Water Research Commission K52350 – Citizen Science.

GroundTruth engaged in a three year research project funded by the WRC of South Africa. The project was titled: “The development and application of Periphyton as Indicators of flow and nutrient alterations for the management of water resources in South Africa”.

The objectives of the research were to a) expand the existing knowledge on temporal patterns in periphyton community structure in a winter rainfall region, and b) provide the information necessary for setting preliminary thresholds of trophic status for these periphyton. Overall, this research aimed to understand the key drivers of periphyton community structure and establish a guideline for future evaluations and monitoring of river condition using periphyton throughout South Africa.

The project involved the collection of field samples of algae and periphyton, in addition to water quality and temperature data, from sites in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa. The project involved data analysis, statistical modelling, GIS mapping, interpretation and the dissemination of information in the form of published WRC report and several steering committee meeting presentations.