Elsevier

Science of The Total Environment

Volume 649, 1 February 2019, Pages 233-246
Science of The Total Environment

Assessing anthropogenic pressure in the St. Lawrence River using traits of benthic macroinvertebrates

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.267Get rights and content

Highlights

  • 17 functional traits of invertebrate taxa were coded in a large river.

  • Indicator traits were related to the most heavily polluted sites (Pb, Zn and Cu).

  • 3 pressure-models have been built based on the RF model (metals, BPC and PAH, TBT).

  • Trait-based pressure-specific models can assess sediment quality in a large river.

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the anthropogenic pressure in the St. Lawrence River by assessing the relationships between chemical contamination of sediments and benthic community structure with the trait-based approach. Organic and inorganic contaminants as well as other sediment variables (sediment grain size, total organic carbon, nutrients, etc.) and benthic invertebrate assemblages were determined in 59 sites along the river. Biological and ecological traits of taxa were coded, taking into account regional climate and ecosystem conditions. The aims of this study were to (1) describe the relationships between traits and macroinvertebrate taxa and identify homogeneous clusters of taxa with the same combinations of functional traits, (2) describe spatial patterns in traits of macroinvertebrates in the St. Lawrence River, (3) link trait-based metrics and site groups to sediment quality and (4) define a trait-based strategy for diagnosing the ecological quality of the St. Lawrence River. Seven groups of taxa sharing similar trait-category attributes were defined. Moreover, four groups of sites were identified using the ‘K-mean’ non-hierarchical clustering approach. The ‘IndVal’ method enabled us to specifically defined trait categories corresponding to site groups on the basis of their indicator value. The relative abundances of taxa from five functional groups significantly varied among site groups. For example, some indicator traits such as multivoltine cycle, long life span, fixed clutches, tegumental respiration, asexual reproduction, and collector/gatherer feeding habit were associated to the most heavily polluted sites located in the Montreal harbour which showed the highest sediment concentrations in Pb, Zn and Cu. Three trait-based pressure-specific models were built, based on the random forest approach, for respectively (1) heavy metals, (2) BPCs and PAHs, and (3) TBTs occurring in the environment. These models could be applied to assess sediment quality using macroinvertebrate assemblages in a large Canadian river.

Introduction

For decades, human pressure such as fisheries, industrial activities, recreation and transport have altered the ecological integrity of large rivers (Jungwirth et al., 2002; Tockner et al., 2009). Consequently, in order to evaluate the ecological condition and recovery of freshwater ecosystems, new approaches were developed (Bailey et al., 2004; Hering et al., 2010; Reynoldson et al., 1997; Reynoldson et al., 2001). Two major approaches to evaluate water and sediment quality use bioindicators and metrics based on benthic macroinvertebrates (Li et al., 2010; Menezes et al., 2010). The taxonomic approach is traditionally used to estimate the impacts of environmental conditions and human disturbances in lakes, rivers and streams by comparing macroinvertebrate species assemblages in impaired and near-natural undisturbed sites (Bailey et al., 2004; Reynoldson et al., 1997; Tall et al., 2008). Over the last three decades, interest for the functional approach has increased because it helps to understand the relationships between community structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems facing multiple stressors (Dolédec et al., 1999; Hering et al., 2015; Navarro-Ortega et al., 2015; Resh et al., 1994; Statzner et al., 2001; Usseglio-Polatera et al., 2001; Verberk et al., 2013). The functional trait approach implies that environmental filters select taxa with suitable traits to coexist under similar environmental conditions or types of disturbances (Poff, 1997; Townsend and Hildrew, 1994). More recently, experts in Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) have used the trait-based approaches because taxonomic-based methodologies limit our ability to describe and generalize ecological responses to stressors (Artigas et al., 2012; Reyjol et al., 2014; Van den Brink et al., 2011a, Van den Brink et al., 2011b). In comparison, trait-based approaches that rely on taxon-free metrics (i.e. biological and ecological traits) better allow the evaluation and comparison of evolutionary responses of organisms to various types of disturbances across broad geographical gradients (Dolédec and Statzner, 2008).

