Monitoring macroinvertebrates of the Beausejour and Concord rivers, Grenada

This study focused on benthic macroinvertebrates at three distinct locations in relation to different levels of human influence along the Beausejour and Concord Rivers, Grenada, West Indies. These organisms spend a significant portion of their life cycle in the bottom sediments of freshwater ecosystem and are very sensitive to changes in their environment. Both rivers were sampled twice during the dry season 2022 and found the Concord River with a high taxonomic abundance and richness, particularly at the upper site (p = 0.0036). Although the Beausejour River was heavily impacted with visible turbid conditions, high levels of nitrates and phosphates, there were no significant difference in taxa assemblage. The data from this study was also compared to data from 2017 to determine seasonal variation in taxa assemblage and found the wet season (2017) significantly different (p < 0.003) than the dry season (2022). This finding indicated the possibility of seasonal variation, but continued research is required to firmly determine that trend.