Laboratory of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 134, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Environ Manage. 2011 Feb;47(2):279-90. doi: 10.1007/s00267-010-9598-8. Epub 2010 Dec 19.
Biological elements, such as benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, have been used in assessing the ecological quality of rivers according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. However, the concurrent use of multiple organism groups provides a broader perspective for such evaluations, since each biological element may respond differently to certain environmental variables. In the present study, we assessed the ecological quality of a Greek river (RM4 type), during autumn 2003 and spring 2004 at 10 sites, with benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. Hydromorphological and physicochemical parameters, habitat structure, and riparian vegetation were also considered. Pollution sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa were more abundant at headwaters, which had good/excellent water quality according to the Hellenic Evaluation System (HES). The main river reaches possessed moderate water quality, while downstream sites were mainly characterised as having bad or poor water quality, dominated by pollution-tolerant macroinvertebrate taxa. Macroinvertebrates related strongly to local stressors as chemical degradation (ordination analysis CCA) and riparian quality impairment (bivariate analysis) while fish did not. Fish were absent from the severely impacted lower river reaches. Furthermore, external pathological signs were observed in fish caught at certain sites. A combined use of both macroinvertebrates and fish in biomonitoring programs is proposed for providing a safer assessment of local and regional habitat impairment.
生物要素，如底栖大型无脊椎动物和鱼类，已根据《水框架指令》的要求，用于评估河流的生态质量。然而，同时使用多个生物群体为这些评估提供了更广泛的视角，因为每个生物要素可能对某些环境变量有不同的反应。在本研究中，我们使用底栖大型无脊椎动物和鱼类，于 2003 年秋季和 2004 年春季在 10 个地点评估了一条希腊河流（RM4 型）的生态质量。还考虑了水力学形态学和物理化学参数、生境结构和河岸植被。根据希腊评价系统（HES），对具有良好/优秀水质的源头处，污染敏感的大型无脊椎动物类群更为丰富。主要河流河段的水质中等，而下游的水质主要较差或较差，以耐污染的大型无脊椎动物类群为主。大型无脊椎动物与局部胁迫因素（排序分析 CCA）和河岸质量受损（二元分析）密切相关，而鱼类则没有。鱼类不存在于严重受影响的下游河段。此外，在某些地点捕获的鱼类观察到外部病理迹象。建议在生物监测计划中同时使用大型无脊椎动物和鱼类，以更安全地评估局部和区域生境受损情况。
