A family-level macroinvertebrate biotic index for ecological assessment of lakes in Yunnan, China

Persistent economic growth in Chinese southwestern Yunnan Province is setting aquatic ecosystems in its plateau lakes under enormous pressure. While several different systems have previously been used to study these lakes, no existing methodology adequately measures both the chemical and biotic parameters of these water bodies. Here, we present a novel Biotic Monitoring Yunnan Lakes (BMYL) index that provides a general assessment tool for ecological deterioration that is caused by organic pollution. Principal Component Analysis is used to analyze the occurrence of families of macroinvertebrates and chemical properties of the lakes. In brief, families of macroinvertebrates were given a score from 10 to 1 based on sensitivity to organic enrichment and eutrophication. Sampling at each lake yielded an Average Score per Lake (ASPL) which is calculated by dividing the total BMYL by the total number of scoring families. High ASPL values characterize a biologically intact lake containing relatively large numbers of high scoring taxa, while lower ASPL values denote a polluted lake that does not support many high scoring taxa. The results of the BMYL show a notably more accurate characterization of the long-term health of concerned aquatic ecosystems than studies that use abundance levels of species or a simple analysis of chemical parameter.