This document discusses using insects as bioindicators for different levels of pollution. It defines pollution and bioindicators, and explains that insects are good bioindicators because they are abundant, sensitive to environmental changes, and easy to sample. Specific groups of aquatic insects like mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies can indicate water quality, with some species increasing or decreasing based on factors like oxygen, temperature, sediments, and pollutants. Terrestrial insects also reflect environmental conditions, with beetles, collembolans, and lepidopterans responding to issues like heavy metals, acidification, and pesticides. Insects provide a means to monitor cumulative effects of pollutants and the overall health of ecosystems.

1. TOPIC:
Insects as bioindicators for
different levels of pollution
Presented By:
Ammad Ahmad
MSc (Hons) Entomology
UCA&ES, IUB

2. What is Pollution?
 Addition of harmful substances to the environment
 Degradation of natural resources and nature
 Slow and gradual effect but long lasting
Major types of pollutions:
 Water pollution
 Terrestrial pollution
 Air pollution

3. What are Bioindicators?
 Species used to monitor the health of an
environment and ecosystem
 Organisms are monitored for changes that
indicates change in their ecosystem
 Bio-indicators can tell us about the
cumulative effects of different pollutants in
the ecosystem.

4. Types of Bioindicators:
1. Environmental Indicators
2. Ecological Indicators
3. Biodiversity Indicators

5. Types of Environmental Indicators:
I. Sentinels
II. Detectors
III. Exploiters
IV. Accumulators
V. Bioassay organisms

6. Characteristics of Good Bioindicator:
Abundance, wide Distribution
Easy Identification and Sampling
High Tolerance for Pollutants
Quick Response towards the change in
environment
Taxonomically well documented and stable
Easy and cheap to survey

7. Insects As Bioindicators:
 Four in five species of animals are insects
 Easy handling and capturing
 Sensitivity to environmental changes and selection of
habitat
 Lack of ethical constraints in sampling insects
 Canneries for environmental damage that can cause
harm to human

8. Bioindicator Groups of Insects:
 Dragonflies and Damselflies
 Mayflies
 Caddisflies
 Bugs
 Stoneflies
 Honey bees
 Beetles
 Collembolans
 Butterflies and Moths
 Ants
 Syrphid fly

9. Aquatic Insects as Bioindicators:
Factors governing aquatic insects distribution:
 Oxygen availability
 Temperature
 Sediments and substrate type
 Presence of pollutants

10. Responses In Insects Communities:
 Increase in sediments, Mayflies and Caddis flies increase in
relative abundance
 Mayflies larvae are sensitive to oxygen depletion
 Caddis flies larvae are sensitive to water pollution
 Increase in temperature and oxygen level, stoneflies
nymphs declines
 Bugs determine the quality of water
 Pesticidal runoff cause reduction in specie diversity
 If nutrient level increase some species may increase

11. Terrestrial Insects Bioindication:
Direct measurement may be costly
Land insects are good bioindicators for
environmental changes
Excess acidic and alkaline condition kills larvae
Polluted land not fit to lay eggs

12. Terrestrial Insects Used for
Bioindication:
Beetles maintain soil quality also indicate pollution
from oil, Sulphur, CO2 and insecticides
Collembolans maintain soil fertility, sensitive to
heavy metals, soil acidification and pesticides
Lepidopterans indicate heavy metals and CO2
pollution
Honey bees act as two way indicators

13. Thank You