Biomonitoring of lakes using macroinvertebrates: recommended indices and metrics for use in West Africa and developing countries

Lake systems are under heavy pressure impacting on their biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. This is especially acute in West Africa and developing countries which lack resources and technical capacities for waste disposal, water purification, as well as sufficient scientific capacities for biomonitoring and integrated management. The preservation, monitoring and improvement of lake quality in these countries are, however, of paramount importance. Throughout the developed world, an array of indicators and multimetric indices have been incorporated into lake biomonitoring and assessment. Here, we assess the numerous procedures, metrics and indices using macroinvertebrates as indicators for lake quality and assess applicability in West African lakes and in developing countries more generally. We propose a framework for macroinvertebrate-based monitoring adapted to these countries, including recommendations for developing new indices and adapting tolerance scores of taxa to local conditions. This work underlines the importance of macroinvertebrates for biomonitoring of lake health in West African lakes and developing countries more generally.