Biodiversity Data Journal :
Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Corresponding author: Smriti Gurung (smriti@ku.edu.np)
Academic editor: Ben Price
Received: 13 Dec 2021 | Accepted: 16 Jan 2022 | Published: 07 Feb 2022
© 2022 Kumar Khatri, Smriti Gurung, Bibhuti Jha, Udhab Khadka
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Khatri K, Gurung S, Jha BR, Khadka UR (2022) Benthic macroinvertebrates assemblages of glacial-fed (Bheri) and rain-fed (Babai) rivers in western Nepal in the wake of proposed inter-basin water transfer. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e79275. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e79275
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Benthic macroinvertebrates, encompassing large taxonomic groups of invertebrate organisms, are important components of aquatic ecosystems and play crucial roles in aquatic food webs. These organisms are also extensively used in water quality assessments as bioindicators for a range of stressors. Inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) is the transfer of water from a donor basin to a recipient basin and such transfers have both beneficial as well as adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts. This study attempts to generate baseline information on macroinvertebrates assemblages in glacial-fed (Bheri) and rain-fed (Babai) rivers of west Nepal, where Nepal’s first ever inter-basin transfer is in progress and the data can be used to assess the impact of inter-basin water transfer on water quality and aquatic biodiversity after completion.
The dataset includes the records on the taxonomic diversity of macroinvertebrate in the Bheri and the Babai River systems. A total of 56 families of macroinvertebrates belonging to eight classes and four phyla were observed. A significant variation between the glacial-fed and rain-fed and seasons were observed reflecting different ecological zones and abiotic variables in the rivers and their catchments. Hydropsychidae and Baetidae were reported to be the most abundant taxa in the Bheri River system, whereas Gyrinidae, Physidae, Chironomidae and Hydropsychidae were most abundant taxa in the Babai River system.
macroinvertebrates, glacial-fed river, rain-fed river, inter-basin water transfer, inventory, Nepal
Benthic macroinvertebrates encompass a rich taxonomy and are widely distributed and found abundantly in water bodies (
Freshwater resources are one of the most impacted ecosystems (
Macroinvertebrate sampling followed the microhabitat approach (
Macroinvertebrates were sorted and identified to family level by following standard literature (
The study was conducted in the Bheri and the Babai Rivers and some of their tributaries in the wake of proposedfirst inter-basin water transfer in western Nepal. The project aims to divert 40 m3/s of water from Bheri River to Babai River through a 12.2 km long tunnel to achieve yearround irrigation for 51000 ha of agricultural land in Banke and Bardiya districts and to generate 46 MW electricity (
Sampling sites in the Bheri and the Babai River systems with geographical coordinates and elevation.
Site Code |
River |
Places |
Elevation (m a.s.l.) |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Remarks |
BH1 |
Bheri |
Surkhet |
436 |
|
|
Upstream of water diversion at Bheri |
BH2 |
Bheri |
Surkhet |
403 |
|
|
Downstream of water diversion at Bheri |
BHT1 |
Goche |
Mehelkuna, Surkhet |
475 |
|
|
Tributary of Bheri |
BHT2 |
Chingad |
Gangate, Surkhet |
466 |
|
|
Tributary of Bheri |
BHT3 |
Jhupra |
Surkhet |
497 |
|
|
Tributary of Bheri |
BB1 |
Babai |
Chepangghat, Surkhet |
293 |
|
|
Upstream of water release at Babai |
BB2 |
Babai |
Mulghat, Bardiya |
287 |
|
|
Downstream of water release at Babai |
BB3 |
Babai |
Bel Takura, Dang |
561 |
|
|
Upstream of Babai |
BBT1 |
Patre |
Majhgaun, Dang |
594 |
|
|
Tributary of Babai |
BBT2 |
Katuwa |
Ghorahi, Dang |
625 |
|
|
Tributary of Babai |
The dataset includes the records on the taxonomic diversity of macroinvertebrates in the Bheri and the Babai River systems. A total of 56 families of macroinvertebrates belonging to eight classes and four phyla were observed. Hydropsychidae (during winter and summer) and Baetidae (during spring and autumn) were reported to be the most abundant taxa in the Bheri River system, whereas Gyrinidae (during winter), Physidae (during summer), Chironomidae (during autumn) and Hydropsychidae (during spring) were the most abundant taxa in the Babai River system (Fig.
Rank | Scientific Name |
---|---|
phylum | Arthropoda |
phylum | Platyhelminthes |
phylum | Mollusca |
phylum | Annelida |
class | Insecta |
class | Bivalvia |
class | Gastropoda |
class | Malacostraca |
class | Turbellaria |
class | Arachnida |
class | Clitellata |
class | Polychaeta |
order | Ephemeroptera |
order | Odonata |
order | Plecoptera |
order | Hemiptera |
order | Megaloptera |
order | Coleoptera |
order | Trichoptera |
order | Lepidoptera |
order | Diptera |
order | Sphaeriida |
order | Basommatophora |
order | Neotaenioglossa |
order | Decapoda |
order | Tricladida |
order | Acarina |
order | Oligochaeta |
order | Haplotaxida |
order | Opisthopora |
order | Phyllodocida |
family | Ameletidae |
family | Baetidae |
family | Heptageniidae |
family | Arthropleidae |
family | Ephemerellidae |
family | Caenidae |
family | Leptophlebiidae |
family | Potamanthidae |
family | Ephemeridae |
family | Gomphidae |
family | Macromiidae |
family | Libellulidae |
family | Calopterygidae |
family | Euphaeidae |
family | Synlestidae |
family | Perlidae |
family | Veliidae |
family | Gerridae |
family | Nepidae |
family | Aphelocheiridae |
family | Micronectidae |
family | Corydalidae |
family | Gyrinidae |
family | Dytiscidae |
family | Hydrophilidae |
family | Psephenidae |
family | Elmidae |
family | Hydropsychidae |
family | Philopotamidae |
family | Polycentropodidae |
family | Psychomyiidae |
family | Glossosomatidae |
family | Hydroptilidae |
family | Rhyacophilidae |
family | Brachycentridae |
family | Stenopsychidae |
family | Pyralidae |
family | Ceratopogonidae |
family | Athericidae |
family | Empididae |
family | Tabanidae |
family | Limoniidae |
family | Culicidae |
family | Simuliidae |
family | Chironomidae |
family | Sphaeriidae |
family | Physidae |
family | Planorbidae |
family | Thiaridae |
family | Palaemonidae |
family | Planariidae |
family | Acaridae |
family | Oligochaeta indet. |
family | Naididae |
family | Megascolecidae |
family | Nereididae |
In order to generate baseline information on macroinvertebrates in the wake of proposed inter-basin transfer from glacial-fed Bheri to rain-fed Babai River systems, a macro-invertebrate inventory was generated. In this paper, we provide the family level dataset of macroinvertebrates covering a period of one year (2018) encompassing four seasons, namely winter (January), spring (March-April), summer (June) and autumn (October).
The presented data (Suppl. material
Column label | Column description |
---|---|
River | Name of River |
Site Code | Code assigned to sampling sites |
Place | Place of sampling |
Elevation | Metres above sea level (m a.s.l.) |
Longitude | Longitude (ºN) |
Latitude | Latitude (ºE) |
District | Name of District |
Date | Date of sampling |
Seasons | Name of seasons |
Phylum | Macroinvertebrate Phylum |
Class | Macroinvertebrate Class |
Order | Macroinvertebrate Order |
Family | Macroinvertebrate Family |
Total Catch | Total number of Macroinvertebrates trapped |
Macroinvertebrate assemblages:
A total of 21,866 macroinvertebrates belonging to 56 families, 8 classes and 19 orders were captured during the sampling periods. A total of 11,473 macroinvertebrates contributing 52.47% belonging to 42 families and 13 orders were observed in the Bheri River system, whereas a total of 10,393 macroinvertebrates contributing 47.53% belonging to 49 families and 18 orders were observed in the Babai River system. Insect fauna represented the bulk of macroinvertebrate communities in both river systems.
In the Bheri River system, 38 families of insects were observed contributing 99.41%, whereas in the Babai River system, 39 families of insects were observed contributing 79.77% of total macroinvertebrate fauna. The non-insect fauna in the Babai system were represented by 10 families with four Mollusca taxa; one each of Malacostraca and Arachnida taxa and; four Annelida taxa. A number of studies in Nepal have reported insects as dominant macroinvertebrates in streams and rivers (
In the Bheri River system the highest number of macroinvertebrates were found in site BH2 (1642 individuals during the spring season), while the lowest number of macroinvertebrates was also observed in BH2 (only 123 individuals during the autumn season). In the Babai River system, the highest number of macroinvertebrates were found in BB3 (1266 individuals during the autumn season), while the lowest number of macroinvertebrates were observed in BB1 (186 individuals during the winter season). The most dominant taxa and the taxa with the lowest number of individuals (only 2) in different seasons in both the river systems are listed in Table
Status of seasonal macroinvertebrate dominant taxa from the Bheri and the Babai River systems.
River |
Season |
Dominant taxa |
Highest number recorded |
Taxa with lowest number |
Bheri |
Winter |
Hydropsychidae |
818 |
Ephemeridae, Veliidae, Elmidae and Glossosomatidae |
Bheri |
Spring |
Baetidae |
920 |
Ephemeridae, Macromiidae, Gyrinidae and Ceratopogonidae |
Bheri |
Summer |
Hydropsychidae |
491 |
Gerridae, Micronectidae and Gyrinidae |
Bheri |
Autumn |
Baetidae |
1645 |
Pyralidae, Ceratopogonidae and Acaridae |
Babai |
Winter |
Gyrinidae |
708 |
Ephemerellidae and Limoniidae |
Babai |
Spring |
Hydropsychidae |
580 |
Calopterygidae, Psephenidae, Philopotamidae and Psychomyiidae |
Babai |
Summer |
Physidae |
697 |
Macromiidae |
Babai |
Autumn |
Chironomidae |
679 |
Heptageniidae, Ephemeridae and Sphaeriidae |
Baetidae is a common taxon and occurs in almost all freshwater habitats including fast flowing riffles, runs, pools and wetlands, but they are most diverse in cool flowing water (
The Jaccard distance value was 0.37 indicating that 37% of the macroinvertebrate taxa were dissimilar between these two river systems. Taxa such as Baetidae, Ephemerellidae, Caenidae, Leptophlebiidae, Gomphidae, Perlidae, Philopotamidae, Tabanidae, Limoniidae and Chironomidae were observed in both the river systems and during all four seasons. Families like Arthropleidae, Potamanthidae, Polycentropodidae, Glossosomatidae, Rhyacophilidae, Empididae and Planariidae were found exclusively in the Bheri River system, whereas Families like Libellulidae, Calopterygidae, Synlestidae, Nepidae, Dytiscidae, Hydroptilidae, Ceratopogonidae, Culicidae, Sphaeriidae, Planorbidae, Thiaridae, Naididae, Megascolecidae and Nereididae were exclusively found in the Babai River system. However, it should be noted that the taxa reported in this study only reflects those from selected sites. Oligochaetes, such as Naididae, are known to be associated with macrophytes and abundant in fine sediments (
Despite rich water resources (
Different diversity indices, such as Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’), Pielou’s evenness (J), Simpson’s Diversity index (1-D) and species richness of sampling sites in different seasons, were calculated (Table
Spatial and temporal variation in species richness and diversity indices.
