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Pollution of a Tasmanian River by Mine Effluents. II. Distribution of Macroinvertebrates
Author(s) -
Thorp Veronica J.,
Lake Philip S.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.19730580609
Subject(s) - pollution , invertebrate , cadmium , abundance (ecology) , environmental science , substrate (aquarium) , ecology , effluent , zinc , water pollution , biology , chemistry , environmental engineering , organic chemistry
The distribution and abundance of macroinvertebrates were studied in the South Esk River, Tasmania; a river subject to cadmium and zinc pollution as a result of mining. The groups most intolerant of cadmium‐zinc pollution were the Crustacea, Mollusca and Annelida. Highly tolerant groups included aquatic Hemiptera and Arachnida, and larvae of leptocerid trichopterans. A drop in both species diversity and abundance occurred after floods in winter and was probably due to pulses of cadmium and zinc down the river and also to increased molar action of the unstable substrate.