Dataset Information

Using benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities as bioindicators of the Tanshui River basin around the greater Taipei area - multivariate analysis of spatial variation related to levels of water pollution.

ABSTRACT: After decades of strict pollution control and municipal sewage treatment, the water quality of the Tanshui River increased significantly after pollution mitigation as indicated by the River Pollution Index (RPI). The pollution level of the estuarine region decreased from severe pollution to mostly moderately impaired. The most polluted waters are presently restricted to a flow track length between 15-35 km relative to the river mouth. From July 2011 to September 2012, four surveys of fish and benthic macroinvertebrates were conducted at 45 sampling sites around the Tanshui River basin. The pollution level of all the study area indicated by the RPI could also be explained by the Family Biotic Index (FBI) and Biotic Index (BI) from the benthic macroinvertebrate community, and the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) of the fish community. The result of canonical correlation analysis between aquatic environmental factors and community structure indicated that the community structure was closely related to the level of water pollution. Fish species richness in the estuarine area has increased significantly in recent years. Some catadromous fish and crustaceans could cross the moderate polluted water into the upstream freshwater, and have re-colonized their populations. The benthic macroinvertebrate community relying on the benthic substrate of the estuarine region is still very poor, and the water layer was still moderately polluted.

SUBMITTER: Young SS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4113864 | biostudies-other | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Using benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities as bioindicators of the Tanshui River basin around the greater Taipei area - multivariate analysis of spatial variation related to levels of water pollution.

Young Shuh-Sen SS Yang Hsi-Nan HN Huang Da-Ji DJ Liu Su-Miao SM Huang Yueh-Han YH Chiang Chung-Ting CT Liu Jin-Wei JW

International journal of environmental research and public health 20140714 7

After decades of strict pollution control and municipal sewage treatment, the water quality of the Tanshui River increased significantly after pollution mitigation as indicated by the River Pollution Index (RPI). The pollution level of the estuarine region decreased from severe pollution to mostly moderately impaired. The most polluted waters are presently restricted to a flow track length between 15-35 km relative to the river mouth. From July 2011 to September 2012, four surveys of fish and be ...[more]

PMID: 25026081

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Project description:Urban rivers face challenges of increased human activities which also affect river organisms. In order to enhance freshwater biodiversity in urban rivers, it is important to determine how the benthic macroinvertebrate communities are influenced by key abiotic factors. This was investigated in this paper through the study of the spatial and temporal variations of benthic macroinvertebrates and water quality variables at the urban River Medlock in Greater Manchester, UK. Samples were obtained from five sections of the catchment (S1 to S5) over a period of 14 months and the results were compared with the standard requirement of the European Union's Water Framework Directives. Multivariate tests including SIMPER (similarity percentages), PCA (principal component analysis) and BIOENV (biological and environmental) were carried out on the data in order to determine the environmental variables which most influenced the benthic macroinvertebrates. PCA of environmental variables indicated that 34% of the overall variance was heavily weighted on nutrients and catchment area (negatively on altitude and slope), 17% represented river substrate and the 12% represented discharge. The BIOENV analysis also indicated altitude, slope, catchment area, discharge and conductivity as the variables which influenced the biological communities. SIMPER analysis showed a difference between the upper and lower sections of the river with some sensitive taxa at the upper sites and showed that more organisms are present during spring. Apart from the lowest section of the river, the EU Water Framework Directive classification showed that other sites achieved the 'good ecological status'. While 32 taxa groups were identified, abundant Baetidae, Chironomidae and Oligochaeta were recorded at all sites and seasons. The scores for biotic indices Whalley Hawkes Paisley and Trigg (WHPT) and Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) were found to be similar. By the application of surrogate variables such as percentage urban cover, catchment area and total number of organism, the influence of urbanisation could be seen in the abundance of organisms over time and space.

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Dataset Information

Using benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities as bioindicators of the Tanshui River basin around the greater Taipei area - multivariate analysis of spatial variation related to levels of water pollution.

Publications

Using benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities as bioindicators of the Tanshui River basin around the greater Taipei area - multivariate analysis of spatial variation related to levels of water pollution.

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