TY  - JOUR
A1  - Rico-Sánchez, Axel Eduardo
A1  - Rodríguez-Romero, Alexis Joseph
A1  - Sedeño-Díaz, Jacinto Elías
A1  - López-López, Eugenia
A1  - Sundermann, Andrea
T1  - Aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in rivers influenced by mining activities
T2  - Scientific reports
N2  - Mining is one of the major pollution sources worldwide, causing huge disturbances to the environment. Industrial and artisanal mining activities are widespread in Mexico, a major global producer of various metals. This study aimed to assess the ecological impairments resulting from mining activities using aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages (MA). A multiple co-inertia analysis was applied to determine the relationships between environmental factors, habitat quality, heavy metals, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in 15 study sites in two different seasons (dry and wet) along two rivers running across the Central Plateau of Mexico. The results revealed three contrasting environmental conditions associated with different MAs. High concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients, and salinity limit the presence of several families of seemingly sensitive macroinvertebrates. These factors were found to influence structural changes in MAs, showing that not only mining activities, but also agriculture and presence of villages in the basin, exert adverse effects on macroinvertebrate assemblages. Diversity indices showed that the lowest diversity matched both the most polluted and the most saline rivers. The rivers studied displayed high alkalinity and hardness levels, which can reduce the availability of metals and cause adverse effects on periphyton by inhibiting photosynthesis and damaging MAs. Aquatic biomonitoring in rivers, impacted by mining and other human activities, is critical for detecting the effect of metals and other pollutants to improve management and conservation strategies. This study supports the design of cost-effective and accurate water quality biomonitoring protocols in developing countries.
KW  - Biodiversity
KW  - Community ecology
KW  - Conservation biology
KW  - Ecology
KW  - Environmental sciences
KW  - Limnology
Y1  - 2022
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/75151
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-751516
SN  - 2045-2322
N1  - Funding: CONACyT ; FONINS P 1931
N1  - Funding: Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado ; 20200577
VL  - 12.2022
IS  - art. 3209
SP  - 1
EP  - 14
PB  - Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature
CY  - [London]
ER  -