Development of a benthic multimetric index for the Serra da Bocaina bioregion in Southeast Brazil/ Desenvolvimento de um indice multimetrico bentonico para a bioregiao da Serra da Bocaina no Sudeste do Brasil

Brazil faces a challenge to develop biomonitoring tools to be used in water quality assessment programs, but few multimetric indices were developed so far. This study is part of an effort to test and implement programs using benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators in Rio de Janeiro State. Our aim was first to test the Multimetric Index for Serra dos Orgàos (SOMI) for a different area - Serra da Bocaina (SB) - in the same ecoregion. We sampled 27 streams of dif- ferent sizes and altitudes in the SB region. Despite the environmental similarities, results indicated biological differ- ences between reference sites of the two regions. Considering these differences, we decided to develop an index specific for the SB region, the Serra da Bocaina Multimetric Index (MISB). We tested twenty-two metrics for sensitiv- ity to impairment and redundancy, and six metrics were considered valid to integrate the MISB: Family Richness, Trichoptera Richness, % Coleoptern, % Diptera, IBE-IOC index, EPT / Chironomidae ratio. A test of the MISB in eleven sites indicated it was more related to land-use and water physico-chemical parameters than with altitude or stream width, being a useful tool for the monitoring and assessment of streams in the bioregion. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]