The relationship between concurrently measured SASS (South African Scoring System) and turbidity data archived in the South African River Health Programme’s Rivers Database
- Gordon, Andrew K, Griffin, Neil J, Palmer, Carolyn G
- Authors: Gordon, Andrew K , Griffin, Neil J , Palmer, Carolyn G
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7098 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015956
- Description: The need for monitoring the biological impacts of instream sediments has long been recognised, yet robust and scientifically defensible tools for doing so are still in the early stages of development because of the difficulties experienced by researchers in characterising the complicated mechanisms of biological effect elicited by sediment particles. Biological monitoring is one such tool, and this paper reports on the initial stages of a study to determine the most applicable approach for measuring the effects of instream sediments on aquatic macroinvertebrates in the South African context. In this first instance, the suitability of the rapid macroinvertebrate biomonitoring tool (the South African Scoring System) was investigated by determining the extent of the correlation between concurrently measured SASS metrics and turbidity data collected for the South African River Health Programme. All three SASS metrics – SASS score, number of taxa (NOT), and average score per taxon (ASPT) – were found to be significantly negatively correlated with turbidity, although variation in the data was high. Turbidity was found to be the major driver of change in ASPT. In contrast, electrical conductivity was the major driver of SASS scores and NOT, with turbidity a close second. When combined, electrical conductivity and turbidity accounted for 80 percent (SASS score) and 75 percent (NOT) of the variation in the regression model. Consequently, SASS metrics are a crude, but reliable, indicator of the negative biological implications of excessive instream sedimentation as measured by turbidity. A number of other potential biomonitoring approaches for detecting the impacts of fine sediment exposure are identified for further investigation: spatial analyses of macroinvertebrate assemblages; and the use of structural and functional metrics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Gordon, Andrew K , Griffin, Neil J , Palmer, Carolyn G
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7098 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015956
- Description: The need for monitoring the biological impacts of instream sediments has long been recognised, yet robust and scientifically defensible tools for doing so are still in the early stages of development because of the difficulties experienced by researchers in characterising the complicated mechanisms of biological effect elicited by sediment particles. Biological monitoring is one such tool, and this paper reports on the initial stages of a study to determine the most applicable approach for measuring the effects of instream sediments on aquatic macroinvertebrates in the South African context. In this first instance, the suitability of the rapid macroinvertebrate biomonitoring tool (the South African Scoring System) was investigated by determining the extent of the correlation between concurrently measured SASS metrics and turbidity data collected for the South African River Health Programme. All three SASS metrics – SASS score, number of taxa (NOT), and average score per taxon (ASPT) – were found to be significantly negatively correlated with turbidity, although variation in the data was high. Turbidity was found to be the major driver of change in ASPT. In contrast, electrical conductivity was the major driver of SASS scores and NOT, with turbidity a close second. When combined, electrical conductivity and turbidity accounted for 80 percent (SASS score) and 75 percent (NOT) of the variation in the regression model. Consequently, SASS metrics are a crude, but reliable, indicator of the negative biological implications of excessive instream sedimentation as measured by turbidity. A number of other potential biomonitoring approaches for detecting the impacts of fine sediment exposure are identified for further investigation: spatial analyses of macroinvertebrate assemblages; and the use of structural and functional metrics.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Sediment as a physical water quality stressor on macro-invertebrates a contribution to the development of a water quality guideline for suspended solids
- Gordon, Andrew K, Niedballa, J, Palmer, Carolyn G
- Authors: Gordon, Andrew K , Niedballa, J , Palmer, Carolyn G
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/438018 , vital:73429 , ISBN 978-1-4312-0456-4 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2040-1-13.pdf
- Description: The aims of the project (and the chapter in which they are addressed) are presented below: 1. Establish the most appropriate sediment test material for exposure trials–Chapter 2 2. Test the effects of suspended particulates on selected macroinvertebrates at different levels of biolog-ical organization–Chapter 3 3. Generate an exposure-response rela-tionship framework from data generated in Aim 2 and relevant data in the literature–Chapter 4 4. Attempt to relate exposure-response data developed in the laboratory to natural conditions in the field–Chapter 5.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Gordon, Andrew K , Niedballa, J , Palmer, Carolyn G
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/438018 , vital:73429 , ISBN 978-1-4312-0456-4 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2040-1-13.pdf
- Description: The aims of the project (and the chapter in which they are addressed) are presented below: 1. Establish the most appropriate sediment test material for exposure trials–Chapter 2 2. Test the effects of suspended particulates on selected macroinvertebrates at different levels of biolog-ical organization–Chapter 3 3. Generate an exposure-response rela-tionship framework from data generated in Aim 2 and relevant data in the literature–Chapter 4 4. Attempt to relate exposure-response data developed in the laboratory to natural conditions in the field–Chapter 5.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
