Macroinvertebrates As Bioindicators of Water Pollution in Streams Draining Dairy Farming Catchments

Abstract Runoff from intensive dairy farming systems can impair the quality of catchment waters, with potential ecological and human health implications. A water quality study was carried out in three streams in a predominantly dairy farming region, with the aim of assessing the effects of diffused- and point-sourced inputs on a number of water quality parameters and benthic macroinvertebrates. the results showed significant increases in streamwater biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N) and molybdate reactive phosphorus (MRP) concentrations between the farm reaches. These changes in water quality appeared to be due largely to the point-sourced inputs from farmyards, and had a significant effect on the ability of the water to support a healthy and diverse community of invertebrates. the results also showed that concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) and ammonium in streamwater were the two most important parameters studied that were inversely related to the invertebrate scores.

[1]  J. Wright,et al.  An appraisal of pond-net samples for biological monitoring of lotic macro-invertebrates☆ , 1981 .

[2]  M. T. Furse,et al.  The performance of a new biological water quality score system based on macroinvertebrates over a wide range of unpolluted running-water sites , 1983 .

[3]  P. Vesilind,et al.  Chapter 11 – Water Pollution Law , 1988 .

[4]  J. Farris.  Water Pollution Biology , 1990 .

[5]  J. Seager,et al.  The impact of intensive dairy farming activities on river quality : the eastern Cleddau catchment study , 1990 .

[6]  C. McCahon,et al.  LETHAL AND SUB-LETHAL TOXICITY OF FIELD SIMULATED FARM WASTE EPISODES TO SEVERAL FRESHWATER INVERTEBRATE SPECIES , 1991 .

[7]  C. G. Crawford,et al.  Recovery of benthic-invertebrate communities in the White River near Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, following implementation of advanced treatment of municipal wastewater , 1992 .

[8]  T. Pickering,et al.  The impact of livestock-farming on welsh streams: the development and testing of a rapid biological method for use in the assessment and control of organic pollution from farms. , 1993, Environmental pollution.

[9]  Greeneville B. Hall.  Biology of Freshwater Pollution , 1994 .

[10]  D. Scott,et al.  Invertebrate fauna of three streams in relation to land use in Southland, New Zealand , 1994 .

[11]  Mark Crane,et al.  Measurement by in situ bioassay of water quality in an agricultural catchment , 1995 .

[12]  Biomonitoring of the Water Quality in the River Warche (Belgium): Impact of Tributaries and Sewage Effluent , 1995 .

[13]  P. Hooda,et al.  Streamwater nitrate concentrations in six agricultural catchments in Scotland. , 1997, The Science of the total environment.

[14]  P. Hooda,et al.  Soil and land use effects on phosphorus in six streams draining small agricultural catchments in Scotland , 1997 .

[15]  Awwa,et al.  Standard Methods for the examination of water and wastewater , 1999 .