensitive taxa were represented by more phyla than were the pollution tolerant taxa. The pollution tolerant taxa were dominated by deposit feeders while the pollution sensitive taxa were not dominated by animals using any one feeding strategy. The pollution sensitive taxa included many crustaceans, known to be sensitive to pollution, while the pollution tolerant taxa included many tubificid oligochaetes, which are common indicators of pollution. Our empirically based results corresponded well with other studies that identified tolerance values or indicator species. One advantage of this technique is that it can be used on smaller data sets, assuming that there are not major habitat differences among the samples. We believe that this parsimonious technique can be applied to other coastal areas where mid-size (100–500 stations) monitoring data sets are available.

Preliminary chemical and biological assessment of Ogbe Creek, Lagos, Nigeria

The study was aimed at assessing the quality of water from the Ogbe Creek during the months of flooding (September- December 2001) and its implications for the health of the inhabitants of the densely-populated city of Lagos, Nigeria. The hydrochemistry of the creek was strongly influenced by the seasonal flooding. The surface water of the creek was characterized by high total dissolved solids (> 200 mg/l), Biological oxygen demand (> 50 mg/l) and alkalinity (> 250 mg/l). Low values of Dissolved oxygen (< 5.0 mg/l) and transparency (< 18 cm) were also recorded. The levels of the nutrient elements P03–(> 2.00 mg/l) and NO3- (> 5.0 mg/l) were moderately high, suggesting organic pollution and nutrient enrichment of the creek. A high concentration of heavy metal salts such as Fe (> 50 mg/l), Na (> 135 mg/l) and K (> 30 mg/l) reflected the impact of domestic and industrial waste on the creek. One thousand and seventy three phytoplankton comprising 15 species and 106 zooplankton made up of 14 species were collected from the creek, mostly pollution tolerant species. Toxic plankton such as Oscillatoria which produces anatoxin, an alkaloid, Microcystis aeruginosa which produces an acutely lethal hepatotoxin called microcystin and Epistylus were harvested within the creek. The macro benthos harvested consisted of 123 invertebrates comprising four pollution tolerant taxa, Erpobdella, Chironomus, Eristalis and Brachydeutera. The low plankton and macro benthos diversity further indicated the impact of the perturbational stress on the organisms inhabiting the creek. Monitoring and evaluation of the creek, and education on health measures and hygiene are, therefore, essential.

Macroinvertebrate community response to large-woody debris additions in small warmwater streams

Half-logs are a common restoration tool used to provide cover for fish in degraded streams. These structures may also provide a stable substrate for biofilm production and aquatic macroinvertebrate colonization. Half-logs (N = 108) were installed into nine streams of the upper Wabash River basin, Indiana, in July 2003 to examine changes in aquatic macroinvertebrate community composition and functional guilds under varying land-use types. Following installation, half-logs were colonized and showed statistically significant increases in both relative abundance and taxa richness of macroinvertebrates over time. The number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa collected from half-logs, as a percentage of total community composition, was positively related to the percentage of canopy coverage across streams and the relative abundance of shredder taxa utilizing half-logs decreased significantly with increasing canopy coverage. Forest streams exhibited significantly lower relative abundances of individuals colonizing half-logs (mean = 14.9 taxa/0.25 m2) than fallow field and agricultural streams (mean = 29.5 and 33.1, respectively). The percentage of pollution-tolerant taxa using half-logs was highest in fallow field streams (mean = 18.4%), followed by forest and agriculture systems (mean = 15.9% and 13. 9%, respectively). These results indicate that half-logs were colonized by aquatic macroinvertebrates and exhibited changes in community composition and functional feeding guilds over time and across land-use types. The extent of colonization and use of half-logs was largely dependent upon the pre-existing in-stream habitat quality and the predominant land-use type.

