Functional feeding group (FFG) is an approach that classifies macroinvertebrates based on their utilization of organic matter food resources. Across streams and rivers, variations in the distribution FFGs reflect unequal resources, which are affected by varying environmental conditions disturbances to ecosystem. In tropics, does not follow pattern observed temperate streams. This study aims (1)...

We developed and compared the performance of freshwater benthic diatom indices calculated from (i) traditional morphological species identification, (ii) Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) obtained via DNA metabarcoding, (iii) traits to indicate eutrophication in rivers lakes Fennoscandia. Based on results, we provided recommendations for future routine use bioassessment tools environmental moni...

We developed independent predictive disturbance models for a full regional data set and four individual ecoregions (Full Region vs. Individual Ecoregion models) to evaluate effects of spatial scale on the assessment of human landscape modification, on predicted response of stream biota, and the effect of other possible confounding factors, such as watershed size and elevation, on model performa...

Assessment data are collected not only to help define the status of large rivers, but also to guide management decisions. Data must be translated into a format from which management decisions regarding water resources can be made. The strategies outlined in Chapters 2 and 3 on the elements of assessment and study design, provide users with approaches to clearly define questions and objectives t...

Multimetric indices based on fish and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages are commonly used to assess the biological integrity of aquatic ecosystems. However, their response to specific stressors is rarely known. We quantified the response of a fish-based index (Mid-Atlantic Highlands Index of Biotic Integrity, MAH-IBI) and a benthic invertebrate-based index (West Virginia Stream Condition In...

Ioassessment is used worldwide to monitor aquatic health but is infrequently used with risk-assessment objectives, such as supporting the development of defensible, numerical water-quality criteria. To this end, we present a generalized approach for detecting potential ecological thresholds using assemblage-level attributes and a multimetric index (Index of Biological Integrity-IBI) as endpoint...

In the original article, the reference for Bista et al. (2017) was incorrectly written as “Carvalho, G. R., Walsh, K., Seymour, M., Hajibabaei, M., Lallias, D., Christmas, M., et al. (2017). Annual time-series analysis of aqueous eDNA reveals ecologically relevant dynamics of lake ecosystem biodiversity. Nat. Commun. 8, 1–11. doi: 10.1038/ncomms14087.” It should be “Bista, I., Carvalho, G. R., ...