Journal of Limnology

(formerly Memorie dell'Istituto Italiano di Idrobiologia)

vol. 60(Suppl. 1), 2001

 Scientific and legal aspects of biological monitoring in freshwater
(proceedings of the workshop held in Pallanza, 4-5 September 2000)

O. Ravera (guest editor)

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CONTENTS
(click title to view abstract)

1
The use and limits of various methods of sampling and interpretation of benthic macro-invertebrates
Antony DAVIES

This paper attempts to provide an overview of the present state of the art of biological sampling of aquatic benthic macro-invertebrates as reflected in the international standard methods of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the European Standards Organisation (CEN). Also of importance are guideline standards which assist in the standardisation of the interpretation and presentation of the biological data. The importance of standardising methods of sampling aquatic habitats has been recently recognised by the European Union by the inclusion of these standards as a mandatory requirement within the Framework Directive (2000/60 EC European Parliament and Council) for the protection of inland surface waters. Adherence to these standards of sampling by member countries ensures that the biological survey data is comparable throughout the Union and can be assessed as an improvement, deterioration or stable biological quality at agreed survey sites.

2
Development of a concept for integrated ecological river assessment in Flanders, Belgium
Peter GOETHALS and Niels DE PAUW

Integrated river management is based on monitoring, modelling and assessment of the water cycle. Effective and efficient management is only possible when these three activities are well interconnected and concerted. The choice of appropriate, high quality monitoring techniques is probably one of the most crucial factors in the assessment of river systems. To this end, the EU has recently adopted a Water Framework Directive. Although this Directive provides the guidelines for monitoring water bodies, local governments still have a lot of freedom regarding their practical implementation. The development of a consistent monitoring and assessment strategy and methodology is therefore essential for each European country. This paper discusses different Flemish techniques for the monitoring and assessment of macro-invertebrates and fish communities in relation to water quantity and the physical, chemical, morphological and structural quality. Finally, a concept for sustainable and integrated ecological assessment and management is presented.

3
A conceptual approach to the biomonitoring of freshwater: the Ecological Ambience System
Michel LAFONT

The concept of ecological ambience (Ecological Ambience System, EASY) is based on the idea that biocenoses (BIO) are not only related to the input of organic and mineral substances (IN) but also to the way they are stored and processed by the ecosystem. Storage, assimilation and self-purification processes ("ecosystem defences": ED) are likely to vary among the different functional units (FUs) of the ecosystem. The functional units have been defined on the basis of a simple physical description of sites in an ecosystem, because the physical structure of these units is considered as being of prime importance in the ED processes. For example, mineral and organic substances may be preferentially stored in fine-sediment units, whereas the mineralization rate of organic matter is more likely to be highest in coarse permeable sediments. If the stream ecosystem is viewed as a mosaic, its overall ecological defences will depend upon: 1) the self-purification capacity of the different functional units; 2) their relative proportion within the ecosystem. The EASY concept is now used for ecological researches and also has several applications in the biomonitoring of running waters, illustrated by the study of the River Dore. Biological compartments, specific for each functional unit, are related to operational bio-indicators to build up a global harmonisation system for biomonitoring indices. Four main biological compartments were defined with their related bio-indicators: 1) general biological quality (IBGN biotic index), 2) biological sediment quality (IOBS oligochaete index), 3) biological water quality (diatom index IBD) and 4) biological fish quality (study of fish communities). The selected bio-indicators were adjusted to an ecological classification model (Typic concept). A weighting system of the general ecological quality at a site based on the percentage cover of fine sediments is proposed. This approach can be developed using several other compartments. Major difficulties and potential improvements are discussed.