Comparative study on macroinvertebrate communities along a reservoir cascade in Xiangxi River Basin

Three cascade reservoirs (Gudongkou Reservoir 1 (GR1), Gudongkou Reservoir 2 (GR2), and Xiangxi Bay of Three-Gorge Reservoir in Xiangxi River Basin, China were selected to investigate macroinvertebrate ecology in a cascade reservoir system. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) implied that water quality was degrading along the reservoir cascade. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) showed that sampling stations located in the lacustrine zone of a reservoir are representatives in comparing macroinvertebrate assemblages along the reservoir cascade. Oligochaetes were numerically dominant in both GR1 and Xiangxi Bay, and chironomids were dominant in GR2. A similar pattern was also exhibited in taxon composition. Benthic assemblages of the 3 reservoirs were all dominated by pollution-tolerant taxa in spite of their differences in water quality. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) disclosed that turbidity influenced the benthic assemblages significantly. Total organic carbon (TOC)/Turbidity was applied to determine the influence of organic matter on turbidity. The ratio in GR2 was the lowest among the 3 reservoirs, which implicated that the influence of organic matter on turbidity was smaller in GR2 than in the other 2 reservoirs, suggesting that inorganic matter contributed substantially to the turbidity of GR2.

Back-pumping of agricultural runoff into a large shallow lake and concurrent changes in the macroinvertebrate assemblage

Macroinvertebrates were monitored during the summer of 2001 at two paired reference and impact sites, to assess potential effects of agricultural runoff, which was back-pumped upstream into Lake Okeechobee, USA. Monitoring was conducted prior to back-pumping (Pre, April–May), during back-pumping (BP, June–September) and during the following year (Post, April–September, 2002, impact sites only). Prior to back-pumping, the macroinvertebrate communities at both impact sites differed from those at their respective reference sites. During back-pumping, differences in the macroinvertebrate communities were slightly less pronounced among the eastern pair of sites but were more pronounced at the western sites than they were prior to back-pumping. There also were marginal differences in the macroinvertebrate communities at both impact sites between the Pre and BP periods, while very little change was observed in the communities among the same periods at both reference sites. For the Post–Pre and Post–BP period comparisons, there were clear differences between the macroinvertebrate communities at the western impact site, while less pronounced differences were observed at the eastern impact site. This suggests that the Post back-pumping assemblage did not return to that observed prior to back-pumping activity. During BP, several water-quality variables appeared to be different among each of the paired sites and the correlation between water-quality variables and macroinvertebrate community structure was strong at the western sites but weaker at the eastern sites. This suggests that a combination of abiotic variables may have been influencing the community structure at the western sites while back-pumping was occurring. Macroinvertebrates at all sites reflected poor water quality, but more taxonomic changes during back-pumping were observed at the impact sites than at the reference sites. It is not known if these taxonomic changes resulted in impacts among the macroinvertebrate community or to higher-trophic-level predators such as fish. If lake restoration activities result in a shift to a less pollution-tolerant macroinvertebrate community, and the anticipated reduction in future back-pumping activity does not occur, the macroinvertebrate community may return to one that is dominated by pollution-tolerant taxa in affected portions of the lake.

Keeping it simple: Benefits of targeting riffle-pool macroinvertebrate communities over multi-substratum sampling protocols in the preparation of a new European biotic index

