Macroinvertebrates As Bioindicators of Water Pollution in Streams Draining Dairy Farming Catchments

Runoff from intensive dairy farming systems can impair the quality of catchment waters, with potential ecological and human health implications. A water quality study was carried out in three streams in a predominantly dairy farming region, with the aim of assessing the effects of diffused- and point-sourced inputs on a number of water quality parameters and benthic macroinvertebrates. the results showed significant increases in streamwater biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammonium-nitrogen (NH₄-N) and molybdate reactive phosphorus (MRP) concentrations between the farm reaches. These changes in water quality appeared to be due largely to the point-sourced inputs from farmyards, and had a significant effect on the ability of the water to support a healthy and diverse community of invertebrates. the results also showed that concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) and ammonium in streamwater were the two most important parameters studied that were inversely related to the invertebrate scores.     

HIERARCHICAL DIVERSITY OF COMMUNITIES OF AQUATIC INSECTS AND FISHES1

ABSTRACT: Hierarchical diversity analysis of data on fish and aquatic insects showed that the component of diversity contributed by the species level was generally very small compared with the component at the generic level or with the total diversity. Very high rank correlations between generic diversity, in which genera were discriminated but not identified, and species diversity suggested that the purposes of environmental monitoring might best be served by working at the generic level rather than the species level. This is particularly true when an index of diversity is to be used as the major comparative and communicative tool. The savings of time and money could be appreciable.     

DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES IN A STREAM EXPOSED TO URBAN RUNOFF1

ABSTRACT: A study of benthic macroinvertebrate community composition was conducted at eight sites along Shabakunk Creek, a small stream in Mercer County, New Jersey, which receives urban runoff. The relationship between changes in substrate composition and the nature of the benthic macroinvertebrate community has been examined. Organisms were collected seasonally from natural substrates in riffles. Attempts to employ artificial substrates for invertebrate collection proved unsuccessful, as the population on the samplers was not representative of that in the stream bed. Number of total benthic macroinvertebrate taxa collected declined from 13 in relatively undeveloped upstream areas to four below heavily developed areas, while population density decreased simultaneously in the same areas. Periphyton samples collected from natural substrates were analyzed for selected heavy metals. Significantly higher heavy metal concentrations are reported from substrates sampled below heavily developed areas, and changes in these values are discussed with regard to changes in benthic macroinvertebrate distribution.     

Assessing Potential for Recovery of Biotic Richness and Indicator Species due to Changes in Acidic Deposition and Lake ph in Five Areas of Southeastern Canada

Biological damage to sensitive aquatic ecosystems is among the most recognisable, deleterious effects of acidic deposition. We compiled a large spatial database of over 2000 waterbodies across southeastern Canada from various federal, provincial and academic sources. Data for zooplankton, fish, macroinvertebrate (benthos) and loon species richness and occurrence were used to construct statistical models for lakes with varying pH, dissolved organic carbon content and lake size. pH changes, as described and predicted using the Integrated Assessment Model (Lam et al., 1998; Jeffries et al., 2000), were based on the range of emission reductions set forth in the Canada/US Air Quality Agreement (AQA). The scenarios tested include 1983, 1990, 1994 and 2010 sulphate deposition levels. Biotic models were developed for five regions in southeastern Canada (Algoma, Muskoka, and Sudbury, Ontario, southcentral Québec, and Kejimkujik, Nova Scotia) using regression tree, multiple linear regression and logistic regression analyses to make predictions about recovery after emission reductions. The analyses produced different indicator species in different regions, although some species showed consistent trends across regions. Generally, the greatest predicted recovery occurred during the final phase of emission reductions between 1994 and 2010 across all taxonomic groups and regions. The Ontario regions, on average, were predicted to recover to a greater extent than either southcentral Québec or the Kejimkujik area of Nova Scotia. Our results reconfirm that pH 5.5–6.0 is an important threshold below which damage to aquatic biota will remain a major local and regional environmental problem. This damage to biodiversity across trophic levels will persist well into the future if no further reductions in sulphate deposition are implemented.     

Methods development and use of macroinvertebrates as indicators of ecological conditions for streams in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands Region

The Mid-Atlantic Highlands Assessment (MAHA) included the sampling of macroinvertebrates from 424 wadeable stream sites to determine status and trends, biological conditions, and water quality in first through third order streams in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands Region (MAHR) of the United States in 1993–1995. We identified reference and impaired sites using water chemistry and habitat criteria and evaluated a set of candidate macroinvertebrate metrics using a stepwise process. This process examined several metric characteristics, including ability of metrics to discriminate reference and impaired sites, relative scope of impairment, correlations with chemical and habitat indicators of stream disturbance, redundancy with other metrics, and within-year variability. Metrics that performed well were compared with metrics currently being used by three states in the region: Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Some of the metrics used by these states did not perform well when evaluated using regional data, while other metrics used by all three states in some form, specifically number of taxa, number of EPT taxa, and Hilsenhoff Biotic Index, performed well overall. Reasons for discrepancies between state and regional evaluations of metrics are explored. We also provide a set of metrics that, when used in combination, may provide a useful assessment of stream conditions in the MAHR.     

