CHIRONMIDAE AS INDICATORS OF WATER QUALITY IN MEHER RIVER IN GUNA MOUNTAIN, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA

Ayenew Dires

dc.contributor.author	Ayenew Dires
dc.date.accessioned	2021-02-27T06:11:27Z
dc.date.available	2021-02-27T06:11:27Z
dc.date.issued	2021-02-27
dc.identifier.uri	http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/11973
dc.description.abstract	Water is life without pollution, but death when it is polluted. The increasing impact of human activities on the freshwater bodies of Ethiopia calls for efficient and cost effective method for water quality and ecological health assessment. Chironomids are often used for biological water quality assessment because their larval communities tend to respond rapidly and sensitively to changes in the aquatic environment. This study aimed to examine the importance of chironomid larvae in water quality analysis along Meher River. Water and chironomid larvae were collected from January-June, 2020. Chironomids were collected using a Surber sampler of 500μm mesh size and identified to the lowest level using the available identification keys. Physicochemical parameters of water quality were summarized into descriptive statistics presented as mean values and standard error (SE). The findings showed the mean (±SE) of the pH of the river varied between 7.21±0.16 in the most upstream site to 7.85±0.15 in human settlement area, DO (6.22±0.23 to 6.57±0.22 mg/L), Conductivity (51.65±2.53 to 75.55±8.24 μS/cm) and Temperature (13.85±0.61 to 22.05±2.05°C) respectively. A correspondence analysis was performed using R software to demonstrate relationships between Chiromomids taxa abundance and habitat types. Polypedilum wittei, Ploypedilum type Wabe, Cryptochironomus, Monopelopia sp, Cricotopus scottae and Cricotopus sp.2 were more common in the eucalyptus plantations areas, Ploypedilum Asheum, Ploypedilum sp.1, Polypedilum sp.2 and Tanytarsus, Parametriocenumus, and Ablabesmyia dusoleili in the livestock watering areas. Chaetocladius were more common in the agriculture fields; Metriocnemus and Conchapelopia sp. in the grassland area, Ablabesmyia sp. in the church forest. Polypedilum nubifer and Procladius were more abundant in the residential areas. A total of 2,667 chironomid larvae and 18 taxa were identified from three subfamilies: Chironominae (57%), Orthocladinae (14%), and Tanypodinae (28%). The results indicate that the water quality parameters influence the chironomid taxa assemblages to a considerable extent. This is supportive of the use of chironomid midges in biomonitoring for ecological management of Meher River. We further recommend management and conservation initiatives on the Save River system, which showed significant impact from catchment developmental pressures, such as agriculture, livestock grazing and eucalyptus plantation on the riverine side. Key words: Agriculture, Bioassessment, Chironomidae, Macroinvertebrates, Water quality.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.subject	BIOLOGY	en_US
dc.title	CHIRONMIDAE AS INDICATORS OF WATER QUALITY IN MEHER RIVER IN GUNA MOUNTAIN, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US