Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of water quality on macroinvertebrates of 4 main canal systems in Ho Chi Minh City. The main objective of this study was to look for a biotic index to assess the surface water quality. The results showed an appearance of 28 families of macroinvertebrates in the 4 canal systems. The application of macroinvertebrates as a biotic index to evaluate the water quality demonstrated the pollution levels of four canal systems ranged from moderate to heavy pollution. This evaluation corresponded the water quality when assessed by phisio-chemical methods. We conclude that macro invertebrates can be a good biotic index applicable for water quality assessment.