Unlocking the relationship of biotic integrity of impaired waters to anthropogenic stresses

Novotný, Vladimír; Bartošová, Alena; O’Reilly, Neal; Ehlinger, Timothy J.

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2004.09.002

Cited by 65 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The pollution of rivers, lakes and lagoons crossing some great cities of Africa perfectly illustrates this fact (e.g., the works of Mvungi et al (2003) in Harare and Ameyapoh et al (2005) in Lomé). Besides, the issue of agricultural pollution has been singled out as the most contributor of river water pollution (Schneider et al, 2000;Wetzel, 2001;Novotny et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of treated agro-industrial effluents on physical and chemical characteristics of the receiving stream Wawa in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire

Kouame¹,

Gnagne²,

Konan³

et al. 2012

Int. J. Bio. Chem. Sci

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In this research we examined the impact of effluents from an agro-industrial plant on River Wawa. Water quality was assessed by monitoring monthly during a year. Eleven parameters were retained: temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, chemical oxygen demand, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, orthophosphates and organic pollution index. Except temperature and ammonia which didn't differ among sites, chemical oxygen demand and organic pollution index were significantly (p < 0.00001) higher at reference sites upstream the discharge point of effluents than sites located downstream. On the contrary, values of the other variables were significantly (p < 0.05) higher at sites receiving the effluents. These results certainly support the hypothesis that the rejected effluents have a negative influence on the water quality downstream the discharge point. However, results suggest a decrease of the parameters content at the second site more distant from the discharge point, maybe due to the self-purifier capacity of the receiving stream. Ecological impacts not being all immediate, this wastewater could have a negative impact on the species living in the receiving stream in long term, either by bio-accumulation or by bio-magnification. It would be interesting to undertake complementary studies of bio-accumulation or bio-magnification on fauna.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of treated agro-industrial effluents on physical and chemical characteristics of the receiving stream Wawa in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire

Kouame¹,

Gnagne²,

Konan³

et al. 2012

Int. J. Bio. Chem. Sci

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“…Although much work on the B-IBI has already been done (SIMON et al, 2000;NOVOTNY et al, 2005), we felt it was important for us to continue this work in the Chinese Yangtze River basin due to its geographical importance. Our two main goals were to: (1) develop a B-IBI for a subtropical river in central China to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on the assemblage of benthos, while also documenting the extent and degree of degradation of the Xiangxi River; and (2) investigate the spatial variations of the B-IBI in relation to physicochemical and land-use variables.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Benthic Index of Biological Integrity and Some Relationships to Environmental Factors in the Subtropical Xiangxi River, China

Li¹,

Cai²,

Ye³

2010

International Review of Hydrobiology

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The aim of this study is to develop a benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) to help understand how the increasing anthropogenic pressure may impact the subtropical Xiangxi River in China. Benthic macroinvertebrate and environmental surveys were conducted at 77 sites in early summer 2004. Each collection site was categorized as reference or impaired based on physical, chemical, biological, and land-use information. Six non-redundant metrics from 35 metrics were used to differentiate between reference and impaired sites. We selected six metrics for the final IBI. The scoring criteria of each metric were normalized based on the quadrisection and 0-10 scaling systems. Both scaling methods were used to assess the aquatic health of each site in the Xiangxi River watershed. The results showed that most sites were in fairly poor condition. Furthermore, we identified the relationship between B-IBI metrics, water-quality, and land-use variables with a principal component analysis. A composite of nutrients and land-use intensity explained most variances. These results suggest that the B-IBI may be a suitable method for assessing river conditions within the subtropical Xiangxi River in central China. IntroductionAquatic ecosystems, and their biological assemblages, continued to be degraded globally from anthropogenic activities in their watersheds (GANASAN and HUGHES, 1998;KARR, 1999). Part of the decline in water resources stems from insufficient consideration of their biological structure and function (KARR, 1999;STODDARD et al., 2006). Some factors have been reported which are linked to river degradation. Physical and chemical factors may be related to biological changes (MULLINS, 1999). Water quality may only partially reflect environmental impact (BOZZETTI and SCHULZ, 2004). Researchers increasingly include quantitative biological indicators (JOY and DEATH, 2004;ROSET et al., 2007). Biological indicators may reflect the intensity of anthropogenic stress and have been used as a tool in risk assessment and evaluation of human induced changes in freshwater ecosystem (KAMDEN-TOHAM and TEUGELS, 1999

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“…Ecosystem health has an inverse relationship with human impacts resulting in the presence of few tolerant species in very large numbers (Brown 2005;Newman and Medmenham 1992;Novotny et al 2005). We found very low benthic macroinvertebrates diversity (H ) with the minimum value occurring at the station with the highest WQI, despite being polluted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…The relative importance of these relationships varies both spatially and temporally (Novotny et al 2005). The key components of watershed management focus on identifying and pinpointing factors that impair system integrity followed by the development and implementation of remedial measures (Rogers et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the ecological status of an impaired watershed by using a multi-index approach

Carvalho

Cortes

Bordalo

2010

Environ Monit Assess

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The objective of this study was to use an integrative approach to assess the ecological status of a small river impacted by multiple sources of disturbance. The River Febros (NW Portugal) is a small and highly impacted non-regulated river; approximately 44% of the watershed area is dedicated to agriculture, but there is also some urbanization. Environmental status was evaluated using a new multi-index approach, combining quality indices for water (Water Quality Index (WQI)), benthic macroinvertebrates (Iberian Biological Monitoring Working Party Index (IBMWP)), and human modification (Riparian Forest Quality Index (QBR)); Ecological Status River Mediterranean Index (ECOSTRIMED); River Habitat Survey (RHS)). Surveys were car- four stretches of the main course of the river for physicochemical characteristics, as well as water microbiology and macroinvertebrates. Water quality was poor at all sites (WQI averaged 30.4%) and decreased downstream. The RHS (assessment of instream habitats and the river corridor) and the QBR quantification displayed the same trend. Macroinvertebrates diversity was permanently low with only the most tolerant insects taxa present; oligochaetes dominated. The ecological status of River Febros was well represented using the experimental assessment system, where a downstream decrease in condition was noticeable (in spite of a lower water quality upstream). Our results emphasize the importance of assessing several components of disturbed ecosystems in order to ascertain overall quality and the importance of promoting improvement of the riparian gallery as a buffer against multiple agents of disturbance.

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Unlocking the relationship of biotic integrity of impaired waters to anthropogenic stresses

Cited by 65 publications

References 15 publications

Effects of treated agro-industrial effluents on physical and chemical characteristics of the receiving stream Wawa in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire

Effects of treated agro-industrial effluents on physical and chemical characteristics of the receiving stream Wawa in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire

Developing a Benthic Index of Biological Integrity and Some Relationships to Environmental Factors in the Subtropical Xiangxi River, China

Evaluation of the ecological status of an impaired watershed by using a multi-index approach

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