The LIFE Index can be useful to determine the effect of changes in river flow on the community of aquatic macroinvertebrates and as a tool for the implementation of environmental flows. This study demonstrates how to classify aquatic macroinvertebrates into a flow category in order to adjust the LIFE Index to Costa Rica. A panel of experts was surveyed to classify the most common genera into a water velocity category, based on their experience. Also, for one-year, aquatic macroinvertebrates were collected in the low and middle basin of the Naranjo River under different velocities, and by using the TITAN2 package, their respective thresholds for current velocity were determined. Variation was observed in the responses of the expert panel; however, several taxa overlapped by more than 60% between the expert classification and the TITAN2 test results. The TITAN2 test assigned a velocity threshold to 32 genera, with the inflection point being 0.1 m/s. The expert panel served as a tool to assign a category to those genera that the TITAN2 test did not contemplate. Organisms without morphological adaptations to survive fast flowing conditions decreased in frequency above 0.1 m/s, while genera related to moderate and high velocities increased in frequency. Through the panel of experts and the TITAN2 test, it was possible to assign the most common genera in the country to a current velocity category and therefore adjust the LIFE index.

LIFE指数对于确定河流流量变化对水生无脊椎动物群落的影响以及作为实施环境流量的工具非常有用。这项研究演示了如何将水生无脊椎动物分类为流量类别，以便将LIFE指数调整为哥斯达黎加。对一个专家小组进行了调查，根据他们的经验将最普通的属归为水速类别。同样，对于一年时间，以不同的速度在纳兰霍河的中下游盆地收集了大型水生无脊椎动物，并使用TITAN2软件包确定了它们各自的当前速度阈值。在专家小组的答复中观察到了变化；但是，专家分类和TITAN2测试结果之间的几种分类单元重叠率超过60％。TITAN2测试将速度阈值指定为32属，拐点为0.1 m / s。专家小组充当了为TITAN2测试未考虑的类属分配类别的工具。没有形态适应性的生物无法在快速流动的条件下生存，其频率在0.1 m / s以上下降，而与中，高速度有关的属在频率上上升。通过专家小组和TITAN2测试，可以将美国最常见的属分配给当前速度类别，从而调整LIFE指数。没有形态适应性的生物无法在快速流动的条件下生存，其频率在0.1 m / s以上下降，而与中，高速度有关的属在频率上上升。通过专家小组和TITAN2测试，可以将美国最常见的属分配给当前速度类别，从而调整LIFE指数。没有形态适应性的生物无法在快速流动的条件下生存，其频率在0.1 m / s以上下降，而与中，高速度有关的属在频率上上升。通过专家小组和TITAN2测试，可以将美国最常见的属分配给当前速度类别，从而调整LIFE指数。