Use of biocoenosis data in water quality monitoring

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Miettinen, Veijo¹ | Heinonen, Pertti²

Note: [1] Veijo Miettinen is a biologist working in the Water and Environment Research Institute of the National Board of Waters and Environment, Finland (PB 250, 00101 Helsinki, Finland). His special topics are toxicity assessment of effluents and chemicals, studies on fish physiology and pollutants in biological chains.

Note: [2] Pertti Heinonen is a limnologist working in the Water and Environment Research Institute of the National Board of Waters and Environment, Finland (PB 250, 00101 Helsinki, Finland). He is also a lecturer in regional limnology at the University of Helsinki. His special topics are biological methods, regional limnology, water quality classification and water statistics.

Abstract: Experts agree that it is not sufficient to monitor the state of watercourses using exclusively physical-chemical variables. Instead it is considered necessary to complement them with monitoring the most important constituents of the biocoenosis. Changes in water quality can also be indicated through biocoenosis. Suitable eutrophication indices are the mean concentrations of phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) and of periphyton on artificial substrates of the growing season. Changes in benthic fauna, particularly changes in species composition constitute a good monitoring object. Monitoring of many bioaccumulating substances and compounds which appear in low concentrations requires studies of organisms which are indigenous to the watercourse. Alternatively organism may be incubated in the watercourse under study for a fixed period of time. In many cases, particularly in recipient waters of industrial waste-water, it is necessary to use various biotests as well as toxicity tests.

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-1988-5306

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 263-270, 1988