Effects of point source discharges on common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) along the Waikato River, New Zealand

ABSTRACT

The common bully (Gobiomorphus cotidianus) was used as a bioindicator to assess the impacts of geothermal, bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME), sewage, and thermal discharges in the Waikato River, Northern New Zealand. A range of morphological and physiological parameters were measured to assess fitness in fish sampled upstream and downstream from these point sources. Isotopic signatures gave evidence that fish were resident at sites and showed a gradient corresponding to site-specific sources of carbon and nitrogen along the river. There were changes in the size range and age structure of the populations but, no physiological responses were detected. Limited impacts were observed on common bully health at individual discharge sites, or downstream where the river showed gradual deterioration in water quality, particularly nutrient enrichment, and increased turbidity. Despite the gradual deterioration in water quality no concomitant cumulative impacts were observed in common bully. Responses were largely local in nature, responding to point-source discharges. Population responses at the geothermal and BKME discharge sites warrant further study to investigate possible effects on fish recruitment.

KEYWORDS:

• Fish health
• isotopes
• biomarkers
• sewage
• bleached kraft mill effluent
• geothermal

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dudley Bell, Alex Ring, Lee Laborie and fellow CBER students from the University of Waikato for help with catching and processing fish; Sean Taylor and Murray Smith from Forest Research (Scion) for assistance in catching fish and carrying out analyses; Christine Bezar (Landcare Research) for editorial comments, staff of Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust (especially Tim Manukau, Julian Williams and Norm Hill) and Waikato Regional Council (especially David Speirs) for ideas and support. Funding was provided by WRC, Carter Holt Harvey Kinleith Mill, the NZ Ministry for the Environment’s Sustainable Management Fund, and New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE C03X0902).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment Sustainable Management Fund; Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [grant number C03X0902].