The Relationship Between Physicochemical Parameters and Macroinvertebrate Metrics for Ecological Biomonitoring in The Little Akaki River, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract Understanding the relationship between macroinvertebrate metrics and water quality along this river is crucial for assessing the river ecological health. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between macroinvertebrate metrics and water quality parameters along the Little Akaki River. The research was conducted across seven sampling sites in April 2024, employing a multi-habitat sampling methodology. The measurement of physico-chemical parameters (temperature, DO, pH and conductivity) was done in triplicate using HQ40-d multimeter probe. Macroinvertebrates were collected from gravel, sand, mud, vegetation, riffles and pools with a 500 µm D-frame net. Most of the physicochemical parameters showed significant differences between the sampling sites (p < 0.05). DO ranged from 0.57 ± 0.05 to 6.39 ± 0.04 mg L − 1 . A total of 5575 macroinvertebrates were collected. The percentage of Ephemeroptera metrics positively correlated with dissolved oxygen and percent saturation (r = 0.677 and 0.598). A plot of RDA analysis separated the macroinvertebrate taxa which showed significant correlation with DO, HQI, SRP, TDS, pH, and TP. The study reveals a significant correlation between macroinvertebrate metrics and water quality parameters providing clear evidence that the health and diversity of macroinvertebrate communities are intricately connected to the ecological conditions present in their aquatic habitats.