Indicator species: What are and examples

Within the world of ecology, indicator species are those recognized for their characteristics and skills to Indicate sensitivity and disturbance against pollutantsbeing used as possible units of estimation of the status of other species or environmental conditions that, as a rule, are difficult (and even expensive) to measure directly. That is why the interest of the use of indicator species in ecological studies is of great relevance, facilitating both quantitative and qualitative analysis, at regional, national and even international scales. When knowing How indicator species are classified, It should be differentiated into three large groups, according to the use given within the world of ecology:

Indicator species signaling environmental changes

They are strongly related to particular environmental conditions, so their presence indicates the existence of this condition, being useful, for example, to assess the presence of pollutants or toxic substances in the environment. Given its function they are also known as indicator species of ecological health.

Population indicator species

Its function lies in detecting and interpreting changes in population dynamics of other species with which they share natural habitat and with those that probably maintain some type of interspecific ecological relationship, such as the trophic predator-prison relationships or symbiosis, among others. Here you can read about the trophic relationships of ecosystems: definition and examples and what is symbiosis in ecology with examples.

Biodiversity indicator species

This last type of indicator species facilitates the understanding of the wealth of species that characterizes a specific natural area. These species are characterized by a wide distribution, with specialist habitats, as well as the ease of being studied by ecologists to interpret the results of fauna and/or floristic wealth of the species or groups of species with which they live together.

In the next sections we will see concrete examples of these curious species so useful for the world of ecology and the understanding of the functioning of natural habitats.

Among the Indicators We find species that belong to the different groups of animals that exist on the planet, since both invertebrates and vertebrates can be able to become bioindicators of great ecological relevance. Thus, among the main bioindicators of fauna we find:

Invertebrates

• Escherichia coli (Bacterium). Indicator species of environmental changes.
  
• Ephemeral (ephemeroptera order, aquatic macroinvertebrates). Indicator species of environmental changes.
• Sea stars (asteroid class). Population indicator species.
• Monarch butterflies (Nymphalidae family). Population indicator species.
• Beetles (order coleoptera). Biodiversity indicator species.

Vertebrates

• Mottled owl (Strix Occidentalis). Indicator species of environmental changes.
• River otters (Canadensis Lontra). Indicator species of environmental changes.
• Salamandras (Salamandridae family). Indicator species of environmental changes.
• Bats (chiroptera order). Population indicator species.
• Pantano snails (Gastopoda class). Indicator species of environmental changes.

Within the diverse and surprising functions that plants perform for the proper functioning of the different ecosystems of the planet, it stands out, without a doubt, the paper as biowest they play in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Now, while animal bioindicators species allow variations in environmental, population and/or biodiversity conditions, in the case of plants, these are characterized by being able to indicate environmental changes (usually pollution) and changes in floristic biodiversity associated with an ecosystem or certain region, defining, for example, the fauna characteristic of a desert or forest in concrete. Let’s look at some concrete examples of indicator plants that we can find throughout the planet, as well as the type of bioindication attributed within the world of ecology:

• Agave Lechuguilla (Agavaceae family). Biodiversity indicator species.
• Guatemalan Magnolia (Magnolia Guatemalensis). Biodiversity indicator species.
• Lichens (they are not plants themselves, they are symbiotic organisms constituted by algae and fungi). Pollution indicator species.
• Mushrooms (sub division Bryophyta). Pollution indicator species.

Now that you know all this about the indicator species, you may be interested in continuing to learn about this topic and read this other article about environmental bioindicators, their types, how they are used and more.

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