Assessment of relationship between presence and density indices of Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) and water quality parameters (A case study: Some riverine systems of Tehran and Hamedan provinces)

Nowadays, use of ecosystem health indicators, such as aquatic invertebrates, fishes and birds, has received growing attention to quickly assess of ecosystem health due to their properties such as saves time, energy and costs. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the correlation among presence and density of the Cinclus cinclus and physico-chemical parameters of some riverine systems of Tehran and Hamedan provinces in 2015. In so doing, presence points and the number of individual birds were detected by direct observation and/or finding its signs and tracks along riversides. Then, some physicochemical properties of water (i.e. temperature, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity and pH) and richness and abundance of macrobenthos were investigated in the presence points of dipper. Also, all statistical analyses were performed using the Minitab and STATISTICA statistical software's. Based on the results of ordinal regression analysis and AIC, significant correlations were found between electrical conductivity, macrobenthos abundances as well as water temperature and the presence and density of the dipper. Therefore, it seems that our results revealed a good relationship between the presence and the density of the dipper and water quality in the studied riverine systems.