摘要：The aim of this study was to assess the ecological conditions of the Pandeiros River Watershed using the metrics of benthic macroinvertebrate communities (collected by Surber), sampling at 20 points (including their limnological characteristics) among February, May, September and November 2008 along watershed.We calculated, taking into account the replicas as four sampling periods (February, May, September and November 2008), the percentage of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (% EPT), the index of water quality-CETEC BMWP (Biological Monitoring Working Party) and the Protocol of rapid assessment. A total of 17468 invertebrates were collected, distributed in 67 taxa. The Insecta class had the greatest number of individuals and was distributed in 52 families. The high diversity indicates a higher rate of preservation of the watershed with the potential to act as a reference for assessing the quality of water in other watersheds. The middle and upper stretches of the water had good water quality and did not distinguish between them. The section further down the watershed, particularly near the mouth of the Rio Sao Francisco, is the most urbanized region, with large agricultural and livestock activity, with the worst indices of water quality. Both community-based metrics used for benthic invertebrates (% EPT and BMWP-IEF) and the Rapid Assessment Protocol were effective in the evaluation of human impacts. So although these results are specific to Pandeiros River Watershed allow its general conclusions could be used for other sites of the tropical zone.
