Testing aquatic macroinvertebrate and plant techniques for the biological assessment of wetlands

865 Pages·2013·22.09 MB·English

Testing aquatic macroinvertebrate and plant
techniques for the biological assessment of wetlands:
a consideration of the effects of errors and implications for sampling
design

BY
Joanne Elizabeth Ling

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Doctor of Philosophy
University of Western Sydney
2006
Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to my daughter Tyeesha Jade who gave up her “mummy-
time” to this older sibling.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank and acknowledge Dr Surrey Jacobs who has not
only been an inspiration to me as an ecologist but as a person. As a supervisor, he has been
supportive in my professional career and the development of this thesis. Through his
inspiration I have developed a passion for plants and further knowledge. He and his wife
Betty, have also become good friends to whom I can rely on for their expertise on all aspects
of life including, and definitely not restricted to, raising chickens, children and husbands.
I would especially like to thank Geoff Sainty, Surrey Jacobs, Gunther Theischinger, Eren
Turak, Tony Underwood and Geoff Hunter who have infected me with their inspiration,
enthusiasm and knowledge, and have continually encouraged me to learn more. Thank you
to John Bavor for providing supervision and continual encouragement. My fellow students
(Nikola Streiber, Chris Rush) and work colleagues at RBG, DEC (too many to name
individually) for keeping me sane by discussing ecological issues.
Thanks to the Department of Environment and Conservation (Royal Botanic Gardens and
Domain Trust, NSW Environment Protection Authority) for providing the essential
computer access in the last stages of the project and ARC, Department of Land and Water
Conservation (DLWC), and State Wetlands Action Group (SWAC) for financial assistance.
I would like to thank the many volunteers that gave their time in the field picking bugs and
recording data: John Martin, Katie Corrigan, Clare Thorn, John Ellen, Jeff Drudge, Gillian
Towler, Jane Nelson, Pia Laegdsgaard and Jo Green. Thanks to Bosco College Engadine for
providing StreamWatch kits.
Thanks to the local and State government officers for access to their wetlands (Sutherland
City Council, Blacktown City Council, Warriewood City Council, Rockdale City Council,
Blue Mountains National Park, Sydney Catchment Authority (Terry McKeogh), Gosford City
Council (Larry Melican), and Kooragang Island Reserve (Peggy Svoboda). Thanks to the
private landowners (Gerry and Jeremy, The Clarke Family) in the Hawkesbury-Nepean
Valley, who not only provided me access to their wetlands, but accommodation, dinners and
wonderful friendships that I will long cherish.
I would like to thank my friends, (The Gang), particularly Anna, Jane and Mel, who have
kept me sane by not discussing anything ecological or watery except “how good are these
prawns!” My appreciation further extends to Jane and Ngaire for patiently reading and
editing earlier drafts of the shorter chapters. My thanks also to my immediate and extended
family, particularly the grandmothers for baby sitting the little girl, even though they have
no idea what this project is about.
And lastly, but never least, a big thankyou to Johnnie and Tyeesha, particularly in the final
stages of writing up.
Statement of Authentication

The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not
submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other
institution.

