Water quality assessment in an irrigation pond based on adult caddisfly (Insecta: Trichoptera) assemblages

Abstract

Caddisfly fauna are abundant benthic organisms in freshwater ecosystems and are considered effective bioindicators of water quality. A study of caddisfly biodiversity and its application for use as an indicator species to assess water quality in aquatic environments was conducted in an irrigation pond at the Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand. The specimens were sampled monthly from January to December 2020 by portable light traps. A total of 2,771 adult male caddisflies, representing 7 families, 14 genera, and 30 species, were determined over a period of one year. The four most common species (Setodes gangaya, Cheumatopsyche lucida, Paduniella sampati, and Ecnomus puro) made up approximately 75.49% of the total male abundance. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that nitrate-nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen, sulfate, pH, and dissolved oxygen were the most influential environmental parameters on Trichoptera assemblages. Caddisfly species Ecnomus puro, E. mammus, and E. utto were positively related to sulfate, whereas Leptocerus lampunensis, Setodes melanippos, and Cheumutopsyche schwendingeri were negatively related. Species of Paduniella sampati, Pseudoneureclipsis tramot, Setodes gangaya, and Leptocerus dirghachuka were positively related to nitrate-nitrogen. The results of this study revealed that the order Trichoptera, identified by species, can be potentially used to assess environmental water quality status in freshwater ecosystems.