User:Cedarwaxwing25/Benthos

Ecological Role

Benthos as Bioindicators

Benthic macro-invertebrates play a critical role in aquatic ecosystems. These organisms can be used to indicate the presence, concentration, and effect of water pollutants in the aquatic environment. Some water contaminants--such as nutrients, chemicals from surface runoff, and metals^[1]--settle in the sediment of river beds, where many benthos reside. Benthos are highly sensitive to contamination, so the close proximity to high pollutant concentrations make these organisms prime for studying water contamination^[2].

Benthos

^ "Major Contaminants | Contaminated Sediments | US EPA". archive.epa.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
^ Rodrigues, Carolina; Guimarães, Laura; Vieira, Natividade (2019-08-01). "Combining biomarker and community approaches using benthic macroinvertebrates can improve the assessment of the ecological status of rivers". Hydrobiologia. 839 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1007/s10750-019-03991-7. ISSN 1573-5117.

[1] "Major Contaminants | Contaminated Sediments | US EPA". archive.epa.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-12.

[2] Rodrigues, Carolina; Guimarães, Laura; Vieira, Natividade (2019-08-01). "Combining biomarker and community approaches using benthic macroinvertebrates can improve the assessment of the ecological status of rivers". Hydrobiologia. 839 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1007/s10750-019-03991-7. ISSN 1573-5117.

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