……………………………………………
(Signature)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHENTICATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………….…...i
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………………………………v
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………..…………………………………………………………….viii
ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………………………………………………………...xiv
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………….….xv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………..1
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS………………………………………………………………...…..1
1.1.1 Thesis aims and objectives………………………………………………..…………………….….2
1.1.2 Structure of the Thesis……………………………………………………………………………...2
1.2 INTRODUCTION TO THE CHAPTER.................................................................................................4
1.3 WHAT ARE WETLANDS?......................................................................................................................5
1.3.1 Definition..........................................................................................................................................5
1.3.2 Classification of wetlands...............................................................................................................8
1.4 WHY ASSESS THE HEALTH OR CONDITION OF WETLANDS?................................................12
1.4.1 Wetland “health”...........................................................................................................................12
1.4.2 The importance of wetlands.........................................................................................................14
1.4.3 Threats to wetlands.......................................................................................................................17
1.4.4 Legislative requirements relating to wetlands...........................................................................24
1.4.4.1 International Obligations...............................................................................................26
1.4.4.2 National Obligations.......................................................................................................26
1.4.4.3 New South Wales (NSW) State Obligations................................................................27
1.5 WHY TEST THE TECHNIQUES USED TO ASSESS OR MONITOR WETLANDS?....................29
1.5.1 Wetland assessment techniques...................................................................................................30
1.5.1.1 Overseas assessment techniques...................................................................................30
1.5.1.2 Australian assessment techniques................................................................................31
1.5.2 Collection of ecological information...........................................................................................32
1.5.2.1 Inventory..........................................................................................................................35
1.5.2.2 Classification....................................................................................................................36
1.5.2.3 Indicators..........................................................................................................................36
1.5.2.4 Assessment.......................................................................................................................39
1.5.2.5 Monitoring.......................................................................................................................39
1.5.3 Scientific Rigour.............................................................................................................................40
1.5.4 Sources of errors or variation.......................................................................................................43
1.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................45
CHAPTER 2: METHODS………………………………………………………………………………………….47
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CHAPTER.....................................................................................................47
2.2 WETLAND SELECTION............................................................................................................................47
2.2.1 Definition of a wetland.................................................................................................................47
2.2.2 Wetlands sampled.........................................................................................................................48
2.3 METHODS FOR RECORDING ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES....................................................51
2.4 METHODS FOR RECORDING WATER QUALITY VARIABLES.......................................................53
2.5 METHODS FOR SAMPLING AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES...............................................56
2.5.1 Background.....................................................................................................................................56
2.5.2 Collection method..........................................................................................................................56
2.5.3 Identification of macroinvertebrates ..........................................................................................58
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2.5.4 QA/QC procedures........................................................................................................................60
2.6 METHODS FOR SAMPLING WATER PLANTS....................................................................................61
2.6.1 Background.....................................................................................................................................61
2.6.2 Recording vegetation.....................................................................................................................61
2.6.3 Identification of plants .................................................................................................................63
2.6.4 QA/QC procedures........................................................................................................................64
2.7 DATA ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................................................65
2.7.1 General............................................................................................................................................65
2.7.2 Species accumulation curves........................................................................................................65
2.7.3 Box plots and violin plots.............................................................................................................66
2.7.4 Biotic index calculations................................................................................................................66
2.7.4.1 Hawkesbury-Nepean Wetland Assessment Index (‘HNWA’).................................67
2.7.4.2 Wetland Condition Index (‘WCI’).................................................................................68
2.7.4.3 SIGNAL Index.................................................................................................................69
2.7.4.4 SWAMPS Score...............................................................................................................70
2.7.4.5 SWIM Index.....................................................................................................................70
2.7.4.6 Diversity indices calculated using the PRIMER (v5 Plymouth, UK).......................71
2.7.5 Multivariate analyses....................................................................................................................72
2.7.5.1 Ordination and Classification........................................................................................72
2.7.5.2 Analysis of Similarity (ANOSIM).................................................................................73
2.7.5.1 Similarity of Percentages (SIMPER) Analysis.............................................................74
2.7.5 Univariate analyses........................................................................................................................74
2.7.5.1 ANOVA............................................................................................................................74
2.8 SUMMARY OF CHAPTER........................................................................................................................75
CHAPTER 3: MACROINVERTEBRATES………………………………………………………….……………….76
3.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CHAPTER.....................................................................................................76
3.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES..........................................................................................................................77
3.3 OVERVIEW.................................................................................................................................................79
3.3.1 Macroinvertebrate surveys in wetlands.....................................................................................79
3.3.2 Macroinvertebrate responses to pollution in wetlands............................................................82
3.3.3 Rapid biological assessment (‘RBA’) techniques for macroinvertebrate surveys.................87
3.4 WETLAND SITES SAMPLED FOR MACROINVERTEBRATES..........................................................91
3.5 MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGE PATTERNS........................................................................93
3.5.1 Background...............................................................................................................................................93
3.5.2 Aims.................................................................................................................................................94
3.5.3 Methods...........................................................................................................................................94
3.5.4 Results.............................................................................................................................................94
3.5.4.1 General.........................................................................................................................................94
3.5.4.2 Community composition...............................................................................................98
3.5.4.3 Seasonal or temporal variation....................................................................................101
3.5.4.4 Habitats as a small scale variation of macroinvertebrates.......................................104
3.5.4.5 Comparison of water quality and macroinvertebrate data.....................................107
3.5.4.6 Effect of taxonomic resolution.....................................................................................110
3.5.4.7 Effect of transformations..............................................................................................116
3.5.4.8 Effect of rare species.....................................................................................................121
3.5.4.9 Effect of common/widespread species.......................................................................123
3.5.5 Discussion of macroinvertebrate patterns................................................................................125
3.6 AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATE INDICES...................................................................................135
3.6.1 Background...................................................................................................................................135
3.6.2 Aims and objectives.....................................................................................................................140
3.6.3 Methods.........................................................................................................................................141
3.6.4 Results...........................................................................................................................................141
3.6.4.1 SIGNAL Scores..............................................................................................................141
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3.6.4.2 SWAMP Scores..............................................................................................................143
