Benthic macroinvertebrates diversity and water quality assessment at Sungai Congkak recreational area, Hulu Langat, Selangor

Abstract

A study on benthic macroinvertebrates diversity and water quality assessment was conducted at Sungai Congkak recreational area in Hulu Langat, Selangor. Sums of eight sampling stations were selected with a distance of 100-200 m interval between each station. Benthic macroinvertebrates was sampled using a Surber net, while water sampling and analysis were undertaken according to HACH standard methods. A total of 3754 individuals from 40 families of benthic macroinvertebrates were recorded at this river. Ecological indices namely Shannon diversity index (2.49), Pielou evenness index (0.77) and Margalef richness index (4.06) demonstrate that Sungai Congkak is at good condition and benthic macroinvertebrates has homogeneous distribution along the sampling sites. Elmidae, Hydrophilidae, Baetidae and Perlidae were most dominant families present in that area and adapted progressively with excellent water quality (> 300 individuals). As regards to Malaysian's Water Quality Index (WQI), the study area at Sungai Congkak is classified in class I which has good water quality conditions. The Pearson correlation test indicates that ecological indices have strong correlation toward WQI at all sampling stations. As a conclusion, the benthic macroinvertebrates and WQI data demonstrated that Sungai Congkak is clean and suitable as recreational stream based on this study.