Spatial variations of aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages in response to anthropogenic activities in Comoé River (middle catchment, Bettié Côte d'Ivoire)

 Corresponding author: Walamté KONE Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. Spatial variations of aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages in response to anthropogenic activities in Comoé River (middle catchment, Bettié Côte d’Ivoire) Walamté KONE *, Norbert Kouakou KOUADIO, Michel N’dédé AHIZI and Allassane OUATTARA Environment and Aquatic Biology Laboratory, Environmental Sciences and Management, Nangui ABROGOUA University, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 Publication history: Received on 30 May 2025; revised on 05 July 2025; accepted on 08 July 2025 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2025.27.1.2565 Abstract This study aimed to assess the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages in the middle catchment of the Comoé River and its tributary, the Manzan River. Five sampling stations were selected based on varying levels of human-induced perturbations and monitored over four field campaigns from March 2021 to March 2022. Environmental variables such as temperature (°C), pH, conductivity (µS/cm), water depth (m), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), turbidity (NTU), ammonium (mg/L), nitrite (mg/L), nitrate (mg/L), phosphate (mg/L) and suspended matter (mg/l) were recorded across stations in order to have a closer approach of species distribution according to abiotic variables. In total, 8,547 individuals representing 6 classes, 15 orders, 54 families and 103 taxa were identified. Insects, particularly Heteroptera and Ephemeroptera, were dominant respectively in Manzan and M’Basso stations. Taxonomic richness was highest at Pont Bettie and lowest at Manzan, where diversity was also poor (Shannon-Weaver index = 1.5). The proportion of pollution-sensitive taxa (EPT) was highest in M’Basso station (59.77%) and lowest in Manzan station (6.27%). A focused principal component analysis (FPCA) showed that environmental variables such as pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity and suspended matter, influenced aquatic macroinvertebrates. Keywords: Aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblage; Anthropogenic disturbances; Environmental variables; FPCA; EPT taxa 1. Introduction Freshwater ecosystems faced multiple anthropogenic pressures ranging from agriculture, deforestation, mining to urban expansion and infrastructure development, all of which can severely disrupt ecological integrity of rivers and streams [1, 2, 3]. Land use not only exerts direct influence on stream ecosystems but also interacts with other stressors such as climate change [4], invasive species [5], and river regulation by dams [6], leading to compounded ecological consequences. Côte d’Ivoire has experienced alarming rates of deforestation, with forest cover declining from 7.9 million hectares in 1990 to only 3.4 million hectares in 2015 [7]. This deforestation, particularly acute in south-west and middle-eastern parts of the country, is largely attributed to agriculture and logging, leading to loss of biodiversity and degradation of aquatic systems [8, 9]. For instance, rapid expansion of rubber cultivation in southern Côte d’Ivoire, which grew from 200,000 ha in 2008 to over 300,000 ha in 2012 [10], has contributed to widespread deforestation and associated aquatic impacts [11, 12]. Agricultural practices including cocoa, banana and rubber plantations, are known to contribute significantly to soil erosion, nutrient enrichment, sedimentation and increased pesticide input into water bodies ([13, World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1005 14, 15]. Agricultural impacts are further exacerbated by unregulated artisanal gold mining, a dominant economic activity in many rural regions of the country. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining, in particular, has become a major ecological threat, employing low-technology methods involving deforestation, soil excavation and the use of hazardous chemicals such as mercury and cyanide for mineral extraction [16, 17, 18]. These practices generate significant amounts of tailings and chemical waste, which are discharged directly into water bodies, resulting in acid mine drainage, elevated heavy metal concentrations and habitat degradation [19, 20, 21]. In addition, this practice affects stream water quality through increased pesticide, turbidity, sedimentation, nutrient loading and altered thermal regimes, all of which influence aquatic life. Indeed, the disturbances caused by anthropogenic activities on aquatic ecosystems directly impact biological communities present [22, 23]. The phenomena affect many main water courses in Côte d’Ivoire. For example, a recent expansion of artisanal and largescale gold mining occurs in Marahoué river, a tributary of Bandama River, one of the four main river system in the country [24] with significant impact directly on the biological communities [22, 23]. As this phenomenon affect all water courses in the country, there is a need to understand its impact on aquatic communities in general and particularly on macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates, which are widely used for biomonitoring aquatic ecosystems, are particularly sensitive to environmental pollution due to their stationary nature and varying levels of tolerance to contaminants [25, 26]. Moreover, macroinvertebrates contribute significantly to ecosystem functioning as decomposers and primary consumers [27, 28]. Their structural composition offers critical insight into the ecological status of freshwater bodies, particularly in regions where other monitoring tools may be limited [29, 30]. Despite their ecological relevance, studies on macroinvertebrate assemblages in Côte d’Ivoire remain limited in scope and spatial coverage. While research has been conducted in the lower part [31, 32] and in the middle course of Comoé River [33], the middle catchment and its tributary, Manzan River in the Bettié department, where human pressures are particularly acute has received little scientific attention. This lack of data poses challenges for informed management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems in the region. Given the importance of this area for both biodiversity and human livelihoods, understanding spatial variations in aquatic macroinvertebrates communities in response to land-use changes and artisanal gold mining is important. This study seeks to address knowledge gap by investigating spatial patterns of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in middle catchment of Comoe River and its tributary (Manzan River). The objectives are to (i) characterize environmental variables quality of water in study area, (ii) determine structure and abundance of macroinvertebrates, and (iii) identify how environmental variables affect macroinvertebrates communities. 2. Material and methods 2.1. Study area and sampling station This study was carried out from March 2021 to March 2022 in the Bettié department, located in Eastern part of Côte d’Ivoire between latitude 6°04' North and longitude 3°24' West. Table 1 Coordinates and levels of activities identified at each sampling station in the middle catchment of Comoé River Samplin g stations Geographic coordinates Land use and mining activities Substrata of soil (%) Streams color Vegetatio n cover (%) Latit ude Longi tude M'Basso 06.24 892° - 003.4 5189° Rubber plantation, Maize fields Gravel (10%) Boulders (85%) Sand (5%) Clear 5 Manzan 06.24 887° - 003.4 5186° Rubber plantation, Banana plantation, Cocoa plantation, gold mining activities (mineral drainage) Clay (75%) Silt (10%) Boulders (1%) Very Brown 70 World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1006 Yèrè Yèrè1 06.24 566° - 003.4 4944° Village, Rubber plantation, small gold mining activities behind Yèrè Yèrè1 Village Clay (58%) Sable (35%) Boulders (10%) Brown 25 Abradin ou 06.17 935° - 003.4 6151° Village, Rubber plantation, Banana plantation, Sand Removal Clay (30%) Sand (55%) Silt (10%) brown 15 Pont Bettie 06.06 382° - 003.4 2307° Bettie city, Rubber plantation, Banana plantation, Rubber tree nursery, Water treatment station, Cocoa plantation Clay (30%) Silt (20%) Gravel (15%) Brown (the first three sampling) 10 Figure 1 Location of the study area showing sampling stations The vegetation originally characterized by the dense semi-deciduous humid forest [34] was now replaced by 70% rubber plantation. The main water course is Comoé River and its tributary, Manzan River. Several activities occurred alongside those rivers (Table 1). The study site is characterized by four climatic seasons: two rainy seasons (A long rainy season and a short rainy season respectively from April to July and October to November) and two dry seasons (A long dry season and a short dry season respectively from December to Mach and August to September) [35]. Five sampling stations were selected based on accessibility and level of perturbation identified: one (1) before the confluence in the stream: unperturbed (M’Basso station); another one (1) on the tributary with illegal gold mining World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1007 activity (Manzan station), one in the confluence zone (Yèrè Yèrè1 station), one near a sand removal site (Abradinou station) and the last in the downstream polluted with waste water from Bettie city (Pont Bettie station) (Fig 1). 2.2. Environmental variables sampling A total of 11 environmental variables were selected for this study: water temperature (°C), pH, conductivity (µS/cm), water depth (m), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), turbidity (NTU), ammonium (mg/L), nitrite (mg/L), nitrate (mg/L), phosphate (mg/L) and suspended matter (mg/L). A multiparameter device (LOVIBOND SensoDirect 150) was used in situ to measure water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity. Water samples were collected in 1L bottle and analysed for turbidity, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and suspended matter according to APHA [36] methods. 2.3. Aquatic macroinvertebrates sampling and identification Aquatic macroinvertebrates sampling methods were designed to collect both quantitative and semi-quantitative samples because this could provide reliable information on the macroinvertebrate communities [37]. Quantitative samples were collected using a Van Veen grab (0.05 m2) for sediments. Contents of the grab were washed through a sieve of 1 mm mesh size. Benthic macroinvertebrates recovered from the sieve were preserved with 70% alcohol for further analysis. Semi-quantitative samples were collected using kick net (250 μm mesh, 50 cm length) in all habitat types. We also used artificial substrates filled with stones sieved between 3 and 8 cm and organic matter such as wood. Substrates were settled near the riverbank and were removed after 45 days of colonization and transferred to a 1 mm sieve and washed. Samples from all sampling devices were fixed with 70% alcohol. In the laboratory, organisms were sorted and identified as possible to species level using appropriate identifications keys [38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45]. 2.4. Data analysis Various community characteristics of macroinvertebrates were estimated including diversity [46, 47], richness [48], and evenness [49]. For the assessment of macroinvertebrate community, taxa richness was estimated using a rarefaction method described by Gotelli and Ellison [50]. Structure of macroinvertebrates communities was evaluated using, Shannon-Weiner index (H’) [46, 47] and Pielou Evenness index (E’). Shannon-Weaver and Pielou Evenness indexes were calculated using R (package Vegan). Moreover, taxa richness was rarefied to eliminate any bias related to differences in abundances between samples [51, 52]. Calculations were performed using the lowest abundance (four individuals for this study) found in all stations as the target number of individuals [53]. We assessed the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera index (EPT) as an indicator of good quality of sites [54]. Frequency (F) of taxa was calculated at all sampling stations. F is the percentage of samples in which each taxon occurred. It was calculated according to Dajoz [55] to gives some information on the number of taxa frequently met in each station without any indication on their quantitative importance [56, 57]. Focused Principal Component Analysis (FPCA) was used to show influence of environmental variables studied on the most abundant taxa (relative abundance of taxa representing 2% of total abundance of aquatic macroinvertebrates) [58]. FPCA revealed exact correlations between variables, providing insight into the relationships between macroinvertebrates and their environment [59]. We used Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann-Whitney test to evaluate significance of spatial variations in environmental variables and diversity indices. All analyses were conducted using the R 4.4.2 software within RStudio, "vegan", and "psy" packages (Core, 2024) [60, 61]. 3. Results 3.1. Environmental variables characteristics Sampled stations represented a broad range of water depth (0.4-7.6 m), water temperature (24.8-31.9 °C), conductivity (50-180 µS/cm), pH (4.45-9.31), dissolved oxygen (0.1-8.1 mg/L), turbidity (11.7-2355 NTU), suspended matter (31372 mg/L). Concentrations of nutriment were low with ammonium ranged from 0.0011 to 2.5 mg/L. Concentration of nitrite varied from 0.003 to 2.43 mg/L, concentrations of nitrate were from 0.012 to 12.52 mg/L and, concentrations of phosphate were ranged from 0.2 to 7.1 mg/L. However, median values of environmental variables of stream stations are shown in Table 2. Median water depth values were significantly lower deep from upstream (M’Basso station) to downstream (Pont Bettié station) (Mann-Whitney p< 0.05). Dissolved oxygen values showed a significant difference World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1008 between M’Basso station and Manzan station, Yèrè Yèrè1 station and Abradinou station (Mann-Whitney p< 0.05). Turbidity values were significantly highest in Manzan station than all stations (Mann-Whitney p< 0.05). However, conductivity values showed a significant difference between Manzan station and all stations (Mann-Whitney p< 0.05) excepted Pont Bettié station (Mann-Whitney p>0.05). According to suspended matter, median values were significantly high in Manzan station than all stations and a significant difference between M’Basso station and Abradinou station. Indeed, environmental variables such as water temperature, pH, nitrite, nitrate, ammonium and, phosphate did not show significant difference between sampling stations (Kruskal-Wallis p>0.05) (Table 2). Table 2 Minimum, maximum, and median values of the environmental variables in the middle catchment area of Comoe River Environmental variables Stations Dp (m) Tp (°C) Cd (µS/cm) pH DO (mg/L) Tb (NTU) Am (mg/L) Nti (mg/L) Nta (mg/L) Pho (mg/L) SM (mg/L) MB Min. 0.4 27.3 50 6.3 3.7 11.7 0.01 0.009 0.012 0.39 5 Max. 2.5 30 72 9.31 8.1 77 0.45 0.083 0.1 1.2 32 Med. 0.95a 29.25a 62.5a 7.48a 5.2a 27.5a 0.0205a 0.052a 0.0205a 0.515a 20.5a MA Min. 1.1 24.8 99 4.45 0.1 997 0.45 0.03 0.13 0.2 691 Max. 4.4 28.6 180 6.4 1.3 2355 2.5 2.43 12.52 7.1 1372 Med. 2.25ab 28.2a 116b 5.45a 0.65b 1306b 2.3a 0.44a 6.115a 2.55a 764.5b YY1 Min. 1.9 25 74 4.67 0.3 42 0.0012 0.003 0.014 0.19 6 Max. 5.7 31.6 87 7.4 1.7 262 1 0.25 8.98 0.5 249 Med. 2.55ab 28.05a 84c 6.8a 1.3b 196.5a 0.095a 0.014a 0.9535a 0.375a 46ac AB Min. 2 27.9 70 4.51 0.2 49 0.01 0.009 0.012 0.4 51 Max. 5.4 31.1 82 7.2 1.7 908 0.47 0.091 6.39 1.31 522 Med. 3.85ab 29.9a 80ac 4.98a 0.4b 159a 0.11a 0.0405a 0.102a 0.59a 75.5c PB Min. 4.3 25.7 71 4.54 0.4 25 0.0011 0.007 0.016 0.3 8 Max. 7.6 29.6 110 7.9 4.5 329 1.4 0.039 0.9 3.2 200 Med. 5.75b 28.7a 80.55abc 5.085a 1.4ab 89.2a 0.09a 0.0185a 0.02005a 1.69a 32.5ac MB: M’Basso; MA: Manzan; YY1: Yèrè Yèrè1; AB: Abradinou; PB: Pont Bettié; Min: Minimum; Max: Maximum; Med: Median; pH: potential of hydrogen; Dp: water depth; Tp: water temperature; Cd: conductivity; DO: dissolved oxygen; Tb: turbidity; Am: ammonium; Nti: nitrite; Nta: nitrate; Pho: phosphate; SM: suspended matter. Table 2 Taxonomic list of aquatic macroinvertebrates collected from the sampling stations in the middle catchment of Comoé River Stations Class Order Family Taxa MB MA YY1 AB PB F(%) Clitellata Ind. Ind. Ind. + + + + ** Gastropoda Basommatophora Lymnaeidae Lymnaea natalensis + * Planorbidae Biomphalaria pfeifferi + + + + + *** Bulinus globosus + + + + + *** Bulinus troncatus + + + + + *** Bulinus sp. + + + ** World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1009 Indoplanorbis exustus + + + ** Mesogastropoda Ampullariidae Lanistes varicus + + + + + *** Pila africana + + + ** Paludomidae Cleopatra sp. + + + + *** Thiaridae Melanoides tuberculata + + + + ** Littorinimorpha Bithyniidae Gabbiiella africana + + * Bivalvia Myoida Corbulidae Corbula sp. + + + + *** Unionida Unionidae Coelatura aegyptiaca + + + + *** Malacostraca Decapoda Atyidae Caridina africana + + + + + *** Palaemonidae Macrobrachium raridens + + + + ** Macrobrachium sollaudii + + + + + *** Macrobrachium sp. + + + + + *** Potamonautidae Potamonautes ecorssei + + + + + *** Insecta Ephemeroptera Baetidae Baetis sp. + + + + + *** Cleon sp. + + + + *** Labiobaetis sp. + + + + + *** Procleon sp. + + + + *** Caenidae Caenis sp. + + + + *** Ephemeridae Eatonica sp. + + ** Ephemerella sp. + * Heptageniidae Afronurus sp. + * Dacnogenia sp. + * Ecdyonurus sp. + * Electrogena sp. + * Heptagenia sp. + * Leptophlebiidae Adenophlebiodes sp. + * Choroterpes sp. + * Epeorus sp. + * Paraleptophlebia sp. + * Thraulus sp. + * Stations Class Order Family Taxa MB MA YY1 AB PB F(%) Insecta Plecoptera Perlidae Perla sp. + * Odonata Calopterygidae Phaon sp. + + * Pseudagrion sp. + + + + + *** Corduliidae Phyllomacromia sp. + + + ** Gomphidae Ceratogomphus sp. + * Ictinogomphus sp. + + + * World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1010 Lestinogomphus sp. + + ** Neurogomphus sp. + + + + ** Phyllogomphus sp. + + + + + *** Lestidae Lestes sp. + + ** Libellulidae Brachytemis sp. + + + + *** Chalcostephia sp. + + + ** Olpogastra sp. + + + + + *** Trithemis sp. + + + + ** Zygonyx sp. + * Synlestidae Chlorolestes sp. + + * Heteroptera Belostomatidae Diplonychus sp. + + + + + *** Corixidae Micronecta sp. + * Gerridae Aquarius sp. + + + + + *** Eurymetra sp. + + + + + *** Gerris sp. + + + + ** Limnogonus sp. + + * Neogerris sp. + + * Rhagadotarsus sp. + * Hydrometridae Hydrometra sp. + + + + *** Nepidae Ranatra linearis + + + + + *** Pleidae Plea sp. + * Mesoveliidae Mesovelia sp + + + ** Naucoridae Macrocoris sp. + * Naucoris sp. + + * Notonectidae Anisops sp. + + + + + *** Enithares sp. + + + + ** Notonecta sp. + + + + + *** Nychia sp. + + * Veliidae Microvelia sp. + + + + ** Ocellovelia sp. + * Rhagovelia sp. + + + + *** Coleoptera Dytiscidae Bidessus sp. + + * Graphoderus sp. + * Hydaticus sp. + * Hydrovatus sp. + + + + ** Ilybius sp. + + * Laccophilus sp. + + * Stations World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1011 Class Order Family Taxa MB MA YY1 AB PB F(%) Insecta Coleoptera Elmidae Dupophilus sp. + * Elmis sp. + + * Limnius sp. + + + + + ** Normandia sp. + + + + ** Potamodytes sp. + * Potamophilus sp. + * Gyrinidae Orectogyrus sp. + + + *** Hydrophilidae Enochrus sp. + + + * Noteridae Hydrocanthus sp. + + + * Spercheidae Spercheus sp. + * Trichoptères Hydopsychidae Hydropsyche sp. + + + ** Leptoceridae Oecetis sp. + + ** Trianodes sp. + * Philopotamidae Chimarra sp. + + ** Diptera Athericidae Atherix sp. + + * Culicidae Culex sp. + * Chironomidae Ablabesmyia sp. + + ** Chironomus sp. + + + + + *** Cryptochironomus sp. + + + + + *** Polypedilum sp. + + + + *** Stictochironomus sp. + + + + ** Tabanidae Tabanus sp. + + * Tipulidae Limnophila sp. + * Syrphidae Siphon sp. + + * Muscidae Ind. + * Psychodidae Ind. + * Sciomyzidae Ind. + * Lepidoptera Pyralidae Ind. + * Arachnida Araneae Dictynidae Argyroneta sp. + + + + *** 6 15 54 103 71 51 61 49 73 += present taxa, *= accessory taxa; **= common taxa; ***= frequents taxa, F: Taxonomic frequent. Ind. = undetermined, MB: M’Basso; MA: Manzan; YY1: Yèrè Yèrè1; AB: Abradinou; PB: Pont Bettié World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2025, 27(01), 1004-1020 1012 A = abundance at class level; B=Insecta orders abundance; C=Gastropoda orders, Bivalvia orders, and Malacostraca orders abundance. Figure 2 Spatial distribution of aquatic macroinvertebrates abundance harvested in the middle catchment of Comoé River from March 2021 to March 2022 3.2. Macroinvertebrate community structure 3.2.1. Composition of aquatics macroinvertebrates A total of 8547 individuals from 6 classes (Clitellata, Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Malacostraca, Insecta and Arachnida), 15 orders, 54 families and 103 taxa were identified from the stations (Table 3). Aquatic Insecta was the most important group following by Gastropoda, Malacostraca, Bivalvia, Arachnida and Clitellata. Heteroptera had the highest number of taxa (21) followed by Ephemeroptera (17 taxa), Coleoptera (16 taxa), Odonata (15 taxa), and Diptera (10 taxa). Taxonomic richness was highest in Pont Bettié station (73 taxa), M’Basso station (71 taxa), and Yèrè Yèrè1 station (61 taxa) and lowest in Manzan station (51 taxa) and Abradinou station (49 taxa) (Table 3). Rarefied taxonomic richness was significantly lowest in Manzan station than other stations (Figure 3C). Almost 46.30% of taxa were rare, 33.55% and 23.15% accessory (Table 3). Insecta and Gastropoda were the most dominant orders at all stations (Figure 2A). Among Insecta, Ephemeroptera was the most abundant in M’Basso station (1,505 individuals e.g. 71.12%) and Yèrè Yèrè1 station (591 individuals e.g. 44.24%). Whereas, Heteroptera was abundant in Manzan station (499 individuals e.g. 82.75%) and Diptera was highest with in Pont Bettié station (429 individuals e.g. 37.21%) (Figure 2B). 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