I have a report in researchgate where we used aquatic insects in freshwater streams as a quality of treatment and spill severity indicator in a large insecticide project in Oregon, USA treating spruce budworm.  They were a good index of relative quick response to toxic conditions, and also knowing some species are more sensitive to pollution than others.  There may be some ideas in there for you to consider as you develop your research.

My suggestion is Phytoplankton. 

Phytoplankton are   suitable indicators in that they are simple, capable of quantifying changes in water quality. They are at the base of the food web and can provide good information about the ecosystem rather than any other animal indicators. They are reliable too as they utilize the nutrients present in the water, any change in them seriously and firstly affect them. So you can get the baseline data of the water quality by observing them. 

You can get enough references regarding Phytoplankton in bio monitoring. 

Regards

Anila Ajayan

Thank you so much... i wish to use the dragonflies as a bio indicators and those are very valuable answers.. so i like to take plankton too.

aquatic  macrophytes

Daphnia magna and/or algae mortality in static test

We've used periphyton, rather than phytoplankton.  Just scrape it off rocks or snags.  If you measure or estimate the surface area of the substrate that you scrape, you have a quantitative measure as well.  The difficulty with algae, whether suspended (phytoplankton), or attached (periphyton), is identification.  Do you feel comfortable scoping algae?  I also agree with your use of ododates.

i think selection of bio-indicators depends on type and nature of aquatic system. Bio indicators of lotic systems differ from that of lentic systems. we found both phyto & zoo plankton, macrointervertebrate, macrophyte and fish as good bio indicators in semi closed  lentic system corroborating results of its physio-chemical assessment . Following papers are attached for reference as aquatic bio indicators

My suggestion is Phytoplankton too. Furthemore, we suggest to use some simple method - it gives primary

daily photosynthesis products (P), one of the most important

integral parameters of phytoplankton activity. For this method one should measure pH of the water and know main components of these waters. Details and basis of the method are in the paper.

Dear Dr. Sajeewani,

you might check a recent publication of mine on research gate "Water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia): powerful but widely neglected bioindicators – a review" to see, if water mites would be a good choice in your case. They are very good indicators, as their adults are predators and their larvae parasites and in this way integrating the necessities of many other members of the community .

If you have a look at the water mites, I would be interested in your results.

Cheers,

Tom

Article Water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia): powerful but widely negle...

I think selection of bio-indicators depends on type and nature of aquatic system.

My suggestion is Phytoplankton too. the difficulty with algae, is identification.

If water mites would be a good choice in your case. They are very good indicatorsIf youi wish to use the dragonflies as a bio indicators and those are very valuable answers.

It's possible to use Aquatic macrophyte as indicator of water quality.

Dear Sanjeewani,

There are many method to find water quality base on animal. One of the best animals are macroinvertebrates. In this I think BMWP is the good method due to identification in family level of macroinvertebrates. I write a book but it is Persian. You could find many reference in this. Anyway, if you send me the result of macroinvertebrates I will give you the water quality.

Dear colleague,

I send you a brief description, at present wrote as a draft for a paper next to be published. So, avoid reproducing it literally, please.

Biomonitoring of ecosystems is an effective way to estimate the extent of such pollution, which has its bases in the evaluation of environmental through a wide range of factors. Physical-chemical indicators of water quality do not evaluate directly biological damage on particular organism nor for the whole ecosystem. Besides, chemical determinations are not sufficient to assess the adverse effects of complex mixtures of contaminants in water. In this sense, to assess the biological effect of pollutants that are constantly released into aquifers on aquatic populations, biomonitoring based on biomarkers is a promising approach to deal with early signs of exposure to various pollutants. These procedures, widely used for several years all over the world, have in mind the ecological representativeness of native species biomodels, providing an important advance for environmental protection.

Environmental monitoring consists in the evaluation of biological response expressed by the plant or animal body, in strength relation to a particular environment and pollutant presence. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (1991) and the World Health Organization (2000) the term bioindicator is used for sentinel species, that is, one species that reflects the first effects of pollution of their habitat.

Information can be obtained according to changes in the behavior of individuals belonging to the monitor species, its morphology, species composition, sex ratio with predominance by one sex, number or frequency of individuals in the population that inhabit the assessed ecosystem, concentration of specific elements in the biological tissue, etc.. Each level of biological response serves as one indicator of ecotoxicological risk that a natural population is being exposed.

Chemical methods currently employed for monitoring pollution are mainly based on qualitative and quantitative detection of contaminants, providing indirect information and no direct biological interpretation of damage in these ecosystems. Often, anthropic effect provides a multi-pollutant environment where a full screening and specific contribution to biological damage of each pollutant results hard to determine.

I have tested variation in concentration of different non-enzymatic molecular biomarkers such as total dissolved protein, ascorbato, H2O2, NAD(P)H and MDA-like reactive products. These tests were carried out for fishes and aquatic plants but their response could also be assessed in human, if it is your particular interest, due to their universal role for life and/or as a result of oxidative stress. They changes for multiple reasons. I describe you some of them and some literature references.

Under stress condition, organisms need more energy to detoxify the toxicants to minimize the adverse effect of contaminants (Xuan et al, 2011). The regulation of global protein synthesis represents an important adaptive strategy for a response to cellular stress (Ivanina et al, 2009).

Moreover, at the biochemical level, changes in lipids may demonstrate the presence of metal inducing the oxidative stress in organisms (Freitas et al, 2012).

From a draft of one of my paper I can provide you some informationcompiled:

Total dissolved tissue proteins: proteinaceous content is conventionally followed due to the wide functional interventions of proteins for life. The increase in this value reflects:

1- Preventive mechanisms

• Albumins, metalloproteins, ceroalbumin, ferritin, mioglobin, etc.

2- Repairingmechanisms

• Glutathione peroxidase, Glutathione reductase, enzymatic systems for macromolecular and membrane restoring (i.e. protein, DNA, lipids)

3- ROS sequestrating mechanisms

• Superoxide dismutase, catalase, etc.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2): the potential bioindicator response of H2O2 has been described in various ecotoxicological reports (Fatima y Ahmad, 2005; Zhang et al., 2014). Bhattacharya (2007) mentioned the alteration of hydrogen peroxide metabolism in peroxisomes after exposure to pollutants. The increase in this value reflects:

1- Its ability as an oxidative stress releasing factor:

• H2O2 content as a Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

• H2O2 increase as a source of oxidative stress (Haber-Weiss reaction generating free hydroxyl radicals (•OH) from H2O2 y superoxide (•O2-) and other radicals generation catalyzed by iron).

2- Immunologicresponse (peroxisomes) (Akaishi et al., 2007)

3- As a measure of ecotoxicological effect (Wang et al. 2011; Zhang et al., 2014), correlating the increase in H2O2 level for satisfying antioxidant enzymatic system activity requirements as a response to pollution (Anderson et al., 2009; Kwang-Soo et al., 1997)

NADH + NADPH: the increase in this value, toward more deteriorated ecosystems, reflects:

1- Stimulation of pathways generating those nucleotides which undergoes after high energetic consumption and cellular deterioration, for favoring biosynthesis processes requiring these cofactors.

Ascorbate: the increase in this value, toward more deteriorated ecosystems, reflects:

1- A protective mechanisms trying to compensate organic xenobiotics effect inducing oxidative stress due to xenobiotic interaction with cells, correlated to tissue damage and the origin of divers pathologies (Kayer y Imlay, 1996). This increase may be focused in liver and kidneys while not in gills (Ahmad et al., 2000).

MDA-like reaction products: the increase in this value, toward more deteriorated ecosystems, reflects:

1- The increase in lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress degrees (César, 2004) due to the instability of peroxided lipid at membranes generating carbonyl reactive compounds, aldehydes as toxically “second messengers” (Kayer y Imlay, 1996) that can affect through diffusion even far from initial event associated to free radicals (Giugliano et al., 1996). Hence the importance of muscle MDA-like reaction products determination.

You can find some references here where other bioindicators have been also used:

He X, Nie X, Wang Z, et al. Assessment of typical pollutants in waterborne by combining active biomonitoring and integrated biomarkers response. Chemosphere 2011; 84: 1422-31.

Viarengo A, Lowe D, Bolognesi C, FabbriE,Koehler A. The use of biomarkers in biomonitoring: A 2-tier approach assessing the level of pollutant-induced stress syndrome in sentinel organisms. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology 2007; 146(3): 281-300.

Zorita I, Apraiz I, Ortiz-Zarragoitia M, et al. Assessment of biological effects of environmental pollution along the NW Mediterranean Sea using mussels as sentinel organisms. Environmental Pollution 2007; 148(1): 236-50.

Tlili S, Minguez L, Giamberini L, et al. Assessment of the health status of Donaxtrunculus from the Gulf of Tunis using integrative biomarker indices. Ecological Indicators 2013; 32(0): 285-93.

Au DWT. The application of histo-cytopathological biomarkers in marine pollution monitoring: a review. Mar Pollut Bull 2004; 48: 817-34.

Viarengo A, Burlando B, Giordana A, Bolognese C,Gabrielides GP. Networking and expert-system analysis: next frontier in biomonitoring. Mar Environ Res 2000; 49: 483-86.

Adams SM. Biological indicators of aquatic ecosystem stress. American Fisheries Society 2002; 3: 104-12.

Market B, PedrozoF,Geller W. A contribution to the study of the heavy-metal and nutritional element status of some lakes in the southern Andes of Patagonia (Argentina). The Science of the Total Environment 1997; 206: 1-15.

Orrego R, Moraga CG, González M, et al. Reproductive, physiological, and biochemical responses in juvenile female Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchusmykiss) exposed to sediment from pulp and paper mill industrial discharge areas. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2005; 24: 1935-43.

Kayer, K., Imlay, J. A. 1996. Superoxide Accelerates DNA Damage by Elevating Free-Iron Levels Proc Nat Acad Sci. USA 93, 13635-13640.

Giugliano, D., Ceriello, A., Paolisso, G. 1996. Oxidative Stress and Diabetic Vascular Complicalions. DiabeticCare 19 (3), 257-267.

César, A., Torres, M., Perales, S., Zúñiga, C., Carranza, A. 2004. Niveles de malondialdehido y catalasa en tejidos de cobayos nativos de la altura. UNMSM.

Ahmad, I., Hamid, T., Fatima, M., Chand, H. S., Jain, S. K., Athar, M., Raisuddin, S. 2000. Induction of hepatic antioxidants in freshwater catfish (Channapunctatus Bloch) is a biomarker of paper mill effluent exposure. BiochimicaetBiophysicaActa (BBA) - General Subjects 1523, 37-48.

Fatima RA, Ahmad M. Certain antioxidant enzymes of Allium cepa as biomarkers for the detection of toxic heavy metals in wastewater. Science of The Total Environment 2005; 346(1–3): 256-73.

Ruiz-Dueñas FJ, Guillén F, Camarero S, et al. Regulation of Peroxidase Transcript Levels in Liquid Cultures of the Ligninolytic Fungus Pleurotuseryngii. Applied and environmental microbiology 1999; 65(10): 4458-63.

Wang C, Huan P, Yue X, Yan M,Liu B. Molecular characterization of a glutathione peroxidase gene and its expression in the selected Vibrio-resistant population of the clam Meretrixmeretrix. Fish & Shellfish Immunology 2011; 30(6): 1294-302.

Kwang-Soo S, Ill-Kyoon O, Chang-Jin K. Production and Purification of Remazol Brilliant Blue R Decolorizing Peroxidase from the Culture Filtrate of Pleurotusostreatus. Applied and environmental microbiology 1997; 63(5): 1744-48.

Gopalakrishnan S, Nai Z, Thilagam H, et al. Biochemical responses and DNA damage in red sea bream from coastal Fujian Province, China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2011; 74(6): 1526-35.

Akaishi, F. M., S. D. St-Jean, F. Bishay, J. Clarke, I. d. S. Rabitto and C. A. d. O. Ribeiro 2007. Immunological responses, histopathological finding and disease resistance of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) exposed to treated and untreated municipal wastewater. Aquatic Toxicology, 82(1): 1-14.Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166445X07000331.

Anderson, C. R., H. A. Johnson, N. Caputo, R. E. Davis, J. W. Torpey and B. M. Tebo 2009. Mn(II) Oxidation Is Catalyzed by Heme Peroxidases in “Aurantimonas manganoxydans” Strain SI85-9A1 and Erythrobacter sp. Strain SD-21. Applied and environmental microbiology, 75(12): 4130-4138.Available from http://aem.asm.org/content/75/12/4130.abstract.

Fatima, R. A. and M. Ahmad 2005. Certain antioxidant enzymes of Allium cepa as biomarkers for the detection of toxic heavy metals in wastewater. Science of The Total Environment, 346(1–3): 256-273.Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969704007880.

Kwang-Soo, S., O. Ill-Kyoon and K. Chang-Jin 1997. Production and Purification of Remazol Brilliant Blue R Decolorizing Peroxidase from the Culture Filtrate of Pleurotus ostreatus. Applied and environmental microbiology, 63(5): 1744-1748.

Radić, S., M. Babić, D. Škobić, V. Roje and B. Pevalek-Kozlina 2010. Ecotoxicological effects of aluminum and zinc on growth and antioxidants in Lemna minor L. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 73(3): 336-342.Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651309002541.

Rueda-Jasso, R., L. E. C. Conceição, J. Dias, W. De Coen, E. Gomes, J. F. Rees, F. Soares, M. T. Dinis and P. Sorgeloos 2004. Effect of dietary non-protein energy levels on condition and oxidative status of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) juveniles. Aquaculture, 231(1–4): 417-433.Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0044848603005374.

Ruiz-Dueñas, F. J., F. Guillén, S. Camarero, M. Pérez-Boada, M. J. Martínez and Á. T. Martínez 1999. Regulation of Peroxidase Transcript Levels in Liquid Cultures of the Ligninolytic Fungus Pleurotus eryngii. Applied and environmental microbiology, 65(10): 4458-4463.Available from http://aem.asm.org/content/65/10/4458.abstract.

Wang, N., C. Wang, X. Bao, Y. Li, L. Tian, H. Zou and X. Wang 2011. Toxicological effects and risk assessment of lanthanum ions on leaves of Vicia faba L. seedlings. Journal of Rare Earths, 29(10): 997-1003.Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1002072110605856.

Zhang, H. X., G. L. Duan, C. N. Wang, Y. Q. Zhang, X. Y. Zhu and Y. J. Liu 2014. Protective effect of resveratrol against endotoxemia-induced lung injury involves the reduction of oxidative/nitrative stress. Pulm Pharmacol Ther, 27(2): 150-155.

Dear colleague,

Environmental monitoring programs including both chemical analyses of aquatic ecosystems (seawater or frehswater) for contaminant levels and the measurements of a battery of biomarkers (enzymatic and non-enzymatic markers) are recommended. The bioindicator species (exists in your environnment) retained for your ecosystem  must present some characteristics (species good identified, presents correlations with ecosystem functions, quality of measures, easy sampled, possibility of rearing under laboratory conditions). For animal organisms, marine bivalves molluscs (Mytillus or  Donax) are recognized as bioindicator organisms in environmental pollution studies. You can find in the attached book some useful information (Toxicology and Ecotoxicology in Chemical Safety Assessment). and also some publications dealing with biomonitoring of costal environment (Donax trunculus as bioindicator species), lakes (Cerastoderma glaucum a mollusk spécies as bioindicator), freshwater (Gambusia affinis) or soil quality (Helix aspersa as sentinel).

Bets regards

Pr. N. Soltani

thank you so much

Aquatic macrophytes as well as aquatic invertebrates are used as water pollution indicators through the analyses of trace metals

thank you Ms.Prasannakumari

Bioindicators indicates the state of environment/ecosystem by their morphological response,  behavioral stress responses and life-history and higher level responses .

Their applications in biomonitoring  can be of following categories:

 Biotic Indices and Rapid Bioassessment

 Saprobic Index

The Trent Biotic Index (TBI)

 Chandlers Biotic Score (CBS)

 Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP)-score

 Belgian Biotic Index (BBI)

 Chutter's Biotic Index

 Floristic Quality Index (FQI)

 Index of Air Purity (IAP)

 Chironomid Indices

 Oligochaeta Indices

 Online Biomonitoring

 Alternative Biomonitoring Methods

Diversity Indices

Similarity indices/Community Comparison Indices (CCI)

Multimetric Indices

 Non-taxonomic Biomonitoring Approaches

Aquatic Bioindicators may be the bacteria, algae, bryophyta, aquatic vascular plants

 protozoa, macroinvertebrate, even the parasites.

We can use the  organisms as bioindicators for different trophic levels of an aquatic system.

I agree with noureddine and you gave to define which organism that you want to use as bio indicators according to the type of your water fro example if you work with seawater the most famous one is molsuca bivalve and you can measure the ebmnzymetic activity beside measuring the bio accumulation of the pollutants inside those animals also you can use some kind of bacteria as Vitro Baxter's and measure the inhibition of biolumucence many types of organisms and different according to their sensitivity tothe pollutants you want to measure and according to their environment.