1. Claudette Kellar Research Summit August 2016
Paratya australiensis: Their Use as a Bioindicator of Impairment in Freshwater Streams
Claudette Kellar
Research Summit August 2016
One of CAPIMs aims is to develop new tools to use in a weight of evidence approach to help understand biological impairment in various catchments.
One of the tools developed is assessing impacts on shrimp in a field setting. Today I am going to give an overview of how we have used Paratya in catchment studies to understand impacts from various stressors.

2. Paratya australiensis
Common shrimp throughout eastern Australia
Important food source for native biota
Contributes to the majority of macroinvertebrate biomass
Important role in ecosystem processes
Detrital decomposition
Graze extensively on biofilms
So Paratya is common and abundant throughout eastern australia and contributes to the majority of macroinvertebrate biomass. Hence it is an important food source for many of our native biota, particularly fish species.
They play an important role in ecosystem processes including break down of leaf litter and other detritus and graze heavily of biofilms, directly influencing the structure of algal and benthic invertebrate communities.

3. Catchment Studies One way to measure biological stress in situ
Part of a battery of tests to assess stream condition and factors causing biological impairment
Condition of P. australiensis assessed in two ways:
Cage studies: lethal and sub lethal effects
In situ collections: sub lethal effects
The idea of using shrimp in catchment studies is to try and measure stress in situ in the environment. The advantage of this is that we can look at effects of stressors on individuals directly and while potentially reducing costs of continual sampling of the water to measure contaminants in the water.
Measuring biological stress in shrimp is part of a number of tests that is used together to assess stream condition and the stressors causing biological impairment.
The co

4. Sub-lethal effects: Biomarkers
Identify causal link between chemical exposure and biological effects
Provide evidence of ecosystem impairment
An early warning indicator that organisms under stress prior to higher level effects

5. Enzyme Biomarkers Carboxylesterase (CBE)
Found in hepatopancreas of shrimp
Involved in detoxification/biotransformation of organic chemicals, such as synthetic pyrethroids, in a range of organisms
Biomarker of SP (increased activity)
Glutathione S Transferase (GST)
Involved in detoxification and oxidative stress responses
General biomarker

6. Methods: Caging Experiment
Shrimp collected from reference site
Maintained in laboratory in site water for seven days
6-8 shrimp put in each cage: 5 cages per site
Transported to the field and left at each site for 7-10 days
Collected and survival counted and stored on dry ice for biomarker analysis

7. Methods: In situ Collection
Shrimp collected from each site
Aim to get 30 individuals from each site
Collected and stored on dry ice for biomarker analysis

8. Methods: Biomarker Preparation
Each shrimp weighed and length measured
Hepatopancreas removed and weighed for each shrimp
Two individuals pooled for GST activity measurements
One individual used for CBE activity measurements

9. Catchment Study: Identifying the Factors Influencing Aquatic Ecosystem Health in the Upper Jacksons Creek Catchment 2013/2014
Aims: Determine and identify the key stressors impacting the health of aquatic fauna in Jacksons Creek
Jacksons Creek
Urban Area
upstream and downstream of the RWP
Cattle
Deep Creek
Reference Site

10. Chemistry Results - x Nutrients high throughout catchment
Control
Urban
RWP
Farming
Reference
Jacksons
JPS
Jacksons JURWP
JDRWP
JSC
Chemistry - x
Nutrients high throughout catchment
Pollution Prevalent:
Jacksons Creek at Prince Street JPS
high TPH, Pb, Zn, synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (bifenthrin), herbicides (atrazine, simazine, diuron)
RWP and downstream
herbicides: simazine and diuron, estrogens)

11. Results: Caged Shrimp

12. Cage Shrimp BiomarkersAB A B
(4)
(5) A
(5)
(4)
Site
No difference in CBE Activity although highest at JPS and JDRWP
No difference in GST Activity between sites

13. Shrimp In situ Biomarkers
(12)
(5)
(20)
(15)
(16)
(7)
(5)
(12)
(14)
(16)
Site
Higher CBE Activity at site JPS compared to reference site
No difference in GST Activity between sites although highest at JPS

14. Conclusions
Increased CBE activity in in situ shrimp at the urban site JPS
Increased CBE activity and GST in cage shrimp at site JPS and DRWP although not significant
Paratya australiensis is a useful organism to detect biological impairment in rivers.
Increase exposure time in cages – 7 days to 10 days

15. Shrimp utilised in catchment studies
Westernport 2015/2016: Pesticide Sourcing and Aquatic Flora and Fauna Assessment
No survival at one site in western contour (highest pesticides)
Higher GST at WES 1 (elevated pesticides) compared to reference
Results indicate pollution is having an affect on P. australiensis (lethal and sub lethal effects).

16. Shrimp utilised in catchment studies
Broken 2015/2016: Lower Broken Creek and Nine Mile Creek macroinvertebrate assessment
Lethal effects observed in cage studies at two sites
No difference in GST activity
Results indicate pollution is having an affect on P. australiensis.

17. Bioindicator: Paratya australiensis
Both in situ and caged Paratya australiensis provide useful information about the condition of stream
Caging experiments:
Sensitive enough to see lethal effects at sites
Biomarkers are able to provide some stress responses
In situ collections
Information on the condition of shrimp useful (length and weight)

18. Future Work
Lab exposures on different aged shrimp: toxicants, temperature, flow
Set up a culture of Paratya australiensis
Investigate the ecology of Paratya australiensis

19. Temperature Exposure Lab Experiment
Aim: To measure GST in shrimp exposed to different temperatures: 10⁰C, 16 ⁰C, 21 ⁰C
Shrimp collected from Deep Creek
Experiment ran for 10 days

20. Temperature Exposure Lab Experiment
10 days