Topic 13: Water Quality and Biomonitoring:

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Topic 13 Water Quality and Biomonitoring From
microbes to fish.

• Introduction
• Bacteria/Protozoa
• Benthic macroinvertebrates
• Fish

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• Introduction
• Use of bioindicators to integrate
• condition of stream water quality and
• habitat
• Biomarkers of environmental change
• Used by most states in wq
• monitoring programs
• B. Aquatic organisms directly respond
• to aspects of the environment
• integrate composite effects of multiple
• factors

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• C. Advantages of biomonitoring
• Organisms serve as continuous monitors
• of water quality and habitat condition
• Can detect chronic or sporadic
• disturbances/pollutants
• Changes in community structure

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• D. Disadvantages
• Responses of aquatic organisms integrate
• composite effects of multiple factors
• Cause/effect can be difficult to determine
• Differential use of resources (switch)
• High cost
• Slow processing

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• E. Bioindicators
• Bacteria/protozoa
• Aquatic macroinvertebrates
• Fish
• Algae

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• II. Bacteria/Protozoa and Water Quality
• Drinking water and contact recreation
• Giardia, Cryptosporidium
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Usually monitor total fecal coliform,
• E. coli
• C. Often associated with grazing in
• riparian zone

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III.
Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Flow regime Velocity, volume
Energy Source Nutrients Allochthonous
Debris Photosynthesis-Algae aquatic plants
Habitat Substrate types/diversity Channel
morph/gradient Floodplain shape/size Instream
cover Riparian veg Canopy cover Bank stability
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What do we measure?

• Density (count/area or vol)
• Relative abundance
• Relative dominance
• Taxa richness
• Number of pollution sensitive taxa
• Ephemeroptera/Plecoptera/Trichoptera (EPT)
• Feeding guilds
• Scrapers, shredders, collectors, filterers
• Community structure

Serber Sampler
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IV. Fish

• Visible, ecological, economic, cultural,
• political
• Density, biomass,
• growth rate
• Index of Biological
• Integrity (IBI)
• Fish community vs
• disturbance gradient

Electro-shocking
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Summary and lead-in to discussion of riparian
zones..
Stream geomorphology
Stream hydraulics
Stream biota
Riparian vegetation
Substrates