Abstract
We experimentally tested threealternative hypotheses to explain the low algaldiversity and abundance in an intertidal zonereceiving the effluents of the copper mine El Salvadorin northern Chile. Our results demonstrated thatalgae were able to grow at the levels of dissolvedcopper detected in coastal waters of the area. Duringthe assays, growth and regeneration in several red,green and brown adult algae and juvenile Lessonia nigrescens were normal at copper levels of150 μg L-1 or, in some cases, higher. Wealso found that the coastal sea water mixed with theeffluent was not lethal to algae, although in somecases minor effects on growth were detected. Theseresults indicate that today's low algal diversity andabundance can not be explained by the current copperlevels in the area nor by the effect of the effluent.Exclusion of grazers, however, resulted in a fastcolonization by various algal species. This, togetherwith atypically high grazer density at the areas underthe influence of the effluent, strongly suggests thatherbivory, a factor not directly related to the miningoperation, is likely to be responsible for the lowalgal diversity and abundance in the studied locality.
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Correa, J.A., Ramírez, M.A., de la Harpe, JP. et al. Copper, Copper Mining Effluents and Grazing as Potential Determinants of Algal Abundance and Diversity in Northern Chile. Environ Monit Assess 61, 267–283 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006179424239
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006179424239