Adopting Workable Methods for Stream Water Quality Monitoring in Zambia

Abstract

Invertebrates are among the most ubiquitous and diverse organisms that play a central ecological role in many freshwater ecosystems. However, the diversity and community composition of these organisms are affected by many physical, chemical and biological factors which are introduced naturally or by human (anthropogenic) activities into the stream systems. A study was conducted to assess the impact of water quality on invertebrate species abundance, diversity and richness in the Mwekera stream in Kitwe district on the Copperbelt Province in Zambia. The study also examined the potential use of invertebrates as indicators of water quality using the South African scoring system version 5 (SASS 5) as a standard. The invertebrate community of the stream was studied to Order level of taxonomy in the dry season from July to August 2014. Across the sampling sites, a total of 106 invertebrate individuals belonging to 12 Orders were collected. The Shannon-Wiener diversity Index was calculated in relation to four water quality parameters namely, pH, conductivity, redox and temperature. The study revealed that species diversity along the stream was significantly different ( p 0.05) was found between diversity and redox. Overall, water quality seemed to have had effect on species diversity, abundance and richness of the invertebrate community which therefore can be used as bio-indicators to aquatic health.