Bibliometric Analysis of Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators of Freshwater Quality

Abstract

Currently, one of the water quality assessment techniques that is being considered worldwide is the use of bioindicators, due to their easy application and low cost, benefiting human beings and the ecosystem. The objective of this research was to perform a bibliometric analysis of the use of macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of freshwater quality. For the study, research related to the topic (between January 2010 and August 2021) was selected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, using a search string comprised of keywords. Excel software was used to record and prepare tables and figures, and VOSviewer was used for data and bibliometric network analysis. The results of the search yielded 567 investigations in the Scopus database and 716 for the Web of Science (WoS) database, identifying that the most studied class of macroinvertebrates as a bioindicator of freshwater quality is the Insecta class. The journal with the highest scientific production on the topic studied was “ecological indicator”, both for the Scopus and WoS databases, and the country with the highest number of publications was the United States. The largest number of publications on macroinvertebrates was found in the thematic area “Environmental science”, and the most used keyword was “macroinvertebrates”. Finally, it is concluded that the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera of the class Insecta are the most used and with the best results as bioindicators of freshwater quality.