Biological assessment of the Zayandeh Rud River, Iran, using benthic macroinvertebrates

Nemati Varnosfaderany, M. Ebrahimi, E. Mirghaffary, N. and Sofyanian, A.R. Journal of Limnologica (40). 226-232.

a b s t r a c t:

Benthic macroinvertebrate communities from the middle of Zayandeh Rud River were analyzed
monthly during 1 year at 8 stations, in order to assess changes in their diversity and richness in relation
to water quality. Two major groups of sites based on similarity between macroinvertebrate
communities were identified by cluster analysis. The performances of the original and revised BMWP
score systems were assessed by comparing the community structure indices of benthic macroinvertebrates
along with physico-chemical parameters of the water. The biotic indices (BMWP, ASPT, revised
BMWP and ASPT) showed better correlation with water quality parameters than that of the richness
and diversity indices. The revised ASPT had the highest correlation with water quality parameters. It
seems that the application of the revised BMWP score system could be useful for assessment of the
water quality in Zayandeh Rud River.