Development of a multimetric index based on benthic macroinvertebrates for the assessment of natural wetlands in Southwest Ethiopia |
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| Institution: | 1. Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, J. Plateaustraat 22, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium;2. Department of Environmental Health Science and Technology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia;3. Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Leuven, Ch. Deberiotstraat 32, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium;1. Ecology of Inland Water Ecosystems, State University of Maringá, Av. Colombo 5790, Bloco H-90, CEP 87020-900, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil;2. Group of Research in Fisheries Resources and Limnology (Gerpel), Graduate Course in Fishing Resources and Fisheries Engineering, State University of Western Paraná, Toledo, Paraná, Brazil;3. Amnis Opes Institute and Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-3803, USA;1. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Laboratório de Ecologia de Bentos, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, CP 486, CEP 30161-970, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil;2. Oregon State University, Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, 104 Nash Hall 97331-3803, Corvallis, OR, USA;3. Amnis Opes Institute and Oregon State University, Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, 104 Nash Hall 97331-3803, Corvallis, OR, USA;1. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Laboratório de Ecologia de Bentos, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;2. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Geociências, Departamento de Geografia, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;3. Amnis Opes Institute and Oregon State University, Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, 104 Nash Hall 97331-3803 Corvallis, OR, USA;1. Laboratório de Ecologia de Bentos, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, CP 486, CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil;2. Amnis Opes Institute and Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, 97331-4501 Corvallis, OR, USA;3. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa 01, CEP 66075-110, Belém, PA, Brazil;4. U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research & Development, National Health & Environmental Effects Lab., Western Ecology Division, 200 SW 35 Street, 97333 Corvallis, OR, USA;1. Markets and Services Research Centre, School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University (ECU), 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia;2. Department of Management, UAE Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates;3. Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Karaj branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran;4. School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University (ECU), Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Biotic indices are widely applied for conservation and management of aquatic resources since they allow water resources monitoring agencies to get insight in complex biological data and yield policy relevant information. Despite the worldwide popularity of biotic indices, little information on their use and applicability in Eastern Africa is available. Here, we develop a multimetric index based on macroinvertebrates to assess the ecological condition of natural wetlands in Southwest Ethiopia. Index development was based on a dataset of 222 samples collected during two consecutive years from 63 sites located at eight different wetlands. We used physico-chemical and hydro-morphological variables (land use pattern, habitat alteration, hydrological modification and chemical water quality) to classify sites as reference or degraded. We tested a total of 58 potential metrics representing various aspects of macroinvertebrate assemblages including family richness, composition, tolerance measures and presence and abundance of functional feeding groups. Metrics were selected for the development of a final index based on their sensitivity in discriminating reference from impaired sites, strength of correlation with the anthropogenic disturbance gradient, chemical measurements, and the degree of redundancy. Metrics retained for the final index were:overall family richness, family richness of Ephemeroptera, Odonata and Trichoptera (EOT), and percentage of filterer–collectors. The final index, derived from the sum of three metric scores, was divided into five water quality classes (very bad, bad, moderate, good and very good). Our final multimetric macroinvertebrate index (MMI) distinguished well between reference and impaired wetland sites and showed a significant negative response to a gradient of disturbances (R2 = 0.86, p < 0.05). Moreover, it classified a validation dataset accurately with a correctly classified instances of 80% and a Cohen's Kappa value of 0.6. This MMI can be considered as a robust and sensitive tool that can be applied to evaluate the ecological condition of natural wetlands in Ethiopia, where wetland resources are under high pressure as a result of agricultural activities such as grazing and urbanization. |
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