Taxonomic diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates and bio-evaluation of water quality of Grou River (Morocco) through the use of the standardized global biological index (IBGN)

The grou river, located in the central moroccan plateau, seems particularly threatened due to the lack of proper management. it is in this framework that this study was carried out in the region of rabat, morocco. it is purposed to examine the structure and taxonomic diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates, and to assess the biological quality of the waters in this river in order to solve the threat mentioned above. the fauna studied was collected monthly between december 2014 and november 2015. in the study, 9409 individuals identified belong to 33 families and 40 taxa corresponding to 4 faunal phyla (annelidae, platyhelminthes, mollusks and arthropods). the values of the global standardized biological index (ibgn) classified the waters of the grou river at the level of station s_1 in the middle category, at the station s_2 in the mediocre category and at both stations s_3 and s_4 in the good category. the results obtained in this study reveal an alarming situation regarding the quality of waters in the grou river, especially at the s_2 station located immediately followingthe confluence zone with the wastewater of the rural commune of jmaamoulblad. in order to solve this problem, we recommend a plan for the sustainable management of the grou river watershed and the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in the rural community of jmaamoulblad.