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Brian Hemsley- Flint B.Sc. C.Biol. M.I.Biol.

Brian Hemsley- Flint B.Sc. C.Biol. M.I.Biol. Northeast Region Ecology Team Leader. R I V P A C S. THE UNITED KINGDOM EXPERIENCE. Why RIVPACS ?. R iver I n V ertebrate P rediction and C lassification S ystem. What is RIVPACS ?. RIVPACS is NOT a Biological Scoring System

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Brian Hemsley- Flint B.Sc. C.Biol. M.I.Biol.

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  1. Brian Hemsley- FlintB.Sc. C.Biol. M.I.Biol. Northeast Region Ecology Team Leader

  2. R I V P A C S THE UNITED KINGDOM EXPERIENCE

  3. Why RIVPACS ? River InVertebrate Prediction and Classification System

  4. What is RIVPACS ? • RIVPACS is NOT a Biological Scoring System • Nor is it a Biological Quality Classification System

  5. What is RIVPACS? • Is a Software Package with which one can • Classify River Types according to their Fauna • Predict Probable River Fauna based on its Environmental and Physical Characteristics

  6. RIVPACS History • Project started in 1977 • 1st software released 1986/87 for BBC_B micro-computer • Version 2 for IBM compatible PC 1990 • database of 438 sites divided into 25 groups

  7. Areas requiring more attention • More rigorous screening of Reference sites • Wider representation of Small Stream sites • Addition of sites in geographical areas poorly represented in RIVPACS II • Improved classification capable of delivering more reliable predictions • Errors associated with Observed (O) and Expected (E) values to be quantified

  8. Enlarging the data-set RIVPACS II (438 SITES) NCC sites (~100) Headwaters project (~50) New NRA sites (55) Northern Ireland (70) Scottish sites (36) Screening procedures RIVPACS III

  9. RIVPACS History • Version 3 1996 (used for analysing 1995 data) • 614 sites in 35 groups (GB) • 70 sites in 7 groups (NI) • new abundance based trial index • Version 3+ 1997 • Compare module + bias & GQA added • Further development ongoing

  10. RIVPACS How does it work? • Data grouped using TWINSPAN and group means for environmental data created • MDS then applied to group means • New site data compared to MDS and similarity measures calculated.

  11. RIVPACS Twinspan groupings 614 Sites 435 Sites 145 Sites 290 Sites 179 Sites 154 Sites 136 Sites (9 Groups) Small streams throughout Great Britain (8 Groups) Upland streams & rivers. Mainly in Scotland & N. England (7 Groups) Intermediate streams & rivers. Mainly in N. England, Wales & S.W.England (11 Groups) Lowland streams & rivers. Mainly Southern England

  12. 0.08 0.02 0.2 0.3 0.4 +ve 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 2 2 2 2 -ve +ve 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 3 1 3 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 -ve

  13. RIVPACS Calculation Contribution of Group to the likelihood of capture of that species Probability that the site belongs to group Percentage of sites in Group with the species X Group 1 2 3 4 5 P = 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.08 0.02 33% 50% 80% 25% 100% 10% 10% 32% 2% 2% Likelihood of capture of species at site 56%

  14. Validity of Data • All data (Biological and Environmental) MUST be collected according to set procedures • For predictions - Environmental data MUST have a minimum of 3 separate seasonal measurements • Use of other data will reduce the accuracy and hence applicability of results

  15. Predictive Variables • Latitude & Longitude (from National Grid Ref.) • Altitude & Distance (from O.S. Maps) • Water width & depth (average 3 seasons) • Substrate composition (average 3 seasons) • Discharge Category (or median current velocity) • + Combination of Alkalinity and / or Slope and / or Mean Air Temp & Annual Air Temp Range

  16. Season • Spring (February) March - May • Summer June - August • Autumn September - November (-January) • Spring + Summer • Spring + Autumn • Summer + Autumn • Spring + Summer + Autumn

  17. Taxonomic level • BMWP Families + Indices • All Families -Abundance + new abundance index • All Families - Presence / Absence • Species - Presence / Absence • Customisation

  18. RIVPACS within the Environment Agency • Quality classification • Catchment Surveys • Pollution investigations • Minimum Flow Requirements • Conservation Value

  19. Quality classification • National General Quality Assessment (GQA) • Regional / Area / Catchment Quality assessment • Spatial or temporal differences are important for Management Purposes.

  20. Catchment Surveys • Spatial or temporal differences may be important for Management Purposes. • Unexpected presence / absence of taxa highlighted by RIVPACS may be important indication of degree and nature of stress

  21. Pollution investigations • Unexpected presence / absence of taxa highlighted by RIVPACS may be important indication of degree and nature of stress

  22. Minimum Flow Requirements • Species and family level applicable • Spatial and temporal differences may be important for Management Purposes. • Unexpected presence / absence of taxa highlighted by RIVPACS may be important.

  23. Conservation Value • Species level data most applicable • Presence/ absence of predicted taxa valuable in determining Conservation status

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