Use of aquatic macroinvertebrates as an evaluation system for stabilizing El Salguero lagoon (Colombia)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the El Salguero stabilization lagoon system by examining aquatic macroinvertebrates. The BMWP/Col index adapted for Colombia was applied as well as the ecological indexes of alpha and beta diversity. Aquatic macroinvertebrates were collected from anaerobic, facultative, and maturation lagoons. The 2619 individuals collected were distributed in three phyla, three classes, five orders, and 14 families. The order Diptera was the most dominant. The BMWP/Col index showed differences in water quality between the different stabilization ponds examined. The ecological indexes alpha and beta showed diversity values ranging from medium to low and showed the associations and distributions of taxa families. In conclusion, the majority of the aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity was obtained from maturation lagoons and the order Diptera was the most prevalent in number of individuals at each treatment phase.