3.6.4.3 SWIM Scores..................................................................................................................145
3.6.4.4 Effects of taxonomic resolution on macroinvertebrate indices...............................149
3.6.4.5 Effects of rare or widespread families........................................................................150
3.6.4.6 Spatial and temporal variation....................................................................................153
3.6.4.7 Simple metrics...............................................................................................................156
3.6.5 Discussion of macroinvertebrate indices..................................................................................162
3.7 SAMPLING EFFICIENCY........................................................................................................................168
3.7.1 Background...................................................................................................................................168
3.7.2 Aims and Objectives....................................................................................................................169
3.7.3 Methods.........................................................................................................................................170
3.7.4 Results...........................................................................................................................................171
3.7.4.1 Live-picking times.........................................................................................................171
3.7.4.2 Mesh size........................................................................................................................173
3.7.4.3 Estimation of sampling effort......................................................................................176
3.7.4.4 Effects of sampling efficiency to macroinvertebrate indices...................................184
3.7.5 Discussion of sampling efficiency.............................................................................................190
3.8 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER.............................................................................................................194
CHAPTER 4: WETLAND VEGETATION……………………………………………………………….…………196
4.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE CHAPTER..................................................................................................196
4.2 OVERVIEW................................................................................................................................................197
4.2.1 Definition......................................................................................................................................198
4.2.2 Contribution of wetland vegetation to the ecosystem............................................................199
4.2.3 Advantages and limitations of using water plants in biological assessment......................201
4.2.4 Plants as indicators of pollution in wetlands...........................................................................204
4.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................................................208
4.4 WETLAND SITES SAMPLED FOR PLANTS........................................................................................210
4.5 PLANT ASSEMBLAGE PATTERNS.......................................................................................................211
4.5.1 Background...................................................................................................................................211
4.5.2 Aims and objectives.....................................................................................................................212
4.5.3 Methods.........................................................................................................................................212
4.5.4 Results...........................................................................................................................................212
4.5.4.1 General...........................................................................................................................212
4.5.4.2 Community composition.............................................................................................218
4.5.4.3 Spatial and temporal variation of wetland vegetation............................................222
4.5.4.4 Spatial variation: clustered vs regular distribution.................................................232
4.5.4.5 Comparison of water quality and water plant data.................................................234
4.5.4.6 Effect of taxonomic resolution.....................................................................................239
4.5.4.7 Effect of rare species.....................................................................................................242
4.5.4.8 Effect of common or widespread taxa........................................................................249
4.5.4.9 Effect of transformations to multivariate analyses...................................................253
4.5.5 Discussion of plant assemblage patterns..................................................................................259
4.6 WETLAND VEGETATION INDICES....................................................................................................264
4.6.1 Background...................................................................................................................................264
4.6.2 Aims and Objectives....................................................................................................................268
4.6.3 Methods.........................................................................................................................................269
4.6.4 Results...........................................................................................................................................270
4.6.4.1 Hawkesbury-Nepean Wetland Assessment (‘HNWA’) Index...............................270
4.6.4.2 Additional single metrics.............................................................................................283
4.6.3.3 Wetland Condition Index (‘WCI’)...............................................................................284
4.6.4 Discussion on wetland indices using plants............................................................................287
4.7 SAMPLING EFFICIENCY........................................................................................................................289
4.7.1 Background...................................................................................................................................289
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4.7.2 Aims and Objectives....................................................................................................................291
4.7.3 Methods.........................................................................................................................................291
4.7.4 Results...........................................................................................................................................291
4.7.4.1 Quadrat size...................................................................................................................291
4.7.4.2 Representativeness of a transect.................................................................................294
4.7.4.3 Number of quadrats.....................................................................................................297
4.7.4.4 Relationship between number of quadrats (sampling effort) and species richness.
.....................................................................................................................................................302
4.7.4.5 Relationship between species recorded vs species observed..................................304
4.7.5 Discussion of sampling efficiency.............................................................................................307
4.8 CHAPTER SUMMARY.............................................................................................................................309
CHAPTER 5: COMPARISON OF PLANT AND MACROINVERTEBRATE DATA.…………...………………… 311
5.1 INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER...........................................................................................................311
5.2 OVERVIEW................................................................................................................................................312
5.3 AIMS............................................................................................................................................................314
5.4 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATE AND PLANT COMMUNITIY
COMPOSITION IN WETLANDS.......................................................................................................314
5.4.1 Background...................................................................................................................................314
5.4.2 Objective........................................................................................................................................315
5.4.3 Methods.........................................................................................................................................316
5.4.4 Results...........................................................................................................................................317
5.4.4 Discussion.....................................................................................................................................325
5.5 BIOTIC INDICES.......................................................................................................................................334
5.5.1 Background...................................................................................................................................334
5.5.2 Objectives......................................................................................................................................334
5.5.3 Methods.........................................................................................................................................335
5.5.4 Results...........................................................................................................................................335
5.5.5 Discussion.....................................................................................................................................339
5.6 SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER.............................................................................................................348
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………………………..…….350
6.1 HYPOTHESIS ADDRESSED...............................................................................................................350
6.1.1 “…assessment of wetlands…”...................................................................................................350
6.1.2 “…biological assessment techniques are scientifically robust…”.........................................351
6.1.2.1 Effects of error or variation..........................................................................................351
6.1.2.2 Ways to minimise these effects of error or variation................................................360
6.1.3 “…techniques corroborate each other…”.................................................................................365
6.2 IMPLICATION FOR WETLAND ASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS...................................................368
6.3 SET OF PROCEDURES FOR WETLAND ASSESSMENT...............................................................370
6.5 FUTURE RESEARCH...........................................................................................................................372
6.6 CONCLUSIONS OF THE THESIS.....................................................................................................374
REFERENCES CITED...........................................................................................................................................376
APPENDIX A: REVIEW OF PROTOCOLS
APPENDIX B: WETLAND PROTOCOLS
APPENDIX C: OVERVIEW OF WETLAND DATA (CD-ROM)
APPENDIX D: ABSTRACTS AND PAPERS

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