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User:NMS Bill/Biomonitoring restructuring project/Aquatic biomonitoring

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Aquatic biomonitoring, also referred to as biomonitoring is the science of inferring the ecological condition of an area by examining the organisms that live there. Although biomonitoring can occur in any ecosystem, it is most often used to assess water quality of rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands.

Biomonitoring typically takes two approaches:

  • Bioassays, where test organisms are exposed to an environment to see if mutations or deaths occur. Typical organisms used in bioassays are fish, water fleas (Daphnia), and frogs.

Aquatic invertebrates have the longest history of use in biomonitoring programs.[2] In typical unpolluted temperate streams of Europe and North America, certain insect taxa predominate. Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), caddisflies (Trichoptera), and stoneflies (Plecoptera) are the most common insects in these undisturbed streams. In rivers disturbed by urbanization, agriculture, forestry, and other perturbations, flies (Diptera), and especially midges (family Chironomidae) predominate.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Karr, James R. (1981). "Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities." Fisheries 6:21–27.
  2. ^ Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. "Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Streams and Wadeable Rivers: Periphyton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Fish, Second Edition." EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water; Washington, D.C.
  • Rosenberg, D.M. and V.H. Resh (eds.) 1993. "Freshwater biomonitoring and benthic macroinvertebrates." Chapman and Hall, New York. 488 p.
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