Aquatic insect communities in and around the tropical streams of Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of land use on aquatic insect communities in and around the streams of Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia. Five sampling stations were selected from pristine streams (S1 and S2) and streams in the vicinity of human activities (S3, S4, and S5). Aquatic insects were sampled using Surber net from June 2012 to January 2013. A total of 10360 individuals of aquatic insects from nine orders, 49 families, and 67 genera were collected. Order Coleoptera (27%), Ephemeroptera (26%), Trichoptera (24%) were the common orders found in the streams of Kinabalu Park. Stenelmis spp. (12%) was the dominant taxa, followed by Psephenus spp. (10%) and Hydropsyche spp. (8%). Pristine streams generally had higher total abundance, genera richness and diversity of aquatic insects. Based on the water parameters, all stations were classified as Class I. Biotic indices rated most stations were not impacted, but lower values were found in S3, S4, and S5. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that water temperature, canopy cover, water velocity and stream width were the most influential environmental parameters on aquatic insect assemblages in the streams of Kinabalu Park

Water quality monitoring in Sugut River and its tributaries

WWF-Malaysia initiated the water quality monitoring using physic-chemical and biological parameters along the lower Sugut River and its tributaries to monitor the status of water quality in the area, especially in areas surrounded by oil palm plantations. A total of 12 sampling stations were selected at four tributaries of Sugut River based on agreement with WWF staff members and Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) officer. The four tributaries were Sabang river (next to oil palm mill), Sugut river (next to oil palm plantation), Wansayan river (next to secondary forest) and Kepilatan river (next to Nipah forest). Fieldwork started in August 2015 and ended in November 2015, with a total of four samplings. The results showed that the Water Quality Index (WQI) classified Sg. Sabang as very polluted, while Sg. Sugut, Sg. Wansayan and Sg. Kepilatan were slightly polluted. In accordance to INWQS, parameters TSS, DO and BOD for all tributaries were classified in Class III and IV. Table 3 summarizes the mean concentrations for each physico-chemical parameter at each tributary. Parameters TSS, TDS, COD, ammonia nitrogen, conductivity and salinity were found the highest at Sg. Sabang, followed by Sg. Kepilatan, which could be due to salinity effect. It also possibly caused by accumulation of sediments and nutrients, as estuary area has been reported constantly receives organic matter from inflowing tributaries (Day et al., 2007). COD was the highest at Sg. Sabang, and this parameter is known to represent total organic matter in water bodies (Hur & Cho, 2012). The monitoring work presented in this report represents a baseline data on the water quality of Sugut River basin by using physico-chemical and biological parameters. It is recommended that development in the upper reaches of the Sugut river should be monitored to ensure that the quality of the river does not get worse. The next step would also be to engage with the oil palm plantation companies along the river to look at ways to mitigate river pollution

Water quality and phytoplankton distribution of the Lower Kinabatangan River Catchment, Sabah

A study on water quality and phytoplankton distribution was carried out at the Lower Kinabatangan River Catchment, Sabah in November 2013, January 2014 and March 2014. The objectives were to study the surface water quality of the Lower Kinabatangan River Catchment; to identify the composition of phytoplankton in three different types of land use in Sukau, Kinabatangan; and to determine spatial and temporal variations of water quality in Sukau, Kinabatangan. Three sampling stations were selected to represent different types of land use, consisting of oil palm plantation (OP), secondary forests (SF) and oxbow lake (OB). Based on Interim National Water Quality Standards (INWQS) for Malaysia, the parameters were categorized within Class I to Class IV. Statistical analyses ANOVA one-way, paired sample t-test and discriminant analysis have been carried out to both water quality and total monthly precipitation data sets. The distribution of phytoplankton in Kinabatangan River consisted of 5 divisions: the Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta, Cryptophyta and Euglenophyta. Chlorophyta recorded the highest diversity, with 10 species recorded out of 17 species found of the Lower Kinabatangan River Catchment. Discriminant analysis suggested that UV-visible absorption coefficients at 254 and 340 nm were dominant in samples from OP and SF. Temporal variations showed that parameters suspended sediment, UV-visible absorption coefficients at 254 and 340 nm were dominant in samples from collected in January 2014

