Assessment of suitability of macrobenthic mollusc diversity to monitor water quality and shallow sediment quality in a tropical rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated wetland system

Six sampling sites were selected to represent different land use types in the rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated areas of a recreational wetland in Sri Lanka to study the suitability of macrobenthic mollusc diversity to monitor spatial and temporal variation in physico-chemical parameters of water and shallow sediments. Individuals belonging to six families and eight species were recorded during the study. The significantly highest mean abundance (individuals) of Bithynia tentaculata and Pila globosa were recorded in sites from the rehabilitated area and there was no significant temporal variation of mollusc abundance during the study.  The abundance and diversity of mollusc community showed significant spatial variations and this study identified that B. tentaculata and P. globosa can be used as possible bioindicators to detect changes in water and shallow sediment quality in tropical wetland ecosystems.