Macroinvertebrates of the Iranian running waters: a review

Macroinvertebrados de águas correntes do Irã: uma revisão

Abstract

A comprehensive review of macroinvertebrate studies conducted along the Iranian running waters over the last 15 years has been made by providing the most updated checklist of the Iranian running waters benthic invertebrates. Running waters ecosystems are complex environments known for their importance in terms of biodiversity. As part of the analysis, we endeavored to provide the critical re-identification of the reported species by through comparisons with the database of the Animal Diversity Web (ADW) and appropriate literature sources or expert knowledge. A total of 126 species belonging to 4 phyla have been compiled from 57 references. The phylum Arthropoda was found to comprise the most taxa (n = 104) followed by Mollusca, Annelida and Platyhelminthes. Ongoing efforts in the Iranian running waters regarding biomonitoring indices development, testing, refinement and validation are yet to be employed in streams and rivers. Overall, we suggest that future macroinvertebrate studies in Iranian running waters should be focused on long-term changes by broadening target species and strong efforts to publish data in peer-reviewed journals in English.

Keywords:  biodiversity; biomonitoring; assessment; freshwater ecosystems