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Assessing the Quality of Amazon Aquatic Ecosystems with Multiple Lines of Evidence: The Case of the Northeast Andean Foothills of Ecuador

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology volume 107, pages 52–61 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

We assessed the quality of Andes-Amazonia streams in Ecuador impacted by gold mining (GM), discharges from inefficient sewage network in urban areas (UA), wastes from fish farming (FF) and from non-functional landfill (LF) and other few threats (FT). We selected three lines of evidence (LOE) that were used separately and integrated into a index: water quality (WQI) and macroinvertebrate community (AAMBI) indices and phytotoxicity tests. Streams affected by UA and LF had the lowest scores to WQI and phytotoxicity, and by GM had the lowest scores to AAMBI. Macroinvertebrate absence in GM should be considered as a warning signal of long-term mining impacts in the area. The integrated LOE index showed that sites with identified threats had 30%–53% stream quality decline compared to FT sites. The use of the selected LOE seems to be a useful tools for long-term monitoring and evaluation of this sensitive aquatic ecosystem.

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Acknowledgements

This investigation received financial support from the European Union in coordination with the Spanish Cooperation International Agency for Development (AECID), grant to MVC. The authors are thankful to the drivers and technicians of the Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam and to the staff of the Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia del Agua (LNRA) of Ikiam and Joel Ernesto Zamora Villon for their support in sample collection and logistics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias de La Tierra Y Agua, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Km 7 Vía Muyuna, Tena, Napo, Ecuador

    Emily Galarza, Edgar Espitia, Gabriel M. Moulatlet & Mariana V. Capparelli

  2. Grupo de Biogeografía y Ecología Espacial – BioGeoE2, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Km 7 Vía Muyuna, Tena, Napo, Ecuador

    Rodrigo Espinosa

  3. Facultad de Ciencias de La Vida, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Km 7 Vía Muyuna, Tena, Napo, Ecuador

    Rodrigo Espinosa

  4. Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia del Agua, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Km 7 Vía Muyuna, Tena, Napo, Ecuador

    Marcela Cabrera

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  1. Emily Galarza
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  2. Marcela Cabrera
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  3. Rodrigo Espinosa
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  4. Edgar Espitia
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Correspondence to Mariana V. Capparelli.

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Galarza, E., Cabrera, M., Espinosa, R. et al. Assessing the Quality of Amazon Aquatic Ecosystems with Multiple Lines of Evidence: The Case of the Northeast Andean Foothills of Ecuador. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 107, 52–61 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-03089-0

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Keywords

  • WQI index
  • Phytotoxicity
  • Macroinvertebrate community index
  • Gold mining
  • Fish farming
  • Non-functional landfills
  • Urban contamination