Aquatic Invertebrates

Invertebrates are animals without backbones and may have hard outer shells to support and protect their soft bodies. Invertebrates are one of the most numerous and diverse animals on earth and comprise of many classifications. They play a critical functioning role in the ecosystem. Aquatic invertebrates live in water for part or whole of their life in suitable ecological zones for their survival and are an important constituent of aquatic ecosystems.

Aquatic invertebrates response to various types and amounts of pollution can be variable and is associated with the physical, chemical and biotic characteristics of their environment, however, in general, aquatic invertebrates are remarkably sensitive to insecticides. They can require a significant level of surveillance and monitoring as they are considered a high-risk group even to low-level pesticide exposure. Their sensitivity can be used to provide a representative measure of insecticide contamination of flowing and still waters as indicators of environmental condition.

We carry out invertebrate surveys with subsequent laboratory analysis and identification. GLM Ecology use a wide range of techniques for monitoring and statistical analysis, including Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) scoring which can be used to assess the quality of habitats. This tends to be predominantly for biological water quality assessments including baseline data for use in Environmental Impact Assessments, long-term conservation studies and informing habitat management. For biological water quality assessments standard indices of invertebrate biodiversity are used to determine levels of freshwater pollution and other human influences on streams and rivers. These indices can form measures for nature conservation value. They are used to measure compliance with the Water Framework Directive and also form part of surveys of rivers and ponds in planning applications.