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Managing our waterways and aquatic ecosystems through Multivariate River Health Assessment

Presenters:

Date: 24 November 2023
Rapid Biological Assessment is considered one of the most effective and widely used tools in assessing the water quality of our rivers and streams. Combined with Multivariate statistical analysis on complex simultaneous river data including field and lab water quality, fish community, river sediment quality and macroinvertebrate provides detailed understanding of what the key risks are for water managers. Selecting the best site for assessment can be done using the BACI procedure (Before-After-Control-Impact) and is also influenced by seasonal changes in the area. We discussed how to select the best site, taking into consideration BACI and seasonal influences.
Simultaneous monitoring is carried out across multiple factors and the data gathered shows us if patterns of data exist, it enables clear comparisons of data and allows the study of multiple factors at once. Dr Dettrick covered the following monitoring procedures in detail:
  • Field water quality
  • Laboratory water quality
  • Macroinvertebrate sampling using AUSRIVAS protocols
  • Fish speciation and tissue sampling for CPUE, community analysis, food safety
  • Sediment analysis
  • Land use change analysis
  • Stream flow and climate analysis
  • Visual aquatic habitat assessments
  • Riparian habitat assessment

Interpreting and analysing the data collected is complex and multi-layered. Dr Dettrick explained the following methods that can be used for data analysis:

  • ANOVA check on suitable data variation
  • Multiple Macroinvertebrate Indices Analysis
  • Similarity Analysis for Index selection

Assessing river health is crucial to the ongoing management of our waterways and aquatic ecosystems. Dr Dettrick has worked on many River health assessment projects, check this webinar out to hear from someone who is an expert in their field.