Seasonal Monitoring of the River Nile in the Area of Greater Cairo Using a Combined Approach of Certain Chemical Criteria and Macroinvertebrates Matrices | ||
| Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries | ||
| Volume 29, Issue 5, September and October 2025, Pages 1347-1369 PDF (539.7 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejabf.2025.410857.6346 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Hanaa M.M. El-Khayat1; Mohamed R. Habib2; Wafaa A. Mohammed1; Khaled Zayed3; Sara S.M. Sayed* 1 | ||
| 1Environmental Research Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt | ||
| 2Medical Malacology Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Imbaba, Giza, Egypt | ||
| 3Medical Malacology Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Macroinvertebrates are valuable surrogates in reflecting the health of river streams through their abundance, taxa richness (TR), and functional feeding groups. The present work aimed at monitoring the water quality (WQ) of the River Nile in the greater Cairo area, the most crowded with multiple human activities, using a combined approach of some physical parameters, metals, and macroinvertebrates matrices during four successive seasons. Results showed that all physical water parameters and metals were approximately at the normal levels (except temperature & Cu). The highest TR was in spring and was consistent with the low average of organic pollution determined by the Hilsenhoff biotic index (HBI), reflecting fair WQ. In contrast, the lowest abundance during winter was consistent with the highest HBI, indicating a poor WQ. Multimetric macroinvertebrates index flanders showed poor WQ during winter, while moderate WQ was observed during the rest three seasons. Filtering collectors and scrapers were the predominant functional feeding groups (FFGs), then predators at lower abundance. Gathering collectors were absent during winter, while shredders were absent in all seasons. The matrix plot showed a strong positive correlation between all FFGs and Fe, Zn, and Ca, while it showed a negative correlation with Cu. Analysis of stream ecological health matrices showed that the Nile stream was autotrophic during spring and winter, while a natural predator-to-prey was balanced during autumn, spring, and summer. Indices of habitat stability and filtering collectors pointed to perfect stable substrates only during autumn, spring, and summer, when most feeding groups were represented. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| The River Nile; Water quality; Metals; Macroinvertebrates; FFGs; Indices | ||
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