title: Comparison of the abiotic preferences of macroinvertebrates in tropical river basins.
abstract: We assessed and compared abiotic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates in three river basins located in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Upon using logistic regression models we analyzed the relationship between the probability of occurrence of five macroinvertebrate families, ranging from pollution tolerant to pollution sensitive, (Chironomidae, Baetidae, Hydroptilidae, Libellulidae and Leptophlebiidae) and physical-chemical water quality conditions. Within the investigated physical-chemical ranges, nine out of twenty-five interaction effects were significant. Our analyses suggested river basin dependent associations between the macroinvertebrate families and the corresponding physical-chemical conditions. It was found that pollution tolerant families showed no clear abiotic preference and occurred at most sampling locations, i.e. Chironomidae were present in 91%, 84% and 93% of the samples taken in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Pollution sensitive families were strongly associated with dissolved oxygen and stream velocity, e.g. Leptophlebiidae were only present in 48%, 2% and 18% of the samples in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Despite some limitations in the study design, we concluded that associations between macroinvertebrates and abiotic conditions can be river basin-specific and hence are not automatically transferable across river basins in the tropics.
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Environmental Toxicology Research Group, Department Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Everaert
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Neve
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boets
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Guayaquil, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dominguez-Granda
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Science and Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Seid Tiku
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Mereta
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Science and Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Argaw
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ambelu
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Thu Huong
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Hoang
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Peter L M
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Goethals
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; National Institute for Applied Statistics Research Australia (NIASRA), School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Thas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D004484:Ecuador; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005002:Ethiopia; D007448:Invertebrates; D045483:Rivers; D014744:Vietnam; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical