Authors : Kolawole Farinloye

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 11 - November

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3p77en9p

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/hu34ku8a

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25nov493

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Abstract : The urban watercourses of Middlesbrough, Marton West Beck and Spencer Beck, represent a complex legacy of industrial and urban pressure. This study moves beyond qualitative assessment to develop a quantitative model linking anthropogenic stressors to ecological degradation. Through a spatiotemporal sampling regime (n=240 water samples; 12 benthic macroinvertebrate surveys), we applied principal component analysis (PCA) to isolate dominant pollution gradients, identifying industrial effluent signatures (heavy metals: Pb, Zn, Cr) and urban runoff (Total Suspended Solids, hydrocarbons) as primary components explaining 78% of the variance in water quality. A multiple linear regression model revealed that a composite index of these pollutants significantly predicted a decline in the Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT) biotic index (F(4, 235) = 42.7, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.68). Furthermore, a Mann-Whitney U test confirmed that reaches with structural modifications (channelization, culverting) exhibited significantly lower Shannon-Wiener diversity indices (U = 112, p < 0.01) compared to semi-natural reference reaches. While mitigation efforts have yielded a marginal but statistically significant (p < 0.05) 12% improvement in ASPT scores over the last five years, the model forecasts a recovery timeline exceeding two decades at current intervention rates. These results provide a rigorous, empirical basis for prioritising remediation, demonstrating that the ecological integrity of the becks is constrained by a quantifiable, multi-factorial anthropogenic legacy requiring targeted, integrated catchment management.

Keywords : Ecological Resources, Urban Sprawls, Anthropogenic Activities, Marton West Beck, Spencer Beck, United Kingdom.

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