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Towards a protocol for stream macroinvertebrate sampling in China

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Abstract

Standard protocols are critical for maximizing data comparability and aggregation in national monitoring programs, and taxa richness is a common indicator of site condition and biological diversity. There are two general approaches for sampling stream macroinvertebrate assemblages: targeted richest habitat and site wide. At seven sites, we compared three methods: Ontario Benthic Biomonitoring Network (OBBN), Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), and Rapid Bioassessment Protocol (RBP). The OBBN method produced a biased sample at a site with a single small riffle, the RBP method produced the most total taxa, and the EMAP method produced the most taxa at four sites and the most individuals at six sites. The RBP method produced asymptotes for percent tolerant individuals, percent chironomid individuals, and Hilsenhoff Biotic Index score after five to ten stations. The EMAP method produced asymptotes for those metrics after 10 to 20 stations per site. The EMAP method typically required half the number of stations as the RBP method to obtain 70–90% of true taxa richness as estimated by the Jaccard coefficient. We conclude that the EMAP method is preferable because of its greater precision in taxa richness estimates.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the National Major Project of Water Pollution Control and Prevention Technology of China (grant 2008ZX07528-002-003) for funding support, Doctor Yanzhong Zhu (CRAES) for assistance with the field work, Professor Xinhua Wang (Nankai University) for assistance with the taxa identification, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the submitted manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, 8th Dayangfang, Beiyuan Road, Beijing, China

    Li Li, Lusan Liu & Xing Wang

  2. Amnis Opes Institute and Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, 200 Southwest 35th Street, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Robert M. Hughes

  3. Prairie Research Institute and Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, 1816 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL, USA

    Yong Cao

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  1. Li Li
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  2. Lusan Liu
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  3. Robert M. Hughes
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  4. Yong Cao
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Correspondence to Li Li, Lusan Liu or Robert M. Hughes.

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Li, L., Liu, L., Hughes, R.M. et al. Towards a protocol for stream macroinvertebrate sampling in China. Environ Monit Assess 186, 469–479 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3391-0

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