River macrophyte indices: Not the Holy Grail!

Freshwater Biology

Volumn 57, Issue 8, 2012, Pages 1745-1759

  Demars, Benoît O L ^a   Potts, Jacqueline M ^b   Trémolières, Michèle ^c   Thiébaut, Gabrielle ^d   Gougelin, Nathalie ^e   Nordmann, Vincent ^a,f  

^a SCOTTISH CROP RESEARCH INSTITUTE   (United Kingdom)

^b BIOMATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS SCOTLAND   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITÉ DE STRASBOURG   (France)

^d UNIVERSITÉ DE RENNES 1   (France)

^e Ecolor ^*  (France)

^f UNIVERSITÉ DE STRASBOURG   (France)

Author keywords

Aquatic plants; Biomonitoring; Multiple stressors; Review; Uncertainty

Indexed keywords

BACILLARIOPHYTA;

EID: 84863560727     PISSN: 00465070     EISSN: 13652427     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02834.x     Document Type: Article

References (106)

1. AFNOR (2003) Détermination de l'Indice Biologique Macrophytique en Rivière (IBMR). NF T 90-395. Association Française de Normalisation, La Plaine Saint-Denis, France.
2. Ali M.M., Murphy K.J. & Abernethy V.J. (1999) Macrophyte functional variables versus species assemblages as predictors of trophic status in flowing waters. Hydrobiologia, 415, 131-138.
3. Allan J.D. & Castillo M.M. (2007) Stream Ecology. Structure and Function of Running Waters. Springer, Dordrecht.
4. Amoros C., Bornette G. & Henry C.P. (2000) A vegetation based method for ecological diagnosis of riverine wetlands. Environmental Management, 25, 211-227.
5. Andersen J.H., Conley D.J. & Hedal S. (2004) Palaeoecology, reference conditions and classification of ecological status: the EU Water Framework Directive in practice. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 49, 283-290.
6. Andrén C. & Jarlman A. (2008) Benthic diatoms as indicators of acidity in streams. Fundamental and Applied Limnology, 173, 237-253.
7. Baattrup-Pedersen A., Springe G., Riis T., Larsen S.E., Sand-Jensen K. & Larsen L.M.K. (2008) The search for reference conditions for stream vegetation in northern Europe. Freshwater Biology, 53, 1890-1901.
8. Battin T.J., Luyssaert S., Kaplan L.A., Aufdenkampe A.K., Richter A. & Tranvik L.J. (2009) The boundless carbon cycle. Nature Geoscience, 2, 598-600.
9. Biggs B.J.F. (2000) Eutrophication of streams and rivers: dissolved nutrient-chlorophyll relationships for benthic algae. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 19, 17-31.
10. Birks H.J.B., Line J.M., Juggins S., Stevenson A.C. & Ter braak C.J.F. (1990) Diatoms and pH reconstruction. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 327, 263-278.
11. Blandin P. (1986) Bioindicateurs et diagnostic des systèmes écologiques. Bulletin d'Ecologie, 17, 215-307.
12. Boedeltje G., Smolders A.J.P. & Roelofs J.G.M. (2005) Combined effects of water column nitrate enrichment, sediment type and irradiance on growth and foliar nutrient concentrations of Potamogeton alpinus. Freshwater Biology, 50, 1537-1547.
13. Bornette G., Amoros C. & Lamouroux N. (1998) Aquatic plant diversity in riverine wetlands: the role of connectivity. Freshwater Biology, 39, 267-283.
14. ter Braak C.J.F. & Barendregt A. (1986) Weighted averaging of species indicator values: its efficiency in environmental calibration. Mathematical Bioscience, 78, 57-72.
15. ter Braak C.J.F. & Looman C.W.N. (1986) Weighted averaging, logistic regression and the Gaussian response model. Vegetatio, 65, 3-11.
16. ter Braak C.J.F. & Verdonschot P.F.M. (1995) Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. Aquatic Sciences, 57, 255-289.
17. Brush G.S. & Hilgartner W.B. (2000) Paleoecology of submerged macrophytes in the upper Chesapeake Bay. Ecological Monographs, 70, 645-667.
18. Clarke R.T., Lorenz A., Sandin L., Schmidt-Kloiber A., Strackbein J., Kneebone N.T. et al. (2006) Effects of sampling and sub-sampling variation using the STAR-AQEM sampling protocol on the precision of macroinvertebrate metrics. Hydrobiologia, 566, 441-459.
19. Clarke R.T., Wright J.F. & Furse M.T. (2003) RIVPACS models for predicting the expected macroinvertebrate fauna and assessing the ecological quality of rivers. Ecological Modelling, 160, 219-233.
