Using Benthic Macro-Invertebrates to Assess Ecological Status of the Arbuga River in the, Sengiley Mountains, National Park, Russia

The objective of this study was to assess water quality of the Arbuga River in one of the National Parks in Russia, which is under severe stress from anthropogenic activities, using benthic macro-invertebrates as biological indicators.  The study was carried out in 2012 and the findings were compared to an earlier study done in 2000. The indices used in the study to describe the invertebrate community species abundance were the Shannon-Weaver index and a density index (dominance). To assess the ecological status of the Arbuga River the Biotic Trent River Index was used. The results confirmed that the Arbuga River was in a moderately-polluted to critically polluted condition in some areas due to a range of anthropogenic impacts, at the time of the study. The health of the river had degraded from good to moderately-polluted since 2000 because of a range of anthropogenic factors.