4
Ecological quality assessment of rivers and integrated catchment management in England and Wales
Paul LOGAN

This paper deals with the ecological assessment of river quality and its relationship to integrated catchment management. The concept of catchment or river basin management has been a basic management tool in England and Wales since 1990; it is now being enshrined in the Water Framework Directive. Historically the statutory and operational drivers in the UK have lead to the development of distinctly different approaches to the management of water quality, water resources (quantity) and physical river structure. More recently a proactive approach to the sustainable use of water promulgated in the Local Environment Agency Plans has also dealt with the three management aspects in some isolation although greater effort has been made to present the issues in an integrated manner. The Water Framework Directive calls for further integration in river basin plans and associated programmes of measures. In the paper the three approaches are described and considered in light of the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. Water Quality classification and objective setting has been based on information from the survey of benthic macro-invertebrates. The Biological Monitoring Working Party Score and the predictive software River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS) have been used to set site-specific targets for management purposes. RIVPACS includes a reference database of minimally impacted sites for comparison with the observed data. This approach is in line with the requirements of the directive. Physical river structure work has been based on monitoring of in-river and river corridor characteristics. The River Habitat System (RHS) has also developed a reference database but is less well developed in terms of its predictive ability. The use of ecological information in Water Resource management has taken a different approach based on the concept of differential ecological sensitivity to the hydrological regime within the river. In order to develop a truly integrated approach to catchment management the importance of each the three aspects of management on the biological community will need to be prioritised. It will also be necessary to give careful consideration to the inter-actions between quality, quantity and structure.

5
Is what has been measured of any direct relevance to the success of the macrophyte in its particular environment?
Georg A. JANAUER

In the aquatic environment biology and hydrology should assist each other in explaining the establishment, fluctuation, and limitation of the aquatic vegetation. However, the description of running and still waters by hydrology and habitat hydraulics, and the description of the aquatic vegetation, and its dynamics, rarely lead to results on a comparable scale. This is due to some intrinsic methodological features of both sciences, but also due to the fact that there is not much effort to find a common basis of scale. This is to no surprise because most of the time a hydrologist, and vice versa a biologist, tries to solve problems on his own, rarely calling for a partner from the other field. In the personal view of a biologist aspects are pointed out which may lead to a better interpretation of biological processes through habitat-related hydrological and/or hydraulic assessments. The terms macrophytes, environment and success are defined first. The function of macrophytes as a part of the aquatic ecosystem is explained, and related to important environmental factors. Examples are given for water flow as the most prominent abiotic factor. With respect to water flow and light the assessment of these parameters should be more detailed regarding space and time to be relevant to the scales in which aquatic plant life takes place. With regard to nutrient assessment spatial resolution is not as sensitive an issue as long as the water body, and not the interstitial, is concerned. However, any increase in detail will considerably raise the effort, and the cost, of data acquisition. Measuring plant “success” with physiological methods and biometrics can be too complicated for in situ work. Methods fitted to single species spatial development may cope with such problems and GIS is the tool to choose in such cases. Finally the urgent need to find common scales among hydrologists and biologists is addressed.

6
A Europe-wide system for assessing the quality of rivers using macroinvertebrates: the AQEM Project and its importance for southern Europe (with special emphasis on Italy)
Andrea BUFFAGNI, Joanna L. KEMP, Stefania ERBA, Carlo BELFIORE, Daniel HERING and Otto MOOG

The AQEM Project aims to develop a Europe-wide system for monitoring the ecological quality of rivers using macroinvertebrates, to satisfy the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive. Three main types of anthropogenic perturbation are being investigated: morphological degradation, water (organic) pollution and acidification (the last is not under investigation in Italy). The selection of reference and impaired study sites is discussed. Particular attention is paid to the problems encountered when defining reference conditions. The initial stages of the project highlighted the lack of a Europe-wide definition of river types. The future development of such a typology from the AQEM database is discussed. The standard AQEM data gathering methods are presented, from background information about sites to the microhabitat-based macroinvertebrate sampling method. The extended fieldwork methods used in Italy are described. These included the separate analysis of the invertebrate assemblages from each replicate, the recording of additional microhabitat variables for each replicate and the completion of large-scale survey techniques for each site (including RHS). The extended method was designed to enhance the important ecological information available from the dataset, particularly relevant in Italy where significant gaps exist in the taxonomic and ecological knowledge of many macroinvertebrate taxa. Preliminary and expected findings are presented, including examples of the range and habitat selection of two species of Ephemeroptera endemic to Italy, as well as data relating to the number of taxa found at a site with increasing numbers of microhabitat replicates taken. The importance of the AQEM Project not only for biomonitoring, but also for ecology, taxonomy and conservation, in Italy and for the south of Europe in general, is emphasised.