20. Covich A.P., Clements W.H., Fausch K.D., Stednick J.D., Wilkins-Wells J. & Abt S.R. (1995) Ecological integrity and western water management: a Colorado perspective. Water in the Balance. Colorado Water Resources Research Institute, Fort Collins, CO.
21. Davey A., Garrow D. & Glennie E. (2009) Variability Components for Macrophyte Communities in Rivers. Science Report SC070051/R2, Environment Agency, Bristol.
22. Davidson T.A., Sayer C.D., Perrow M., Bramm M. & Jeppesen E. (2010) The simultaneous inference of zooplanktivorous fish and macrophyte density from sub-fossil cladoceran assemblages: a multivariate regression tree approach. Freshwater Biology, 55, 546-564.
23. Dawson F.H., Newman J.R., Gravelle M.J., Rouen K.J. & Henville P. (1999) Assessment of the Trophic Status of Rivers Using Macrophytes. R&D Technical Report E39. Environment Agency, Bristol.
24. De Pauw N. & Roels D. (1988) Relationship between biological and chemical indicators of surface water quality. Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie, 23, 1553-1558.
25. Demars B.O.L. (1997) Classification des Hydrophytes sur la Base des Traits de l'Histoire de Vie. DEA thesis, Paris XI (Orsay), Institut National Agronomique Paris Grignon, Paris VI (PM Currie), Glasgow.
26. Demars B.O.L. (2002) Aquatic Vascular Plants in Nitrate-rich Calcareous Lowland Streams: do they Respond to Phosphorus Enrichment and Control? PhD thesis, University of Leicester, Leicester.
27. Demars B.O.L. & Edwards A.C. (2007a) Tissue nutrient concentrations in freshwater aquatic macrophytes: high inter-taxon differences and low phenotypic response to nutrient supply. Freshwater Biology, 52, 2073-2086.
28. Demars B.O.L. & Edwards A.C. (2007b) A seasonal survey of surface water habitats within the River Spey basin, Scotland: major nutrient properties. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 17, 565-583.
29. Demars B.O.L. & Edwards A.C. (2009) Distribution of aquatic macrophytes in contrasting river systems: A critique of compositional-based assessment of water quality. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 975-990.
30. Demars B.O.L. & Harper D.M. (1998) The aquatic macrophytes of an English lowland river system: assessing response to nutrient enrichment. Hydrobiologia, 384, 75-88.
31. Demars B.O.L. & Harper D.M. (2002) Assessment of the Impact of Nutrient Removal on Eutrophic Rivers. EA report P2-127/TR. Environment Agency, Bristol.
32. Demars B.O.L. & Harper D.M. (2005) Distribution of aquatic vascular plants in lowland rivers: separating the effects of local environmental conditions, longitudinal connectivity and river basin isolation. Freshwater Biology, 50, 418-437.
33. Demars B.O.L., Kemp J.L., Friberg N., Usseglio-Polatera P. & Harper D.M. (2012) Linking biotopes to invertebrates in rivers: biological traits, taxonomic composition and diversity. Ecological Indicators, 23, 301-311.
34. Demars B.O.L. & Thiébaut G. (2008) Distribution of aquatic plants in the Northern Vosges rivers: implications for biomonitoring and conservation. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 18, 619-632.
35. Demars B.O.L. & Trémolières M. (2009) Aquatic macrophytes as bioindicators of carbon dioxide in groundwater fed rivers. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 4752-4763.
36. Dodkins I., Rippey B. & Hale P. (2005) An application of canonical correspondence analysis for developing ecological quality assessment metrics for river macrophytes. Freshwater Biology, 50, 891-904.
37. Dolédec S. & Statzner B. (2008) Invertebrate traits for the biomonitoring of large European rivers: an assessment of specific types of human impact. Freshwater Biology, 53, 617-634.
38. Dolédec S. & Statzner B. (2010) Responses of freshwater biota to human disturbances: contribution of J-NABS to developments in ecological integrity assessments. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29, 286-311.
39. Dolédec S., Statzner B. & Bournard M. (1999) Species traits for future biomonitoring across ecoregions: patterns along a human-impacted river. Freshwater Biology, 42, 737-758.
