A Rapid Field Screening Methodology for Assessing the Health of Highland Streams and Rivers in Ethiopia
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Abstract
The present study describes the development of a macro- invertebrate-based rapid field screeningmethod for assessing the ecological status of streams and rivers in Ethiopian highlands.Abiotic and biotic data were collected from 104 sites distributed in the upper section of four major basins of Ethiopia, namely Awash, Rift-Valley, Wabi-Shebele and Genale. The method was adapted based on the screening protocol developed for assessing highland streams in the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan regions which was initially designed and a prerequisite to assess Austrian highland streams. The assessment procedure was based on sensory features, reduction phenomena and biota that can be identified in the field, with a special focus on benthic macro-invertebrates. The sensitivity of a specific benthic invertebrate (BMI) taxon to different level of degradation was derived from a multi-metric indexdeveloped for assessing same highland streamsof Ethiopia. To ensure simplicity of the protocol, only 20 BMI taxa with clear ecological quality preference were included. The sensitivity ranges from less tolerant taxa such as Perlidae, Scirtidae and Lepidostomatidae to tolerant taxa such as Psychodidae, Chironomidae and Syrphidae. The protocol is manually calculated in the field and it serves as an ‘early warning’ method to identify areas that require urgent attention or detailed investigation. The method can be considered as rapid, inexpensive but scientifically sound monitoring method to evaluate the ecological conditions of runningwaters in the highlands of Ethiopia.
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