BIO-MONITORING OF WATER

PROBLEMS IN BIO MONITORING OF RIVERS IN INDIA?

  • Great annual variation in flow de to heavy monsoon in limited period;
  • Unstable river bed causing regular flushing of biotic communities;
  • Sudden flashing of rivers;
  • In work of agricultural development, the rivers being trapped at several places, and in dry weather not allowed to flow in the downstream. In breaks the continuity of the river and destroy lot of habitats in the downstream of these barrages;
  • Sudden flushing of deposited pollutants in the vicinity on major pollution outfall causing a lot of damage to the ecosystem in the downstream;
  • Lots of human disturbances, including cattle wading and water-melon farming causing damage to the habitats; and
  • Sandy beds being very poor in nutrients and not supporting much benthic animals
To overcome these problems some methods are recommended, such as use of artificial substratum.

ARTIFICIAL SUBSTRATUM
Advanced bio-monitoring technique has been developed at RIZA, Netherlands to observe changes in water quality over the longer term. The tiny molluscs and crustaceans found in and around the river give a good indication of water quality these small animals often attach themselves to stones and gravel along the banks or no the river bed.

The RIZA has been investigating the diversity of these river dwellers for some years using an artificial substrate; baskets containing glass marbles are submerged at a number of places I the river Rhine and Meuse. The baskets are retrieved after four to six weeks and the numbers and species are identified. This method of data collection provides information about the developments in animal life along the rivers. Changes in the numbers or species found are indicative of changes in the water quality in the longer term. This method also makes it possible to assess the immediate consequences of the water quality on the animal life in the river.

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