Application of the Lake Biotic Index (LBI) in the ecological characterization of a North Patagonian lake in Chile

Increased pollution and degradation of water resources and their associated ecosystems has stimulated the development of tools and methodologies to characterize, estimate, predict, and reverse the environmental impact of anthropic effects on water bodies. The Secondary Water Quality Standards (NSCA)...

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Published inHeliyon Vol. 5; no. 10; p. e02492
Main Authors Leiva, Germán, Fuentes, Norka, Zelada, Sara, Ríos-Henríquez, Catalina
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2019
Elsevier
Subjects
Aquatic biology
Benthic macroinvertebrates
Bio-indicators
Ecological assessment
Ecological health
Ecology
Environmental assessment
Environmental health
Environmental science
Lake rupanco
Oligotrophic
Environmental assessment
Environmental science
Bio-indicators
Lake rupanco
Aquatic biology
Benthic macroinvertebrates
Environmental health
Ecological health
Ecology
Oligotrophic
Ecological assessment
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Summary:Increased pollution and degradation of water resources and their associated ecosystems has stimulated the development of tools and methodologies to characterize, estimate, predict, and reverse the environmental impact of anthropic effects on water bodies. The Secondary Water Quality Standards (NSCA) adopted in Chile have incorporated the use of bioindicators complementary to physicochemical analyses, in order to determine the ecological condition of lotic and lentic environments. Our research used the "Lake Biotic Index" (LBI) to establish the ecological condition of Lake Rupanco using benthic macroinvertebrates. The results indicated an Oligo-Eubiotic condition for this lake given the high concentration of oxygen and low organic matter content in sediments, in addition to low biogenic potential and good taxa preservation in both the autumn and spring surveys. Features of the ecological condition obtained through the application of the LBI (benthic subsystem) conform to the results of physicochemical and microalgae analyses undertaken previously in Lake Rupanco (pelagic subsystem). Based on these results, we support application of the LBI index as a complementary tool for the integrated management of lentic ecosystems.
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ISSN:2405-8440
2405-8440
DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02492