Functional groups of Afrotropical EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) as bioindicators of semi-urban pollution in the Tsitsa River Catchment, Eastern Cape, South Africa

PeerJ

article

Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna¹  Augustine Ovie Edegbene¹  Phindiwe Ntloko¹  Francis Ofurum Arimoro³  Chika Felicitas Nnadozie¹  Dennis Junior Choruma¹  Oghenekaro Nelson Odume¹ 

[1] Institute for Water Research, Faculty of Science, Rhodes University;Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Federal University of Health Sciences;Department of Animal Biology, School of Life Sciences, Federal University of Technology

关键词: Biomonitoring;    Functional feeding groups;    Macroinvertebrates;    Aquatic insects;    South Africa;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.13970

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

We examined the distribution patterns of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera functional feeding groups (EPT FFGs) in five streams that drain semi-urban landscapes in the Tsitsa River catchment, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. We undertook macroinvertebrate and physicochemical analysis over four seasons between 2016 and 2017 at eight sites in three land-use categories (Sites 1, 2 and 3), representing an increasing gradient of semi-urban pollution. Five EPT FFGs (shredders, grazers/scrapers, predators, collector-gatherers and collector-filterers) were fuzzy coded and analyzed using RLQ-R (environmental characteristics of samples), L (taxa distribution across samples) and Q (species traits) and fourth-corner analyses. Physicochemical variables, including phosphate-phosphorus, total inorganic nitrogen and temperature, were the most influential variables that significantly influenced the distribution patterns of EPT FFGs in the Tsitsa River. RLQ and the fourth-corner model revealed varying responses of FFGs to semi-urban pollution. Of the five FFGs, collectors were the most abundant EPT FFGs in the study area, exhibiting disparate responses to disturbances, with collector-gatherers associated with impacted sites and significantly associated with phosphate-phosphorus. On the other hand, collector-filterers decreased with increasing semi-urban disturbance and exhibited a significant negative association with phosphate-phosphorus, total inorganic nitrogen and temperature. Overall, this study provides further insights into the environmental factors that influence the distribution patterns of FFGs in Afrotropical streams and the potential use of FFGs as indicators of anthropogenic pollution in tropical streams and rivers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY