Monitoring of Neotropical Streams Using Macroinvertebrate Communities: Evidence from Honduras

Abstract

Assessing the water quality by using biological indicators is a reliable and economically feasible way to promote environmental conservation in developing tropical countries. Here, we report one of the few examples of river biomonitoring in Honduras. In June 2005, benthic macroinvertebrates were collected from six sites in the Río Cangrejal basin. An adapted version of the Biological Monitoring Working Party index (BMWP) was used to assess the water quality because it is simple, consolidated, relatively easy to use, and needs a family-level identification. Moreover, two other community metrics were calculated, namely the total taxon richness and local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD). Differences in the biomonitoring and diversity metrics among sites and their correlations were statistically tested. Thirty-nine macroinvertebrate taxa were collected and, despite significant differences in the BMWP score, all sampling sites were classified in the high environmental quality class. A very strong and positive correlation between the BMPW and taxon richness was found, while LCBD did not vary significantly and did not correlate with the other metrics. Our results suggest that taxon richness could be used as a surrogate indicator to assess the water quality when consolidate biomonitoring methods are not available.

Los modelos de cambio climático futuro como predictores de la reducción del área de distribución de dos especies de cíclidos endémicos de Honduras

“…Los escenarios de cambio climático pronostican que las condiciones climáticas serán cada vez más extremas, por lo que, es vulnerable al aumento del nivel del mar y a los cambios de temperatura y precipitación (Smith et al, 2011;Sanders et al, 2015). Además, de las diferentes actividades humanas realizadas en esta zona, la vulnerabilidad de la región agravada por la falta de estructuras de gobernanza efectivas, las altas tasas de crecimiento de la población y la urbanización, así como la mala planificación del uso de la tierra, son aspectos que acrecentaran la degradación ambiental y la destrucción del hábitat (Chacón-Rivas, 2003;Fenoglio & Doretto, 2021;Rodriguez-Dubon, 2021). Por lo que es necesario, trabajar con base en el desarrollo sostenible y la conservación de la biodiversidad de los ecosistemas dulceacuícolas con el fin de proteger la fauna dulceacuícola endémica como C. wesseli.…”

Monitoring and Management of Inland Waters

“…A thorough genetic screening of the broodstocks used for the reintroduction of beluga sturgeon (Huso huso L.) in the Po River basin (Italy) was performed by Antognazza et al [2] to assess the success of a captive breeding program. Fenoglio and Doretto [3] used benthic macroinvertebrate communities to investigate the quality of sites in the tropical Río Cangrejal basin (Honduras). Diatomic diversity was instead used by Padula et al [4] to assess the ecological quality of small temporary high-elevation lakes in the Apennine mountains (Italy).…”

“…The results presented in this Special Issue should be taken into account for improving both the monitoring and management of freshwater resources: (i) the wide distribution of potential harmful bacteria from river runoff or direct sewage dumping has an impact on human health that should be urgently reduced [1], (ii) a critical requirement for the success of programs for the reintroduction of locally extinct species is the knowledge of the genetic diversity of the selected broodstocks to ensure self-sustainability of the reintroduced populations [2], (iii) taxon richness of benthic macroinvertebrates could be used as a surrogate indicator to assess the water quality when consolidate biomonitoring methods are not available [3], (iv) the presence of endangered diatomic species of particular conservational interest in temporary basins affected by extended drought periods triggers the need for conservation strategies for vulnerable and unstable environments strongly threatened by climate changes [4], (v) long-term monitoring of ecosystem metabolism is required to assess alterations in the function of streams affected by hydrological and temperature alterations exacerbated by the climate change [5], (vi) common operative tools should be implemented for ecological flow assessment in order to make water resource management more sustainable [6], (vii) organic farming and biocontrol could be an alternative to diffuse pollution by agrochemicals, while environmental flows and controlled sediment flushing operations could limit the hydropower impact on rivers [8]. Moreover, the review by Salmaso et al [7] could support the proper design of monitoring plans aimed at assessing the ecological impacts of hydropeaking and the effects of possible mitigation strategies.…”