Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-2107-y ORIGINAL PAPER Ecological quality assessment of Kor River in Fars Province using macroinvertebrates indices J. Aazami 1  · H. Moradpour 1  · A. Zamani 1  · N. Kianimehr 1 Received: 12 August 2018 / Revised: 15 October 2018 / Accepted: 8 November 2018 © Islamic Azad University (IAU) 2018 Abstract Modifcations in the ecological structure of macroinvertebrate communities could refect changes in environmental condi- tions. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to identify macroinvertebrate assemblage and evaluating the efciency of single-criterion and multicriteria indices for determining the ecological health of water quality of the Bakhtegan watershed located in the Eghlid city of Iran. A Surber sampler was used to sample eight sites along the river route. Physicochemical parameters were measured in each site including BOD, COD, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, ammonia and fecal coliform in the laboratory and temperature, pH, EC, DO and hardness at the site of sampling. A total of 8161 macroinvertebrates were identifed in 14 orders and 24 families recognized in the studied region and its highest frequency belonged to Gammaridae family (66%). Spearman correlation coefcient (r = 0.81) indicated that the BMWP/ASPT bioindex has a higher performance than other indicators for Bakhtegan area. The results of this study have shown no signifcant diference between control and non-control sites (Sig. 0.05). It was found that Gammaridae was the dominant major taxon in all sampling sites. Since the river’s water is used for farming and also drinking, it is necessary for local managers to be more sensitive to the conditions of the region and try to increase public awareness and other researches to improve the ecological health quality. Keywords Biodiversity · Index · Multimetric · Water Abbreviations BOD Biological oxygen demand COD Chemical oxygen demand pH Power of hydrogen TH Total hardness EC Electrical conductivity DO Dissolved oxygen BMWP/ASPT Biological monitoring working party/ Average score per taxon APHA American public health association IRWQI Iranian water quality index EPA Environmental protected agency NFSWQI National sanitation foundation water quality index MMIF Multimetric macroinvertebrate index fanders EQR Ecological quality ration EPT Ephemeroptera–Plecoptera–Trichoptera HFBI Hilsenhof family biotic index TBI Trent biotic index CCA Canonical correlation analysis DCA Detrended correspondence analysis NJIS New Jersey indices Introduction The quantitative and qualitative identification of water resources and the rehabilitation and protection of aquatic ecosystems are vital components of sustainable develop- ment (Metcalfe and Smith 2009). Rivers are the only water sources among aquatic ecosystems that pass a long way from various small and large ecosystems (such as mountains, for- ests, towns and villages, agricultural areas and highlands.) and are considered as the main source of supply for drinking water, agricultural needs and industry everywhere (Ruiz- Picos et al. 2017). Therefore, the level of river pollution is an indicator for environmental monitoring and assessment. In order to consider the pollution of an aquatic environment, Editorial responsibility: Shahid Hussain. * J. Aazami j.aazami@znu.ac.ir 1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran