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Responses of Riverine Macroinvertebrates to Zinc in Natural Streams: Implications for the Japanese Water Quality Standard

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Abstract

We conducted a field survey in Japanese streams and rivers to generate useful information about whether the Japanese water quality standard for zinc (Zn) in the freshwater environment (30 μg/L) is over- or underprotective of the populations and communities of lotic benthic macroinvertebrates. Many macroinvertebrate populations were reduced and community characteristics were altered at two polluted sites with Zn concentrations above 1,000 μg/L as compared with control sites with Zn concentrations below 30 μg/L. In contrast, at least one site among three polluted sites with Zn concentrations of 80–126 μg/L experienced noncritical effects (i.e., no significant difference was observed between the sample mean at a polluted site and that at the control sites, and the sample mean was within the minimum–maximum range of those at the control sites) for most of the ten community metrics for diversity and abundance. In addition, the abundances of 95% of the dominant taxa were not always significantly lower at more than one polluted site (Zn concentrations, ≥80 μg/L). Our results suggest that Zn concentrations below approximately 100 μg/L are likely to protect most aspects of richness and abundance of the riverine macroinvertebrate communities in the study areas. This study shows a case that the Japanese Zn standard is likely overprotective of the macroinvertebrate populations and communities.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Steel Industry Foundation for the Advancement of Environmental Protection Technology; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization; and the Global Center of Excellence Program, Global Eco-Risk Management from Asian Viewpoints, from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan. Y.I. was funded by Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency. We thank H. Nishijima, M. Sakakibara, S. Yoshida, and K. Kinoshita. The comments of two anonymous reviewers helped us greatly improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-7, Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 240–8501, Japan

    Yuichi Iwasaki & Hiroyuki Matsuda

  2. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, 1-1-1, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113–8657, Japan

    Takashi Kagaya

  3. Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305–8569, Japan

    Ken-ichi Miyamoto & Hiroyuki Matsuda

Authors
  1. Yuichi Iwasaki
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  2. Takashi Kagaya
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  3. Ken-ichi Miyamoto
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  4. Hiroyuki Matsuda
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Correspondence to Yuichi Iwasaki.

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Table S1

Ratios of measured metal concentrations to the chronic criterion values of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA 2002) at study sites. If the metal concentrations were below the detection limit (see Table 2), we took half of the detection limit as the concentration (PDF 26 kb)

Table S2

Reference values (mean) and their standard error (SE) based on unpolluted river or stream sites. Log10-transformed values are shown for abundance and biomass metrics (PDF 12 kb)

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Iwasaki, Y., Kagaya, T., Miyamoto, Ki. et al. Responses of Riverine Macroinvertebrates to Zinc in Natural Streams: Implications for the Japanese Water Quality Standard. Water Air Soil Pollut 223, 145–158 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-0846-1

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