Aquatic insects and anurans in pristine and altered streams in Bundu Tuhan, Sabah, for freshwater quality monitoring

Biological indicators are important components for freshwater biomonitoring to assess freshwater water quality. Aquatic insects are well-established biological indicators, but there is scarce information on anurans as potential biological indicators in Sabah. This study was conducted to (i) investigate aquatic insects in Bundu Tuhan, (ii) provide assessment for stream water quality, and (iii) understand anurans as potential biological indicators. Both aquatic insects and anurans were collected from pristine and altered streams, together with water quality data. Overall, 43 families of aquatic insects and 20 species of anurans were collected. Water quality information derived from Interim National Water Quality Standard, and biotic indices revealed that overall stream water quality of the four streams sampled were in good quality. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed no association between aquatic insect and anuran taxa richness. Conversely, anuran occurrence between pristine and altered streams showed that few species have potential as biological indicators for stream

Land use effects on Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) communities in RanauBeluran District, Sabah, Malaysia

Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) are particularly sensitive and well suited as bioindicators for monitoring stream health. This study aims to investigate the EPT communities between disturbed and undisturbed areas of Ranau-Beluran District. Based on National Water Quality Standards of Malaysia, the sampled streams were categorized as Class I and II of water classes. Nonparametric MannWhitney test showed that only canopy cover was significantly different between disturbed and undisturbed sites. The sampled insects were dominated by Ephemeroptera (80.42%), followed by Plecoptera (14%) and Trichoptera order (5.58%). The Leptophlebiid family was the most abundant (44.82%). Family richness, the Simpson’s and Shannon-Weiner diversity indices all showed similar trends, EPT diversity being lower in disturbed sites. The diversity of EPT was strongly related to canopy cover

Diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages and their functional feeding groups in the streams of Kota Marudu, Sabah.

Increasing human activities at Kota Marudu (an economic and agricultural hub of northern Sabah) affects water quality and related ecosystem services. However, the impacts of these human activities on the aquatic biological assemblages in tropical streams were poorly understood. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the biological diversity and functional feeding groups of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages of some streams near different types of land use. Water samples and aquatic macroinvertebrates were collected from 6 streams, in 6 sampling trips. A total of 22994 individuals were identified with 136 genera and 17 orders corresponding to 3 main faunal phyla (Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda). Biodiversity indices and biotic indices showed significant spatial differentiation. The biodiversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages was highest at forested streams and lowest at streams from agricultural lands. In addition, the functional feeding groups also showed significant differences between the forested streams and human-disturbed rivers. Shredders and predators were more abundant in forested streams. In general, land use is an important factor influencing the structure of aquatic communities

Biomonitoring of streams: using Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera And Trichoptera (Ept) in responses to the different types of land use at Tabin Wildlife Reserve (TWR), Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia

A preliminary study on three aquatic insect orders, namely Ephemeroptera (mayfly), Plecoptera (stonefly), and Trichoptera (caddisfly) (EPT) was conducted at Tabin Wildlife Reserve (TWR), Lahad Datu, Sabah in January and February 2015. The objectives of this study were to determine (i) the composition of EPT along a stream at TWR, (ii) the distribution of EPT in each different land use at TWR, and (iii) the relationship between EPT communities and the water quality of the stream at TWR. Kick net sampling technique was used for collecting the EPT communities along Sg. Lipad of TWR. The most dominant order was Ephemeroptera consisting of 11 families with 1,354 individuals out of the total of 1,724 individuals and 26 families of EPT communities sampled. Trichoptera was the second most abundant order with nine families and 258 individuals, and lastly, Plecoptera with only six families and 112 individuals. There were more families of EPT communities distributed in secondary forest as compared to the oil palm plantation. Several exclusive families were found in secondary forest, while only one family was found in oil palm plantation. The habitat run showed the highest in abundance of EPT, while pool recorded the least in abundance. Four biotic indices (BMWP, ASPT, FBI, and INWQS) and a few physico-chemical parameters (pH, temperature, conductivity, and DO) were used in this study to determine the water quality of the sampling location. Based on the biotic indices and physico-chemical parameters, the status of water in Sg. Lipad was in excellent condition. The two water quality tests showed profound consistency. This serves as a confirmation that the EPT communities are effective to be used as a biomonitoring tool at TWR