The development of a toxicity database using freshwater macroinvertebrates, and its application to the protection of South African water resources
- Palmer, Carolyn G, Muller, Wilhelmine J, Gordon, Andrew K, Scherman, Patricia A, Davies-Coleman, Heather D, Pakhomova, L, de Kock, E
- Authors: Palmer, Carolyn G , Muller, Wilhelmine J , Gordon, Andrew K , Scherman, Patricia A , Davies-Coleman, Heather D , Pakhomova, L , de Kock, E
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7073 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009528
- Description: There is a growing international trend towards the protection of freshwater resources from pollution by imposing instream guidelines and specified waste-discharge conditions. Current methods for devising freshwater quality guidelines are based on species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) that are used to identify pollutant concentrations, ensuring the protection of a modelled percentage of species (95% protection is a common goal). SSDs are derived from the toxicity test results of as many taxa as possible for each polluting substance. Waste-discharge licences can be for single substances, specified in terms of chemical concentrations, and derived in conjunction with instream guidelines; or for complex mixtures, specified in terms of toxic units. In both cases toxicity test results are the core data used. The emphasis on SSDs calls into question the species constituting the test populations. It is likely that SSDs based in part on the responses of local organisms will achieve superior site-specific ecological protection. Until the early 1990s, there were very few data on the tolerances of South African freshwater organisms. In the intervening decade, the Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality at Rhodes University has developed a toxicity database that, to date, records the responses of 21 South African freshwater taxa to 26 single-substance pollutants or mixtures. This is the most comprehensive database of South African toxicity responses available and has been used in the drawing up of methods and guidelines to protect water resources. This paper aims to make these data available and to describe applications of the data using selected case studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Palmer, Carolyn G , Muller, Wilhelmine J , Gordon, Andrew K , Scherman, Patricia A , Davies-Coleman, Heather D , Pakhomova, L , de Kock, E
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:7073 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009528
- Description: There is a growing international trend towards the protection of freshwater resources from pollution by imposing instream guidelines and specified waste-discharge conditions. Current methods for devising freshwater quality guidelines are based on species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) that are used to identify pollutant concentrations, ensuring the protection of a modelled percentage of species (95% protection is a common goal). SSDs are derived from the toxicity test results of as many taxa as possible for each polluting substance. Waste-discharge licences can be for single substances, specified in terms of chemical concentrations, and derived in conjunction with instream guidelines; or for complex mixtures, specified in terms of toxic units. In both cases toxicity test results are the core data used. The emphasis on SSDs calls into question the species constituting the test populations. It is likely that SSDs based in part on the responses of local organisms will achieve superior site-specific ecological protection. Until the early 1990s, there were very few data on the tolerances of South African freshwater organisms. In the intervening decade, the Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality at Rhodes University has developed a toxicity database that, to date, records the responses of 21 South African freshwater taxa to 26 single-substance pollutants or mixtures. This is the most comprehensive database of South African toxicity responses available and has been used in the drawing up of methods and guidelines to protect water resources. This paper aims to make these data available and to describe applications of the data using selected case studies.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
Riverine macroinvertebrate responses to chlorine and chlorinated sewage effluents-Acute chlorine tolerances of Baetis harrisoni (Ephemeroptera) from two rivers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Williams, M L, Palmer, Carolyn G, Gordon, Andrew K
- Authors: Williams, M L , Palmer, Carolyn G , Gordon, Andrew K
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437990 , vital:73427 , ISBN 0378-4738 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/WaterSA_2003_04_19.pdf
- Description: Chlorine is widely used in South African sewage treatment works, and despite its volatility is likely to have a considerable impact on riverine ecosystems. This paper considers the results of acute (96 h) toxicity responses to chlorine of riverine mayfly nymphs Baetis harrisoni col-lected from the small, relatively uncontaminated suburban Westville Stream, KwaZulu-Natal and from the more severely impacted Umbilo River, which flows through the industrial area of Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Williams, M L , Palmer, Carolyn G , Gordon, Andrew K
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437990 , vital:73427 , ISBN 0378-4738 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/WaterSA_2003_04_19.pdf
- Description: Chlorine is widely used in South African sewage treatment works, and despite its volatility is likely to have a considerable impact on riverine ecosystems. This paper considers the results of acute (96 h) toxicity responses to chlorine of riverine mayfly nymphs Baetis harrisoni col-lected from the small, relatively uncontaminated suburban Westville Stream, KwaZulu-Natal and from the more severely impacted Umbilo River, which flows through the industrial area of Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
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