The Use of Biological Indices for the Assessment of the River Quality (Ruda River, Poland)

Abstract

Recognition of the deteriorating conditions of rivers worldwide has called for increased efforts to improve the ecological quality of impacted river systems. This is particularly important in areas that have suffered from a significant impact of human pressure on the ecological status of water. Field studies were conducted in the Ruda River in an area that had undergone anthropogenic disturbances. The objectives of our survey were to test the biological metrics based on benthic macroinvertebrates at four study sites. Spring and autumn surveys of benthic invertebrates indicated that based on the BMWP and BMWP(PL) indices, water quality was higher in comparison with the value of Multimetric index at all of the sites that were studied. Our results revealed that the water quality was higher at the study sites that are located above the dam reservoir based on both the chemical and biological parameters. This study also indicated that both spring and autumn constitute appropriate periods for carrying out monitoring studies. The values of multimeric index indicated the same water quality (except for site 1) in both sampling periods. Anthropogenic transformations of a riverbed influence the flora and fauna and affect the ecological status of rivers.

Impact of COVID-19 Nationwide Lockdowns and Unlock Phases in India on River Water Quality of Upper Part of the Ganga River

“…In addition, the quality of water also depends on its origin and change in climate [67,68]. For the last 100 years, river ecosystems are one of the most exploited and vulnerable environmental compartments of the aquatic biomes [67,[69][70]. The decline in biodiversity is one of the major threats to the hydrological and biological sustainability of aquatic biomes.…”

Rwenzori Score (RS): A Benthic Macroinvertebrate Index for Biomonitoring Rivers and Streams in the Rwenzori Region, Uganda

“…Therefore, affirming that several of the protected area sites are negatively influenced by anthropic activities such as rapid urbanization and unplanned human settlements, in particular via nutrient enrichment. There have been debates in several publications concerning the performance of predictive models and biotic indices [30,[104][105][106][107]. Each of these applications has key advantages and limitations, and before the Rwenzori Score development process, we gauged for the plausibility and applicability of these approaches.…”

Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Variations of Surface Water Quality in the Nile River Damietta Branch

“…Four metals (Pb, Cu, Cd, and Ni) were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Briefly, 300 cm 3 aliquot of the water sample is taken in a 500 cm 3 conical flask and boiled over a hot plate until the volume is reduced to 100 cm 3 . The digestion of the water samples was then achieved by the method described by APHA [15].…”

“…Domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes are the main sources of river water pollution [2,3]. Also, there are different types of wastes such as motor parts, a scrap of cars, engines, cans types, etc.…”