Impact of Heavy Metals on Insect Communities in Streams: A Comparison of Observational and Experimental Results

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 2017-2025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Williams H. Clements ◽  
Donald S. Cherry ◽  
John Cairns Jr.

This research compares effects of heavy metals on macroinvertebrate communities in outdoor experimental streams with those observed at impacted field sites. Natural assemblages of aquatic macroinvertebrates were established on substrate-filled trays which were then transferred to outdoor stream mesocosms. Exposure of these communities to low levels of copper and zinc (target concentration = 12 μg/L) significantly reduced the number of taxa, number of individuals, and abundance of most dominant taxa within 4 d. After 10 d, control streams were dominated by Ephemeroptera and Tanytarsini chironomids, whereas treated streams were dominated by Hydropsychidae and Orthocladiini. Responses of benthic communities to metals observed at the Clinch River (Russell Co., Virginia), a system impacted by copper and zinc, were similar to those in experimental streams. Ephemeroptera and Tanytarsini, which comprised 38–46% of the macroinvertebrate community at upstream reference stations, were significantly reduced at all effluent sites. As in treated experimental streams, impacted stations were dominated by Hydropsychidae and Orthocladiini. The similarity of our experimental results to those obtained from Clinch River field sites suggests that outdoor stream mesocosms may be employed to predict macroinvertebrate community responses to heavy metals.

Author(s):  
Lotfi Rabaoui ◽  
Radhouane El Zrelli ◽  
Mohammed Ben Mansour ◽  
Rafik Balti ◽  
Lamjed Mansour ◽  
...  

The variations in the composition and structure of macroinvertebrate benthic communities in relationship with the marine sediment enrichment with heavy metals were investigated in the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia. Standard community parameters as well as the trophic and ecological structure were analysed in 18 stations sampled in six localities. Highest values of diversity descriptors (S, N and H′) were recorded in the less-polluted localities and vice versa. Besides, the results of AMBI and BENTIX indexes were also concordant with those obtained with the classical diversity parameters and matched with the sediment heavy metals distribution in the Gulf of Gabes. Compared with the northern and southern parts of the Gulf, the central area was found to be the most polluted and to host the most-affected benthic community. In addition, biotic indexes were found to be very useful tools to monitor the ecological quality status of benthic assemblages.


Author(s):  
Anderson Nascimento do Vasco ◽  
Amanda Vaz de Souza Oliveira ◽  
Geovane Alves Feitosa ◽  
Talita Guimarães Araújo-Piovezan ◽  
Agripino Emanuel Oliveira Alves ◽  
...  

River regularization plays an important role in socio economic development. However, it also modifies the natural flow system of the river and its biotic and abiotic characteristics, causing significant impacts on rivers. To evaluate the impacts on the macroinvertebrate community caused by dam construction on the Poxim-Açú River, metrics of composition and community structure of the macroinvertebrates were analyzed, as well as ecological and biological traits of the region. Macroinvertebrates were collected at three sites located downstream the dam, before (2013) and after (2015) dam construction. The water quality was classified as “good” to “excellent” according to the biotics indices. The alterations of the flow regime of the river after the dam construction influenced the macroinvertebrate communities, modifying their diversity, equitability, richness, and the number of individuals. Keywords: bioindicators, dam impacts, environmental monitoring.


1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 1686-1694 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Clements ◽  
Donald S. Cherry ◽  
John H. Van Hassel

Benthic communities (sampled once annually from 1986 to 1989) at stations impacted by copper and zinc were characterized by reduced species richness, reduced abundance, and a shift in community composition from sensitive to tolerant taxa. Benthic community structure varied annually due to fluctuations in stream discharge and improvements in water quality. Sensitivity of 13 dominant taxa to Cu was measured in outdoor experimental streams by exposing organisms to Cu (25 μg/L) for 10 d. Sensitivities (si), defined as proportioned reduction in abundance in treated streams relative to controls, ranged from 1.00 for several species of Ephemeroptera that were completely eliminated to −0.14 for taxa that increased in treated streams (Chironomidae: Orthocladiini). An index of community sensitivity (ICS) based on si and relative abundance of dominant taxa (pi) was developed for the Clinch River. The ICS was highly sensitive to heavy metals and useful for distinguishing reference and impacted stations. There was good agreement between the ICS and other community-level approaches in identifying impacted stations. We suggest that specific ICS values, based on si estimates of dominant taxa within a region, may be employed to predict the degree of metal impact in other streams within that region.


1970 ◽  
pp. 09
Author(s):  
K. SANKAR GANESH ◽  
P. SUNDARAMOORTHY

Heavy metals are one of the most important pollutants released to the aquatic environment by the various industrial activities. The use of these wastewater for irrigation results accumulation of heavy metals in soil and plants. So, the present investigation deals with the various concentrations (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 300 mg/l) of copper and zinc on germination studies of soybean. The different concentrations of copper and zinc were used for germination studies. The seedlings were allowed to grow upto seven days. The studied morphological traits increased at 5 mg/l concentration and these parameters are gradually decreased with the increase of copper and zinc concentrations.


