Insights from the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria on the impacts of urban pollution on the functional organisation of Afrotropical macroinvertebrates.

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.

Functional groups of Afrotropical EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera) as bioindicators of semi-urban pollution in the Tsitsa River Catchment, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

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.

Are zooplankton useful indicators of ecological quality in Afrotropical ephemeral stream impacted by human activities?

Ephemeral river systems in Nigeria are under severe threat by increasing anthropogenic pollution. However, little is known about the ecological health of ephemeral rivers in Afrotropical regions, especially Nigeria. It is also unclear how zooplankton communities respond to anthropogenic stressors in ephemeral rivers in the African continent.

Searching for indicator macroinvertebrate traits in an Afrotropical riverine system: implication for ecosystem biomonitoring and sustainability.

In the past three decades, macroinvertebrate traits have been explored and employed in the biomonitoring of riverine systems globally, but much attention has not been given to the trait-based approach (TBA) in Nigeria. Therefore, in this study, the distribution patterns of macroinvertebrate traits in selected stations exposed to varying degrees of perturbation in River Hadejia, north-western Nigeria, were explored to assess the ecological health of the river. Three stations were selected, representing an increasing gradient of pollution: station 1 > station 2 and station 3, and were used to search for potential indicator traits.

Assessing the health of forested riverine systems in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria: a macroinvertebrate-based multimetric index approach.

Forested catchments surround most of the riverine systems in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. Presently, there are no biomonitoring tools to assess the ecological health of forested rivers in the area. Hence, this study is aimed at developing a macroinvertebrate-based multimetric index for assessing the health forested riverine systems in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.

Are Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera traits reliable indicators of semi-urban pollution in the Tsitsa River, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa?

The taxonomy-based response pattern of macroinvertebrates to pollution gradient is well established, with tolerant taxa increasing in impacted conditions, while sensitive taxa increase with decreasing deterioration, typical of rural pollution. This study identified rural indicator and sensitive traits of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa by examining their trait distribution pattern in relation to rural pollution. Physicochemical parameters and EPT were sampled seasonally from August 2016 to April 2017.