River |
Site |
Seasons |
Total Number of Orders |
Total Number of Families |
Shannon-Weiner Diversity (H') |
Evenness (J) |
Simpson's diversity index (1-D) |
Bheri |
BH1 |
Winter |
7 |
17 |
1.826 |
0.644 |
0.745 |
Bheri |
BH2 |
Winter |
5 |
13 |
1.451 |
0.566 |
0.604 |
Bheri |
BHT1 |
Winter |
10 |
19 |
1.020 |
0.341 |
0.398 |
Bheri |
BHT2 |
Winter |
5 |
8 |
1.874 |
0.853 |
0.799 |
Bheri |
BHT3 |
Winter |
4 |
8 |
0.641 |
0.308 |
0.260 |
Bheri |
BH1 |
Spring |
9 |
20 |
2.194 |
0.721 |
0.844 |
Bheri |
BH2 |
Spring |
7 |
22 |
2.012 |
0.642 |
0.800 |
Bheri |
BHT1 |
Spring |
5 |
8 |
1.523 |
0.733 |
0.738 |
Bheri |
BHT2 |
Spring |
7 |
14 |
2.063 |
0.782 |
0.840 |
Bheri |
BHT3 |
Spring |
6 |
13 |
2.050 |
0.799 |
0.839 |
Bheri |
BH1 |
Summer |
5 |
11 |
1.892 |
0.789 |
0.781 |
Bheri |
BH2 |
Summer |
5 |
13 |
1.529 |
0.596 |
0.598 |
Bheri |
BHT1 |
Summer |
4 |
5 |
0.774 |
0.481 |
0.387 |
Bheri |
BHT2 |
Summer |
8 |
18 |
1.715 |
0.593 |
0.745 |
Bheri |
BHT3 |
Summer |
8 |
16 |
2.116 |
0.763 |
0.826 |
Bheri |
BH1 |
Autumn |
6 |
15 |
2.103 |
0.776 |
0.831 |
Bheri |
BH2 |
Autumn |
4 |
10 |
1.847 |
0.802 |
0.785 |
Bheri |
BHT1 |
Autumn |
6 |
15 |
2.241 |
0.828 |
0.864 |
Bheri |
BHT2 |
Autumn |
7 |
16 |
1.055 |
0.381 |
0.398 |
Bheri |
BHT3 |
Autumn |
9 |
20 |
1.887 |
0.620 |
0.769 |
Average |
1.691 |
0.651 |
0.692 |
||||
Babai |
BB1 |
Winter |
7 |
13 |
1.878 |
0.732 |
0.780 |
Babai |
BB2 |
Winter |
7 |
13 |
1.625 |
0.633 |
0.708 |
Babai |
BB3 |
Winter |
6 |
8 |
0.243 |
0.117 |
0.079 |
Babai |
BBT1 |
Winter |
8 |
15 |
1.334 |
0.481 |
0.556 |
Babai |
BBT2 |
Winter |
8 |
15 |
1.891 |
0.698 |
0.792 |
Babai |
BB1 |
Spring |
6 |
15 |
2.209 |
0.816 |
0.842 |
Babai |
BB2 |
Spring |
8 |
19 |
2.217 |
0.753 |
0.832 |
Babai |
BB3 |
Spring |
8 |
18 |
1.530 |
0.529 |
0.626 |
Babai |
BBT1 |
Spring |
5 |
10 |
1.420 |
0.617 |
0.644 |
Babai |
BBT2 |
Spring |
2 |
4 |
1.134 |
0.818 |
0.642 |
Babai |
BB1 |
Summer |
8 |
13 |
2.165 |
0.844 |
0.837 |
Babai |
BB2 |
Summer |
7 |
15 |
1.546 |
0.571 |
0.670 |
Babai |
BB3 |
Summer |
10 |
18 |
2.447 |
0.847 |
0.894 |
Babai |
BBT1 |
Summer |
11 |
20 |
2.136 |
0.713 |
0.803 |
Babai |
BBT2 |
Summer |
6 |
11 |
1.814 |
0.757 |
0.774 |
Babai |
BB1 |
Autumn |
7 |
14 |
2.162 |
0.819 |
0.863 |
Babai |
BB2 |
Autumn |
9 |
18 |
1.947 |
0.674 |
0.772 |
Babai |
BB3 |
Autumn |
10 |
24 |
1.925 |
0.606 |
0.809 |
Babai |
BBT1 |
Autumn |
6 |
10 |
1.773 |
0.770 |
0.796 |
Babai |
BBT2 |
Autumn |
7 |
14 |
1.900 |
0.720 |
0.764 |
Average |
1.765 |
0.676 |
0.724 |
The macroinvertebrate-based ecological assessment tool, GRSBIOS (
NEPBIOS/ASPT Original Scale |
NEPBIOS/ASPT for Mid-land |
NEPBIOS/ASPT for Lowland |
Water quality class |
8.00-10.00 |
7.50-10.00 |
6.50-10.00 |
I |
7.00-7.99 |
6.51-7.49 |
6.00-6.49 |
I-II |
5.50-6.99 |
5.51-6.50 |
5.00-5.99 |
II |
4.00-5.49 |
4.51-5.50 |
4.00-4.99 |
II-III |
2.50-3.99 |
3.51-4.50 |
2.50-3.99 |
III |
1.01-2.49 |
2.01-3.50 |
1.01-2.49 |
III-IV |
1 |
1.00-2.00 |
1 |
IV |
Table
Spatial and temporal variation water quality, based on the GRSBIOS/ASPT index.
