Abstract Aquatic environments are being modified by anthropogenic activities regarding their biological, physical, and chemical conditions; even pristine aquatic ecosystems can be threatened. Introduction The last few decades have witnessed increasing concerns about environmental problems produced by the anthropogenic degradation and misapplication of natural resources. Materials and Methods 2. Figure 1. Figure 2. Maroaga Cave entrance a left: internal view; b right: external view.
Figure 3. Maroaga Stream a left: internal view; b right: external view. Table 1. BMWP classes, scores, categories, and result interpretation adapted from Armitage et al. Table 2. Table 3. Aquatic macroinvertebrates present at each sampling location. References S. Loeb and A. Braga, and J. Tundisi, Eds.
View at: Google Scholar A. Buss, D. Baptista, and J. View at: Google Scholar D. View at: Google Scholar S. Couceiro, N. Hamada, B. Forsberg, T. Pimentel, and S. Callisto and F. View at: Google Scholar T. Monteiro, L. Oliveira, and B. View at: Google Scholar N. Hamada and R. Navas-Pereira and R. View at: Google Scholar I.
Nessimian and A. Carvalho, Eds. View at: Google Scholar W. Rosenberg and V. Junqueira, M. Amarante, and C. Gadelha and J. Alba-Tercedor and A. View at: Google Scholar J. View at: Google Scholar P.
Armitage, D. Moss, J. Wright, and M. When the biology of a waterbody is healthy, the chemical and physical components of the waterbody are also typically in good condition. In addition to benthic macroinvertebrates, scientists also evaluate algae and fish populations to come up with robust estimates of biological condition. Skip to main content. National Aquatic Resource Surveys.
Contact Us. Indicators: Benthic Macroinvertebrates. Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. In general, members of the taxonomic class Insecta comprise the overwhelming diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates in North America, which is conservatively estimated at approximately 11, unique species. For perspective, the biodiversity of freshwater fishes is estimated to be around unique species in North America!
In addition to their tremendous biodiversity, macroinvertebrates play critical roles in stream and river ecosystems. While many folks are likely aware of their contribution to fish production, they also serve as important conduits of energy between basal stream resources i. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are preferred over other freshwater organisms as bioindicators because they possess many of the hallmark traits of good bioindicators.
Specifically, they: 1. Are relatively long-lived and thus integrate conditions through time and space; 2.
Are ubiquitously found in perennial stream systems; 3. Exhibit a variety of life history strategies e. Can be sampled and identified in an efficient and cost-effective manner. For example, an unimpaired Rocky Mountains stream or river segment can contain more than 60 unique taxa representing a range of habitat preferences and life history strategies. This taxonomic and functional diversity can capture the myriad of responses to different stressors and disturbances such as fine sediment, metals, nutrients and hydrologic alterations.
Whereas regulators traditionally conducted chemical assays and directly measured physical parameters of stream systems e.
Consequently, bioindication is fundamentally different than classic measures of environmental quality and offers numerous advantages. In contrast, many chemical and physical measurements only characterize conditions at the time of sampling, increasing the probability of missing sporadic pulses of pollutants.
0コメント