Application of Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RBP) for benthic macroinvertebrates in Brazil: comparison between sampling techniques and mesh sizes

This study is part of the effort to test and to establish Rapid Bioassessment Protocols (RBP) using benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of the water quality of wadeable streams in south-east Brazil. We compared the cost-effectiveness of sampling devices frequently used in RBPs, Surber and Kick-net samplers, and of three mesh sizes (125, 250 and 500 microm). A total of 126,815 benthic macroinvertebrates were collected, representing 57 families. Samples collected with Kick method had significantly higher richness and BMWP scores in relation to Surber, but no significant increase in the effort, measured by the necessary time to process samples. No significant differences were found between samplers considering the cost/effectiveness ratio. Considering mesh sizes, significantly higher abundance and time for processing samples were necessary for finer meshes, but no significant difference were found considering taxa richness or BMWP scores. As a consequence, the 500 microm mesh had better cost/effectiveness ratios. Therefore, we support the use of a kick-net with a mesh size of 500 microm for macroinvertebrate sampling in RBPs using family level in streams of similar characteristics in Brazil.