Incidence of Larvae Deformities in Chironomus Species (Diptera: Chironomidae) as Bio-Indicators of Water Quality in Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya
##article.abstract##
Lake Victoria is the second largest freshwater body in the world and one of the richest ecosystems in terms of biodiversity but is facing a major environmental concern originating from pollution, degradation and overfishing. This study sought to determine the incidence of larvae deformities in Chironomus species (Diptera: Chironomidae) as bio-indicators of water quality in Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya. Chironomids were sampled upstream and downstream of Rivers Nzoia and Mbogo for tests in the laboratory. They were exposed to dilutions of kraft paper-mill and sugar cane factory effluents for 21 days under controlled conditions. Results for the deformity effluent toxicity tests were presented as means (±Standard Error of Mean, SEM). Data for the tests expressed as the proportion deformity was first transformed by the Probit analysis to check for normality before analysis. Two way ANOVA for the deformity tests was run with the station and concentration as the main factors with the station x concentration interaction effect and where there was no interaction then 1-way ANOVA was run with the main individual factors only (i.e. effluent, station and concentration). Post hoc Tukey test was then performed to identify means of concentrations for deformities of the Chironomus midges differing from one another. All pair wise multiple comparisons of stations and effluent concentrations was done to determine whether there existed any effect. One-Way ANOVA was also, used to determine significant difference between the control and the effluent concentrations. All analysis was done in Sigma Plot and the significant differences were inferred at α=0.05 level. There were significant effects (p<0.05) between effluents on abnormality of Chironomus species. The study concluded that Chironomus species are sensitive to sugar cane processing and paper mill effluents, hence can be used as test organism in monitoring the health of riverine ecosystems in LVB for management purposes
References
Dallas H.F. and Day J.A. (2004). The effect of water quality variables on aquatic ecosystems: A review. Report to the Water Research Commission by Freshwater Research Unit University of Cape Town Rondebosch 7700, Report No. TT 224/04. 232pp.
Diggins, T.P. and Stewart, K.M. (1993). Deformities of aquatic larval midges (Chironomidae: Diptera) in the sediments of the Buffalo River, New York. Journal of Great Lakes research 19:648-659
Epler, J.H. (1995). Identification manual for the larval Chironomidae (Diptera) of Florida (Rvised Edtion), 320p.
Fonseca, A. L., and Rocha, O. (2004). Laboratory cultures of the native species Chironomus xanthus Rempel, 1939 (Diptera-Chironomidae). Acta Limnol Bras 16 153-161.
Groenendijk, D. (1999) Dynamics of metal adaptation in riverine chironomids, PhD, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Hare, L. and Campbell, P. G. C. (1992). Temporal variations of trace metals in aquatic insects. Freshwater Biol., 27:13 - 27.
Harkey, G.A., Landrum, P.F. and Klaine, S.J. (1994) Comparison of whole-sediment, elutriate and pore-water exposures for use in assessing sediment-associated organic contaminants in bioassays. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 13, 1315–1329.
Janssens De Bisthoven, L., Nuyts, P., Goddeeris, B. and Ollevier, F. (1998). Sub lethal parameters in morphologically deformed chironomus larvae: clues to understanding their bioindicator value. Freshwater Biology, 39: 179-191.
Jeyasingham, K. and Ling, N. (1997). Head capsule deformities in Chironomus zealandicus (Diptera: Chironomidae): Influence of site and substrate, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 31:2, 175-184, DOI: 10.1080/00288330.1997.9516756.
Karr, J. R., and Chu, E. W. (2000). Sustaining living rivers. Hydrobiologia, 422/423, 1-14.
Karr, J. R., Fausch, K. D., Angermeier, P. L., Yant, P. R., and Schlosser, I. J. (1986). Assessing Biological Integrity in Running Waters: a method and its Rationale. In Natural History Survey Special Publication, (Illinois Champaign).
Liu, W.H., Zhao, J.Z. & Ouyang, Z.Y. (2005) Impacts of sewage irrigation on heavy metal distribution and contamination in Beijing. China. Environ. Int. 31, 805–812.
Lynch, T. R., Popp, C. J. and Jacobi, G. Z. (19988). Aquatic insects as environmental monitors of trace metal contamination: Red River, New Mexico. Water Air Soil Pollut., 42:19]31.
Mafalda, S., Antonio, J.A. & Soars, M.V.M. (2007). The use of Chironomus riparius larvae to assess effects of pesticides from ice fields in adjacent freshwater ecosystems. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 67, 218–226.
Masese, F. O., Omukoto, J. O. and Nyakeya, K. (2013). Biomonitoring as a prerequisite for sustainable water resources: a review of current status, opportunities and challenges to scaling up in East Africa. Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology, 13: 173–191.
Myslinski E, Ginsburg W. (1977). Macro-invertebrates as indicators of pollution. J Am Water Works Ass, 69:538-544.
Nyakeya, K., Raburu, P. O., Masese, F. O., and Gichuki, J. (2009 ). Assessment of pollution impacts on ecological Integrity of the Kisian and Kisat Rivers in Lake Victoria Drainage Basin, Kenya. African Journal of Science and Technology 3 (4), 97-107.
Nyakeya, K., Raburu, P.O., Masese, F.O., Tsuma, J., Nyamora, J.M., Magondu, E.W., Kemunto, D.D., Ondiba, R.N. and Jepkosgei, M. (2017). Sensitivity of the native Chironomus species in monitoring of riverine ecosystems in the catchments of Lake Victoria Drainage Basin, Kenya, Africa Environmental Research Journal, Vol.2 (2), pp. 126-133.
Ochieng, H., Steveninck, E.S. & Wanda, F.M. (2008). Mouthparts deformities in chironomides (dipteral) as indicators of heavy metal pollution in northern Lake Victoria, Uganda. Afr. J. Aquat.Sci. 33, 135–142.
Odume, O.N., Muller, W.J., Palmer, C.G. & Arimoro, F.O. (2012). Mentum deformities in Chironomidae communities as indicators of anthropogenic impacts in Swartkops River, Eastern Cape of South Africa. Phys. Chem. Earth 50, 140–148.
Raburu, P. O., and Masese, F. O. (2010). Development of a fish-based index of biotic integrity (FIBI) for monitoring riverine ecosystems in the Lake Victoria drainage basin, Kenya. In River Research and Application, (John Wiley and Sons Ltd.), p. 1428.
Santos, M. A. P. F., Vicensotti, J., and Monteiro, R. T. R. (2007 ). Sensitivity of Four Test Organisms (Chironomus xanthus, Daphnia magna, Hydra attenuata and pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) to NaCl: an Alternative Reference Toxicant. J Braz Soc Ecotoxicol 2(3), 229-236.
USEPA (1999). Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Wadeable Streams and Rivers- Periphyton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates, and Fish. In, (Washington, D.C.: Second Ed. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water).
USEPA (2002). Methods for measuring the acute toxicity of effluents to freshwater and marine organisms. In, (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water).
Vermeulen, A. C. (1995). Elaborating chironomid deformities as bioindicators of toxic sediment stress: the potential application of mixture toxicity concepts. Annales Zoologici Fennici 32 265-285.
Warwick, W.F. (1980). Paleolimnology of the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario: 2800 years of cultural influence. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 206, 1–117.
Warwick, W.F. (1985a). Morphological abnormalities in Chironomidae (Diptera) larvae as measures of toxic stress in freshwater ecosystem: indicating antennal deformities in Chironomus Meigen. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 42, 1881–1914.
Warwick, W.F. (1985b). Morphological abnormalities in Chironomidae (Diptera) larvae as measure of toxic stress in freshwater ecosystem: indexing antennal deformities in Chironomus. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 42, 1881–1894.
