Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria

Russell Anthony Isaac; James Heltshe

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13

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Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria

Russell Anthony Isaac, James Heltshe

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 10, Issue 5)

Received: 24 August 2022 Accepted: 27 September 2022 Published: 17 October 2022

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Abstract

Rapid bioassessment protocols (RBP) have been used widely to assess and compare benthic macro invertebrate communities, often in the context of determining impacts from impairments to water quality. Given that a relatively small sample of 100 organisms often was used to calculate various biological metrics, the question of how frequently differences are inferred when in fact the subsamples are from the same population (i.e., Type 1 errors) is of interest. The analysis of 72 large (300-1760 organism) field samples uses the differentiation criteria recommended in the first edition of EPA' s RBP 1989 guidance manual as a case example. A minimum of 100 subsamples each of 100 organisms was used to evaluate the uncertainty of metric estimates. Variability in estimates of Community Loss, Similarity (R-Ratio), Jaccard, Sorensen, Bray-Curtis Similarity indicies, and Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity as well as Diversity and Evenness also are presented. Decision criteria for judging two samples are from different parent distributions are provided for each metric at alpha= 0.15 for Type 1 errors. The proposed decision criteria are based on pooling all of the estimates of a given metric using the entirety of the calculated values of that metric derived from all subsamples of the 72 field samples. The findings demonstrate the need to vet current and potential ecological numerical metrics, for variability when estimating their values from subsamples.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 10, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13
Page(s)	127-139
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), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Macroinvertebrate Indicies, Ecological Indicies, Community Loss Index, Type 1 Errors in Indicies, Jaccard, Sorensen, Bray-Curtis Similarity Indicies, Proposed Criteria

References

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[7]	Barbour, M. T. Gerritsen, J. Snyder, B. D. and Stribling, J. B. (1999) Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, Second Edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water; Washington, D. C.
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[10]	Carter, J. L. and Resh, V. H. (2013) Analytical approaches used in stream benthic macroinvertebrate biomonitoring programs of State agencies in the United States: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013-1129, 50 p.
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[13]	Aazami J., et al., (2015) Monitoring and assessment of water health quality in the Tajan River, Iran using physicochemical, fish and macroinvertebrates indices. J Environ Health Sci Eng. 13: 29. doi: 10.1186/s40201-015-0186-y. PMID: 25949817; PMCID: PMC4422490.
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[15]	Huttuen K. L., et al. (2017) Habitat connectivity and in-stream vegetation control temporal variability of benthic invertebrate communities, Sci Rep. 7: 1448, 10.1038/s41598-017-00550-9.
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[17]	Wang, L., et al., B. P. (2022) Species Diversity and Community Composition of Macroinvertebrates in Headwater Streams of Two Subtropical Neighboring Lowland Basins. Diversity, 14, 402. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14050402
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APA Style

Russell Anthony Isaac, James Heltshe. (2022). Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 10(5), 127-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13

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ACS Style

Russell Anthony Isaac; James Heltshe. Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2022, 10(5), 127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13

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AMA Style

Russell Anthony Isaac, James Heltshe. Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2022;10(5):127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13,
  author = {Russell Anthony Isaac and James Heltshe},
  title = {Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {10},
  number = {5},
  pages = {127-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20221005.13},
  abstract = {Rapid bioassessment protocols (RBP) have been used widely to assess and compare benthic macro invertebrate communities, often in the context of determining impacts from impairments to water quality. Given that a relatively small sample of 100 organisms often was used to calculate various biological metrics, the question of how frequently differences are inferred when in fact the subsamples are from the same population (i.e., Type 1 errors) is of interest. The analysis of 72 large (300-1760 organism) field samples uses the differentiation criteria recommended in the first edition of EPA' s RBP 1989 guidance manual as a case example. A minimum of 100 subsamples each of 100 organisms was used to evaluate the uncertainty of metric estimates. Variability in estimates of Community Loss, Similarity (R-Ratio), Jaccard, Sorensen, Bray-Curtis Similarity indicies, and Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity as well as Diversity and Evenness also are presented. Decision criteria for judging two samples are from different parent distributions are provided for each metric at alpha= 0.15 for Type 1 errors. The proposed decision criteria are based on pooling all of the estimates of a given metric using the entirety of the calculated values of that metric derived from all subsamples of the 72 field samples. The findings demonstrate the need to vet current and potential ecological numerical metrics, for variability when estimating their values from subsamples.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria
AU  - Russell Anthony Isaac
AU  - James Heltshe
Y1  - 2022/10/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 127
EP  - 139
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13
AB  - Rapid bioassessment protocols (RBP) have been used widely to assess and compare benthic macro invertebrate communities, often in the context of determining impacts from impairments to water quality. Given that a relatively small sample of 100 organisms often was used to calculate various biological metrics, the question of how frequently differences are inferred when in fact the subsamples are from the same population (i.e., Type 1 errors) is of interest. The analysis of 72 large (300-1760 organism) field samples uses the differentiation criteria recommended in the first edition of EPA' s RBP 1989 guidance manual as a case example. A minimum of 100 subsamples each of 100 organisms was used to evaluate the uncertainty of metric estimates. Variability in estimates of Community Loss, Similarity (R-Ratio), Jaccard, Sorensen, Bray-Curtis Similarity indicies, and Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity as well as Diversity and Evenness also are presented. Decision criteria for judging two samples are from different parent distributions are provided for each metric at alpha= 0.15 for Type 1 errors. The proposed decision criteria are based on pooling all of the estimates of a given metric using the entirety of the calculated values of that metric derived from all subsamples of the 72 field samples. The findings demonstrate the need to vet current and potential ecological numerical metrics, for variability when estimating their values from subsamples.
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Russell Anthony Isaac

