ABSTRACT
Water quality can be described in terms of physical, chemical and biological characteristics (see Chapter 2). Although biologists have been studying the effects of human activities on aquatic systems and organisms for decades, their findings have only relatively recently been translated into methods suitable for monitoring the quality of water bodies. Artificial (and in some cases natural) changes in the physical and chemical nature of freshwaters can produce diverse biological effects ranging from the severe (such as a total fish kill) to the subtle (for example changes in enzyme levels or sub-cellular components of organisms). Changes like these indicate that the ecosystem and its associated organisms are under stress or that the ecosystem has become unbalanced. As a result there could be possible implications for the intended uses of the water and even possible risks to human health.
