Rapid assessment procedures: Radical re‐invention or just sloppy science?

Taylor, Barry R.

doi:10.1080/10807039709383743

Cited by 15 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The calculated diversity indices, which were typical of a stressed environment within the urbanized part of the catchment, support this (Norris and Georges 1993). The sensitivity to degradation often increases with higher taxonomic resolution but family-level data is more appropriate for detecting severe impacts (Bournaud et al 1996;Taylor 1997;Jones 2008). Several studies have shown family-level data allow changes along an organically polluted river to be detected (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage for disturbance zonation in urban rivers using multivariate analysis: Implications for river management

Shah¹,

Shah²

2013

J Earth Syst Sci

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River pollution has tremendously increased in the major cities of South Asia, where the rivers have become a repository for domestic, agricultural, municipal and industrial wastes. This study presents the evaluation of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage as a means of assessing ecological status, determining different disturbance zones and identifying environmental variables and stressors that deteriorate the river ecosystem. In total, 20 sites in 36-km stretch of the main stem of the Bagmati River and 7 sites on its tributaries were selected for sampling in the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons during the time period 2008-2010. The Ganga River System Biotic Score (GRSbios) index was applied to determine the ecological status. The ecological status of the different Bagmati River stretches ranged from reference (Class 1) to extremely polluted (Class 5). We identified three types of disturbance zones along the river, ranging from minimally polluted to extremely polluted. A river corridor survey was conducted to identify any river stressing factors, revealing a sharp deterioration of the river from upstream to downstream with increasing concentrations of chloride and ortho-phosphate phosphorus. Effluents and Activities and Facilities were found to be the major stressing factors to the river ecosystem. The information gained should help water managers find the most time-efficient and cost-effective measures to address river degradation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage for disturbance zonation in urban rivers using multivariate analysis: Implications for river management

Shah¹,

Shah²

2013

J Earth Syst Sci

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“…Sin embargo, el índice ChBMWP no discriminó claramente las estaciones de muestreo con mayor intervención antrópica, esto es: uso agrícola, extracción de áridos, caminos que cruzan el estero y especialmente la descarga del efluente de la planta de tratamiento, asignándole una calidad de agua regular o dudosa a todo el tramo del curso principal. Según Taylor (1997), esta técnica puede detectar sólo impactos a gran escala y es menos sensible que el método cuantitativo. Por el contrario, los índices ChIBF y SIGNAL 2, sí permitieron observar las estaciones de muestreo en relación a la presión antrópica que reciben, puesto que estos métodos ponderan la tolerancia, abundancia y diversidad de familias.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Evaluación de la calidad de las aguas del estero Limache (Chile central), mediante bioindicadores y bioensayos

Córdova¹,

Gaete²,

Aránguiz³

et al. 2009

Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Res.

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RESUMEN.Se evaluó la calidad de las aguas del estero Limache en cinco estaciones de muestreo en el período de bajo caudal. En cada estación se colectaron macroinvertebrados acuáticos, se midió in situ pH, conductividad, oxígeno disuelto, y sólidos disueltos totales. En el laboratorio se determinó la demanda biológica de oxígeno (DBO), fósforo total y nitrógeno total. También se determinó la toxicidad del agua mediante bioensayos con la microalga Pseudokirchrneriella subcapitata. Se determinaron 33 familias de macroinvertebrados, los taxa dominantes fueron Dugessidae, Oligochaeta y Chironomidae. Se encontró correlación significativa entre el índice biótico de familias (ChIBF), la conductividad eléctrica y los sólidos disueltos totales (r = 0,92; p < 0,05). La menor diversidad de especies y tasa de crecimiento de P. subcapitata fue en las estaciones con mayor actividad antrópica y en la zona de descarga del efluente de una planta de tratamiento de aguas domésticas. Palabras clave: calidad de agua, macroinvertebrados acuáticos, toxicidad, Pseudokirchrneriella subcapitata, Chile. Water quality assessment in the Limache stream (central Chile), using bioindicators and bioassaysABSTRACT. The water quality in the Limache stream was evaluated at five sampling stations during the period of low water flow. At each station, aquatic macroinvertebrates were collected and the following parameters were measured in situ: pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and total dissolved solids. The biological oxygen demand, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen were determined in the laboratory. Water toxicity was determined through toxicity bioassays with the microalga Pseudokirchrneriella subcapitata. Thirty-three macroinvertebrate families were found and the dominant taxa were Dugessidae, Oligochaeta and Chironomidae. A significant correlation was found among the Family Biotic Index ChFBI, conductivity, and total dissolved solids (r = 0.92; p < 0.05). Species diversity was lowest, as was the growth rate of P. subcapitata, at the stations with the greatest anthropogenic activity and in the discharge zone of a domestic wastewater treatment plant.

