JACKKNIFE AND BOOTSTRAP ESTIMATION OF BIOLOGICAL INDEX OF WATER-QUALITY

Many biological indices of water quality are generally used with a very low number of field samples to estimate water conditions. This precludes the application of traditional statistical techniques in order to test for significant differences between values of the indices for different sampling stations. Two non-standard statistical methods now in common use, namely the jacknife and the bootstrap, could be proficiently applied to obtain a quantitative measure of the indicator power of biological indices. This methodology allows the detection of significant trends in water pollution or water improvement. Application of these methods is exemplified by the Pantle and Buck saprobity index of water quality. © 1990.