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Biologia 65/3: 520—526, 2010
Section Zoology
DOI: 10.2478/s11756-010-0044-4
Destructive effect of quarry effluent on life in a mountain stream
Marko Miliša,VesnaŽivkovi
´
c &IvanHabdija
Department of Zoology, Division of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb,
Croatia; e-mail: mmilisa@inet.hr
Abstract: Quarrying is a widespread method for acquiring construction material. The studies of quarrying effects to
date have been conducted mostly in the fields of geology, (hydro)geochemistry and landscape management while ecological
studies on effects of quarrying are surprisingly few. The goal of this study was to assess some ecological effects of quarry
mining on mountain stream habitats. The study was performed at Bistra Stream on Medvednica Mountain in NW Croatia.
The quarry is located 3 km downstream from the spring. Samples were taken at four sites on four dates during the spring of
2006. Standard physico chemical parameters were measured and triplicate benthos samples were taken using a 30 × 30 cm
Surber sampler. Turbidity, pH and temperature increased significantly downstream of the quarry. All biocenotic descriptors
decreased significantly downstream of the quarry including total taxa (by 60%), total number of individuals (by 85%),
diversity index (by 56%). The most important cause of such changes in the macroinvertebrate assemblage structure was
the change in pH and turbidity. The magnitude of changes in the macroinvertebrate assemblage structure was due to the
extremely long duration of disturbance. However, we believe that the recovery of aquatic assemblages, upon closure of the
quarry, would be fast and successful because of nearby streams that may serve as a recolonizing source.
Key words: quarry; fine sediment; mining; macroinvertebrates; disturbance; stream; Croatia
Introduction
Quarrying is a method for acquiring various geologi-
cal materials (rocks and minerals), and has been ex-
tensively employed worldwide. The effect that quar-
rying has on the environment is mostly equated with
the evident scars on the landscape and is considered
severe but nevertheless local. The focus of studies to
date has been confined to the field of geology, (hy-
dro)geochemistry and (terrestrial) landscape manage-
ment (Wheater & Cullen 1997; Gaiero et al. 1997; Jim
2001; Špičková et al. 2008; Kim et al. 2007). Papers re-
lated to the biological assessment of the effects of quar-
rying on aquatic systems are sparse (Nuttall 1972; Nut-
tall & Bielby 1973). This is surprising, given both the
imaginable and the proven effects of various mining ef-
fluents (Quinn et al. 1992; Kim et al. 2007; Mishra et al.
2008). Most quarries produce extreme amounts of fine
particles (Felekoglu 2007) which might be transported
by wind across great distances and affect all types of
habitats. Furthermore, some quarries utilize water in
the exploitation process and are situated near natural
water supplies that could be affected. Diabase (used for
asphalt mixture) quarries are a typical example. Impor-
tant phase in the exploitation of diabase is the rinsing
of extracted material. For this purpose stream channel
may be widened forming a shallow pond. Such interven-
tions result in different types of disturbance that have
been recognized as an important factor in structuring
the invertebrate assemblages (e.g., Lake 2000; Death
2002). The first disturbance we expected is an increased
amount of suspended solids and turbidity of stream wa-
ter. With channel widening, slowed flow and increased
turbidity we expected an increase in water temperature
and decrease of primary production and consequently
a decrease in the amount of dissolved oxygen.
A second aspect of quarry disturbance is the set-
tling of suspended fine particles on a natural cobble-
gravel substrate. Sedimentation and siltation is an
overwhelming stress for the native invertebrate as-
semblages (Wood & Armitage 1997; Weigelhofer &
Waringer 2003). Primary producer’s abundance is low-
ered and stream metabolism is changed, food qual-
ity for macroinvertebrates degrades and interstices are
filled, rendering these habitats inadequate for macroin-
vertebrates (Quinn et al. 1992; Parkhill & Gulliver
2002; Bo et al. 2007). We therefore expected a de-
crease in macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity
downstream of the quarry. On the other hand, moun-
tain streams are widespread in the temperate zone
andarelocatedneareach other. Those unaffected
can provide both refugia and a source for recolo-
nization especially for temporary stream fauna (in-
sects that live in streams only during larval develop-
ment), which represents the majority of species and
individuals within these assemblages. Other represen-
tatives (here mostly Oligochaeta) are largely burrow-
ing and interstitial species that dwell within the sedi-
ment, so we expected that the disturbance would not
affect them severely (Weigelhofer & Waringer 2003).
All of these facts may alleviate the effect of the distur-
bance.
c
2010 Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Effect of quarrying on a stream 521
A third disturbance that we expected is a change
in water chemistry caused by the quarry effluent which
is likely to be stressful for most taxa regardless of their
life history and environmental preferences (Gaiero et al.
