| Title |
Sampling Method for Community Structure of Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Freshwater Sediment |
| Authors |
송재하(Jea-ha Song) ; 곽인실(Ihn-Sil Kwak) ; 공동수(Dong-Soo Kong) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2025.41.5.403 |
| Keywords |
Benthic macroinvertebrates; Core sampler; Sampling methodology; Sediment biomonitoring |
| Abstract |
Effective biomonitoring of freshwater ecosystems necessitates the implementation of standardized and efficient methodologies for the sampling of benthic macroinvertebrates. This study investigated four critical methodological factors-core sampler diameter, number of replicates, sampling depth, and sieve mesh size-to optimize sediment sampling in Korean rivers. Field surveys were conducted at 15 sites across major river systems in South Korea from June 2022 to October 2023. Three core sizes (Φ5, 7.5, and 10 cm) were compared using 15 replicates each to assess collection efficiency. The optimal number of replicates was determined through the application of the Weibull model to evaluate species accumulation curves and stabilization of community indices. To explore vertical macroinvertebrate distribution patterns, sediment samples were stratified into six depth layers. Three sieve sizes (1.0, 0.5, and 0.2 mm) were assessed to examine their impact on the recovery of small-bodied taxa. The results indicated that the Φ7.5 cm core sampler provided an optimal balance between efficiency and representativeness. A sampling effort of six replicates (0.026 m²) was found to be sufficient to stabilize most community indices. The majority of taxa were concentrated in the upper 0-6 cm layer, while extending sampling to depths of 10-20 cm increased coverage to over 90% and revealed additional deep-burrowing species, suggesting that a depth of 15-20 cm is appropriate for comprehensive assessments. The 0.2 mm sieve was critical for capturing small-bodied taxa, which were significantly underestimated when utilizing 0.5 or 1.0 mm sieves. These findings provide evidence-based guidelines for standardized benthic macroinvertebrate sampling in Korean freshwater ecosystems, thereby enhancing the reliability of ecological assessments and long-term biomonitoring efforts. |