Abstract
Benthic invertebrates were collected from a subarctic lake during 1976 to assess the effectiveness of diversity indices and indicator species as measures of heavy metal pollution. Collections were made near an operating metal mine, where sediments were contaminated with high levels of arsenic (up to 2,500 mg/kg dry weight), mercury (500 µg/kg), lead (850 mg/kg), copper (750 mg/kg) and zinc (950 mg/kg). A total of 25 species and a diversity index of 2.4—2.9 were recorded in this heavily impacted area. Chironomids (Procladius denticulatus, Heterotrissocladius changi, Chironomus decorus) were most common in the sediments, followed in importance by molluscs (Pisidium casertanum) and oligochaetes (Lumbriculus variegatus). There were 23 and 25 species in the areas of moderate and negligible contamination, respectively. The diversity indices ranged from 2.4–2.6 and 2.4–2.8 and the main species were generally similar to those found in the heavily impacted area. While diversity indices and indicator species were therefore ineffective in monitoring metal contamination, the strong negative correlation between the concentration of metals and the abundance of benthic organisms provided a much more realistic assessment of the level of contamination.
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Moore, J.W. Diversity and indicator species as measures of water pollution in a subarctic lake. Hydrobiologia 66, 73–80 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00019142
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00019142