Comparing impacts of metal contamination on macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages in a northern Japanese river.

ABSTRACT: Researchers have long assessed the ecological impacts of metals in running waters, but few such studies investigated multiple biological groups. Our goals in this study were to assess the ecological impacts of metal contamination on macroinvertebrates and fishes in a northern Japanese river receiving treated mine discharge and to evaluate whether there was any difference between the metrics based on macroinvertebrates and those based on fishes in assessing these impacts. Macroinvertebrate communities and fish populations were little affected at the downstream contaminated sites where concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd were 0.1-1.5 times higher than water-quality criteria established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We detected a significant reduction in a few macroinvertebrat

SUBMITTER: Namba H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7847197 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature