Abstract
Macroinvertebrates are without spinal cord living organisms that spend their main phases of metamorphosis in water; so, changing the ecological structure of their communities represents environmental health condition. The main purpose of this study was to identify the macroinvertebrate families as a biological indicator and, consequently, determining the water ecological quality in the Ghezel Ozan River, NW Iran. The sampling was conducted at 18 stations in autumn 2017. At the same time, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, fecal and total coliform, BOD5, COD, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chloride, and sulfate were measured based on APHA in each station. Then, based on the collected data, the NSFWQI, IRWQIsc, EQR, and BMWP/ASPT indices were calculated. In total, 1778 individual belong to 12 orders and 22 families were identified, which the most abundant order was Ephemeroptera by 47.8%. Except for the pH, COD, DO, and nitrogen compounds, other studied parameters were exceeded from their acceptable level. It seems that the geological characteristics are very effective in changing the parameters especially salinity. The best water quality was at Kharmaneh-Sar station (7), which runs from the protected area at high altitudes without human pressure. Also, the trend of water quality decreases from the upstream to downstream, which is completely in line with human activities. Therefore, the results of this study can well illustrate the role of land use and geology changes on the macroinvertebrate communities, which can be used to evaluate the ecological integrity of the river. Regular monitoring of river water quality and controlling and managing the quantity and quality of fish farms along the river can help in the ecological health of the river.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aazami, J., Esmaili-Sari, A., Abdoli, A., Sohrabi, H., & Van den Brink, P. J. (2015a). Monitoring and assessment of water health quality in the Tajan River, Iran using physicochemical, fish and macroinvertebrates indices. Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering, 13(1), 29.
Aazami, J., Sari, A. E., Abdoli, A., Sohrabi, H., & Van den Brink, P. J. (2015b). Assessment of ecological quality of the Tajan River in Iran using a multimetric macroinvertebrate index and species traits. Environmental management, 56(1), 260–269.
Aazami, J., Moradpour, H., Zamani, A., & Kianimehr, N. (2018). Ecological quality assessment of Kor River in Fars Province using macroinvertebrates indices. International Journal of Environmental Science Technology, 17(4), 1–10.
Abdosalehi, E., Banejad, H., & Abyaneh, H. Z. (2009). Conceptual considerations concerning water quality of Gezel-Ozan River in Iran. In Thirteenth International Water Technology Conference, IWTC (Vol. 13)
APHA, A. (2015). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (p. 20). Washington, DC: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
Appalasamy, S., Arumugam, N., Sukri, S., & Eh Rak, A. (2018). Physico-chemical water quality and macroinvertebrate distribution along Sungai Asah in Pulau Tioman, Johor, Malaysia. Songklanakarin Journal of Science Technology, 40(6), 1–6.
Assine, M. L., & Silva, A. J. G. (2009). Contrasting fluvial styles of the Paraguay River in the northwestern border of the Pantanal wetland, Brazil. 113(3-4)189–199.
Banagar, G., Riazi, B., Rahmani, H., & Jolodar, M. N. (2018). Monitoring and assessment of water quality in the Haraz River of Iran, using benthic macroinvertebrates indices. [journal article]. Biologia, 73(10), 965–975. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0107-5.
Birmingham, M., Heimdal, D., Hubbard, T., Krier, K., Leopold, R., Luzier, J., et al. (2005). Benthic Macroinvertebrate key (Lowarter). USA.
Carvalho, L., Mackay, E. B., Cardoso, A. C., Baattrup-Pedersen, A., Birk, S., Blackstock, K. L., Borics, G., Borja, A., Feld, C. K., Ferreira, M. T., Globevnik, L., Grizzetti, B., Hendry, S., Hering, D., Kelly, M., Langaas, S., Meissner, K., Panagopoulos, Y., Penning, E., Rouillard, J., Sabater, S., Schmedtje, U., Spears, B. M., Venohr, M., van de Bund, W., & Solheim, A. L. (2019). Protecting and restoring Europ’'s waters: an analysis of the future development needs of the Water Framework Directive. Science of the Total Environment, 658, 1228–1238.
Chapman, D. V. (2012). Water quality assessments: a guide to the use of biota, sediments and water in environmental monitoring. CRC Press.
Cordell, D., Rosemarin, A., Schröder, J. J., & Smit, A. (2011). Towards global phosphorus security: A systems framework for phosphorus recovery and reuse options. Chemosphere, 84(6), 747–758.
Gao, H., Xie, Y., Hashim, S., Akhtar Khan, A., Wang, X., & Xu, H. J. W. (2018). Application of Microbial technology used in bioremediation of urban polluted river: a case study of Chengnan River, China. 10(5)643.
Jolodar, M. N., & Abdoli, A. (2011). Benthic macroinvertebrates response in the Haraz river to the trout farms effluent. Journal of Fisheries, 2, 163–175.
Karaouzas, I., Smeti, E., Kalogianni, E., & Skoulikidis, N. T. (2019). Ecological status monitoring and assessment in Greek rivers: Do macroinvertebrate and diatom indices indicate same responses to anthropogenic pressures? Ecological Indicators, 101, 126–132.
Kripa, P., Prasanth, K., Sreejesh, K., & Thomas, T. (2013). Aquatic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of stream water quality-a case study in Koratty, Kerala, India. Research Journal of Recent Sciences, 2(7), 25–35.
Li, S., Gu, S., Tan, X., & Zhang, Q. (2009). Water quality in the upper Han River basin, China: the impacts of land use/land cover in riparian buffer zone. Journal of hazardous materials, 165(1-3), 317–324.
Madani, K. (2014). Water management in Iran: what is causing the looming crisis? Journal of Environmental Studies, 4(4), 315–328.
Meghdadi, A., & Eyvazi, M. (2017). Multi-level qualification of parafluvial exchange within the hyporheic zone affected by river sinuosity and seasonal change using multi-tracer methods.
Mehrdadi, N., Nabi Bidhendi, G., Nasrabadi, T., Hoveidi, H., Amjadi, M., & Shojaee, M. (2009). Monitoring the arsenic concentration in groundwater resources, case study: Ghezel ozan water basin, Kurdistan, Iran. Asian Journal of Chemistry, 21(1), 446–450.
Misaghi, F., Delgosha, F., Razzaghmanesh, M., & Myers, B. (2017). Introducing a water quality index for assessing water for irrigation purposes: a case study of the Ghezel Ozan River. Science of the Total Environment, 589(4), 107–116.
Mojtahedi, A., & Basmenji, A. B. (2017). Numerical and field investigation of the impacts of the bank protection projects on the fluvial hydrodynamics (case study: Ghezel Ozan River). International Journal of Engineering Technology, 9(6), 492.
Nguyen, H. H., Everaert, G., Gabriels, W., Hoang, T. H., & Goethals, P. L. M. (2014). A multimetric macroinvertebrate index for assessing the water quality of the Cau river basin in Vietnam. Limnologica, 45, 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2013.10.001.
Noori, R., Berndtsson, R., Hosseinzadeh, M., Adamowski, J. F., & Abyaneh, M. R. (2019). A critical review on the application of the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index. Environmental Pollution, 244, 575–587.
Parchianloo, R., Rahimi, R., Sadr, M. K., Karbasi, A. R., & Gharagozlo, A. (2017). Design a new model to evaluate the ecological potential land for urban development and service (City of Zanjan). Open Journal of Ecology, 7(09), 581.
Rashid, R., & Pandit, A. K. (2014). Macroinvertebrates (oligochaetes) as indicators of pollution: a review. Journal of Ecology the Natural Environment, 6(4), 140–144.
Regina, N. M. M. (2012). Biological monitoring and pollution assessment of the Mukuvisi River, Harare, Zimbabwe. Lake Reservoirs: Research Management, 17(1), 73–80.
Santos Simões, F., Moreira, A. B., Bisinoti, M. C., Gimenez, S. M. N., & Yabe, M. J. S. (2008). Water quality index as a simple indicator of aquaculture effects on aquatic bodies. Ecological Indicators, 8(5), 476–484.
Sharifinia, M. (2015). Macroinvertebrates of the Iranian running waters: a review. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 27(4), 356–369.
Shokri, M., Rossaro, B., & Rahmani, H. J. B. (2014). Response of macroinvertebrate communities to anthropogenic pressures in Tajan River (Iran). [journal article]. Biologia, 69(10), 1395–1409. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-014-0448-7.
Shrestha, S., & Kazama, F. (2007). Assessment of surface water quality using multivariate statistical techniques: a case study of the Fuji river basin, Japan. Environmental Modelling Software, 22(4), 464–475.
Toudeshki, V. H. (2011). Recognation of geomorphic anomalies in the Ghezel Ozan River basin, NW Iran. World Applied Sciences, 12, 299–306.
Toudeshki, V. H., & Arian, M. (2011). Morphotectonic analysis in the Ghezel Ozan river basin, NW Iran. Journal of Geography and Geology, 3, 258–267.
Varnosfaderany, M. N., Ebrahimi, E., Mirghaffary, N., & Safyanian, A. (2010). Biological assessment of the Zayandeh Rud River, Iran, using benthic macroinvertebrates. Limnologica-Ecology Management of Inland Waters, 40(3), 226–232.
Zarezadeh Mehrizi, M. (2011). Water allocation in Ghezel-Ozan Basin under climate change using bankrupting in conflict resolution. PhD Dissertation, Tarbiat Modares University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aazami, J., KianiMehr, N. & Zamani, A. Ecological water health assessment using benthic macroinvertebrate communities (case study: the Ghezel Ozan River in Zanjan Province, Iran). Environ Monit Assess 191, 689 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7894-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7894-1