The potential use of local index of biological integrity for tropical river assessment

Economic and industrial growth in this country has led to environmental problems which in turn affect the quality of human life and nature. Particularly, the management plans for river rehabilitation are less effective in addressing issues related to rivers in Malaysia. To date, most of the efforts undertaken focused on evaluating physicochemical properties of water whereas biological evaluation in determining the health of a river ecosystem is given less attention. Therefore, this study aims to integrate assessment tools of physical, chemical and biological approaches by highlighting benthic macroinvertebrates as key indicator. This study was conducted at four rivers in the state of Johor, which represents different gradients of land use, namely Sungai Ayer Hitam Besar, Sungai Berasau, Sungai Mengkibol and Sungai Melana. In-situ and ex-situ monitoring were carried out with ten (10) sampling frequencies for each river, starting from 2010 to 2013. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled using rectangular dip-net with frame dimension 0.5 m x 0.3 m based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency Rapid Bioassessment Protocol whilst water samples were analysed according to Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. River habitat assessments were also conducted concurrently with the sampling of benthic macroinvertebrates and water quality whereas, secondary data such as rainfall, land use plans and maps of catchment area were obtained from various agencies. Assessment results varied among study sites. Non-parametric statistical analysis, Spearman correlation coefficients was also conducted to measure the correlation between biological and environmental endpoints, hence the selection of most suitable and effective indices for the development of macroinvertebrate-based multimetrics of Index Biotic Integrity (IBI) and the preliminary establishment of the biocriteria. Integration of six potential metrics within three categories (taxonomic richness, taxonomic composition and tolerance and intolerance index) had produced four-level discriminatory biocriteria for river health assessment. The re-scored result showed that water quality of Sungai Ayer Hitam Besar was in non-impaired condition with excellent water quality. Both Sungai Berasau and Sungai Mengkibol showed slightly impaired water quality, whereas Sungai Melana was moderately impaired with fair to poor water quality. The validation of IBI was conducted using different data thus demonstrated that the establishment of IBI and biological criteria could provide indispensable information in managing river ecosystem more effectively

Integrated Approaches in Water Quality Monitoring for River Health Assessment: Scenario of Malaysian River

Current practice of determining river water quality in Malaysia is based mainly on physicochemical components. Perhaps, owing to the lack of information on habitat requirements and ecological diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates and on unearthly taxonomic key of benthic macroinvertebrates in this region makes it less popular than conventional methods. The study took place in three rivers in the state of Johor, Southern Peninsula of Malaysia, which exhibited different degrees of disturbances and physical properties, namely Sungai Ayer Hitam Besar, Sg Berasau, and Sg Mengkibol. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled using rectangular dipnet with frame dimension 0.5 m × 0.3 m. Although physicochemical elements such as water temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured using a YSI Professional Plus handheld multiparameter instrument, other parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS), and ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3N) were tested using the procedure of APHA Standard Method. The study found that the status of water quality varies among the three rivers. A multivariate analysis, the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), was applied to elucidate the relationships between biological assemblages of species and their environment using PAST (version 2) software. The present findings reveal that human-induced activities are the ultimate causes of the alteration in macroinvertebrate biodiversity

The impact of flood on water quality and benthic invertebrate in rivers at Gua Musang, Kelantan

The aim of this study wa s to have a better understanding about the impact of flood to the ecosystem such as types of pollution and water quality level of rivers in Kelantan. This stud y wa s specifically carried out in a flooding prone area determine water quality level by using Water Quality Index (WQI) and Macrobenthos analysis to reach the objective of the experiment. In this study, samples from two major rivers in Gua Musang, Kelanta n were chosen to be analyzed as they were just hit by a major flood recently, those two rivers are Sg. Nenggiri and Sg. Lebir. Samples from these two rivers were analyzed using Water Quality Index (WQI) and Macrobenthos analysis method so that a comparison can be carried out between the two methods and to identify the distribution of benthic invertebrate in the fau na. Results from the analysis were then compared to the water quality index before the flooding event given by Department of Environment (DOE). T his study h as achieved its objective by thorough and carefully analyzed results where the WQI and BWQI value were obtained and compared. WQI value for Tributary Sg. Nenggiri wa s 78.06 classified into class II with a slightly polluted river status while the BWQI value for this river wa s 6.07 also categorized into class II with rather clean status. Sg. Nenggiri and Sg. Relai on the other hand has a WQI value of 90.31 and 85.01, both are classified into class II with a clean river status while the BWQI shows a value of 6.63 and 6 with a rather clean status and belongs into class II. Sg. Paloh recorded a WQI value of 79.81, categorized into class II with a slightly polluted river status whereas the BWQI value for this river wa s 6.17 classified into class II with a rather clean status. From the comparisons made on WQI and BWQI we c an deduce that both method showed a similar result with a slight indifference that did not affect the accuracy of the results

