Overview and application of the AQEM assessment system

Hering, Daniel; Moog, Otto; Sandin, Leonard; Verdonschot, P.F.M.

doi:10.1023/b:hydr.0000025255.70009.a5

Cited by 400 publications

(195 citation statements)

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“…A set of tolerance and diversity metrics commonly used in European permanent streams (AQEM consortium, 2002;Hering et al, 2004), and a multimetric index recently developed for southern Portugal (Pinto et al 2003), were tested from late winter to autumn, at two sites with contrasting ecological status (impaired and non-impaired). The influence of environmental variables on the metrics and the multimetric index was investigated and the stability of metric scores, observed over the whole sampling period (covering different hydrological situations), was used as a criterion to evaluate the robustness of the assessment of temporary streams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Temporary Streams: The Robustness of Metric and Multimetric Indices under Different Hydrological Conditions

Morais

Pinto

Guilherme

et al. 2004

Integrated Assessment of Running Waters in Europe

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The generalization of ecological results from temporary streams needs the study of those ecosystems across a broad scale of running waters, covering the geographical ecological constraints involved (e.g., precipitation, temperature and geology). For the particular situation of Mediterranean streams in Southern Europe, high changes in water level, with unpredicting flood events, represent an important factor determining the structure and function of Mediterranean streams. This variability, inducing accentuated changes in the macroinvertebrate community, tends to influence the assessment methodologies. A set of metrics commonly used in Europe to assess organic degradation (Shannon-Wiener index, evenness, richness, BBI, IBE, BMWP , ASPT , DSFI, EPT, number of Trichoptera families, percentage of Gasteropoda, Oligochaeta and Diptera) and a multimetric index (IM9) developed to assess organic degradation in southern siliceous Portuguese basins were tested to evaluate quality at two contrasting sites (one unimpaired and another impaired by an identified point source of pollution). The multimetric index (IM9) composed by: ASPT (average score per taxon); GOLD (one minus percentage of Gasteropoda, Oligochaeta and Diptera); and TRICF (number of Trichoptera families), was the most suitable assessment methodology. IM9 presented a quite stable temporal pattern from February in late winter until June in early summer, even under the effect of episodic floods. A stepwise regression showed that most of tested metrics were significantly related to environmental variables (soluble reactive phosphorous, dissolved inorganic nitrogen and dissolved oxygen). Only richness, IBE and BMWP were not significantly influenced by environmental variables. Future research must be done covering the complete gradient of organic degradation, including the extension of multimetric assessment methodologies to temporary streams located in other regions under different geological and climatic conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Temporary Streams: The Robustness of Metric and Multimetric Indices under Different Hydrological Conditions

Morais

Pinto

Guilherme

et al. 2004

Integrated Assessment of Running Waters in Europe

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“…Although, both the AQEM and the STAR project used a standardised protocol for sampling, sorting and identification of samples (Hering et al, 2004;Furse et al, 2006) the analyses of the composition of the data used in this study showed a wide spread in number of samples, number of taxa, number of specimens, and taxonomic level achieved through identification amongst participating countries. already listed some arguments that could explain these differences: differences in taxonomic knowledge, differences in natural population densities, changes of taxon diversity along geographical and altitudinal gradients, and local environmental differences that affected sampling efficiency or forced changes to the protocol.…”

Section: Data Compositionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…The first touches the multimetrics approach in its fundament. In Europe, at the moment there is a very strong tendency to use multimetrics in assessment (Hering et al, 2004). The AQEM research project tested over one hundred metrics and came up with a list of 18 suitable core metrics (Hering et al, 2004).…”

Section: Taxonomic Resolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data composition and taxonomic resolution in macroinvertebrate stream typology

Verdonschot¹

2006

The Ecological Status of European Rivers: Evaluation and Intercalibration of Assessment Methods

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In the EU water framework directive (WFD) a typological framework is defined for assessing the ecological quality of water bodies in the future. The aim of this study was to test the effect of data composition and taxonomic resolution on this typology. The EU research projects AQEM and STAR provided 1660 samples of 48 stream types sampled all over the major geographical gradients in Europe. These stream types fit the WFD typological demands and fit to the major European geographic regions (ecoregions). The samples included gradients from reference conditions to samples with bad ecological quality. Despite standardisation, there were large differences between the participating countries concerning the number of taxa, the number of specimens, and the taxonomic resolution. The macroinvertebrate data were analysed by using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). The distribution patterns using all samples, only reference samples, and only degraded samples showed that the use of species-level (or 'best available taxonomic' level) performed better at a practical (fine) scale in comparison to family-level. The analyses further showed that even the use of a standardised protocol can not easily overcome (i) differences in site conditions that force the researcher to deviate from the protocol as well as (ii) the experiences of the researcher(s) and (iii) the available taxonomic knowledge.

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“…bridge, bank saving pitching) near them. The sampling was carried out according to the AQEM protocol, thus a sample consisted of 20 sampling units taken from all habitat types according to their share (Hering et al 2004). The proportions of the different habitat types were mapped at the sampling site and types of less than 5% coverage were not included in the sampling.…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of self-organizing maps in modelling the distribution patterns of gammarids (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Krasznai

Boda

Csercsa

et al. 2016

Ecological Informatics

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Self Organizing Maps (SOMs) are increasingly popular methods in processing highdimensional ecological data, however, their potentials are not yet fully utilized. It was our objective to prove evidence on an unknown advantage of the SOMs which we aimed to test using data on the spatial distributional patterns of gammarids. Quantitative samples and a wide spectrum of environmental data were obtained from the catchment area of two of the largest side tributaries of the Tisza River. Distributional patterns and habitat preference of three Gammarus species were described by Self Organizing Map methods and regression tree analysis (CART) on spatial and temporal scale. Using SOMs helped us to bring out distinctions in our data and enhance the differences, thus making them easier to recognize and A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTalso, with their help, we were able to model the relations of the species to habitat types nonexistent among our samples. According to the analysis Gammarus roeselii preferred low altitudes, high conductivity, fine substrate, deep actual mean depth and dense plant coverage;G. fossarum preferred rocky stream beds, high altitude, lower temperatures and little actual mean depth; while G. balcanicus preferred coarse substrate, little or no plant coverage and low temperature. SOMs improved the correlations that proved to be highly useful: besides their use to display complex data in a perspicuous way they have other advantages in bringing out existing relationships in data otherwise difficult to detect.

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Overview and application of the AQEM assessment system

Cited by 400 publications

References 0 publications

Assessment of Temporary Streams: The Robustness of Metric and Multimetric Indices under Different Hydrological Conditions

Assessment of Temporary Streams: The Robustness of Metric and Multimetric Indices under Different Hydrological Conditions

Data composition and taxonomic resolution in macroinvertebrate stream typology

Use of self-organizing maps in modelling the distribution patterns of gammarids (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

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