| Peer-Reviewed

Ecological Integrity of a Peri-Urban River System, Chiraura River in Zimbabwe

Received: 20 September 2013     Published: 20 October 2013
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Ecological integrity of a peri-urban river system facing a plethora of anthropogenic pressures was assessed through multivariate analysis of physicochemical parameters correlated to the resident macroinvertebrate community. Monthly collection of macroinvertebrates and concurrent measurement of the physical and chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen concentration, percentage saturation of oxygen, pH, temperature, electrical conductivity and salinity) of water was done over a period of 5 months from November 2011- March 2012 in six sites across the Chiraura River. Macroinvertebrates were collected using the kick-net sampling technique, identified up to family level and enumerated at each site. Biodiversity indices were calculated for each site following the South African Scoring System version 5 (SASS5). A total of 1209 macroinvertebrates belonging to 49 families and11 orders were recorded in the Chiraura River. Most pollution sensitive taxa were found at sites 3 and 4 and the most pollution tolerant families were found at sites 1, 5 and 6. Sites4 and 5 of Chiraura River were the least polluted. Unsustainable anthropogenic activities, including industrial, domestic and urban agricultural activities affects water quality of Chiraura River. This is mainly through run-off and increased effluent to the river making routine water quality monitoring imperative.

Published in Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11
Page(s) 56-61
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Lotic System, Macroinvertebrates, River Health, SASS 5, Water Quality, Biomonitoring

