Title
|
|
|
|
Modeling the chemical and toxic water status of the Scheldt basin (Belgium), using aquatic invertebrate assemblages and an advanced modeling method
|
|
Author
|
|
|
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
Self-Organizing Maps have been used on monitoring sites in several Scheldt sub-basins to identify the main aquatic invertebrate assemblages and relate them to the physico-chemical and toxic water status. 12 physico-chemical variables and 2 estimates of toxic risk were available for a dataset made up of a total of 489 records. Two of the five defining clusters reflecting a relatively clean environment were composed by very well diversified functional feeding groups and sensitive taxa. The cleanest assemblage was mainly linked to the sites from the Nete sub-basin. The three other clusters were inversely described with a dominance of oligochaetes and deposit feeders as well as a bad water quality. Such an analysis can be used to support ecological status assessment of rivers and thus might be useful for decision-makers in the evaluation of chemical and toxic water status, as required by the EU Water Framework Directive. The use of assemblage-level data in a Self-Organizing Maps algorithm to evaluate the ecological status of the Scheldt basin and to support environmental decision-making. |
|
|
Language
|
|
|
|
English
|
|
Source (journal)
|
|
|
|
Environmental pollution. - London, 1987, currens
|
|
Publication
|
|
|
|
London
:
2010
|
|
ISSN
|
|
|
|
0269-7491
[print]
1873-6424
[online]
|
|
Volume/pages
|
|
|
|
158
:10
(2010)
, p. 3209-3218
|
|
ISI
|
|
|
|
000282260200028
|
|
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
|
|
|
|
|
|