Protocolos de uso de macroinvertebrados bioindicadores para avaliação da qualidade da água – uma revisão bibliográfica

Abstract

Watersheds have been suffering a lot from anthropic action. In these ecosystems, there is a need for research that analyzes this degradation and that with this these water bodies are conserved and protected. One of the most used means for this type of analysis is the use of benthic macroinvertebrates, they are excellent bioindicators of environmental quality and are easy to collect and analyze. Its population data can be applied in indices or protocols that allow classifying water bodies according to the amount of pollution. For this reason, it was seen the importance of analyzing how these protocols and environmental quality assessment indexes that use macroinvertebrates work. With this, an exploratory research was carried out on these protocols, based on already prepared materials and second hand documentary research. The works were read using objective techniques of scanning, skimming and study reading. The Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) protocols were evaluated; Average Score per Taxon (ASTP); Family Biotic Index (IBF); Rapid Assessment Protocol (PAR); EPT – Proportion Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Tricoptera; Benthic Community Index (ICB); toxicity test (LD50) and relationships with chemical and physical variables. In each of the protocols or indices, the metrics used (absence, presence, richness and diversity), practical applications, advantages and disadvantages of the protocols were verified. The investigated protocols are effective for identifying, measuring, interpreting, valuing and predicting impacts of pollutants discharged into water. The only vulnerability refers to the quantification of waste disposed in the environment, and therefore the need for complementary physical and chemical methods. Although the BMWP and ASPT are the most used for Brazilian river ecosystems, the EPT and ICB indices have shown promise, being more efficient in some situations. The protocols must be accompanied by the execution of toxicological tests, as something other than organic pollution can be radiographed. In this way, it is important to know the reactivity of invertebrates to waste dumped in the water and the limits they can withstand, in order to diagnose the health of aquatic ecosystems.