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“…sampler type, mesh size of nets, taxonomic resolution and taxonomic sufficiency) on the characterisation of aquatic invertebrate assemblages have been well studied (e.g. Carter & Resh, 2001;Ellis, 1985;Parsons & Norris, 1996;Taylor, 1997). However, few studies have directly addressed the effects of combining data across multiple sources.…”

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confidence: 99%

Potential pitfalls of aggregating aquatic invertebrate data from multiple agency sources: Implications for detecting aquatic assemblage change across alteration gradients

Cuffney

Kennen

2017

Freshwater Biology

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Data from nine Delaware River basin (DRB) agencies were used to develop procedural steps that harmonise differences in subsample size (organism fixed counts, OFC), taxa identified and lowest taxonomic levels (LTL) used for identifications. These procedural steps are systematically presented to help practitioners avoid some of the pitfalls associated with combining data from multiple agency sources. Harmonising taxa levels and subsample sizes in the DRB data substantially reduced richness metrics with the majority of the reduction associated with harmonising LTLs rather than OFCs. The opposite was true for abundance metrics with LTLs having little effect and OFCs having a large effect. Harmonisation of LTLs and OFCs increased the average similarity among samples threefold suggesting that failing to harmonise greatly overestimated differences in assemblages among sites. A hypothetical assemblage in which the abundance of each taxon decreased across a disturbance gradient as a function of published tolerance values was developed from the DRB data. This hypothetical assemblage was used to evaluate how LTLs and OFCs affected responses to disturbance, as indicated by assemblage metrics and ordination analysis, and to evaluate the efficacy of this approach to data harmonisation. Reducing LTLs (e.g. species to genus) and(or) OFCs (e.g. 300–100) in the hypothetical assemblage reduced measures of taxa richness and made it more difficult to detect responses across the disturbance gradient. Responses of abundance metrics were not affected by LTLs, but were affected by OFCs. More importantly, mixing data with different LTLs and(or) OFCs introduced a second methodological gradient that could be erroneously interpreted as an environmental gradient. The procedures proposed for harmonising LTLs and OFCs were effective at reducing differences and helped to uncover the underlying response of the taxa and assemblage. Failure to harmonise LTLs and OFCs across mixed data sources can overstate differences among assemblages, reduce the ability to detect underlying environmental gradients and/or introduce methodological gradients that can lead to erroneous interpretations of invertebrate responses to hydrologic alteration or urbanisation. The misinterpretation of underlying environmental gradients can strongly affect the applicability of the findings to support criteria development for aquatic life uses or management actions that strive to balance water availability for human and ecological needs. Consequently, great care must be exercised in harmonising taxa and subsample sizes prior to aggregating data across multiple sources.

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Rapid assessment procedures: Radical re‐invention or just sloppy science?

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Evaluation of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage for disturbance zonation in urban rivers using multivariate analysis: Implications for river management

Evaluation of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage for disturbance zonation in urban rivers using multivariate analysis: Implications for river management

Evaluación de la calidad de las aguas del estero Limache (Chile central), mediante bioindicadores y bioensayos

Potential pitfalls of aggregating aquatic invertebrate data from multiple agency sources: Implications for detecting aquatic assemblage change across alteration gradients

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