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Updated: May 31, 2026

Continuous Hydrologic and Water Quality Monitoring of Vernal Ponds
Published on: November 13, 2017
[Aquatic insects and water quality in Peñas Blancas watershed and reservoir]
1Unidad de Cuenca del río Peñas Blancas, UEN Proyectos y Servicios Asociados, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, San José, Costa Rica, Apdo. 10032-1000. entomomeyer@gmail.com
Abstract:
The aquatic insects have been used to evaluate water quality of aquatic environments. The population of aquatic insects and the water quality of the area were characterized according to the natural and human alterations present in the study site. During the monthly-survey, pH, DO, temperature, water level, DBO, PO4 and NO3 were measured. Biological indexes (abundance, species richness and the BMWP-CR) were used to evaluate the water quality. No relation between environmental and aquatic insects was detected. Temporal and spatial differences attributed to the flow events (temporal) and the presence of Peñas Blancas reservoir (spatial). In the future, the investigations in Peñas Blancas watershed need to be focused on determining the real influence of the flows, sediment release and the possible water quality degradation because of agriculture activities.
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