River water quality monitoring

Biological monitoring working party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The biological monitoring working party (BMWP) is a procedure for measuring water quality using species of macroinvertebrates as biological indicators.
The method is based on the principle that different aquatic invertebrates have different tolerances to pollutants. The presence of mayflies or stoneflies for instance indicate the cleanest waterways and are given a tolerance score of 10. The lowest scoring invertebrates are worms (Oligochaeta) which score 1. The number of different macroinvertebrates is also an important factor, because a better water quality is assumed to result in a higher diversity.

The BMWP score equals the sum of the tolerance scores of all macroinvertebrate families in the sample. A higher BMWP score is considered to reflect a better water quality. Alternatively, also the Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT) score is calculated. The ASPT equals the average of the tolerance scores of all macroinvertebrate families found, and ranges from 0 to 10. The main difference between both indices is that ASPT does not depend on the family richness. Once BMWP and ASPT are calculated, the Lincoln Quality Index (LQI) is used to asses the water quality in the Anglia Water Authority area.

The detail can be refered to BMWP Score table.

Group Families Score

10: Mayflies, Stoneflies, Riverbug, Caddisflies or Sedgeflies; Siphlonuridae, Heptageniidae, Leptophlebiidae, Ephemerellidae, Potamanthidae, Ephemeridae, Taeniopterygidae, Leuctridae, Caprniidae, Perlodidae, Perlidae, Chloroperlidae, Aphelocheridae, Phryganeidae, Molannidae, Beraeidae, Odontoceridae, Leptoceridae, Goeridae, Lepidostomatidae, Brachycentridae, Sericostomatidae

8: Crayfish, Dragonflies; Astacidae, Lestidae, Agriidae, Gomphidae, Cordulegasteridae, Aeshnidae, Corduliidae, Libelluiidae

7: Mayflies, Stoneflies, Caddisflies or Sedge flies Caenidae, Nemouridae, Rhyacophilidae, Polycentropidae, Limnephilidae

6: Snails, Caddisflies or Sedge flies, Mussels, Shrimps, Dragonflies
Neritidae, Viviparidae, Ancylidae, Hydroptilidae, Unionidae, Corophiidae, Gammaridae, Platycnemididae, Coenagriidae

5: Bugs; Beetles, Caddisflies or Sedgeflies, Craneflies/Blackflies, Flatworms
Mesoveliidae, Hydrometridae, Gerridae, Nepidae, Naucoridae, Notonectidae, Pleidae, Corixidae, Haliplidae, Hygrobiidae, Dytiscidae, Gyrinidae, Hydrophilidae, Clambidae, Helodidae, Dryopidae, Elmidae, Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae, Hydropsychidae, Tipulidae, Simuliidae, Planariidae, Dendrocoelida

4: Mayflies, Alderflies, Leeches; Baetidae, Sialidae, Piscicolidae

3: Snails, Cockles, Leeches, Hog louse; Valvatidae, Hydrobiidae, Lymnaeidae, Physidae, Planorbidae, Sphaeriidae, Glossiphoniidae, Hirudidae, Erpobdellidae, Asellidae

2: Midges; Chironomidae

1: Worms: Oligochaeta (whole class)

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We need good biologist, entomologist and taxonomist to do this. Do we have them in Malaysia? Many university’s students go into IT, Biotechnology, Melecular Biology, Arts, Economic, or Engineering and Medicine. May be some incentive needed to those who want to venture in basic biology, taxonomy or entomology. Many lecturers or Professors in these fields are old or already retired. We need to have a successor to maintain knowledge on biodiversity and environmental quality of our beautiful green country. In fact all subjects related to biodiversity, ecology and biology of local flora and fauna need t be enhanced. Some species close to extinction and some species not even notice their existence. Malaysia is one of the top biodiversity countries in world. So it is worth to consider.