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Effects of human-induced environmental changes on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages of wetlands in Lake Tana Watershed, Northwest Ethiopia

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 189, Article number: 152 (2017) Cite this article

Abstract

Wetlands of Lake Tana Watershed provide various ecological and socioeconomic functions. However, they are losing their vigor at alarming rate due to unwise management. Hence, there is an urgent need to monitor and assess these resources so as to identify the major drivers of its degradation and to provide information for management decisions. In this context, we aimed to assess the effects of human activities on macroinvertebrate assemblages of wetlands in Lake Tana Watershed. Biotic and abiotic data were collected from 46 sampling sites located in eight wetlands. A total of 2568 macroinvertebrates belonging to 46 families were recorded. Macroinvertebrate metrics such as Biological Monitoring Working Party score, Shannon diversity index, Ephemeroptera and odonata family richness, and total family richness portrayed a clear pattern of decreasing with increasing in human disturbances, whereas Family biotic index score, which is an indicator of organic pollution, increased with increasing in human disturbances. The regression analysis also revealed that livestock grazing, leather tanning, and eucalyptus plantation were important predictors of macroinvertebrate metrics (p < 0.05). In conclusion, human activities in and around the wetlands such as farming, leather tanning, solid waste dumping, and effluent discharges were contributed to the degradation of water quality and decreasing in the macroinvertebrate richness and diversity. These alterations could also reduce the availability of wetland products (sedges, craft materials, etc.) and the related ecosystem services. This in turn has an adverse effect on food security and poverty alleviation with considerable impact on communities who heavily depend on wetland products for their livelihood. Therefore, it is essential to formulate wetland policy for achieving wise use goals and necessary legal and institutional backup for sustainable wetland management in Ethiopia.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Jimma University and Bahir Dar University for providing financial assistance for this study. The authors wish to thank all people who helped with laboratory and fieldwork. The study area map was digitized by Mr. Biniam Sisheber from the department of Geography, Bahir Dar University. We are grateful for the anonymous reviewers who commented on the earlier draft of the manuscript.

Author contributions

Ayenew Gezie has conceived the main idea of the paper, collected the data, and has written the paper. Wassie Anteneh and Eshete Dejen have been helping in writing and reading the paper. Seid Tiku Mereta has been helping with data analysis and writing the paper.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 79, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Ayenew Gezie & Wassie Anteneh

  2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia

    Ayenew Gezie & Seid Tiku Mereta

  3. Intergovernmental Authority on Development, P.O.Box. 2653, Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti

    Eshete Dejen

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  1. Ayenew Gezie
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  2. Wassie Anteneh
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Correspondence to Seid Tiku Mereta.

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Gezie, A., Anteneh, W., Dejen, E. et al. Effects of human-induced environmental changes on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages of wetlands in Lake Tana Watershed, Northwest Ethiopia. Environ Monit Assess 189, 152 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5853-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5853-2

Keywords

  • Family richness
  • Human disturbance
  • Leather tanning
  • Macroinvertebrates
  • Wetlands