7
Biological monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Italy
Renato BAUDO

In Italy, Ecotoxicology has found a place with the Legislative Decree n. 152 (May 11, 1999), emanated in fulfilment of the Directives 91/271/CEE "urban waste-water treatment" and 91/676/CEE "protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources". This decree in reality goes beyond (actually anticipating the content of the Framework Directive on Water, still under way of elaboration), and charges the Regions with the duty to identify, for all and each water body, the class of quality on the basis of a chemical and biological monitoring and their classification according to the environmental quality objectives. To this aim, for all water bodies (lakes, rivers, groundwater, coastal waters) the ecological, chemical, and environmental status must be assessed by measuring specific parameters. This paper briefly summarises the role of biological monitoring in the classification of waters in five different categories, ranking from High to Foul Environmental status.

8
The use of aquatic moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) as monitor of contamination in standing and running waters: limits and advantages
Roberto M. CENCI

The aim of this work is to verify whether water moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) could be used as a monitor of trace element contamination in lotic and lentic waters. The investigation was split up the into three sequential experimental trials. 1) Experiments have been set up in lab in order to evaluate the amount of trace elements (Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu and Hg) released by moss during a period of 133 days, under controlled chemical-physical conditions. A release of 64% of Hg, 83% of Cr and 70% of Pb was found, whereas no re lease of Cd and Cu has been observed. 2) Clean moss has successively treated with running water at different pH and then treaded with Cu, Cr, Hg and Pb, in order to evaluate the dynamics of accumulation of trace elements in moss. Specifically, three basins containing 100 liters of Lake Maggiore water were equipped with three distinct pumps (15 l min-1 each) ensuring the water circulation into a glass tube were arranged. Afterwards, 105 thallus, equivalent to 4.5 g of Fontinalis antipyretica, were fixed into each glass tube. The accumulation dynamics was calculated by collecting moss and water at the beginning, after 1 h, 6 h, 1 day, 4, 9, 14 and 28 days of the experiment. Results showed that the metals accumulation was significant during the first hour. 3) Samples of clean moss were placed in situ. Nine sites in Lake Orta, characterized by high contents of elements due to the anthropic activities, the Toce River and other minor rivers, have been chosen in order to estimate the ability of moss to accumulate Cu, Cr, Pb and Hg from water, and to localize the metal pollution sources. In three sites the Cu average concentration in Fontinalis antipyretica increased from 167 mg kg-1 dry moss to 2100 mg kg-1 after 14 days and to 2900 mg kg-1 after 28 days. A marked accumulation of Hg was observed in Fontinalis antipyretica located in site no 6 (from an initial concentration of 0.2 mg kg-1 dry moss to 17.7 mg kg-1 after 14 days, and 24.6 mg kg-1 after 28 days). The results showed that Fontinalis antipyretica had the ability to accumulate great amounts of trace elements in a short time (a few days and/or a few weeks), whereas the release occurred more slowly (a few months). Therefore, it could be reasonable to stress that moss can be used to monitor water contamination and sources, and to characterize environments with different types of contaminated, such as industrial and urban areas.

9
Monitoring of the aquatic environment by species accumulator of pollutants: a review
Oscar RAVERA

This paper is a short review on the biomonitoring of aquatic environments by animal and plant species accumulators of toxic pollutants ("scavengers"). This monitoring is based on the relationship between the pollutant concentration in the organism and that in its environment, and not on alterations produced by pollution on the biota. The latter is the basis of other types of biomonitoring, such as those based on the biotic and diversity indices and saprobic scale. The various aspects of monitoring by pollutant accumulators are illustrated; for example, the uptake and loss of pollutants, the "critical organs" and "tissues", the detoxification mechanisms and the most common factors (C.F., BAF, BSAF) for establishing a connection between the pollutant concentration in the organism and that in its environment. Several examples of this monitoring on heavy metals, radioisotopes and organic micropollutants are reported. The advantages of this monitoring, the characteristics of the species to be used as bioaccumulators and some practical suggestions are listed. A close collaboration between the scientific teams working on the biomonitoring based on accumulator organisms and on the chemical monitoring is recommended from the scientific and economic point of view.