Application of biomonitoring and support vector machine in water quality assessment

The behavior of schools of zebrafish (Danio rerio) was studied in acute toxicity environments. Behavioral features were extracted and a method for water quality assessment using support vector machine (SVM) was developed. The behavioral parameters of fish were recorded and analyzed during one hour in an environment of a 24-h half-lethal concentration (LC₅₀) of a pollutant. The data were used to develop a method to evaluate water quality, so as to give an early indication of toxicity. Four kinds of metal ions (Cu²⁺, Hg²⁺, Cr⁶⁺, and Cd²⁺) were used for toxicity testing. To enhance the efficiency and accuracy of assessment, a method combining SVM and a genetic algorithm (GA) was used. The results showed that the average prediction accuracy of the method was over 80% and the time cost was acceptable. The method gave satisfactory results for a variety of metal pollutants, demonstrating that this is an effective approach to the classification of water quality.