Abstract
The identification of pollution levels by numerical classification-ordination and the statistical confirmation of the detected trends-were attempted in a eutrophication assessment study. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of data scaling and the selection of a distance coefficient that would accentuate discrete states within the system. Among metric, binary and ordinal variable scaling, ordinal numbers showed the maximum sensitivity in discriminating pollution levels; the observed trends were further enhanced by using the absolute distance coefficient as a resemblance measure. The eutrophic patterns identified were statistically confirmed by a non-parametric permutation test. Finally a step-by-step multivariate procedure is proposed for assessing environmental quality in aquatic ecosystems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, T.F.H. and Koonce, J.F.: 1973, ‘Multivariate Approaches to Algal Stratagems and Tactics in Systems Analysis of Phytoplankton’, Ecology 54, 1234–1246.
Andelberg, M.R.: 1973, Cluster Analysis for Applications, Academic Press, London, 359 pp.
Barnett, V. and Lewis, T.: 1987, Outliers in Statistical Data, 2nd Ed., J. Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 46 pp.
Boesch, D.F.: 1977, Application of Numerical Classification in Ecological Investigations of Water Pollution, U.S. Environ. Protection Agency, EPA-600/3-77-033, 206 pp.
Clark, J.R.: 1983, Coastal Ecosystem Management (A Technical Manual for the Conservation of Coastal Zone Resources), New York, John Wiley & Sons, 928 pp.
Clark, K.R. and Green, R.H.: 1988, ‘Statistical Design and Analysis for Biological Effects Study’, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 46, 213–226.
Clifford, H.T. and Stephenson, W.: 1975, An Introduction to Numerical Classification, Academic Press, New York, 229 pp.
Collins, N.R. and Williams, R.: 1982, ‘Zooplankton Communities in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary’, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 9, 1–11.
Davison, M.L.: 1983, Multidimensional Scaling, J. Wiley & Sons, New York, 242 pp.
Eades, D.C.: 1965, ‘The Inappropriateness of the Correlation Coefficient as a Measure of Taxonomic Resemblance’, Syst. Zool. 14, 98–100.
Everitt, B.: 1981, Cluster Analysis, 2nd Ed., Heinemann Educational Books, London, 136 pp.
Fasham, M.J.R.: 1977, ‘A Comparison of Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling, Principal Components and Reciprocal Averaging for the Ordination of Simulated Coenoclines, and Coenoplanes, Ecology 58, 551–561.
Fleiss, J.L. and Zubin, J.: 1969, ‘On the Methods and Theory of Clustering’, Multiv. Behav. Res. 4, 235–250.
Field, J.G., Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M.: 1982, ‘A Practical Strategy for Analysing Multispecies Distribution Patterns’, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 8, 37–52.
Gordon, A.D.: 1981, Classification Methods for the Exploratory Analysis of Multivariate Data, Chapman and Hall, London, 193 pp.
Green, R.H.: 1980, ‘Multivariate Approaches in Ecology: The Assessment of Ecologic Similarity’, Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 11, 1–14.
Heip, C., Warwick, R.M., Carr, M.R., Herman, P.M.J., Huys, R., Smol, N. and VanHolsbeke, K.: 1988, Analysis of Community Attributes of the Benthic Meiofauna of Frierfjord/Langesundfjord’, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 46, 171–180.
Holland, R.E. and Claflin, L.W.: 1975, ‘Horizontal Distribution of Plantkonic Diatoms in Green Bay, Mid-July 1970’, Limnology Oceanography 20, 365–378.
Holligan, P.M., Maddock, L. and Dodge, J.D.: 1980, ‘The Distribution of Dinoflagellates around the British Isles in July 1977: A Multivariate Analysis’, J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 60, 851–867.
Hughes, R.N., Peer, D.L. and Mann, K.H.: 1972, ‘Use of Multivariate Analysis of Identify Functional Components of the Benthos in St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia’, Limnol. Oceanogr. 17, 111–121.
Ignatiades, L., Pagou, K. and Vassiliou, A.: 1986, ‘Long Term Response of Six Species to Eutrophication’, Oceanologica Acta 9, 449–456.
Karydis, M., Ignatiades, L. and Moschopoulou, N.: 1983, ‘An Index Associated with Nutrient Eutrophication in the Marine Environment’, Coastal and Shelf Science 16, 339–344.
Karydis, M. and Ignatiades, L.: 1988, ‘Eutrophication Assessment Based on Frequency Distribution Patterns of Some Environmental Variables’, Rapp. Comm. int. Mer Medit. 31, 41.
Karydis, M. and Coccossis, H.: 1990, ‘Use of Multiple Criteria for Eutrophication Assessment of Coastal Waters’, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 14, 89–100.
Morrison, D.F.: 1988, Multivariate Statistical Methods, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Auckland, 415 pp.
Ludwig, A.J. and Reynolds, J.F.: 1988, Statistical Ecology: a Primer on Methods and Computing, J. Wiley & Sons, New York, 337 pp.
Matta, J.F. and Marshall, H.G.: 1984, ‘A Multivariate Analysis of Phytoplankton Assemblages in the Western North Atlantic’, Journal of Plankton Research 6, 663–675.
Nijkamp, P.: 1980, Environmental Policy Analysis: Operational Methods and Models, J. Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 283 pp.
Pagou, K. and Ignatiades, L.: 1988, ‘Phytoplankton Seasonality Patterns in Eutrophic Marine Coastal Waters’, Biological Oceanography 5, 229–241.
Pielou, E.C.: 1984, The Interpretation of Ecological Data: A Primer on Classification and Ordination, J. Wiley & Sons, New York, 263 pp.
Seal, H.L.: 1966, Multivariate Statistical Analysis for Biologists, Methuen & Co. Ltd., London, 209 pp.
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J.: 1981, Biometry: The Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research, W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, 859 pp.
Thorrington-Smith, M.: 1971, ‘West Indian Ocean Phytoplankton: A Numerical Investigation of Phyto-Hydrographic Regions and their Characteristic Phytoplankton Associations’, Mar. Biol. 9, 115–137.
Tukey, J.W.: 1977, Exploratory Data Analysis, Addison-Wesley, Publishing Company.
UN: 1984, Coastal Area Management and Development (United Nations Department of International and Economic and Social Affairs), Pergamon Press, Oxford, 188 pp.
UNEP, 1989. Notes on the Statistical Treatment and Interpretation of Marine Community Data, A FAO/IOC/UNEP publication, Athens, 105 pp.
Vassiliou, A., Ignatiades, L. and Karydis, M.: 1989, ‘Clustering of Transect Phytoplankton Collections with a Quick Randomization Algoritm’, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 130, 135–145.
Ward, D.V.: 1978, Biological Environmental Impact Studies: Theory and Methods, Academic Press, New York, 157 pp.
Warwick, R.M.: 1986, ‘A New Method for Detecting Pollution Effects on Marine Macrobenthic Communities’, Mar. Biol. 92, 557–562.
Warwick, R.M.: 1988, ‘The Level of Taxonomic Discrimination Required to Detect Pollution Effects on Marine Benthic Communities’, Marine Pollution Bulletin 19, 259–268.
Williams, B.K.: 1983, ‘Some Observations on the Use of Discriminant Analysis in Ecology’, Ecology 64, 1283–1291.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Karydis, M. Scaling methods in assessing environmental quality: A methodological approach to eutrophication. Environ Monit Assess 22, 123–136 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00418011
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00418011