Season |
Winter |
Spring |
Summer |
Autumn |
||||
Site |
GRSBIOS/ASPT |
WQC |
GRSBIOS/ASPT |
WQC |
GRSBIOS/ASPT |
WQC |
GRSBIOS/ASPT |
WQC |
BH1 |
6.06 |
II |
6.06 |
II |
5.44 |
II |
6.31 |
II |
BH2 |
6.91 |
I-II |
5.95 |
II |
6.45 |
II |
6.44 |
II |
BHT1 |
5.89 |
II |
4.57 |
II-III |
4.75 |
II-III |
5.85 |
II |
BHT2 |
6.25 |
II |
5.92 |
II |
6.13 |
II |
5.80 |
II |
BHT3 |
6.50 |
II |
5.83 |
II |
6.07 |
II |
6.32 |
II |
BB1 |
6.25 |
II |
5.54 |
II |
6.15 |
II |
6.15 |
II |
BB2 |
5.92 |
II |
6.12 |
II |
6.08 |
II |
5.69 |
II |
BB3 |
6.00 |
II |
5.13 |
II-III |
5.41 |
II-III |
5.52 |
II |
BBT1 |
4.31 |
III |
4.40 |
III |
5.40 |
II-III |
5.11 |
II-III |
BBT2 |
4.86 |
II-III |
3.00 |
III |
4.70 |
II-III |
4.58 |
III |
A total of 56 macroinvertebrate families were observed indicating a rich macroinvertebrate biodiversity in these river systems. A significant variation in macroinvertebrate assemblages between the glacial-fed and rain-fed river systems and seasons were observed reflecting different ecological zones and abiotic variables in the rivers and their catchments. The ongoing inter-basin water transfer is likely to affect different environmental variables and biota including macroinvertebrate assemblages. Therefore, baseline data of macroinvertebrates, generated from this study, would be useful as future references for impact assessment of inter-basin transfer of water from glacial-fed (Bheri) to rain-fed (Babai) rivers in western Nepal.
We would like to acknowledge the University Grants Commission (UGC) (Faculty Collaborative Research Grant for F.Y. 2072/73), Nepal for funding this research. We would also like to acknowledge the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Nepal for giving us permission to sample at Mulghat, Bardiya National Park; and staff from Bheri-Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project for their cooperation during the field visits.
Kumar Khatri - fieldwork, sorting and cleaning of the samples, taxa identification, dataset preparation, data analysis and manuscript preparation.
Smriti Gurung – site selection, fieldwork, taxa identification, data analysis and manuscript preparation and review.
Bibhuti Ranjan Jha - fieldwork, logistic arrangement, dataset compilation and manuscript preparation.
Udhab Raj Khadka- fieldwork, dataset compilation and manuscript preparation.
The presented data contain information on the distribution and species composition of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Bheri and the Babai River systems in western Nepal.