A review on emerging pollutants in the water environment: existences, health effects and treatment processes

Emerging pollutants (EPs), also known as micropollutants, have been a major issue for the global population in recent years as a result of the potential threats they bring to the environment and human health. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), antibiotics, and hormones that are used in great demand for health and cosmetic purposes have rapidly culminated in the emergence of environmental pollutants. EPs impact the environment in a variety of ways. EPs originate from animal or human sources, either directly discharged into waterbodies or slowly leached via soils. As a result, water quality will deteriorate, drinking water sources will be contaminated, and health issues will arise. Since drinking water treatment plants rely on water resources, the prevalence of this contamination in aquatic environments, particularly surface water, is a severe problem. The review looks into several related issues on EPs in water environment, including methods in removing EPs. Despite its benefits and downsides, the EPs treatment processes comprise several approaches such as physico-chemical, biological, and advanced oxidation processes. Nonetheless, one of the membrane-based filtration methods, ultrafiltration, is considered as one of the technologies that promises the best micropollutant removal in water. With interesting properties including a moderate operating manner and great selectivity, this treatment approach is more popular than conventional ones. This study presents a comprehensive summary of EP’s existence in the environment, its toxicological consequences on health, and potential removal and treatment strategies

Changes and drivers of freshwater mussel diversity and distribution in northern Borneo

Human activities are threatening Borneo's unique biodiversity, but little is known on the status of freshwater invertebrates. We assessed changes in diversity and distribution of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida) in northern Borneo, and identified drivers of present distribution and threats. Past distribution data were collected from literature and museum resources. Present distribution data were collected from 21 river basins, and 47 water quality, climatic, landscape and human variables explored as potential predictors of species presence/absence. Species delimitations were identified by morphology and COI barcoding, and haplotype networks generated. Our data indicate that over the past 50 years, four of originally five native species have become very rare or possibly locally extirpated. Since these four species are endemic to Borneo, other Bornean river basins should urgently be surveyed to identify any remaining populations. In the same time span, the non-native Sinanodonta woodiana has become the most widespread freshwater mussel in northern Borneo. The fifth native species was identified as Rectidens sumatrensis and found in four Sarawakian river basins, thus contradicting previous assumptions of an endemic Bornean Rectidens species. Although a number of stable R. sumatrensis populations are retained across Sarawak, the species' strong spatial contraction in mainland Sundaland and apparent low tolerance to eutrophication suggest that it is vulnerable to further habitat alteration. Our results indicate that Borneo's (endemic) freshwater invertebrate biodiversity is declining rapidly. Comprehensive surveys targeting an array of invertebrate and vertebrate taxa are needed to identify Borneo's freshwater biodiversity hotspots, where conservation efforts should be concentrated

Temporal distribution of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities from Tropical Forest Stream in Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest, Johor, Peninsular Malaysia

Temporal changes of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) communities were investigated at the study area of Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest, Johor, Malaysia. Taxa diversity were also studied to determine the seasonality impact on certain benthic communities. Sampling of aquatic insects were carried out from November 2012 to July 2013 using rectangular dip net. As a result, more EPT were found during the dry season (1533 individuals) compared to wet season (321 individuals). Concomitantly, higher diversity was also recorded in the dry season. Among these three investigated orders, Trichoptera represented the most diverse community with three families recorded, followed by Plecoptera (2 families) and Ephemeroptera (1 family). Caddisfly family Hydropsychidae were found to be abundant in the study area. Therefore, seasonality impact on EPT assemblage at Gunung Pulai Recreational Forest is extremely evident

Development of macroinvertebrate-based multimetric index and establishment of biocriteria for river health assessment in Malaysia

