What Can Biological Monitoring Tell Us about the Environmental Health of Aquatic Ecosystems

摘要

Biological monitoring offers a proven, cost-effective way to evaluate the health of aquatic ecosystems. Macroinvertebrates have been sampled for many years, but only recently have rigorous multimetric indices been suggested for them. These indices have not yet been tested as widely as the IBI. Quantitative biological data from relatively undisturbed reference sites typical of aquatic ecoregions provide benchmark information, hence these sites serve as 'controls' in 'experiments' with anthropogenic perturbations. The information can be used to evaluate data for a particular site of interest or, if a representative sample is drawn, for entire ecoregions. The paper focuses on biological monitoring because of the current emphasis on chemical monitoring; it is not meant to suggest that chemical, physical habitat, and toxicological monitoring are valueless. Rather, quantitative criteria developed from all four types of monitoring are necessary tools for improved water resource regulation and management.