Assessment of the Ecological Status of the Lukavac River using Macrozoobenthic Communities

Abstract

Aims: The main objective of this study was to identify reliable indicator taxa of macrozoobenthic communities for water-quality assessment. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the summer of 2022. Methodology: The ecological status of the Lukavac River was assessed based on the composition of macrozoobenthic communities from samples collected at eight sites along the river. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the macrozoobenthos of the Lukavac River recorded a total of 17 taxa and 375 individuals belonging to different taxonomic groups. Within the Asterics software package, the following methods were used to assess water quality and ecosystem status: The Saprobic Index, ASPT (Average Score per Taxon), BMWP (Biological Monitoring Working Party), DSFI (Danish Stream Fauna Index-Diversity Groups), IBE AQEM index, BBI (Benthic Biotic Indices), Simpson’s Index, Shannon-Wiener Index and Margalef’s Diversity Index. Results: The results showed that all sampling sites had similar physicochemical characteristics. Based on the calculated biotic indices, two water-quality classes were observed along the course of the Lukavac River. Conclusion: Based on the quantitative and qualitative composition of the macrozoobenthos, the water quality of the Lukavac River was characterised by moderate pollution, as most sampling sites were classified as Class II.