A New Model for Organic Contamination Assessments Using Benthic Macroinvertebrates as Biological Indicators

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to develop a model for organic pollution assessment. Seven sampling sites in six rivers in the Rawang sub-basin, Selangor River, Malaysia, were selected with one reference site. The sampling sites near the fish farm were used to develop the model. SR2 was used for the validation of the developed model. Benthic macroinvertebrates and water sampling were conducted from April 2019 to March 2020. The Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and regression were conducted to select the most representing benthic macroinvertebrates family. Based on the score value (variance coefficient) of each benthic macroinvertebrates family, the cumulative score value of each sampling site was calculated (i.e., 18=6 sampling sites x 3 replicates). The nine benthic macroinvertebrate families (Baetidae, Libellulidae, Protoneuridae Chironomidae, Curbicullidae Hydropchysidae, Tubificidae, Lumbriculiade, and Naididae) were identified using PCA and regression. The cluster analysis and mean confidence intervals were used to classify water quality classes precisely. Finally, three different value scales were produced to represent the level of contamination (i.e., <0.69 as organically polluted, 0.69-0.87 as slightly organic polluted, and >0.87 as clean status). The newly developed model was validated. The results produced after validation were better than the water quality status from other studies based on the BMWP/BMWPThai score. This study concludes that the developed model can evaluate river organic contamination successfully. model can evaluate river organic contamination successfully.

Assessing the level of organic farming development in the European countries

“…Organic farming systems can be more resilient to climate change and contribute to overall health ecosystems, making them a critical component of sustainable agriculture. However, on the other hand, organic farming can also cause organic pollution in the surrounding area (Hettige et al, 2023), which will threaten the ecological state of the environment. It is also equally important to consider the qualitative composition of the soil and fertilizers applied during organic farming to minimize the negative impact on the general ecological state of the environment (Arynov et al, 2021).…”

Benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators to detect the level of water pollution in the upstream segment of Brantas River Watershed in Malang, East Java, Indonesia

“…The number of organisms is also affected by fluctuations in the physical and chemical characteristics of aquatic environments, such as water conditions, substrate composition, and currents (Odountan et al 2019). An instance of the basic substrate's condition, characterized by muddy sand and a high amount of organic substrate, leads to a diminished presence of benthic macroinvertebrate (Hettige et al 2023). In the context of aquatic ecosystems, it has been observed that the river riffle characterized by substantial rock and gravel substrates exhibits the most pronounced abundance and productivity of macroinvertebrate species.…”