BIOMONITORING THE WATER QUALITY USING BENTHIC MACRO-INVERTEBRATES: AN ADAPTATION OF BMWP BIOTIC INDEX TO A BRAZILIAN WATERSHED

Abstract

The water quality of a watershed of Goias state, Brazil was evaluated using benthic macroinvertebrates through an adaptation of the BMWP (Biological Monitoring Working Party Score System) method. This approach was based on correlating water physical and chemical characteristics with the frequency of occurrence of different families of benthic organisms. A water quality rating system was designed by assigning different scores to each found family of benthic macroinvertebrates, being used to identify the degree of ecological alterations caused by anthropogenic influence on the basin.