40. Dunbar M.J., Pedersen M.L., Cadman D., Extence C., Waddingham J., Chadd R. et al. (2010) River discharge and local-scale physical habitat influence macroinvertebrate LIFE scores. Freshwater Biology, 55, 226-242.
41. Fisher S.G., Grimm N.B., Marti E., Holmes R.M. & Jones J.B. (1998) Material spiraling in stream corridors: A telescoping ecosystem model. Ecosystems, 1, 19-34.
42. Friberg N., Bonada N., Bradley D.C., Dunbar M.J., Edwards F.K., Grey J. et al. (2011) Biomonitoring of human impacts in freshwater ecosystems: the good, the bad and the ugly. Advances in Ecological Research, 44, 1-68.
43. Furse M., Hering D., Moog O., Verdonschot P., Johnson R.K., Brabec K. et al. (2006) The STAR project: context, objectives and approaches. Hydrobiologia, 566, 3-29.
44. Grasmück N., Haury J., Léglize L. & Muller S. (1995) Assessment of the bio-indicator capacity of aquatic macrophytes using multivariate analysis. Hydrobiologia, 300/301, 115-122.
45. Gurnell A. (1997) The hydrological and geomorphological significance of forested floodplains. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters, 6, 219-229.
46. Harper D.M., Smith C., Barham P. & Howell R. (1995) The ecological basis for the management of the natural river environment. In: The Ecological Basis for River Management (Eds D.M. Harper & A.J.D. Ferguson), pp. 219-238. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
47. Haslam S.M. (1982) A proposed method for monitoring river pollution using macrophytes. Environmental Technology Letter, 3, 19-34.
48. Haslam S.M. (1987) River Plants of Western Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
49. Hatton-Ellis T. (2008) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Water Framework Directive. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 18, 111-116.
50. Haury J., Peltre M.-C., Muller S., Trémolières M., Barbe J., Dutartre A. et al. (1996) Des indices macrophytiques pour estimer la qualité des cours d'eau français: premières propositions. Ecologie, 27, 233-244.
51. Haury J., Peltre M.C., Trémolières M., Barbe J., Thiébaut G., Bernez I. et al. (2006) A new method to assess water trophy and organic pollution - the Macrophyte Biological Index for Rivers (IBMR): its application to different types of river and pollution. Hydrobiologia, 570, 153-158.
52. Hillebrand H. (2002) Top-down versus bottom-up control of autotrophic biomass - a meta-analysis on experiments with periphyton. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 21, 349-369.
53. Holmes N.T.H., Newman J.R., Chadd S., Rouen K.J., Saint L. & Dawson F.H. (1999) Mean Trophic Rank: a User's Manual. Environment Agency report E38. Environment Agency, Bristol.
54. Hutchinson G.E. (1975) A Treatise on Limnology. Volume III. Limnological Botany. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
55. Irvine K. (2009) Harmonizing assessment of conservation with that of ecological quality: fitting a square peg into a round hole? Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 19, 365-369.
56. James C., Fisher J., Russell V., Collings S. & Moss B. (2005) Nitrate availability and hydrophyte species richness in shallow lakes. Freshwater Biology, 50, 1049-1063.
57. Johnson R.K., Hering D., Furse M.T. & Clarke R.T. (2006a) Detection of ecological change using multiple organism groups: metrics and uncertainty. Hydrobiologia, 566, 115-137.
58. Johnson R.K., Hering D., Furse M.T. & Verdonschot P.F.M. (2006b) Indicators of ecological change: comparison of the early response of four organism groups to stress gradients. Hydrobiologia, 566, 139-152.
59. Jones J.I. & Sayer C.D. (2003) Does the fish-invertebrate-periphyton cascade precipitate plant loss in shallow lakes? Ecology, 84, 2155-2167.
60. Jones J.I., Young J.O., Eaton J.W. & Moss B. (2002) The influence of nutrient loading, dissolved inorganic carbon and higher trophic levels on the interaction between submerged plants and periphyton. Journal of Ecology, 90, 12-24.
61. Juggins S. (2003) Software for Ecological and Paleoecological Data Analysis and Visualisation. User Guide Version 1.5. University of Newcastle, New Castle upon Tyne.
62. Kemp J.L., Harper D.M. & Crosa G.A. (1999) Use of 'functional habitats' to link ecology with morphology and hydrology in river rehabilitation. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 9, 159-178.
