Brian Hemsley- FlintB.Sc. C.Biol. M.I.Biol.

Northeast RegionEcology Team Leader

R I V P A C S

THE

UNITED KINGDOM

EXPERIENCE

Why RIVPACS ?

River InVertebrate

Prediction and

Classification System

What is RIVPACS ?

• RIVPACS is NOT a Biological Scoring System

• Nor is it a Biological Quality Classification System

• 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

What is RIVPACS?

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

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

Enlarging the data-setRIVPACS II(438 SITES)

NCC sites (~100)

Headwaters project (~50)

New NRA sites (55)

Scottish sites (36)

Screening procedures

RIVPACS III

Northern Ireland (70)

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

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.

RIVPACS Twinspan groupings614 Sites

435 Sites

179 Sites145 Sites 290 Sites

154 Sites 136 Sites

(9 Groups)Small streams

throughoutGreat Britain

(8 Groups)Upland streams& rivers. Mainlyin Scotland &

N. England

(7 Groups)Intermediate streams &

rivers. Mainly in N. England, Wales &

S.W.England

(11 Groups)Lowland streams &

rivers. Mainly Southern England

44

4

44 4

5555

22

22

333

3

33 3

31 1

11

11

1 11

1

+ve-ve

-ve

+ve

0.02

0.08

0.30.4

0.2

RIVPACS Calculation

Probability thatthe site belongs

to groupX

Percentage of sites in Group

with the species

Contributionof Group to

the likelihoodof capture of that speciesGroup

12345

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%

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

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

Season• Spring (February) March - May

• Summer June - August

• Autumn September - November (-January)

• Spring + Summer

• Spring + Autumn

• Summer + Autumn

• Spring + Summer + Autumn

Taxonomic level

• BMWP Families + Indices

• All Families -Abundance + new abundance index

• All Families - Presence / Absence

• Species - Presence / Absence

• Customisation

RIVPACS within the Environment Agency

• Quality classification

• Catchment Surveys

• Pollution investigations

• Minimum Flow Requirements

• Conservation Value

Quality classification

• National General Quality Assessment (GQA)

• Regional / Area / Catchment Quality assessment

• Spatial or temporal differences are important for Management Purposes.

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

Pollution investigations

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

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.

Conservation Value

• Species level data most applicable

• Presence/ absence of predicted taxa valuable in determining Conservation status