Abstract The purpose of this study was to test the performance of a new sampling strategy for bioassessment of water quality. The macroinvertebrates living in the mineral substrata of geomorphological unit riffles strategy (MMS-GUR) concentrates sampling effort on certain geomorphologically and hydrobiologically representative units within survey sites and refines the level of taxonomic sorting of pertinent macroinvertebrate communities therein. Previous data have demonstrated that the mineral substrata of geomorphological unit riffles (GURs) harbour a wide variety of macroinvertebrates and pollution-sensitive taxa [Beauger, A., Lair, N., Reyes-Marchant, P., Peiry, J.-L., 2006. The distribution of macroinvertebrate assemblages in a reach of the River Allier (France), in relation to riverbed characteristics. Hydrobiologia 571, 63–76]. These units are typical of alluvial rivers and are easily identified from the bank and easily sampled. The objectives of the present study were to specify the sampling effort required to obtain representative taxonomic data from these communities, and to compare the performance of the new protocol with that of an established multi-substratum sampling methodology (XS). Two sampling series were carried out on two rivers within the same hydro-ecoregion. Two separate data were compiled from each site, incorporating taxon lists and relevant biological, ecological and physiological trait (BEPT) information, one using conventional (XS) methodology and the other from the MMS-GUR protocol. Macroinvertebrates sampled from three GURs of the River Allier ranged from pollution-tolerant to pollution-sensitive taxa. A comparison between the two methods (MMS-GUR and XS) conducted on the Allier and the Loire confirmed the validity of GURs as representative features, showing that pollution-sensitive taxa were better represented on mineral substrata and pollution-tolerant taxa were not over-estimated. The XS method is characterised by eight samples, while preliminary studies on the Allier suggested that a maximum of 13 samples were required to obtain sufficient taxonomic richness using the MMS-GUR methodology. However in river sections where pollution-sensitive taxa were numerous, the number of MMS-GUR samples required for analysis could be reduced to 10 or 8. In the context of the EU Water Framework Directive and associated AQEM project, the MMS-GUR protocol may facilitate the comparison of different rivers by sampling macroinvertebrate communities from similar rhithron or epipotamon habitats and focussing on pollution-sensitive taxa. It has the further advantage of reducing the time and effort spent in sampling and sorting. Increasing the resolution of taxonomic information to the genus level may also improve the standard of water quality assessment.

Annual and spatial variation for macroinvertebrates in the Upper Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, Missouri

We sampled macroinvertebrates at four sites in the Open River section of the Upper Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau, Missouri (Rkm 106-114). In 1999, 2000, and 2002 - 2004, macroinvertebrates were sampled in the fine sediments downstream of four wing dikes with a Ponar dredge. In 1999 and 2001, macroinver- tebrates on rocks were sampled on the upstream face of those same wing dikes with rock baskets. We identified 68 taxa in the fine sediments and 50 taxa on the rocks, with only 27 taxa being found in both. In both habitats, annual variability in population densities and community structure exceeded spatial variability. Macroinvertebrate densities in the fine sediments ranged from approximately 3700 to 11,700 individuals/m 2 with oligochaetes com- prising 77- 95 % of total density. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination suggests that annual differ- ences in the fine sediment assemblage reflect variation in hydrological conditions (high spring flow and low an- nual flow). Macroinvertebrate density on the rocks ranged from approximately 57,800 to 163,000 individuals/m 2 with hydropsychid caddisflies (Hydropsyche bidens/orris and Potamyia flava) comprising 82 - 97 % of total den- sity. This dominance of oligochaetes in fine bottom substrates and caddisflies on hard substrates is consistent with many other studies on big rivers in the Mississippi River Basin (e. g., Upper and Lower Mississippi, Ohio, Il- linois, and Missouri Rivers), and may be the current reference condition for these big rivers. This makes tradi- tional water quality monitoring and assessment efforts using macroinvertebrates more difficult because increased dominance by more pollution tolerant taxa is perceived as evidence of water or habitat degradation. However, macroinvertebrate assemblages in our study reach seem less stressed than other big rivers known to be impaired. Specifically, densities of the pollution-sensitive mayfly Hexagenia indicate that conditions in our study reach have improved markedly since the 1960's.

Diatom-based TP and TN inference models and indices for monitoring nutrient enrichment of New Jersey streams

Abstract We evaluated the potential for using diatoms to assess and monitor nutrient enrichment in New Jersey streams and rivers, and propose inference models and indices for regulatory purposes. We assessed the relationship between benthic diatom and water chemistry samples (n = 101) collected from 45 sites in 3 ecoregions: Northern Piedmont, Northeastern Highlands and Ridge and Valley. Diatom assemblages were dominated by pollution-tolerant taxa. Multivariate analysis showed that nutrient concentrations explained significant proportions of the variation in diatom species composition. Weighted-averaging partial least square (WA-PLS) total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) inference models (n = 91) showed good predictive ability (TP model: r apparent 2 = 0.87 ; r boot 2 = 0.72 ; RMSEboot = 0.23 log10 μg L−1 TP; TN model: r apparent 2 = 0.88 ; r boot 2 = 0.58 ; RMSEboot = 0.23 log10 μg L−1 TN). Diatom TP and TN indices were created to simplify presentation of results for the general public by rescaling the inferred TP and TN values from 0 to 100. The obtained index scores were assigned to nutrient impairment categories for regulatory assessment purposes.