Comparative Assessment of Moyog River Watershed and Malaysia Water Quality Index

Water is vital to the existence of all living organisms, but this invaluable resource is badly threatened by fast-growing human population and urbanization when increasing number of rivers are polluted due to the uncontrolled human activities. Here, we report the assessment of Water quality of Moyog river through the Malaysia Water Quality Index (NWQI) versus Canadian Water Quality Index (CWQI) as well as Biological Monitoring Work Party (BMWP) index. Sampling stations were set at Kg. Kibunut (KB), Kg. Notoruss (NT) and Kg. Babagon (BB) located in middle stream, as well as Kg. Kibabaig (KG) located in the lower stream of the Moyog river. NWQI shows that all the selected sites except KG fall under First Class category indicating an excellent water quality of the river. However, under CWQI, water quality for both MY, NT and BB falls into Second Class and Third Class, respectively, signifying a deterioration of water quality, and inconsistency of NWQI and CWQI in the water quality assessment. Besides, through BMWP index approach, a total of 538 individuals belonging to 8 orders, 17 families and 18 genera identified during the whole sampling event. The BMWP index is in good agreement with CWQI and this implies that a more stringent and holistic NWQI should be proposed for better assessment of river water quality in Malaysia

Aquatic Insects and Water Quality Study at Kimanis River, Crocker Range National Park, Sabah, Malaysia

A survey on the aquatic insect communities was conducted in Kimanis River, Ulu Kimanis, Crocker Range Park (CRP), Sabah with the objectives to study (i) the composition of stream insect communities, (ii) stream water quality and (iii) the relationships between aquatic insects and freshwater quality parameters in Kimanis River, Ulu Kimanis, CRP. The sampling was carried out using surber net in October 2015 and January 2016. A total of 1,801 individuals from nine orders of 28 families were collected from Kimanis River. Trichopterans fauna was found to be the prominent taxa in this study. Shannon-Wiener Index of upstream strata was recorded slightly higher than downstream strata with H’= 1.97 and H’= 1.85 respectively. Water integrity of Kimanis River could be considered as excellent with minimal pollution. Both water quality parameters and biotic indices indicated that the aquatic insect population was affected by the water quality in their surroundings. This proved the use of aquatic insect communities as bioindicator for rapid assessment of water quality in CRP

The aquatic invertebrates’ assemblages’ responses to watershed land use in Tabin Wildlife Reserve (TWR), Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo Science

A study on the aquatic invertebrate communities was conducted at Tabin Wildlife Reserve (TWR), Lahad Datu, Sabah, with the objectives to study (i) the diversity of aquatic invertebrates across different land use, (ii) the composition of aquatic invertebrates in different habitats and microhabitats in the stream, and (iii) the relationship between invertebrates and the water quality of the stream. Sampling was done at Sg. Lipad which flows across the secondary forest area and plantation area. Kick net method was used to sample the aquatic invertebrates for 14 continuous days in January to February 2015. A total of 3,579 individuals were sampled consisting of 76 families from eight orders, in both of the land uses. The diversity of aquatic invertebrates in the secondary forest was found to be slightly higher than plantation area with H’= 3.213 and H’= 3.188 respectively. The aquatic invertebrates were also found to be more abundant in riffle habitat, and the least in pool habitats. The diversity for pool habitat, however, was the highest among all other habitats with H’= 3.709. Both physico-chemical parameters and biotic indices indicated that the invertebrate communities were affected by the water quality in the surroundings, and may be used for rapid assessment of water quality at TWR