Comparison of temperate and tropical versions of Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) index for assessing water quality of River Aturukuku in Eastern Uganda

Ochieng, Hannington; Odong, Robinson; Okot-Okumu, James

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01183

Cited by 27 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…In contrast to SPEAR pesticides , the BMWP and SASS5 indicators are based on a gradual instead of a binary classification system for the sensitivity of freshwater macroinvertebrates (mainly to low oxygen levels) ranging from 1 to 10. Like SPEAR pesticides, the indicators have been established for freshwater families from a different region, but have been also applied in sub-Saharan Africa beyond their countries of origin [28,39] (3)…”

Section: Application Of Other Indicators Of Freshwater Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our application of SPEAR pesticides is not the first attempt to establish or apply bioindicators for the assessment of freshwater quality in East Africa [28,52,53]. These case studies illustrate the growing interest in the use of bioindicators for freshwater monitoring but did not explicitly consider effects of a specific stressor such as pesticide pollution.…”

Section: Specificity Of Spear Pesticides For Effects Of Pesticidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Wang et al [26] found that related saltwater invertebrates from temperate and tropical regions differ only slightly in their acute sensitivity to toxicants. Moreover, SPEAR pesticides can be applied at the family taxonomic level [27], and palearctic and afrotropical streams share most of their macroinvertebrate families [28]. Assuming that families of freshwater macroinvertebrates from temperate and tropical streams may generally share their vulnerability to pesticides, SPEAR pesticides may be, therefore, used also in sub-Saharan Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Calibration of the SPEARpesticides bioindicator for cost-effective pesticide monitoring in East African streams

et al. 2021

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Background Pesticides are washed from agricultural fields into adjacent streams, where even short-term exposure causes long-term ecological damage. Detecting pesticide pollution in streams thus requires the expensive monitoring of peak concentrations during run-off events. Alternatively, exposure and ecological effects can be assessed using the SPEARpesticides bioindicator that quantifies pesticide-related changes in the macroinvertebrate community composition. SPEARpesticides has been developed in Central Europe and validated in other parts of Europe, Australia and South America; here we investigated its performance in East African streams. Results With minimal adaptations of the SPEARpesticdes index, we successfully characterized pesticide pollution in 13 streams located in Western Kenya. The East African SPEARpesticides index correlated well with the overall toxicity of 30 pesticides (maximum toxic unit = maximum environmental vs. median lethal concentration) measured in stream water (R2 = 0.53). Similarly, the SPEARpesticides index correlated with the risk of surface run-off from agricultural fields (as identified based on ground slope in the catchment area and the width of protective riparian strips, R2 = 0.45). Unlike other bioindicators designed to indicate general water pollution, SPEARpesticides was independent of organic pollution and highly specific to pesticides. In 23% of the streams, pesticides exceeded concentrations considered environmentally safe based on European first tiered risk assessment. Conclusions Increasing contamination was associated with considerable changes in the macroinvertebrate community composition. We conclude that pesticides need to be better regulated also in developing countries. SPEARpesticides provides a straightforward and cost-efficient tool for the required monitoring of pesticide exposure in small to medium streams.

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Section: Application Of Other Indicators Of Freshwater Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Specificity Of Spear Pesticides For Effects Of Pesticidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Calibration of the SPEARpesticides bioindicator for cost-effective pesticide monitoring in East African streams

et al. 2021

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“…Our application of SPEARpesticides is not the first attempt to establish or apply bioindicators for the assessment of freshwater quality in East Africa (Masese et al 2009, Shimba and Jonah 2016, Ochieng et al 2020. These case studies illustrate the growing interest in the use of bioindicators for freshwater monitoring but did not explicitly consider effects of a specific stressor such as pesticide pollution.…”

Section: Specificity Of Spearpesticides For Effects Of Pesticidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Wang et al (2014) found that related saltwater invertebrates from temperate and tropical regions differ only slightly in their acute sensitivity to toxicants. Moreover, SPEARpesticides can be applied at the family taxonomic level (Beketov et al 2009), and palearctic and afrotropical streams share most of their macroinvertebrate families (Ochieng et al 2020). Assuming that families of freshwater macroinvertebrates from temperate and tropical streams may generally share their vulnerability to pesticides, SPEARpesticides may be therefore used also in sub-Saharan Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calibration of the SPEARpesticides Bioindicator for Cost-effective Pesticide Monitoring in East African Streams

Ganatra

Kandie

Fillinger

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundPesticides are washed from agricultural fields into adjacent streams where even short-term exposure causes long-term ecological damage. Detecting pesticide pollution in streams thus requires the expensive monitoring of peak concentrations during run-off events. Alternatively, exposure and ecological effects can be assessed using the SPEARpesticides bioindicator that quantifies pesticide-related changes in the macroinvertebrate community composition. SPEARpesticides has been developed in Central Europe and validated in other parts of Europe, Australia and South America; here we investigated its performance in East African streams.ResultsWith minimal adaptations of the SPEARpesticdes index, we successfully characterized pesticide pollution in 13 streams located in Western Kenya. The East African SPEARpesticides index correlated well with the overall toxicity of 30 pesticides (maximum toxic unit = maximum environmental vs. median lethal concentration) measured in stream water (R² = 0.53). Similarly, the SPEARpesticides index correlated with the risk of surface run-off from agricultural fields (as identified based on ground slope in the catchment area and the width of protective riparian strips, R² = 0.45). Unlike other bioindicators designed to indicate general water pollution, SPEARpesticides was independent of organic pollution and highly specific to pesticides. In 23% of the streams, pesticides exceeded concentrations considered environmentally safe based on European first tiered risk assessment.ConclusionsIncreasing contamination was associated with considerable changes in the macroinvertebrate community composition. We conclude that pesticides need to be better regulated also in developing countries. SPEARpesticides provides a straightforward and cost-efficient tool for the required monitoring of pesticide exposure in small to medium streams.

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Integrated River Health Assessment System (IRHAS)

Gurjar

Lakhera

Vyas

et al. 2023

Ecorestoration for Sustainability

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Comparison of temperate and tropical versions of Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) index for assessing water quality of River Aturukuku in Eastern Uganda

Cited by 27 publications

References 67 publications

Calibration of the SPEARpesticides bioindicator for cost-effective pesticide monitoring in East African streams

Calibration of the SPEARpesticides bioindicator for cost-effective pesticide monitoring in East African streams

Calibration of the SPEARpesticides Bioindicator for Cost-effective Pesticide Monitoring in East African Streams

Integrated River Health Assessment System (IRHAS)

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