Macroinvertebrate community structure as an indicator of phosphorus enrichment in rivers

•Macroinvertebrate community structure was used to indicate phosphorus pressure.•TRPI was more closely associated with phosphorus concentrations than other metrics.•TRPI can be applied to historic monitoring data to track trajectories of change. Nutrient enrichment represents one of the most importa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological indicators 2019-12, Vol.107, p.105619, Article 105619
Main Authors: Everall, Nicholas C., Johnson, Matthew F., Wood, Paul, Paisley, Martin F., Trigg, David J., Farmer, Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomonitoring
Eutrophication
Macroinvertebrate
Nutrient enrichment
Organic pollutant
Orthophosphate
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Macroinvertebrate community structure was used to indicate phosphorus pressure.•TRPI was more closely associated with phosphorus concentrations than other metrics.•TRPI can be applied to historic monitoring data to track trajectories of change. Nutrient enrichment represents one of the most important causes of detriment to river ecosystem health globally. Monitoring nutrient inputs can be particularly challenging given the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and the indirect and often lagged effects on instream communities. The objective of this paper was to explore the association between family level macroinvertebrate community data and Total Reactive Phosphorus (TRP). To achieve this, a biological index for phosphorus sensitivity (Total Reactive Phosphorus Index – TRPI) was developed and tested utilising invertebrate community and chemical data from two datasets, one consisting 88 sites across England and the other 76 sites, both sampled in spring and autumn using the same methodology between 2013 and 2015. There was a significant association between TRPI and TRP concentrations that was stronger than other biological indices of elevated phosphorus, including the TDI (diatoms) and MTR (macrophytes), currently available in the UK. Additional testing and validation are presented via local case studies, where results indicate that macroinvertebrate family sensitivity is dependent upon a range of abiotic factors including season (time of year), benthic substrate composition, altitude, and water alkalinity.
ISSN:1470-160X
1872-7034
DOI:10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105619