This App can be used for assessing biological quality of water bodies by observing benthic macro invertebrates based on a methodology developed by CPCB. This App will be useful to scientists working in State and Central Pollution Control Boards involved in bio monitoring. App facilitates on the spot recording of environmental and field characteristics prevailing at the time of sampling. Users can also upload the images of sampling location so as to visualize water body and refer the same while producing results.
Benthic (meaning “bottom-dwelling”) macroinvertebrates are small aquatic insects. They lack a backbone, are visible without the aid of a microscope and are found in water bodies during some period of their lives. Benthic macroinvertebrates inhabit different substratum such as rocks, macrophytic vegetation, logs & sticks bottom sand and sediments. They include mayfly, dragonfly and stonefly larvae, caddisflies, snails, worms, bugs, beetles etc.
Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used as indicators of the biological condition of waterbodies. They are reliable indicators because they spend all or most of their lives in water, are easy to collect and differ in their tolerance to pollution. Macroinvertebrates respond to human disturbance in fairly predictable ways, are relatively easy to identify in the laboratory, often live for more than a year and, unlike fish, have limited mobility. In fact, because they cannot escape pollution, macroinvertebrates have the capacity to integrate the effects of the stressors to which they are exposed, in combination and over time. Biologists have been studying the health and composition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities for decades. Evaluating the abundance and variety of benthic macroinvertebrates in a water body gives us an indication of the biological condition of that waterbody.
Generally, waterbodies in healthy biological condition support a wide variety and high number of macroinvertebrate taxa, including many that are intolerant of pollution. Samples yielding only pollution–tolerant species or very little diversity or abundance may indicate a less healthy waterbody. Biological condition is the most comprehensive indicator of waterbody health. When the biology of a waterbody is healthy, the chemical and physical components of the waterbody are also typically in good condition. This app is developed to record the field details on the spot.
CPCB has developed Biological Water Quality Criteria to assess biological quality of water bodies. Information collected through App will be downloaded into a desktop application, for calculating and reporting Diversity Index, Saprobic scores and biological quality of water bodies. The Saprobic Score also called Average Score per taxon (ASPT) is widely used and internationally accepted index for biological water quality evaluation of streams.
