Development of Bioassessment Tools for Ecological Status Using Macrozoobenthic Community in Upstream Area (Case Study: Citarum River, West Java, Indonesia)

This research aims to develop an assessment tool of ecological status in the upstream area using macrozoobenthic community and its relationship to the physicochemical parameters of water and sediment, in Citarum River. The number of species and abundance of macrozoobenthos in the dry season was higher compared to rainy season. The predominant family (Pachychilidae, Hydropsychidae, Glossiphonidae, and Chironomidae) obtained in both season was significantly correlated with the physicochemical parameter. Based on the Shannon-Wiener index, diversity in upstream area of Citarum River during the dry season (1.68) was similar with the rainy season (1.80) and it showed that the diversity of macrozoobenthic community was moderately diverse in both seasons. The physicochemical parameters that strongly related with the presence and abundance of predominant macrozoobenthic taxa were turbidity, total suspended solid (TSS), total nitrogen, total phosphate, gravel particle, and organic carbon. By considering biological and physicochemical parameters obtained from this study, we developed a modified scoring system to assess the ecological status of upstream area in Citarum River. Based on the scoring system, the ecological status was quite polluted in dry season (2.19) and moderately polluted in rainy season (4.94).