Biomonitoring of Paravur Lake in Kerala Using Macro-Invertebrates

摘要

Macro-invertebrates are the most commonly suggested bioindicators for biomonitoring and have been extensively studied in temperate areas. On the other hand, the methodology and theoretical background of biomonitoring have not yet been sufficiently adapted to tropical aquatic environments. Bioassessment/ biomonitoring is a reliable and holistic method of ecosystem assessment integrating water quality assessment, habitat assessment and biological assessment. Bio assessment protocol using macro-invertebrates was adapted from United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) and applied successfully in Paravur Lake, located on the southwest coast of Kerala. This lake is one of the ecologically degraded lakes due to certain anthropogenic activities. Three sites were selected in order to assess the health status of Paravur Lake. From the three sites selected, site I was less polluted (Reference Station), site It was slightly polluted and site III was heavily polluted. Category I macroorganisms were found in site I, category II were found dominant in site II and category III organisms were dominant in site III. A multimetric analysis using physicochemical parameters, species diversity and community analysis of macro-invertebrates were carried out to evaluate the present health status of Paravur Lake ecosystem.