Impervious surface area as a predictor of the effects of urbanization on stream insect communities in Maine, USA.

The influence of urbanization on stream insect communities was determined by comparing physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of streams draining 20 catchments with varying levels of urban land-cover in Maine (U.S.A). Percent total impervious surface area (PTIA), which was used to quantify urban land-use, ranged from approximately 1-31% among the study catchments. Taxonomic richness of stream insect communities showed an abrupt decline as PTIA increased above 6%. Streams draining catchments with PTIA < 6% had the highest levels of both total insect and EPT (Ephemeroptera + Plecoptera + Trichoptera) taxonomic richness. These streams contained insect communities with a total richness averaging 33 taxa in fall and 31 taxa in spring; EPT richness ranged from an average of 15 taxa in fall and 13 taxa in spring. In contrast, none of the streams draining catchments with 6-27% PTIA had a total richness > 18 taxa or an EPT richness > 6 taxa. Insect communities in streams with PTIA > 6% were characterized by the absence of pollution-intolerant taxa. The distribution of more pollution-tolerant taxa (e.g. Acerpenna (Ephemeroptera); Paracapnia, Allocapnia (Plecoptera); Optioservus, Stenelmis (Coleoptera); Hydropsyche, Cheumatopsvyche (Trichoptera)), however, showed little relation to PTIA. In contrast to the apparent threshold relationship between PTIA and insect taxonomic richness, both habitat quality and water quality tended to decline as linear functions of PTIA. Our results indicate that, in Maine, an abrupt change in stream insect community structure occurs at a PTIA above a threshold of approximately 6% of total catchment area. The measurement of PTIA may provide a valuable tool for predicting thresholds for adverse effects of urbanization on the health of headwater streams in Maine.

DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF A ZOOPLANKTON INDEX OF WETLAND QUALITY IN THE LAURENTIAN GREAT LAKES BASIN

Recent interest in biological monitoring as an ecosystem assessment tool has stimulated the development of a number of biotic indices designed to aid in the evaluation of ecosystem integrity; however, zooplankton have rarely been included in biomonitoring schemes. We developed a wetland zooplankton index (WZI) based on water quality and zooplankton associations with aquatic vegetation (emergent, submergent, and floating-leaf) that could be used to assess wetland quality, in particular in marshes of the Laurentian Great Lakes basin. Seventy coastal and inland marshes were sampled during 1995–2000; these ranged from pristine, macrophyte-dominated systems, to highly degraded systems containing only a fringe of emergent vegetation. The index was developed based on the results of a partial canonical correspondence analysis (pCCA), which indicated that plant-associated taxa such as chydorid and macrothricid cladocerans were common in high-quality wetlands, while more open-water, pollution-tolerant taxa (e.g., B...

Relationships between land use and stream invertebrate community structure in a South Island, New Zealand, coastal stream catchment

Macroinvertebrate community composition was compared across streams draining catchments dominated by either native bush, agricultural or urban land uses within the Water of Leith stream catchment near Dunedin, New Zealand. Land use was associated with differences in taxon richness and faunal composition of communities present in each stream. The mean abundance levels of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera were highest in native bush catchments, and lowest in urban catchments. In contrast, the mean abundance of Oligochaeta exhibited the opposite pattern. Increasing dominance of the urban and agricultural streams by pollution tolerant taxa was reflected in the Macroinvertebrate Community Index and Quantitative Macroinvertebrate Community Index scores.

