Monitoring of Neotropical Streams Using Macroinvertebrate Communities: Evidence from Honduras

Stefano Fenoglio,Alberto Doretto

doi:10.3390/environments8040027

Abstract

Assessing the water quality by using biological indicators is a reliable and economically feasible way to promote environmental conservation in developing tropical countries. Here, we report one of the few examples of river biomonitoring in Honduras. In June 2005, benthic macroinvertebrates were collected from six sites in the Río Cangrejal basin. An adapted version of the Biological Monitoring Working Party index (BMWP) was used to assess the water quality because it is simple, consolidated, relatively easy to use, and needs a family-level identification. Moreover, two other community metrics were calculated, namely the total taxon richness and local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD). Differences in the biomonitoring and diversity metrics among sites and their correlations were statistically tested. Thirty-nine macroinvertebrate taxa were collected and, despite significant differences in the BMWP score, all sampling sites were classified in the high environmental quality class. A very strong and positive correlation between the BMPW and taxon richness was found, while LCBD did not vary significantly and did not correlate with the other metrics. Our results suggest that taxon richness could be used as a surrogate indicator to assess the water quality when consolidate biomonitoring methods are not available.

Highlights

In the last decades, the biological monitoring of running water systems has become increasingly important and, in many countries, it has become an indispensable complement to traditional chemical–physical techniques in the evaluation of human impacts [1]
Our results suggest that taxon richness could be used as a surrogate indicator to assess the water quality when consolidate biomonitoring methods are not available
Biological Monitoring Working Party index (BMWP) score varied significantly among sites (χ2 = 14.460, p = 0.013): the lowest score was recorded in Río Viejo, while the highest score was observed in Río El

Summary

Introduction

The biological monitoring of running water systems has become increasingly important and, in many countries, it has become an indispensable complement to traditional chemical–physical techniques in the evaluation of human impacts [1]. Benthic macroinvertebrates are widely used in biomonitoring due to their sensitivity to multiple changes in both the chemical characteristics of the water and the physical properties of the habitats [2,3,4]. Benthic macroinvertebrates have overwhelmed other taxonomic groups (e.g., microorganisms, algae and plants, amphibians, and fish) as biological indicators since the publication of the River Continuum Concept [5,6]. Multiple community metrics might be selected depending on the type of human-mediated alteration, making the river biomonitoring more effective and stressor-specific [7].

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Discussion

Conclusion