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Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

What’s wrong with the Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS)?

Bruce C. Chessman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4173-8023
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: brucechessman@gmail.com

Marine and Freshwater Research 72(8) 1110-1117 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20361
Submitted: 14 December 2020  Accepted: 18 January 2021   Published: 4 March 2021

Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2021 Open Access CC BY

Abstract

The Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS or AusRivAS) is a national biomonitoring scheme that supposedly assesses the ‘biological health’ of rivers. AUSRIVAS outputs observed-over-expected (O/E) indices derived from macroinvertebrate survey data obtained both at a site to be assessed and at designated reference sites. However, AUSRIVAS reference sites lack any consistent or quantified status, and, therefore, AUSRIVAS O/E indices have no particular meaning. Moreover, many studies have found AUSRIVAS O/E to be a weak or inconsistent indicator of exposure to anthropogenic or human-influenced stressors. Poor performance by AUSRIVAS may relate to numerous factors including the following: (1) variable reference-site status, (2) inappropriate model predictors, (3) limitations of O/E indices, (4) inconstant sampling methods, and (5) neglect of non-seasonal temporal variability. The indices Ephemeroptera–Plecoptera–Trichoptera (EPT) and stream invertebrate grade number – average level (SIGNAL) provide alternatives that have often outperformed AUSRIVAS O/E in comparative tests. In addition, bioassessment of Australian rivers might be advanced by the development of diagnostic methods to identify the stressors causing ecological impact rather than merely to infer impact intensity and assign quality ratings to assessment sites.

Keywords: macroinvertebrate, O/E, predictive model, river health, RIVPACS.


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