Regional Ecological Health or Risk Assessments of Stream Ecosystems Using Biomarkers and Bioindicators of Target Species (Pale Chub)

Abstract

Region-specific species are important as a target indicator to diagnose the ecological health or degree of impairment at various levels in aquatic ecosystems. An issue related to the selection of the target species, however, is that, if preliminary tests are not carried out, the species selected may not be an appropriate or representative candidate for biomarker or bioindicator analysis. This contribution outlines the screening process that culminated in the selection of pale chub (Zacco platypus) as the target species for evaluating ecological stream health in South Korea. Biochemical/blood chemistry response biomarkers and fish population and community model bioindicators were tested on the target species, and biomarker and bioindicator relationships with physical habitat health and water chemistry data were evaluated. A self-organizing map (SOM) was used to test the relevance of the target species. Overall, the results confirmed that the target species was suitable key indicator for regional ecological health assessments.