63. Kohler A. & Schneider S. (2003) Macrophytes as bioindicators. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, Supplement, 147, 17-31.
64. Lambert S.J. & Davy A.J. (2011) Water quality as a threat to aquatic plants: discriminating between the effects of nitrate, phosphate, boron and heavy metals on charophytes. New Phytologist, 189, 1051-1059.
65. Lansdown R.V. (2007) The Identity of Ranunculus subgenus batrachium in the River Itchen. Ardeola Environmental Services, Stroud.
66. Lansdown R.V. (2009) A Field Guide to the Riverine Plants of Britain and Ireland. Including Selected Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, Lichens and Algae. Ardeola Environmental Services, Stroud.
67. Lawton J.H. (2007) Ecology, politics and policy. Journal of Applied Ecology, 44, 465-474.
68. Line J.M., ter Braak C.J.F. & Birks H.J.B. (1994) WACALIB version 3.3 - a computer program to reconstruct environmental variables from fossil assemblages by weighted averaging and to derive sample-specific errors of prediction. Journal of Paleolimnology, 10, 147-152.
69. Livio M. (2002) The Golden Ratio. The Story of Phi, the Extraordinary Number of Nature, Art and Beauty. Headline Review, London.
70. Lovelock J. (1991) Gaia: the Practical Science of Planetary Medicine. Gaia Books, London.
71. Meybeck M. (1982) Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus transport by world rivers. American Journal of Science, 282, 401-450.
72. Milner A.M., Fastie C.L., Chapin F.S., Engstrom D.R. & Sharman L.C. (2007) Interactions and linkages among ecosystems during landscape evolution. BioScience, 57, 237-247.
73. Moss B. (2001) The Broads. HarperCollins, London.
74. Moss B. (2002) Environmental revolutionary biology. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 12, 579-581.
75. Moss B. (2007) Shallow lakes, the water framework directive and life. What should it all be about? Hydrobiologia, 584, 381-394.
76. Moss B. (2008) The Water Framework Directive: total environment or political compromise? Science of the Total Environment, 400, 32-41.
77. Moss B. (2010) Climate change, nutrient pollution and the bargain of Dr Faustus. Freshwater Biology, 55, 175-187.
78. Moss B., Stephen D., Alvarez C., Becares E., Van de Bund W., Collings S.E. et al. (2003) The determination of ecological status in shallow lakes - a tested system (ECOFRAME) for implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 13, 507-549.
79. Newbold C. & Holmes N.T.H. (1987) Nature conservation: water quality criteria and plants as water quality monitors. Water Pollution Control, 86, 345-364.
80. Newbold C. & Palmer M. (1979) Trophic Adaptations of Aquatic Plants. NCC CST Notes number 18. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough.
81. Ormerod S.J., Lewis B.R., Kowalik R.A., Murphy J.F. & Davy-Bowker J. (2006) Field testing the AWIC index for detecting acidification in British streams. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 166, 99-115.
82. Pardo I., Gómez-Rodríguez C., Wasson J.-G., Owen R., van de Bund W., Kelly M. et al. (2012) The European reference condition concept: A scientific and technical approach to identify minimally-impacted river ecosystems. Science of the Total Environment, 420, 33-42.
83. Pentecost A., Willby N.J. & Pitt J.-A. (2009) River Macrophyte Sampling: Methodologies and Variability. Science report SC070051/R1, Environment Agency, Bristol.
84. Perakis S.S. & Hedin L.O. (2002) Nitrogen loss from unpolluted South American forests mainly via dissolved organic compounds. Nature, 415, 416-419.
85. Renöfalt B.M., Jansson R. & Nilsson C. (2010) Effects of hydropower generation and opportunities for environmental flow management in Swedish riverine ecosystems. Freshwater Biology, 55, 49-67.
86. Resh V.H. & Rosenberg D.M. (2010) Recent trends in life-history research on benthic macroinvertebrates. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29, 207-219.
87. Robach F., Thiébaut G., Trémolières M. & Muller S. (1996) A reference system for continental running waters: plant communities as bioindicators of increasing eutrophication in alkaline and acidic water in north-east France. Hydrobiologia, 340, 67-76.
