engleski

Macroinvertebrate taxonomic groups necessary for the reliable calculation of taxonomic distinctness index: potential metric for water and habitat quality assessment

Multimetric approaches are commonly used in bioassessment programs to assess the environmental degradation, especially water and habitat quality of the aquatic ecosystems. However, some groups of macroinvertebrates are usually not included in the monitoring programs, due to the cost-effectiveness and the lack of expertise regarding the identification process. We here wanted to test the utility of the taxonomic distinctness index (delta+) as a potential metric for water and habitat quality assessment when different taxonomic groups are included in the analysis. To realize this goal, three tasks were defined: (1) to calculate the delta+ index for the following taxa groups: macroinvertebrates in total, the family Chironomidae, Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera (EPT) group and macroinvertebrates without the family Chironomidae, (2) to test the level of concordance between delta+ for different taxa groups and water and habitat quality gradients in lotic systems, and finally (3) to define the most appropriate taxonomic groups which can be used as a surrogate for delta+ calculation. As a model for this study we used macroinvertebrate community data of the Southern Morava river basin, Serbia. The possible relationship between values of delta+ index and water and habitat quality gradient were examined using categorical principal components analysis (CatPCA). The results of the study revealed that all investigated taxa groups, presented by delta+ index were highly correlated with the indicators of water and habitat quality degradation. The CatPCA analysis extracted the first and the second dimensions which explained 42.56% and 15.98% of the total variance respectively. The first axis had high loadings of delta+, organic pollution indicators (BOD5, PO4-P, NH4-N and conductivity) and parameters of habitat quality (channel alteration and land use). The second axis was mostly associated with pH and velocity. This study showed that delta+ index based on macroinvertebrate information has a great potential for water and habitat quality assessment of lotic systems. Moreover, the EPT group and family Chironomidae could be separately used for delta+ calculation, providing sufficient level of information for the water and habitat quality assessment.

Bioassessment; macrozoobenthos; delta+ index

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