Formerly with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Boston, USA
James Heltshe

Formerly with the Computer Science and Statistics Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, USA

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APA Style

Russell Anthony Isaac, James Heltshe. (2022). Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 10(5), 127-139. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13

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ACS Style

Russell Anthony Isaac; James Heltshe. Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2022, 10(5), 127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13

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AMA Style

Russell Anthony Isaac, James Heltshe. Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2022;10(5):127-139. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13,
  author = {Russell Anthony Isaac and James Heltshe},
  title = {Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {10},
  number = {5},
  pages = {127-139},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20221005.13},
  abstract = {Rapid bioassessment protocols (RBP) have been used widely to assess and compare benthic macro invertebrate communities, often in the context of determining impacts from impairments to water quality. Given that a relatively small sample of 100 organisms often was used to calculate various biological metrics, the question of how frequently differences are inferred when in fact the subsamples are from the same population (i.e., Type 1 errors) is of interest. The analysis of 72 large (300-1760 organism) field samples uses the differentiation criteria recommended in the first edition of EPA' s RBP 1989 guidance manual as a case example. A minimum of 100 subsamples each of 100 organisms was used to evaluate the uncertainty of metric estimates. Variability in estimates of Community Loss, Similarity (R-Ratio), Jaccard, Sorensen, Bray-Curtis Similarity indicies, and Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity as well as Diversity and Evenness also are presented. Decision criteria for judging two samples are from different parent distributions are provided for each metric at alpha= 0.15 for Type 1 errors. The proposed decision criteria are based on pooling all of the estimates of a given metric using the entirety of the calculated values of that metric derived from all subsamples of the 72 field samples. The findings demonstrate the need to vet current and potential ecological numerical metrics, for variability when estimating their values from subsamples.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Variation of Subsample Estimates of Selected Benthic Macroinvertebrate Mathematical Indices: Retrospective Analysis and Proposed Criteria
AU  - Russell Anthony Isaac
AU  - James Heltshe
Y1  - 2022/10/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 127
EP  - 139
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221005.13
AB  - Rapid bioassessment protocols (RBP) have been used widely to assess and compare benthic macro invertebrate communities, often in the context of determining impacts from impairments to water quality. Given that a relatively small sample of 100 organisms often was used to calculate various biological metrics, the question of how frequently differences are inferred when in fact the subsamples are from the same population (i.e., Type 1 errors) is of interest. The analysis of 72 large (300-1760 organism) field samples uses the differentiation criteria recommended in the first edition of EPA' s RBP 1989 guidance manual as a case example. A minimum of 100 subsamples each of 100 organisms was used to evaluate the uncertainty of metric estimates. Variability in estimates of Community Loss, Similarity (R-Ratio), Jaccard, Sorensen, Bray-Curtis Similarity indicies, and Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity as well as Diversity and Evenness also are presented. Decision criteria for judging two samples are from different parent distributions are provided for each metric at alpha= 0.15 for Type 1 errors. The proposed decision criteria are based on pooling all of the estimates of a given metric using the entirety of the calculated values of that metric derived from all subsamples of the 72 field samples. The findings demonstrate the need to vet current and potential ecological numerical metrics, for variability when estimating their values from subsamples.
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  -

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