Page 256 - Freshwater-Biology-and-Ecology-Handbook

CHAPTER 5 3.2 – 3.2.1 3.2.1 River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification
3.2 Analytical systems

Scheme (RIVPACS)

RIVPACS – River Invertebrate Prediction and

Classification Scheme
and

RICT – River Invertebrate Classification Tool

RIVPACS, implemented in the River Invertebrate Classification Tool
(RICT) software, does much more than determine river invertebrate status
classification. It is also useful for a wide range of investigations.

In addition to status classification, it can:

• predict the presence and abundance of species or families of invertebrates
that we should find in any stream in the UK in its near natural state

• predict the value of a wide range of biotic indices based on family or
species-level analysis that we should expect in any stream in the UK in its
near natural state.

An overview of RIVPACS is given in Chapter 3 Section 3.1.2 and for an outline of how
RIVPACS predicts a biotic index see Chapter 3 Section 3.1.3. RIVPACS must only be used
for samples collected and analysed by the standard methods described in Chapter 2.

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