人们一直担心淡水生物多样性正在减少,并受到污染的威胁。作为英国,尤其是英国,是一个人口稠密的国家,河流的稀释能力适中,这个位置非常适合研究淡水生物多样性在过去30年中如何应对人类压力。检索并检查了1989年至2018年英格兰的223,325条淡水大型无脊椎动物记录的长期数据集。每个英国地区大约200个地点的子集(总共1515个地点,62,514个样本),最长和最一致的记录与预测的废水暴露相匹配,上游土地覆盖和地形特征(纬度,高度,斜率梯度和流量排放)。为了了解大型无脊椎动物多样性和对这些参数的敏感性的变化,(I)总体家庭丰富度的生物指数,(ii)星翅目,Plecoptera,毛翅目(EPT)家族丰富,和(iii)NTAXA(评分分类单元的数量)和(iv)ASPT(每个分类单元的平均得分)的生物监测工作组(BMWP)得分。包括对BMWP评分与受影响最小的参考站点的预期评分的评估。对于所有纬度,海拔高度,渠道坡度,河流大小,废水暴露水平,和不同比例的上游林地,半硬膜,耕地和城市土地覆盖,在此期间,所有检查的多样性或敏感性指数都有所改善,尽管在2003年之后,这种改善在某些情况下有所放缓。平均总体家庭丰富度从15个家庭组增加到25个家庭组,有66%的改善。平均EPT家庭丰富度的提高(3至10个家庭,>300%的改进),被认为对污染特别敏感,意味着大型无脊椎动物的多样性受益于水质关键组成部分的国家改善。
There remains a persistent concern that freshwater biodiversity is in decline and being threatened by pollution. As the UK, and particularly England, is a densely populated nation with rivers of modest dilution capacity, this location is very suitable to examine how freshwater biodiversity has responded to human pressures over the past 30 years. A long-term dataset of 223,325 freshwater macroinvertebrate records from 1989 to 2018 for England was retrieved and examined. A sub-set of approximately 200 sites per English Region (1515 sites in total with 62,514 samples), with the longest and most consistent records were matched with predicted wastewater exposure, upstream land cover and terrain characteristics (latitude, altitude, slope gradient and flow discharge). To understand changes in macroinvertebrate diversity and sensitivity with respect to these parameters, the biotic indices of (i) overall family richness, (ii) Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) family richness, and (iii) the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) scores of NTAXA (number of scoring taxa) and (iv) ASPT (average score per taxon) were selected. A review of how close the BMWP scores come to those expected at minimally impacted reference sites was included. For all latitudes, altitudes, channel slope, river size, wastewater exposure levels, and differing proportions of upstream woodland, seminatural, arable and urban land cover, all diversity or sensitivity indices examined improved over this period, although this improvement has slowed in some cases post 2003. Mean overall family richness has increased from 15 to 25 family groups, a 66 % improvement. The improvement in mean EPT family richness (3 to 10 families, >300 % improvement), which are considered to be particularly sensitive to pollution, implies macroinvertebrate diversity has benefited from a national improvement in critical components of water quality.