Tolerance values of benthic macroinvertebrates for stream biomonitoring: assessment of assumptions underlying scoring systems worldwide

Abstract

Tolerance values (TVs) based on benthic macroinvertebrates are one of the most widely used tools for monitoring the biological impacts of water pollution, particularly in streams and rivers. We compiled TVs of benthic macroinvertebrates from 29 regions around the world to test 11 basic assumptions about pollution tolerance, that: (1) Arthropoda are < tolerant than non-Arthropoda; (2) Insecta < non-Insecta; (3) non-Oligochaeta < Oligochaeta; (4) other macroinvertebrates < Oligochaeta + Chironomidae; (5) other macroinvertebrate taxa < Isopoda + Gastropoda + Hirudinea; (6) Ephemeroptera + Plecoptera + Trichoptera (EPT) < Odonata + Coleoptera + Heteroptera (OCH); (7) EPT < non-EPT insects; (8) Diptera < Insecta; (9) Bivalvia < Gastropoda; (10) Baetidae < other Ephemeroptera; and (11) Hydropsychidae < other Trichoptera. We found that the first eight of these 11 assumptions were supported despite regional variability. In addition, we examined the effect of Best Professional Judgment (BPJ) and non-independence of TVs among countries by performing all analyses using subsets of the original dataset. These subsets included a group based on those systems using TVs that were derived from techniques other than BPJ, and groups based on methods used for TV assignment. The results obtained from these subsets and the entire dataset are similar. We also made seven a priori hypotheses about the regional similarity of TVs based on geography. Only one of these was supported. Development of TVs and the reporting of how they are assigned need to be more rigorous and be better described.

Chironomids as indicators in freshwater ecosystems: an assessment of the literature

“…Many freshwater biomonitoring programmes have used changes in individuals, populations, and communities of aquatic insects to assay ecosystem changes and environmental quality. These approaches have been used exhaustively on insect orders and families as indicators of pollution, habitat modifications, and natural changes of water quality (Roy et al ., ; Camargo et al ., ; Beketov et al ., ; Molozzi et al ., ; Chang et al ., ).…”

Diversity and distribution of the Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) of Ecuador

“…The members of this order are considered to be biological indicators of good to excellent water quality and are highly sensitive to human disturbance to running waters worldwide (Chang et al, 2014). Currently, there are about 15,000 species described, making Trichoptera the second most diverse monophyletic group of aquatic animals, surpassed only by the clade Diptera: Culicomorpha/Psychodomorpha (Malm, Johanson & Wahlberg, 2013).…”

Ecological evaluation of streams in Puerto Rico: major threats and evaluation tools

“…Los valores de tolerancia fueron asignados teniendo en cuenta el criterio de más de 10 expertos sobre la historia natural y ecología de los organismos, así como el estado ambiental de los ríos donde han sido recolectados, miembros de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Esta técnica es conocida como Mejor Criterio Profesional (Best Professional Judgment, en inglés) y ha sido ampliamente utilizada a nivel mundial para asignar los valores de tolerancia en un gran número de herramientas de evaluación de ríos (Chang et al, 2014).…”