eNews
#03 2024
EFTEON staff attend bioassessment method training course for rivers
By Corrina Naidoo, EFTEON Northern Drakensberg Biodiversity Technician Intern
Staff members of the Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON) attended GroundTruth’s training course on Aquatic Biomonitoring using the South African Scoring System (SASS) Version 5 Rapid Bioassessment Method for Rivers.
The course, presented at the GroundTruth offices in Pietermaritzburg over four days, comprised theory and practical work. This biomonitoring method, which is widely recognised for assessing river water quality and river health, was developed by Chutter in 1994 and is accredited by ISO standards.
SASS is suitable to assess the ecological state of aquatic systems, assess spatial and temporal trends in rivers, assess emerging problems, set objectives for rivers, assess impacts of developments, predict changes in ecosystems due to these developments and contribute to the Ecological Reserve (National Water Act 1998).
Benthic macroinvertebrates can be used to determine river conditions based on their species diversity and abundance. These organisms are ideal for this purpose as they can be seen with the naked eye, have a rapid life cycle, live in sedentary habitats and are easily identified.
The course included reading material and field equipment to carry out the practical component of the training. During the theory sections, participants studied the different species of aquatic macroinvertebrates and how to identify them to Family level using various features and characteristics on their anatomy.
During the practical sessions, the EFTEON staff members used a net, waders, containers and various petri dishes to sort through specimens collected before identifying them and recording data using the scoring sheet which calculates the Average Score per Taxon.
Practical sessions
The practical sessions took place at the Umgeni River in Howick and the Msunduzi River in Pietermaritzburg. To ensure that a non-biased sample was collected, various biotopes in the river were sampled – stones in current and stones out of current; aquatic vegetation; gravel, sand and mud; and by hand-picking and visual observations. These biotopes are sampled following a specific protocol which has a time limit.
This tool is recommended for schools and other institutions as a Mini SASS training course. It is also useful to include this protocol when conducting research along a river or in an area that has a major river – assessing the health and ecological status of the river adds a hydrological aspect to the study. It is vital to take precautions when sampling in a river as it can be dangerous.
The next step for the EFTEON science team would be to practise the protocol and become accredited so that they can implement this protocol within the Northern Drakensberg landscape. Further information can be accessed through this link.
The EFTEON science team will be implementing this protocol within the Northern Drakensberg landscape.
Further reading
Dickens, C.W. & Graham, P.M. 2002. The South African Scoring System (SASS) version 5 rapid bioassessment method for rivers. African Journal of Aquatic Science, 27(1), pp.1–10.
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