Macroinvertebrates and Water Quality

Presenter: Higinio Lopez-Paz

Co-Presenter(s):
Manuel Ponce, Esteban Salcedo

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 19-20

Semester: Spring

Department: Biology

Funding Source/Sponsor: Class Project

Abstract:
Aquatic macroinvertebrates can be used as a proxy to determine the health of a water source because of their sensitivity to dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and nutrient load. As water quality can temporarily fluctuate with transient events such as rainstorms, macroinvertebrates provide a more sustained measure of overall stream health in the long term. For this study, we evaluated the existing literature to survey the conditions where macroinvertebrates have been used as indicators of freshwater health, and how this has been beneficial to management practices. We highlight case studies from two different watersheds located in Nepal and in China. In both cases, the health of macroinvertebrates proved more effective than direct measurement of stream health indicators such as dissolved oxygen and temperature. The results from our literature analysis can be used by land managers and environmental conservation organizations to better monitor the health of stream habitats.