Bioindicators: What are, types and examples

As described in 1999 by scientists Spanh and Sherry, the Environmental Bioindicators They are all those living organisms Which, thanks to their ecological characteristics, have a high sensitivity to the different environmental changes that occur in nature, reacting to them as if they are specific stimuli. These bioindicators are capable of react to the presence of contaminant accumulations long before what artificial or abiotic indicators do.

In this way, environmental bioindicators constitute one of the most used work tools in Biomonitoring programswhich allow to know if there are risks of environmental pollution in the different ecosystems of the planet, both in terrestrial and aquatic and aerial ecosystems.

Now that we already know what the environmental bioindicators are exactly, in the following list we will see the different types of bioindicators that exist according to the type of ecosystem on which they act:

• Air bioindicators
• Water Bioindicators
• Soil bioindicators
• Urban Bioindicators
• Marine Bioindicators

In the next section we will see some examples of specific environmental bioindicators to know them more closely.

Have you ever wondered why ferns are used as bioindicators or why the lichens are used as bioindicators of air pollution? Both plant organisms are considered one of the bioindicators par excellence, whose presence in an ecosystem determines that its atmospheric quality is good, since, otherwise, lichens and ferns They could not survive there. If you want to know more examples of bioindicators Apart from the lichens and ferns, in the following list you will find both terrestrial and aquatic and aerial organisms that are commonly considered as environmental bioindicators:

• Bioindicators of contamination of water sources.
• Bacteria that do the role of bioindicator of the water quality of the coastal.
• Microorganisms, mites, fungi and worms as bioindicators of soil quality.
• Bentonic macroinvertebrates bioindicators of environmental health of aquatic environments, both fresh and marine water.
• Wild birds such as biodindicators of the environmental health of the ecosystem in which they live, since these animals occupy different trophic levels in ecosystems, have a wide distribution and are sensitive to atmospheric changes in the environment.
• Salamanquesas or Dragoncitos and Gekos are very good indicators of air quality. These are especially sensitive to industrial gases, such as sulfur dioxide.
• Bees as bioindicators of air quality or atmosphere. These are especially sensitive to the presence of pesticides and insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, in the air and the plants they feed.
• Amphibians and fish as bioindicators of the absence of heavy metals in the waters in which they live.

The different environmental bioindicators that we have been seeing throughout the article are used in Biomonitoring or Environmental Biovigilance Programs.

In these programs, ecologists and other specialists study the presence or absence of certain living organisms that meet the characteristics of bioindicators, being able to determine thus The ecosystem in which they live is in good environmental health Or if, on the contrary, it has some type of source of pollution that prevents the survival and growth of these living organisms considered bioindicators.

For example, if the environmental quality and conservation status of a forest are studied that has a certain level of humidity in which there are lichens, these organisms indicate that in this forest, air quality is good enough, clean and purified so that living organisms can grow and inhabit that terrestrial ecosystem. This same example can be compared to the existence of fish and amphibians in aquatic ecosystems, as well as with the presence of birds in aerial ecosystems.

If you want to learn more about the aspect of air quality, here we talk in detail about what it is and how air quality is measured.

After knowing what environmental bioindicators consist of and how biomonitoring programs are applied, it is logical to think that these tools are very important in Environmental studies.

Thanks to their prompt response to the various polluting agents, bioindicators allow experts alert of possible environmental risks related to some type of pollution, as well as being able to act in front of these polluting agents once the bioindicator response has been discovered. We recommend you read this other article about what an environmental risk and examples are.

Undoubtedly, it is one of the most effective methods and in harmony with the ecological rhythms of nature that allows human beings to better understand environmental factors and act against contamination of them.

If you want to read more articles similar to Bioindicators: What are, types and exampleswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.