Field sensitivity distribution of macroinvertebrates for phosphorus in inland waters

Abstract

The magnitude of ecological damage caused by elevated phosphorus concentrations in Dutch inland waters was evaluated and expressed as the fraction of disappeared genera. We used national abundance data stored in the Limnodata Neerlandica from 1980 until 2005. We derived the presence or absence in the concentration range between 0.001 and 40 mg/l total phosphorus for 867 macro-invertebrate genera. At concentrations above 0.1 mg/l, which is considered a signal of nutrient enrichment of freshwater, the fraction of disappeared macroinvertebrate genera (DF) can be written as a logistic function of the phosphorus concentration (CP), i.e. DF = 1/(1 + 4.07-CP-111). This implies that half of the macro-invertebrate genera that potentially occur in freshwater in the Netherlands would disappear at a phosphorus concentration of 3.5 mg/l. This field-based impact expression resembles the cumulative sensitivity distribution function for a toxic substance, based on the Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) concept and artificial exposure test data. While the SSD for a compound relies on laboratory sensitivity data for a small number of species, the fraction of disappeared macro-invertebrate genera is here derived from field observations of many macroinvertebrate genera at numerous phosphorus concentration intervals. By applying the new damage function to measured phosphorus concentrations over the period in the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt, we found that the observed change in phosphorus concentrations would imply a loss of macro-invertebrates of 20-30 % initially to 5-10 % in 2005. The cumulative sensitivity distribution function for phosphorus from national freshwater monitoring data can be applied in various environmental screening systems such as multi-stress impact assessment of surface waters and in life cycle impact assessment of products.

The influence of environmental factors on the structure of caddisfly (Trichoptera) assemblage in the Nišava River (Central Balkan Peninsula)

“…This suggests that the total P is a better indicator of the stream health than the total N, which is greatly influenced by the stream section. The forward selection showed that the total N was not a significant factor, contrary to the total P, which has a strong influence on the structure of the caddisfly assemblage, which was also confirmed by other authors (Struijs et al, 2011). However, the number of caddisfly species decreases when at least one of these two nutrients is high (such as at locality 1).…”

Species richness–phosphorus relationships for lakes and streams worldwide

“…Many studies have focused on the effects of increasing P 65 in one or more specific water bodies, species, or regions (Dodson et al, 2000;Smith et al, 66 2007; Struijs et al, 2011b). However, to our knowledge, no study has outlined the effects of 67 different P concentrations on relative species richness on a global scale.…”

“…104 This approach has been applied by Struijs et al (2011b) relative species richness (eRSR) of species in group g at concentration C i in freshwater type t 114 in region h. At C opt , eRSR is one. Conversely, an eRSR of zero represents the complete 115 absence of species.…”

“…Conversely, an eRSR of zero represents the complete 115 absence of species. At C i values lower than C opt , we consider that SR is no longer affected by 116 the excess P (Struijs et al, 2011b). Thus, eRSR is here described only for C i values larger 117 than C opt .…”

Sensitivity of native and non-native mollusc species to changing river water temperature and salinity

“…We chose to accept the limitations of field data for reasons of data availability, as laboratory data for temperature tolerance were available for only six mollusc species and several species groups (e.g., Sphaeriidae and Unionidae) are only rarely the subject of physiological research. Moreover, other authors suggest that tolerance levels derived from field data may be more environmentally relevant and realistic than reference levels obtained in laboratory tests (Kwok et al 2008;Leung et al 2005;Struijs et al 2011). …”