S pecies whose presence or abundance readily reflect some measure of the character of the habitat within which they are found are often identified as bioindicators 1 , most frequently to monitor changes within a particular habitat. In spite of the intuitive appeal of bioindication, largely as a consequence of its cost-effectiveness in the face of urgent conservation issues, indicator studies fr...

Considerable attention has been devoted to selecting bioindicator species as part of monitoring programs for exposure and effects from contaminants in the environment. Yet the rationale for selection of bioindicators is often literature-based, rather than developed with a firm site-specific base of data on contaminant levels in a diverse range of organisms at different trophic levels in the sam...

Lichens are considered the result of a symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga. More precisely the term “alga” indicates either a Cyanobacteriae or a Chlorophyceae; the fungus is usually an Ascomycetes, although on rare occasions it may be either a Basidiomycetes or a Phycomycetes. In this association, the alga is the part that is occupied with the formation of nutrients, since it contain...

Insect bioindicators have been used the world over, but they have seldom been used to evaluate revegetation efforts on previously pastoral land. The present study aimed to evaluate the health and biodiversity of a 3-year-old revegetated plot of previously pastoral land in Australia by comparing it to a mature forest, using ants and flying insects as bioindicators. Using ant baits and a nocturna...

Algae are widely present in freshwater environments, such as lakes and rivers, where they are typically present as micro-organisms – visible only with the aid of a light microscope. Although relatively inconspicuous, they have a major importance in the freshwater environment, both in terms of fundamental ecology and in relation to human use of natural resources. This book considers the diversit...