Mikołaj Adamczyk, Paweł Prus
ABSTRACT. The paper presents the results of the State Monitoring Program to assess river ecological status based on ichthyofauna in 2017. The project was led by the Stanisław Sakowicz Inland Fisheries Institute in co-operation with several partner institutions. A total of 398 sites located in 392 river water bodies (RWB) were sampled with electrofishing according to standard Polish monitoring procedures. The total number of fish caught was almost 103,000 specimens representing 64 species, including 19 that are under various forms of protection and 16 that are foreign and/or invasive. The EFI+IBI_PL national assessment method, with the complementary diadromous index D, was used to assess the ecological status of 333 RWB. As many as 59 RWB were not classified because of a lack of fish, low fish numbers, or the occurrence of single species. Twenty-six percent of RWB were classified as least good ecological status, while only 13% of highly modified and artificial RWB were classified as having good ecological potential. In general, the results indicate the necessity of conducting stricter assessments using the IBI_PL index instead of the EFI+PL. There is an argument to calibrate literature-based IBI_PL class boundaries with data available from sites that are close to natural. Some recommendations for improving the method and changes in legislation are suggested.
Keywords: fish, rivers, ecological status, EFI+, IBI, environment monitoring
Przyjęto po recenzji 23.05.2019 r.