88. 3 loading on the freshwater macrophyte Littorella uniflora: N utilization strategy in a slow-growing species from oligotrophic habitats. Oecologia, 100, 368-378.
89. Robertson K.M. & Augspurger C.K. (1999) Geomorphic processes and spatial patterns of primary forest succession on the Bogue Chitto River, USA. Journal of Ecology, 87, 1052-1063.
90. Schneider S. & Melzer A. (2003) The trophic index of macrophytes (TIM) - a new tool for indicating the trophic state of running waters. International Review of Hydrobiology, 88, 49-67.
91. Sharpley A.N. (1993) An innovative approach to estimate bioavailable phosphorus in agricultural runoff using iron oxide-impregnated paper. Journal of Environmental Quality, 22, 597-601.
92. Simons J. & van Beem A.O. (1990) Spirogyra species and accompanying algae from pools and ditches in the Netherlands. Aquatic Botany, 37, 247-269.
93. Staniszewski R., Szoszkiewicz K., Zbierska J., Lesny J., Jusik S. & Clarke R.T. (2006) Assessment of sources of uncertainty in macrophyte surveys and the consequences for river classification. Hydrobiologia, 566, 235-246.
94. Statzner B. & Bêche L.A. (2010) Can biological invertebrate traits resolve effects of multiple stressors on running water ecosystems? Freshwater Biology, 55, 80-119.
95. Strayer D.L. & Dudgeon D. (2010) Freshwater biodiversity conservation: recent progress and future challenges. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 29, 344-358.
96. Vörösmarty C.J., McIntyre P.B., Gessner M.O., Dudgeon D., Prusevich A., Green P. et al. (2010) Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity. Nature, 467, 555-561.
97. Wade A.J., Whitehead P.G., Hornberger G.M., Jarvie H.P. & Flynn N. (2002) On modelling the impact of phosphorus stripping at sewage works on in-stream phosphorus and macrophyte/epiphyte dynamics: a case study for the River Kennet. The Science of the Total Environment, 282-283, 395-416.
98. Walter R.C. & Merritts D.J. (2008) Natural streams and the legacy of water-powered mills. Science, 319, 299-304.
99. West G. (1910) An epitome of a comparative study of the dominant phanerogamic and higher cryptogamic flora of aquatic habitat in several lake areas in Scotland. In: Bathymetrical Survey of the Freshwater Lochs (Eds J. Murray & L. Pullar), pp. 156-260. Vol. I. Challenger Office, Edinburgh.
100. Willby N., Pitt J.-A. & Phillips G. (2009) The Ecological Classification of UK Rivers Using Aquatic Macrophytes. UK Environment Agency Science Reports. Project SC010080/SR1. Environmental Agency, Bristol.
101. Willby N.J., Abernethy V.J. & Demars B.O.L. (2000) An attribute-based classification of European hydrophytes and its relationship to habitat utilisation. Freshwater Biology, 43, 43-74.
102. Williams P., Whitfield M., Biggs J., Bray S., Fox G., Nicolet P. et al. (2003) Comparative biodiversity of rivers, streams, ditches and ponds in an agricultural landscape in Southern England. Biological Conservation, 115, 329-341.
103. Woodward G., Friberg N. & Hildrew A.G. (2010) Science and non-science in the biomonitoring and conservation of fresh waters. In: Freshwater Ecosystems and Aquaculture Research (Eds F. de Carlo & A. Bassano), pp. 277-288. Nova Science Publishing, Hauppauge.
104. Wright J.F. (2000) An introduction to RIVPACS. In: Assessing the Biological Quality of Fresh Waters. RIVPACS and other Techniques (Eds J.F. Wright, D.W. Sutcliffe & M.T. Furse), pp. 1-24. Freshwater Biological Association, Cumbria, UK.
105. Young R.G., Matthaei C.D. & Townsend C.R. (2008) Organic matter breakdown and ecosystem metabolism: functional indicators for assessing river ecosystem health. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 27, 605-625.
106. Zalewski M., Harper D.M., Demars B.O.L., Jolánkai G., Crosa G., Janauer G.A. et al. (2008). Linking biological and physical processes at the river basin scale: the origins, scientific background and scope of ecohydrology. In: Ecohydrology. Processes, Models and Case Studies (Eds D.M. Harper, M. Zalewski & N. Pacini), pp. 1-17. CAB International, Wallingford.