Author(s):  
Gusni Sri Ningsih ◽  
Analuddin Kangkuso ◽  
Nasaruddin Nasaruddin

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui struktur populasi dan kandungan logam berat gastropoda (Telescopium telescopium) di Taman Nasional Rawa Aopa Watumohai. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Januari sampai Maret 2018. Lokasi pengambilan sampel penelitian terletak pada mangrove yang tumbuh di Sungai Lanowulu dan Roraya di TNRAW. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode purposive sampel. Penelitian ini menggunakan plot kuadrat ukuran 1 m2 diletakkan di setiap stasiun. Jumlah individu dari T. telescopium dihitung berat dan panjangnya. Selain itu, kandungan logam berat Timbal (Pb) dan Cadmium (Cd) di dalam daging T. telescopium dihitung menggunakan Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) di Laboratorium Fakultas Perikanan dan Ilmu Kelautan Universitas Halu Oleo. Struktur populasi T. telescopium ditentukan dengan analisis histogram, distribusi ukurannya ditentukan dengan analisis koefisien variasi (CV). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan struktur populasi gastropoda membentuk kurva normal dengan ukuran kecil. Kandungan logam Pb dan Cd di dalam sedimen dan air laut dari Sungai Roraya lebih tinggi secara signifikan dibandingkan dengan Sungai Lanowulu, disisi lain, kandungan logam berat Pb dan Cd dalam daging T. telescopium tidak berbeda signifikan. Dengan demikian, kandungan logam berat Pb dan Cd pada air laut, sedimen dan daging T. telescopium di sungai Lanowulu dan sungai Roraya berada di atas baku mutu sesuai dengan Kepmen LH. No. 51. 2004. Kata kunci: Gastropoda, Mangrove, Logam Berat, TNRAW. ABSTRACTThis study aims todetermine the population structure and heavy metals contents of gastropods (Telescopiumtelescopium) living in RawaAopaWatumohai National RAWN Park. This research was conducted from January until March 2018. The sampling location of research was in mangroves grown along the Lanowulu and Roraya rives at RAWN Park. This research uses purposive sampling method.  This study used the plot quadrate of 1 m2 widethat placed in each station. The number of individuals of.T. telecopium was counted, while their fresh weight and length of T.telescopiumwere measured. In addition, the content of heavy metals of Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) into meat of T. telescopium were measured by using Atomic Absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in Laboratory at Faculty of Fisheries andMarine Science at Halu Oleo University. The population structure of T. telescopium was determined by histrogram analysis, its size distribution was determined by coefficient of variation (CV) analysis. The results showed that population structure of gastropods was normal curve with small ranges of size distribution. The content of Pb and Cd into sediment and sea water of Rorayariver were significantly higher as compared than that in Lanowulu river. On the other hand, the content of heavy metals Pb and Cd into meat of T. telescopium was not significantly different. However, the heavy metals contents of Pb and Cd into sea water, sediment and meat of T. telescopiumboth in Lanowuluand Roraya riverswere above the quality standard according to Ministry of Environment No. 51/LH/2004. Keywords : Gastropods, mangroves, Lanowulu and Roraya rivers, heavy metals, Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Eduardo Rico-Sánchez ◽  
Alexis Joseph Rodríguez-Romero ◽  
Jacinto Elías Sedeño-Díaz ◽  
Eugenia López-López ◽  
Andrea Sundermann

Abstract Mining is one of the main pollution issues worldwide, causing the greatest disturbances to the environment. Industrial and artisanal mining activities are widespread in Mexico, being a major global producer of various metals. This study aimed to assess the ecological impairments resulting from mining activities using the aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages (MA). A multiple co-inertia analysis (MCOA) was applied to determine the relationships between environmental factors, habitat quality, heavy metals, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in two rivers of the Central Plateau, Mexico. The results revealed three contrasting environmental conditions and different MA. High concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients, and salinity limit the presence of various families of seemingly sensitive macroinvertebrates, these factors were identified as the drivers of structural changes in the MA, showing that not only mining activities, but also agriculture, and villages in the basin, exert negative effects to the macroinvertebrate communities. Diversity indices showed that the lowest diversity matched with both, the most polluted and the most saline rivers. The rivers studied displayed a high alkalinity and hardness, which can lead to the formation of metal precipitates and thus acting as a protection to aquatic biota. Aquatic biomonitoring in rivers, impacted by mining and other human activities, is critical for detecting the effect of metals and other pollutants to improve management and conservation strategies. This study supports the design of cost-effective and accurate water quality biomonitoring protocols in developing countries.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pattarawadee Kheamphet ◽  
Prinya Masawat

This paper describes a smartphone-based digital imaging equipment for lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc determination in Thai rice that is both convenient and cost-effective. This smartphone-based digital imaging device has...


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
Qidong Lin ◽  
Jinxi Song ◽  
Carlo Gualtieri ◽  
Dandong Cheng ◽  
Ping Su ◽  
...  

The effect of hyporheic exchange on macroinvertebrates is a significant topic in ecohydraulics. A field study was conducted during May and June 2017 to investigate the impacts of magnitude and patterns of hyporheic exchange on the sediment macroinvertebrate community in the Weihe River basin. The results demonstrate that upwelling flows cause resuspension of riverbed sediment, increasing the proportion of swimmer groups (such as Baetidae) in the macroinvertebrate community. However, large resuspension of river bed sediment results in a reduced abundance of macroinvertebrates. By controlling the transport processes of dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, temperature, and different patterns of hyporheic exchange strongly influence the structure of macroinvertebrate communities. Downwelling is more likely to produce rich invertebrate communities than upwelling. The magnitude for the hyporheic flux of 150–200 mm/d was optimal for the macroinvertebrate community in the Weihe River Basin. Above or below this rate results in a decline in community abundance and diversity. We suggest that research is conducted to better understand the effects of hyporheic exchange across bedforms on macroinvertebrate communities. The study supports any activities to preserve the ecological functions and health of rivers dominated by fine-grained sediments.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document