The impact of the Cyanamid Canada Co. discharges to benthic invertebrates in the Welland River in Niagara falls, Canada

: In 1986, the International Joint Commission (IJC) recommended that the Niagara River watershed should be declared an Area of Concern (AOC). This IJC recommendation was ratified by the 4 signatories of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. In order to delist an AOC, it is necessary to locate any areas of impairment within the watershed and carry out remediation projects that permit uses that were previously impaired. To this end we attempted to determine whether or not the sediments at 7 study sites near the Cyanamid Canada (Chemical) Co. were contaminated at levels that would result in the impairment of the natural biota which inhabit the watershed.The Cyanamid Canada (Chemical) Co. discharges ammonia wastes, cyanide, arsenic and a variety of heavy metals into treatment systems which ultimately discharge to the Welland River, the major Canadian tributary to the Niagara River. This portion of the Welland River near the factory was designated a Provincially significant (Class one) wetlands by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. In 1986, the mean discharge to a creek from Cyanamid Canada Co. was 27,342 m(3) per day (MOE, 1987). Similar discharge volumes occurred in 1989. In 1991, the total discharge was 25,000 m(3) per day (MOE, 1991).The majority of the benthic invertebrates collected from the study area were pollution tolerant taxa (e.g., sludge worms constituted 68% of all the organisms collected). The lowest chironomid densities were observed at stations 1, 2, and 4, which were the only stations situated close to Cyanamid's discharge pipes. The absence, of clams and mayflies which burrow to greater depths than do chironomids and sludge worms, probably reflects the inability of the deeper dwelling burrowers to tolerate the contaminants which we recorded at these 3 stations. The absence of all crustaceans from these same 3 stations (stations 1, 2 and 4) when coupled with their low biotic diversity and the elevated heavy metal concentrations in the sediments were cause for concern. In addition, stations 2 and 4 displayed the highest frequency of chironomid mentum deformities.Stations 1 and 2 were located near a pipe which was one of Cyanamid Canada Company's major discharge point sources to the Welland River until a court order in 1980 stopped the company from discharging toxic material to the Welland River via that pipe. Elevated levels of cobalt (10 times above background), molybdenum (6 times above background), nickel (8 times above back-ground), tungsten (284 times above background) and zinc (20 times above background) near the abandoned discharge pipe were correlated with the presence of pollution tolerant chironomid taxa such as Polypedilum and Procladius. The highest sludge worm densities were also observed at the abandoned pipe site which was the only site where oily wastes were found in the sediments.Among the 1,275 chironomids taken from the seven Cyanamid Canada stations, the great majority were pollution tolerant taxa. The low biotic diversity and the presence of considerable numbers of pollution tolerant benthic macroinvertebrates in combination with the chemical evidence of pollutants in the sediments near many of these Cyanamid discharge sites were reasons for classifying these sites as 'impaired' as defined by the International Joint Commission.

Community Structure of Zooplankton at River Chambal Near Nagda with Reference to Industrial Pollution

The community structure of zooplankton was studied in relation to physico-chemical characteristics of the river Chambal polluted by industrial effluents and domestic sewage near Nagda. Thirtytwo species of zooplankton of five main groups, viz. Protozoa, Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda and Ostracoda were observed at pre-pollution sampling stations. The abundance, distribution, total population, group percentage and species diversity were studied and correlated with pollution-indicating parameters. Species diversity values indicated a decrease from the sampling station near a pre-effluent point to an effluent discharge channel and an increase at a post-effluent discharge point revealing a slight recovery zone. Keratella tropica and Kellicottia sp. were identified as pollution tolerant taxa.

Der Einfluss von Kläranlagenabwässern auf benthische Wirbellose im Zürichsee

In 1981–83 sublittoral macroinvertebrates were collected by means of SCUBA diving from artificial substrates submerged near the outfalls from eight sewage treatment plants in Lake Zurich. Pollution around the outfall resulted on the one hand in a reduction of pollution intolerant benthic invertebrates, on the other hand in a considerable increase in the relative abundance of pollution tolerant taxa such as leeches, flatworms and crustaceans. Changes in the faunal composition were related to nutrient enrichment and changes in the nature of the substratum due to sedimentation of sewage sludge. Species diversity (Simpson index) showed low values near the outfall from some plants, high values near the outfall from others. Low species diversity did not always mark the sites where greatest pollution has been observed.