Evaluación del estado ecológico de las cuencas de los ríos Ambato y Chambo, mediante el uso de macroinvertebrados acuáticos.

Abstract

The objective of this research project was to evaluate the ecological status of the Ambato and Chambo rivers through the use of aquatic macroinvertebrates, direct observation, analysis of vegetation cover use maps and the manual for the conservation of areas, to characterize the anthropogenic activities in the two study areas. To determine the ecological quality of the Ambato and Chambo rivers, a previous water quality analysis was carried out by collecting macroinvertebrates from the substrate and rocks, biological indexes for Andean regions were subsequently applied; the hydromorphological quality of the field cards were used; finally, the ecological status of the study areas was determined through the cross analysis of the water and hydromorphological quality classes and color range. In the Ambato river, $ anthropic activities were identified with a medium category of degradation. In the Chambo river, 8 anthropic activities were identified with a high category of degradation. The ecological status of the Ambato and Chambo rivers was found to be in a "moderate to very poor" quality range. This indicated that the water quality and morphology of the riparian zones presented better water quality conditions in the upper zones than in the lower zones of the areas. It is recommended that physical and chemical analyses of the soil in the riparian zones and water be carried out to obtain more information on external factors affecting ecological quality according to

the TULSMA for the preservation of flora and fauna of freshwater ecosystems.