Maliau stream team project (proposal)
From BiodivBorneo09
Species Composition of Aquatic Plants and Macroinvertebrates in Rivers in Maliau Basin
Alexandra Torres, Rindita Zulfikar, and Aywen Chak Wang Hoong
Contents |
Introduction
- Maliau Basin is a unique area in that it contains a water catchment area that is heavily composed of tannins. This presence of tannins in the rivers of Maliau is subsequently related to the increase of acidity of its rivers. The Basin is drained by only one river, the Maliau River, which flows through a canyon and joins the Kuamut River.[1] The acidity of each river is thought to influence the biotic community that lives inside it. Examples of organisms that are part of this biotic community are macroinvertebrates and aquatic plants.
- An aquatic plant is defined as any kind of plant that has adapted to living in or on aquatic environments. Examples of aquatic vascular plants are ferns and angiosperms.
- Aquatic macroinvertebrates are particularly adapted to different chemical and physical conditions in water communities. Therefore the species composition of a macroinvertebrate community in a waterbody can be used as an indicator of the health of the waterbody.
- The tannins that are present in the rivers in Maliau Basin are the result of the leaching out of tannins from decayed vegetation. This process results in semi-transparent, acidic water that can be darkly stained and that can resemble tea or coffee.[2] Because of this characteristic, the species composition of aquatic plants and macroinvertebrates that live in rivers that contain many tannins might be different from the species composition of aquatic plants and macroinvertebrates found in different river communities.
Questions
- How does the quality of the water in a river affect the species composition of the aquatic plants and the macroinvertebrates in that river?
- Does the species composition of aquatic plants correlate with the species composition of macroinvertebrates in that river?
Hypothesis
- In a river where water composition is more acidic due to the increased presence of tannins in the water, the species composition of aquatic plants and macroinvertebrates will be lower.
- The species composition of aquatic plants should be directly correlated with the species composition of the macroinvertebrates found in the river.
Methods
- A comparison of stream community compositions will be assessed for two main rivers; the Maliau River and the Kuamut River, as well as for a small stream; Kancil River.
- For each study site, physical parameters such as pH value, temperature, and water velocity will be recorded within a 30-meter transect.
- Meanwhile, dip nets will be used to collect both the surface and benthic macro-invertebrate fauna and butterfly nets will be used to capture flying adults of aquatic insects.
- Any collected living specimens will be kept alive in plastic bottles and brought back to the laboratory for identification purposes.
- Stream marginal vegetation and bottom substrate will also be recorded for the purpose of studying via photographic images.
Analysis
We will use the correlation test to demonstrate the effect water quality has on the species composition of aquatic plants and macroinvertebrates in each river. A General Linear Model (GLM) will be used to explain the effect of the river-type on the abundance of aquatic plants and macroinvertebrates in that river.