Economic and industrial growth in Malaysia has led to various environmental problems, which in turn affected the quality of human life and nature. At present, the management plans, particularly for river rehabilitation, are less effective in addressing issues related to Malaysian rivers. To date, most of the efforts undertaken have focused on evaluating the physicochemical properties of water, whereas biological evaluation determining the health of a river ecosystem is less attended to. Therefore, this study has aimed to develop a multimetric index and biocriteria applicable to the biological assessment of Malaysian streams. Four rivers in the state of Johor have been selected as the sources, each representing different gradients of land use. The reference and impaired sites both have been determined based on various physicochemical, instream features and riparian habitat quality criteria. The resulting candidate metrics have then been evaluated in terms of redundancy, sensitivity and responsiveness to environmental changes, using the stepwise procedures. Integration of six potential metrics across three categories (i.e. taxonomic richness, taxonomic composition, and tolerance and intolerance index) has consequently produced a four-level discriminatory biocriteria for river health assessment: 93% (non-impaired). The re-scored result has revealed that the water quality of Sg Ayer Hitam Besar to be non-impaired, with excellent water quality. Meanwhile, Sg Berasau and Sg Mengkibol have slightly impaired water quality, whereas Sg Melana is moderately impaired with fair to poor water quality. Thus, this multimetric index has strongly differentiated the reference and impaired conditions accordingly, which substantiated the suitability of the discriminatory criteria for Johor stream assessment. Hence, the establishment of macroinvertebrate-based index of biotic integrity (MIBI) and biological criteria may provide indispensable information in managing river ecosystem more effectively

Benthic macroinvertebrate as an alternative tool for biological monitoring in assessing river water quality

Water quality monitoring based on invertebrate aquatic life is capable of giving a short and easy approach to assess water quality status. In order to determine the quality of water, the method selected in monitoring is very important. Assessment is carried out through collection and identification of the indicator which comprises of invertebrate especially aquatic insect. This study focus on pollution level in Melana River, Skudai, Johor. The methods applied in this study including physical and chemical analysis and biological monitoring. The water quality parameters involved are dissolve oxygen (DO), pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (AN) and total suspended solid (TSS), meanwhile the Water Quality Index (WQI) for each station were calculated. From the result, Melana River is classified into Class IV or polluted whereas the Biological Water Quality Index (BWQI) indicate Melana River as slightly polluted with the score in between 3.8 to 4.0, showing both of these river are ratherdirty. This method can be applied to any river to identify their pollution river

Toxicity of silver nanoparticles and their removal applying phytoremediation system to water environment: an overview

The widespread use of silver nanomaterials potentially harms the health of the whole ecosystem, especially the aquatic environment. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are directly released into environment from washing machines, colloidal silver medicines, and other AgNPs-containing products. Review of ecotoxicological studies and the prediction of the future environmental concentrations (PEC) shows the presence of a toxic level of AgNPs in the surface water and reveals their effect and risks to aquatic organisms. However, the AgNPs transport behavior, their transformation in the natural environment, and how this behavior poses a risk to human and ecosystem health are significant issues that have not been clearly known; thus, there is a pressing need to investigate them and provide effective solutions. This study reviews the potential of macrophytes to remove AgNPs in aqueous solutions. It also discusses the impact of AgNPs on water environments, their toxicity to aquatic organisms, and the phytoremediation functions

Effects of logging activities on ecological water quality indicators in the Berasau River, Johor, Malaysia

Influence of deforestation on biodiversity of aquatic organisms was investigated in a stream in the Ulu Sedili Forest Reserve. The stream was monitored five (5) times from December 2011 until December 2012 with 2-month intervals. Sampling of benthic communities was carried out using rectangular dip net while water quality study using a YSI ProPlus meter and the rest were done in the laboratory. Physicochemical parameters and water quality index (WQI) calculation showed no significant difference among the investigated events. WQI classified the Berasau River between Class II (good) to III (moderate) of river water quality. In total, 603 individuals representing 25 taxa that were recorded with Decapods from genus Macrobrabchium were widely distributed. Several intolerant taxa, especially Ephemeroptera and Odonata, were also observed in this river. According to Pearson's correlation analysis, the richness and diversity indices were generally influenced by water quality parameters represented by WQI (P < 0.01). In conclusion, logging activities have strong attributes for variation in benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage