assessing the ecological integrity of a rural river using macroinvertebrate diversity and their functional feeding groups in north-central nigeria

Globally, freshwater is one of the most threatened habitats.  anthropogenic activities exert a significant pressure on this unique natural resource leading to decline in water quality and loss of biodiversity. therefore, the need to evaluate the health status of rivers and the possible threats they are facing in order to protect and manage their resources adequately. in this study we used physicochemical parameters, macroinvertebrate assemblages and their functional feeding groups to ascertain the health status of a rural river. samples were collected from three stations based on their levels of anthropogenic activities   mean values of total alkalinity, total hardness, bod5, phosphate and nitrate were highest in station 1 and lowest values were observed in station 3 except for bod5 and nitrate which recorded lowest mean values in station 2. all recorded physicochemical parameters showed no significant (p>0.05) difference across the sampled stations, while significant (p<0.05) among the sampling months except temperature, flow velocity, ph and bod5. a total of 136 individuals macroinvertebrates belonging to 10 species in three functional feeding groups (ffg) were identified. predators accounted for 82%, scrapers 16% and 2% were collector-gatherers. the canonical correspondence analysis (cca) axis 1 accounted for 64.93% of the species variation while cca axis 2 accounted for 35.07% of the species variation with eigen value of less than1 indicating weak or no relationship.  overall, this study revealed that macroinvertebrate assemblages and their functional feeding group are good indicators of aquatic ecological integrity. this provided further insights into the impact of anthropogenic activities on freshwater systems and using macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups as best indicators of ecosystem health.