IUCN SSC Task Force on Global Freshwater Macroinvertebrate Sampling Protocols (GLOSAM)

Freshwater macroinvertebrates are widely used in biomonitoring and bioassessment across the world. Rapid bioassessment methods for rivers use aquatic macroinvertebrates as indicators of ecological health. They are at the centre of some of the largest ecosystem assessment programs in many parts of the world including many developing countries. The fact that there is a huge global team of researchers and practitioners involved in freshwater biological monitoring and ecosystem assessment means that a global assessment of freshwater ecosystems based on macroinvertebrates is attainable if an adequate level of harmonization of the protocols can be achieved.

Bioassessment based on invertebrate community composition works well where diversity of taxa is low, taxonomic keys are available, and there is sufficient capacity to train technicians. Still, in many countries, invertebrates are rarely monitored, standardized monitoring protocols are rare, and data are lacking on the abundance of species and their changes in space and time.

The IUCN SSC Task Force on Global Freshwater Macroinvertebrate Sampling Protocols (GLOSAM) aims to:

(1) Support the collection and analysis of freshwater benthic macroinvertebrate samples to monitor biodiversity and conduct bioassessment, and

(2) Establish globally accepted, standardised biodiversity collection and data handling steps for both bioassessments and species inventories, with awareness of specific biogeographic requirements, and

(3) Develop and promote guidelines to ensure the collection of ecologically-relevant data of known and acceptable quality, and support, promote, and facilitate regionally comparable bioassessment schemes (tools, assessment systems).

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Logo of the IUCN SSC Task Force on Global Freshwater Macroinvertebrate Sampling Protocols (GLOSAM)