Tuesday, June 5, 2007 - 9:30 AM
113

Freshwater Biomonitoring with Macroinvertebrates in Mongolia

S. Chuluunbat, Entomology, Soils, and Plant Sciences, Clemson University, Long Hall, Box 340315, Clemson, SC 29634-0315 and Munkhjargal Gotov, Department of Hydrobiology, Mongolian Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, Khudaldaany gudamj-5, Ulaanbaatar, 46, Mongolia.

There are many Mongolian aquatic insect species, but many groups have not yet been studied and there are few native aquatic entomologists to study them. The Hydrobiology Section of the Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology is investigating biodiversity of streams and lakes to evaluate the water quality and ecology and to compare environmental conditions of the streams and lakes. Currently, the data are being used only for monitoring and are not being used for policy formulation or management decisions. American scientists are training Mongolian students in field survey methods and equipping them to identify their taxa in order to learn the fauna and to facilitate freshwater bioassessment.  Several different projects have been funded in collaboration with Mongolian researchers since 2002 to explore biodiversity, biology, and ecology of Mongolian waterways and to help establish biomonitoring protocols for assessing water quality. Important components of the projects are providing Mongolian researchers knowledge and expertise and to establish long-term scientific collaborations. One of the overall major emphases of these projects is to help build an indigenous infrastructure in Mongolia for freshwater biological research and teaching and a capacity to monitor and regulate water quality.


Web Page: clade.acnatsci.org/mongolia/mais_home.html

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