Bioindicators: Environmental Health Monitoring

Bioindicators are organisms (species, groups) used to monitor environmental health. Their presence/absence, abundance, or health provides information about ecosystem quality. They can be:

• Responsive: Show measurable response to specific environmental changes.
• Cumulative Impact: Respond progressively and proportionally to increasing pollution or environmental changes over time.

Bioindicators are particularly sensitive to environmental changes and can assess impacts of pollution, climate change, and human activities.