In Europe, macroinvertebrate functional traits were successfully applied to describe biological reference status, and to determine the impacts of multiple stressors. This approach is more often used in streams and rivers (Archaimbault et al., 2005; Mondy and Usseglio-Polatera, 2013; Statzner and Bêche, 2010; Statzner et al., 2001) than in lakes (Heino, 2008). In large rivers, macroinvertebrate traits were used to assess the impacts of pollution and cargo-ship navigation (Bady et al., 2005; Dolédec and Statzner, 2008; Gayraud et al., 2003). However, integration of functional approaches for biomonitoring the ecological integrity of large rivers facing multiple environmental changes and human disturbances is still in progress (Bonada et al., 2006; Menezes et al., 2010; Mondy and Usseglio-Polatera, 2013). Application of macroinvertebrate functional traits represents a relevant approach for the assessment of ecological integrity of complex large rivers in North America.

This study is the first attempt to apply the functional trait approach to evaluate the ecological quality of a large Canadian river and explore the relationships between sediment quality and macroinvertebrate communities. The study was carried out in the St. Lawrence River, a major waterway in North America exposed to multiple stressors due to commercial navigation and dredging activities in the maritime channel and harbour (D'Arcy and Bibeault, 2004; Desrosiers et al., 2010), sediment contamination (Carignan et al., 1994; Desrosiers et al., 2010), and watershed disturbances such as urbanization, industrialisation and intensive agriculture (Desrosiers et al., 2010; Hudon and Carignan, 2008). We focused on the fluvial section of the St. Lawrence River including the fluvial lakes Saint-François, Saint-Louis, and Saint-Pierre, and the harbour area of Montreal that represent the major features of the riverine landscape. Based on functional traits defined for the macroinvertebrates collected in the St. Lawrence River along a sediment contamination gradient, we tested the hypothesis that trait-based community structure of macroinvertebrates differs significantly among sites having different sediment quality. We aimed to: (1) describe the relationships between functional traits and macroinvertebrate taxa and identify homogeneous groups with similar functional attributes, (2) describe spatial patterns in functional traits of macroinvertebrates in the St. Lawrence River; (3) link macroinvertebrate functional traits and groups to sediment quality, (4) define a combination of 83 trait-based metrics as potential candidates to a multimetric tool for evaluating the ecological quality of the St. Lawrence River and (5) propose a strategy for the construction of such a bioassessment tool. Performance of macroinvertebrate traits and their links with sediment quality were compared to previous results obtained using the taxonomic approach on the same macroinvertebrate data set (Masson et al., 2010) as an indicator of the adequacy of the functional approach.

Section snippets

Study sites and analysis of sediment quality

This study was carried out on the fluvial portion of the St. Lawrence River (Canada) that flows over 240 km from the inlet of Lake Saint-François to the Lake Saint-Pierre outlet (Fig. 1). Sampling sites were mainly located in sedimentation areas (fluvial lakes, harbour and river plumes) characterized by past or present point sources of anthropogenic contamination, fine particle deposition, and potential dredged areas.

A Shipek grab sampler (400 cm2) was used to collect sediments during the fall

Relationships among traits and trait-based functional groups

The first four axes of the fuzzy correspondence analysis (FCA) accounted for 45.3% of the total explained variance and the first two axes (F1–F2) were the most important, explaining respectively 15.6% and 12.3% (Fig. 2). Correlation ratios on the F1–F2 factorial plane indicated that 10 traits contributed significantly to the functional structure of benthic macroinvertebrates. Along the F1 axis, the traits ‘Armouring’, ‘Reproduction strategies’, ‘Life span’, and ‘Aquatic stages’ showed the

Discussion

This study showed that trait-based metrics may be efficiently applied to assess sediment quality using macroinvertebrate communities in a large Canadian river, as previously shown in European rivers (Furse et al., 2006; Liess et al., 2008; Usseglio-Polatera et al., 2000a, Usseglio-Polatera et al., 2001; Verberk et al., 2008a).

Acknowledgments

This study is a component of a collaborative program included in the St. Lawrence Plan for Sustainable Development, and realised with the active participation of Environment and Climate Change Canada (Environmental Protection Operations Division and Science and Technology Branch), the Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (Centre d'expertise en analyse environnementale du Québec; Direction des évaluations environnementales des

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    1

    Present address: Department of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, UFZ Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany.

    2

    Currently retired.

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