Incidence of stress in benthic communities along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts within different ranges of sediment contamination from chemical mixtures

Synoptic data on concentrations of sediment-associated chemical contaminants and benthic macroinfaunal community structure were collected from 1,389 stations in estuaries along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts as part of the nationwide Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). These data were used to develop an empirical framework for evaluating risks of benthic community-level effects within different ranges of sediment contamination from mixtures of multiple chemicals present at varying concentrations. Sediment contamination was expressed as the mean ratio of individual chemical concentrations relative to corresponding sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), including Effects Range-Median (ERM) and Probable Effects Level (PEL) values. Benthic condition was assessed using diagnostic, multi-metric indices developed for each of three EMAP provinces (Virginian, Carolinian, and Louisianian). Cumulative percentages of stations with a degraded benthic community were plotted against ascending values of the mean ERM and PEL quotients. Based on the observed relationships, mean SQG quotients were divided into four ranges corresponding to either a low, moderate, high, or very high incidence of degraded benthic condition. Results showed that condition of the ambient benthic community provides a reliable and sensitive indicator for evaluating the biological significance of sediment-associated stressors. Mean SQG quotients marking the beginning of the contaminant range associated with the highest incidence of benthic impacts (73–100% of samples, depending on the province and type of SQG) were well below those linked to high risks of sediment toxicity as determined by short-term toxicity tests with single species. Measures of the ambient benthic community reflect the sensitivities of multiple species and life stages to persistent exposures under actual field conditions. Similar results were obtained with preliminary data from the west coast (Puget Sound).     

广州市河涌沉积物及底栖生物体内的重金属含量及分布

本文报道了广州市河涌沉积物及底栖生物的重金属含量及分布状况。应用 WFX- IF2型原子分光光度计对 2 1个采样点沉积物及底栖生物样品中 Cd、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr和 Ni的含量进行了测定 ,并使用标准物作了对照分析。结果显示 :沉积物中 Cd、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr、Ni的平均含量分别为 5.61、30 2 .1 2、72 7.0 3、1 63.37、67.70、84.58μg/ g干重 ;底栖生物中 Cd、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr、Ni的平均含量分别为 0 .78、2 9.2 0、2 68.38、1 0 .75、3.89、3.44μg/ g干重。结果表明 :广州市河涌已受到不同程度的重金属污染 ,受污染最严重的是赤岗涌、海珠涌和棠下涌。工业活动是造成污染的主要原因。河涌中的水栖寡毛类与沉积物中的重金属含量显著相关 (P<0 .0 1 ,P<0 .0 5) ,可以作为 Cu、Cr、Ni的良好指示生物。本文还探讨了将河涌污泥作为农用的可能性     

Macrobenthic Monitoring in the Lower St. Johns River, Florida

The macrobenthos in the oligohaline 132 km reach of the Lower St. Johns River, Florida, is an unusual blend of freshwater and marine organisms within the annelid, mollusk, aquatic insect, and crustacean groups. During 1993–1994, the community composition was freshwater-oriented in the 47 km (seg I) and estuarine-dominated in the lower 85 km (seg II). Of the total 146 taxa collected, 89% were euryecious 'eutrophic' and 'pollution-tolerant' organisms. Densities ranged between 5000 and 20 000 individuals/m² ann av and maximum densities (85 000 individuals/m²) occurred in the muck substrate at the confluence of major tributaries and embayments. Throughout the lake-like seg II, benthic hypoxia existed during much of summer through fall. Biotic index values for grab, artificial substrate, and sled trawl samples reflected greatest stresses to the macrobenthos then. Both low taxonomic diversity and densities of organisms at the most downriver stations nearest the port of Jacksonville indicated that toxic substances also adversely affected the macrobenthos. Maintenance of the narrow band of littoral submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and adjacent shoreline riparian vegetation is important to sustain macrobenthic communities and other kinds of aquatic life in the river.     

Maximum ground level concentration for Gaussian plume formula using standard and Briggs methods

This work aims to determine the maximum concentration and downwind distance at the earth's surface in two methods Briggs and standard for two conditions are slightly unstable and neutral by using the Gaussian equation at different effective heights and wind seeped at (8.9, 8.5 and 8 m/s) under lateral and vertical dispersion coefficient measurement.     

Benthic Impacts of Intertidal Oyster Culture, with Consideration of Taxonomic Sufficiency

An investigation of the impacts from elevated intertidal Pacific oyster culture in a New Zealand estuary showed enhanced sedimentation beneath culture racks compared with other sites. Seabed elevation beneath racks was generally lower than between them, suggesting that topographic patterns more likely result from a local effect of rack structures on hydrodynamic processes than from enhanced deposition. Compared with control sites, seabed sediments within the farm had a greater silt/clay and organic content, and a lower redox potential and shear strength. While a marked trend in macrofaunal species richness was not evident, species composition and dominance patterns were consistent with a disturbance gradient, with farm effects not evident 35 m from the perimeter of the racks. Of the environmental variables measured, sediment shear strength was most closely associated with the distribution and density of macrofauna, suggesting that human-induced disturbance from farming operations may have contributed to the biological patterns. To evaluate the taxonomic sufficiency needed to document impacts, aggregation to the family level based on Linnean classification was compared with an aggregation scheme based on `general groups' identifiable with limited taxonomic expertise. Compared with species-level analyses, spatial patterns of impact were equally discernible at both aggregation levels used, provided density rather than presence/absence data were used. Once baseline conditions are established and the efficacy of taxonomic aggregation demonstrated, a `general group' scheme provides an appropriate and increasingly relevant tool for routine monitoring.