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Edegbene AO, Akamagwuna FC. Insights from the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria on the impacts of urban pollution on the functional organisation of Afrotropical macroinvertebrates. Sci Rep 2022; 12:22551. [PMID: 36581677 PMCID: PMC9800367 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26659-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities, including urbanisation and industrialisation threaten stream ecological integrity, ecosystem community structure and ecosystem functioning of rivers and streams worldwide. However, developing sustainable monitoring strategies for ecological health remains a critical challenge in Africa. We examined the effects of urban disturbance on macroinvertebrate Functional Feeding Groups in selected streams in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. We sampled 11 sites between 2008 and 2012 and grouped into three site groups (Site groups 1 > 2 > 3). The groups represent an increasing gradient of urban pollution. Our result showed that urban-induced disturbances affected physicochemical variables in the study area (PERMANOVA; p < 0.05), with nutrients NO2-N, PO4-P, and electrical conductivity being significantly higher in impacted Site group 3 (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Predators and gatherers were the most dominant Functional Feeding Group recorded in the study area, while shredders were the least abundant macroinvertebrate Functional Feeding Groups. The multivariate RLQ analysis revealed that shredders, predators, and scrapers were tolerant of urban pollution, whereas gatherers were sensitive to increasing urban pollution. Overall, macroinvertebrates Functional Feeding Groups responded differentially to urban pollution in the Niger Delta Region. Identifying pollution indicator Functional Feeding Groups is seen as an important step towards developing a reliable, low-cost tool for riverine monitoring of urban pollution effects in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Augustine Ovie Edegbene
- grid.91354.3a0000 0001 2364 1300Institute for Water Research, Rhodes University, Makhanda (Grahamstown), 6140 South Africa ,Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Nigeria
| | - Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna
- grid.91354.3a0000 0001 2364 1300Institute for Water Research, Rhodes University, Makhanda (Grahamstown), 6140 South Africa
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Akamagwuna FC, Edegbene AO, Ntloko P, Arimoro FO, Nnadozie CF, Choruma DJ, Odume ON. Functional groups of Afrotropical EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) as bioindicators of semi-urban pollution in the Tsitsa River Catchment, Eastern Cape, South Africa. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13970. [PMID: 36540799 PMCID: PMC9760020 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined the distribution patterns of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera functional feeding groups (EPT FFGs) in five streams that drain semi-urban landscapes in the Tsitsa River catchment, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. We undertook macroinvertebrate and physicochemical analysis over four seasons between 2016 and 2017 at eight sites in three land-use categories (Sites 1, 2 and 3), representing an increasing gradient of semi-urban pollution. Five EPT FFGs (shredders, grazers/scrapers, predators, collector-gatherers and collector-filterers) were fuzzy coded and analyzed using RLQ-R (environmental characteristics of samples), L (taxa distribution across samples) and Q (species traits) and fourth-corner analyses. Physicochemical variables, including phosphate-phosphorus, total inorganic nitrogen and temperature, were the most influential variables that significantly influenced the distribution patterns of EPT FFGs in the Tsitsa River. RLQ and the fourth-corner model revealed varying responses of FFGs to semi-urban pollution. Of the five FFGs, collectors were the most abundant EPT FFGs in the study area, exhibiting disparate responses to disturbances, with collector-gatherers associated with impacted sites and significantly associated with phosphate-phosphorus. On the other hand, collector-filterers decreased with increasing semi-urban disturbance and exhibited a significant negative association with phosphate-phosphorus, total inorganic nitrogen and temperature. Overall, this study provides further insights into the environmental factors that influence the distribution patterns of FFGs in Afrotropical streams and the potential use of FFGs as indicators of anthropogenic pollution in tropical streams and rivers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Augustine Ovie Edegbene
- Institute for Water Research, Faculty of Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa,Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria
| | - Phindiwe Ntloko
- Institute for Water Research, Faculty of Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa
| | - Francis Ofurum Arimoro
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Life Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria
| | - Chika Felicitas Nnadozie
- Institute for Water Research, Faculty of Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa
| | - Dennis Junior Choruma
- Institute for Water Research, Faculty of Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa
| | - Oghenekaro Nelson Odume
- Institute for Water Research, Faculty of Science, Rhodes University, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa
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