Aquatic biomonitoring

Aquatic biomonitoring is the science of inferring the ecological condition of rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands by examining the organisms (fish, invertebrates, insects, plants, and algae) that live there.

Rapid changes to an environment, like, pollution, can alter ecosystems and community assemblages, and endanger species that live in or close to water.

[6] Many species of Macroalgae (including Cyanobacteria, though not technically a true algae[7]) are also used in biomonitoring for both aquatic and marine environments, as their short lifespan makes them very reactive to changes.

Similarly, Daphnia populations have been evidenced as being negatively affected by climate change, as earlier springs have caused hatching periods to de-couple from the peak window of food availability.

In contrast, in rivers disturbed by urbanization, agriculture, forestry, and other perturbations, flies (Diptera), and especially midges (family Chironomidae) predominate.

Examples of this are the Werii River (Tigray, Ethiopia), where elevated concentrations of heavy metals have been linked to the underlying slate, and drinking wells in Indigenous communities near Anchorage, Alaska, where high concentrations of arsenic have been linked to the underlying McHugh Complex rock formation.