Response of Chironomidae (Diptera) to DDT, Mercury, and Arsenic Legacy Pollution in Sediments of the Toce River (Northern Italy).

ABSTRACT: The Toce River (Northern Italy) is characterized by legacy contamination of dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), mercury, and arsenic deriving from an industrial plant active between ca. 1915 and 1996. Chironomidae taxa assemblages and sediments were collected in 2014 and 2019 upstream and downstream of the industrial area to analyze species responses to toxic substances in a river stretch with relatively uniform natural (i.e., hydro-morphological) characteristics. A total of 32 chironomid taxa were identified. Sediment concentrations reached levels potentially toxic for benthic invertebrates: 15.7 µg kg^-1 1% organic carbon for DDT, 197 µg kg^-1 dry weight (d.w.) for Hg, and 55.7 mg kg^-1 d.w. for As. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed a pre

SUBMITTER: Marziali L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10971021 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature