Exploring the Use of Macroinvertebrate Metrics in Developing and Validating Regional-Based Multimetric Index for Northern West Coastal Equatorial Ecoregion of Nigeria

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Abstract
The use of macroinvertebrates metrics, has gained popularity globally. In Hadejia River, the intersection of increasing human settlements and agricultural activities along the bank of the river have given rise to pressing environmental concern—contamination. From November 2018 to August 2019, we collected physico-chemical and macroinvertebrate samples in Hadejia River and three tributaries of the river namely Rivers Kafin Hausa, Hadiyau and Ringim. Metrics of the collected macroinvertebrates in Hadejia River were used to explore the ecological health conditions of the rivers, and also used to develop a simple multimetric index MMI (MMIhadejia) for the river. The statistical analysis using pair-wise t-tests and PERMANOVA provides insights into the comparability of various stations and seasons based on physico-chemical parameters. The metrics we identified during the test for sensitivity play a crucial role in discerning differences between the sampled stations, emphasizing their significance in biomonitoring efforts. Furthermore, seasonal stability in certain metrics in the study proved valuable for ensuring the reliability of the selected indicators over time, providing consistent information regardless of seasonal changes. Metrics such as Mollusca abundance, Coleoptera richness, and Shannon Diversity stand out as reliable indicators, offering both discriminatory power and stability across seasons. The redundancy test results revealed that Shannon Diversity and Evenness Index were deemed non-redundant. We summed up the scores assigned to each of the four metric components integrated into the MMI. The validation process for MMIhadejia showed that water quality assessment based on this validation dataset of the three tributaries of Hadejia River revealed distinct categories for each river and station.

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