References
[1] Nhapi, I. 2004. Options for wastewater management in Harare, Zimbabwe. Dphil Thesis. .Wagenigen University, The Netherlands.
[2] Ndebele RM. 2012. Biological monitoring and pollution assessment of the Mukuvisi River, Harare, Zimbabwe. Lake& Reservoirs: Research Management. 17: 73-80.
[3] Magadza CHD.2003. Lake Chivero, A management case study. Lakes& Reservoirs: Research Management. 8: 69-81.
[4] Phiri C. 2000. An assessment of the health of two rivers within Harare, Zimbabwe, on the basis of macroinvertebrate community structure and selected physicochemical variables. African Journal of Aquatic Science. 25: 134–141.
[5] Dallas HF. 1997. A preliminary evaluation of aspects of SASS (South African Scoring System) for the rapid bioassessment of water quality in rivers, with particular reference to the incorporation of SASS in a national bio monitoring programme. Southern African Journal of Aquatic Science. 23 (1):79-94.
[6] Moyo NAG and Phiri C. 2002. The degradation of an urban stream in Harare, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Ecology. 40: 401-404.
[7] Nhapi I, Siebel MA and Gijzen HJ. 2009. A proposal for managing wastewater in Harare, Zimbabwe. Water and Environment Journal. 20(2): 101–108.
[8] Chakona A, Phiri C and Day JA. 2009. Potential for Trichoptera communities as biological indicators of morphological degradation in riverine systems. Hydrobiologia. 621: 155 167.
[9] Chakona A, Phiri C, Chinamaringa A and Muller N. 2009. Changes in biota along a dry land river in north-western Zimbabwe: declines and improvements in river health related to land use. Aquatic Ecology. 4: 1095–1106.
[10] Dickens C and Graham M. 2001. South African Scoring System (SASS) Version 5, Rapid Assessment Method for Rivers. Umgeni Water, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
[11] Thirion C, Mox E and WoestR.1995. Biological monitoring of streams using SSS4 – A User Manual. Department Of Water Affairs and Forestry Institute for Water Quality. Studies. South Africa. Report NOOOO/OO/REQ/1195.p 46.
[12] Gerber A and Gabriel MJM. 2002. Aquatic invertebrates of South African rivers: Field guide. Resource Quality Services, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria, South Africa 150 pp.
[13] Hammer O, David A, Harper T and Ryan PD. 2001. Paleontological Statistics Software Package for Education and Data Analysis. Paleontological Museum, University of Oslo, Sars Gate1, 0562 Oslo, Norway.
[14] Te Braak CJF and Šmilauer P. 2012. Conoco reference manual and users’ guide: Software for ordination (version5.0) Macro computer Power Ithaca New York. U.S.A.
[15] Chakona A. 2005. The Macroinvertebrate Communities of Two Upland Streams in Eastern Zimbabwe with Reference to the Impact of Forestry. Msc Thesis. University of Zimbabwe.
[16] Machena C. 1997.The pollution and self-purification of Mukuvisi River. In: Lake Chivero, a Polluted Lake (Eds.N. A. G. Moyo). 75–91pp. University of Zimbabwe Publishers, Harare, Zimbabwe.
[17] Cherry DS, Currie RJ, Soucek DJ, Latimer HA and Trent GC. 2001. An integrative assessment of a watershed impacted by abandoned mined land discharges. Environmental Pollution. 111: 377-388.
[18] Kjeldsen TR, Lundorf A and Rosbjerg D. 1999.Barrier to unstainable water resources management, A case study Hydro science Journal. 44:529-539.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Beaven Utete, Rutendo Maria Kunhe. (2013). Ecological Integrity of a Peri-Urban River System, Chiraura River in Zimbabwe. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 2(5), 56-61. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Beaven Utete; Rutendo Maria Kunhe. Ecological Integrity of a Peri-Urban River System, Chiraura River in Zimbabwe. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2013, 2(5), 56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Beaven Utete, Rutendo Maria Kunhe. Ecological Integrity of a Peri-Urban River System, Chiraura River in Zimbabwe. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2013;2(5):56-61. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11,
      author = {Beaven Utete and Rutendo Maria Kunhe},
      title = {Ecological Integrity of a Peri-Urban River System, Chiraura River in Zimbabwe},
      journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
      volume = {2},
      number = {5},
      pages = {56-61},
      doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20130205.11},
      abstract = {Ecological integrity of a peri-urban river system facing a plethora of anthropogenic pressures was assessed through multivariate analysis of physicochemical parameters correlated to the resident macroinvertebrate community. Monthly collection of macroinvertebrates and concurrent measurement of the physical and chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen concentration, percentage saturation of oxygen, pH, temperature, electrical conductivity and salinity) of water was done over a period of 5 months from November 2011- March 2012 in six sites across the Chiraura River. Macroinvertebrates were collected using the kick-net sampling technique, identified up to family level and enumerated at each site. Biodiversity indices were calculated for each site following the South African Scoring System version 5 (SASS5). A total of 1209 macroinvertebrates belonging to 49 families and11 orders were recorded in the Chiraura River. Most pollution sensitive taxa were found at sites 3 and 4 and the most pollution tolerant families were found at sites 1, 5 and 6. Sites4 and 5 of Chiraura River were the least polluted. Unsustainable anthropogenic activities, including industrial, domestic and urban agricultural activities affects water quality of Chiraura River. This is mainly through run-off and increased effluent to the river making routine water quality monitoring imperative.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Ecological Integrity of a Peri-Urban River System, Chiraura River in Zimbabwe
    AU  - Beaven Utete
    AU  - Rutendo Maria Kunhe
    Y1  - 2013/10/20
    PY  - 2013
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11
    T2  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    JF  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    JO  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    SP  - 56
    EP  - 61
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7993
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.11
    AB  - Ecological integrity of a peri-urban river system facing a plethora of anthropogenic pressures was assessed through multivariate analysis of physicochemical parameters correlated to the resident macroinvertebrate community. Monthly collection of macroinvertebrates and concurrent measurement of the physical and chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen concentration, percentage saturation of oxygen, pH, temperature, electrical conductivity and salinity) of water was done over a period of 5 months from November 2011- March 2012 in six sites across the Chiraura River. Macroinvertebrates were collected using the kick-net sampling technique, identified up to family level and enumerated at each site. Biodiversity indices were calculated for each site following the South African Scoring System version 5 (SASS5). A total of 1209 macroinvertebrates belonging to 49 families and11 orders were recorded in the Chiraura River. Most pollution sensitive taxa were found at sites 3 and 4 and the most pollution tolerant families were found at sites 1, 5 and 6. Sites4 and 5 of Chiraura River were the least polluted. Unsustainable anthropogenic activities, including industrial, domestic and urban agricultural activities affects water quality of Chiraura River. This is mainly through run-off and increased effluent to the river making routine water quality monitoring imperative.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Chinhoyi University of Technology Department of Wildlife and Safari Management P. Bag 7724, Chinhoyi

  • Chinhoyi University of Technology Department of Wildlife and Safari Management P. Bag 7724, Chinhoyi

  • Sections