1997; Kim et al. 2007; Mishra et al. 2008). The impacts
of a combination of these disturbances on macroin-
vertebrates have not yet been studied. The goal of
this research was to asses: 1) the effect of quarrying
on physicochemical properties of water and structure
and abundance of macroinvertebrate assemblages, 2)
the downstream distance to which the effects of dis-
turbance extend, 3) which of the taxa are the most
sensitive/resilient to the disturbance.
Material and methods
Study area
The study was carried out at Bistra Stream on Medvednica
Mountain situated in NW Croatia near the capital, Zagreb,
with the highest peak at 1035 m a.s.l. The mountain is geo-
logically extremely complex with igneous, sedimentary and
metamorphic rocks dating from the Paleozoic to the Ceno-
zoic era. Bistra Stream is located on the NW slope in the
mid section of the mountain. The spring is situated on green
schist from the Devonian at 820 m a.s.l. The stream runs
over schists, dolomite marl and sandstones of younger origin
(Cretaceous) before reaching the section with igneous rocks,
basalt and diabase (dolerite, gabbro). The quarry is located
in this area 3 km downstream from the spring. For the pur-
pose of the rinsing process a terrace was made within the
quarry. In this area the stream is widened forming a large
pool section (approximately 20 × 30 m), where the flow
velocity falls under 10 cm s
−1
.
Before reaching the quarry Bistra is a typical moun-
tain stream of the temperate region with a cobble and peb-
ble bed (some boulders) and thick riparian vegetation that
shades the entire width of the channel (maximum 3.5 m).
The stream attains the same characteristics immediately af-
ter the quarry.
Four sampling sites were chosen: 0 – upstream of the
quarry (control), 1 – immediately after the quarry, 2 – ap-
proximately 1500 m downstream and 3 – approximately
3000 m downstream at the edge of the forest before the
stream exits and becomes a lowland stream. All of the sam-
pling sites were situated in Cretaceous igneous rocks (dia-
base and gabbro).
Sampling and data analyses
The sampling was done at four dates during the spring
of 2006. This time was chosen because at that time both
the quarry and the invertebrates reach their peak activ-
ity. Physico-chemical parameters were measured partly in
situ using respective probes (pH WTW 330i, conductivity
Hach Sension 5, temperature and dissolved oxygen content
WTW Oxi 96) and partly in the laboratory (COD using
KMnO
4
equivalency titrimetric method and turbidity using
SiO
2
equivalency spectrophotometric method).
Triplicate benthos samples were taken using a 30 ×
30 cm Surber sampler with mesh size 300 µmandtheir
mean was used as a single data point for given date (yield-
ing four data points per site). Identification of the collected
specimens was done to the lowermost taxonomic level based
on Macan & Cooper (1960) for Gastropoda, Waringer &
Graf (1997) for Trichoptera, Zwick (2004) for Plecoptera,
Bauernfeind & Humpesch (2001) for Ephemeroptera, Nils-
son (1997) for Diptera and Nilsson (1996) for Coleoptera.
Macroinvertebrates were isolated, identified to the low-
ermost taxonomic level and counted (abundance was calcu-
lated per square meter). General biocenotic descriptors were
used in the analyses: total number of taxa, total number of
individuals, Shannon’s diversity index, Simpson’s evenness
index, number of individuals of permanent fauna, number
of individuals of temporary fauna, permanent to temporary
fauna ratio (P : T), total number of Ephemeroptera, Ple-
coptera and Trichoptera (EPT), number of juvenile EPT
individuals (1
st
and 2
nd
instar) and percentage of juvenile
individuals of EPT.
Permanent stream fauna consists of all the macroin-
vertebrates that spend their entire life in stream (e.g., Mol-
lusca, Oligochaeta, Crustacea, some Coleoptera) and tem-
porary fauna consists of the macroinvertebrates that leave
the stream during their life (insects). We have separated the
fauna in this manner to observe whether the species that
leave the stream at some point in life exhibit different dis-
turbance sensitivity because temporary fauna may readily
recolonize the affected habitats from other nearby streams
while permanent fauna may recolonize habitats almost ex-
clusively from the upstream section of the same stream. In
addition, temporary fauna tend to enter the drift as a re-
sponse to disturbance more than permanent fauna (Brittain
& Eikeland 1988). The EPT were looked at separately be-
cause they are common in biological water assessment meth-
ods (Larsen et al. 2009). Within this group the individual’s
ages were considered separately because we expected dif-
ferent disturbance sensitivity due to the changing environ-
mental preferences during the larval development (Williams
& Feltmate 1992). Additionally, we have observed that the
juveniles of the same species may be found in deeper layers
of the substrate than the specimens at later developmental
stages as well as different endurance levels than the older
individuals (Miliša et al. 2006).
In addition, detailed taxon specific analyses were done
using all taxa that were found in abundance greater than five
individuals per square meter at least at one of the analyzed
sites.
The Mann-Whitney U test was used to reveal the dif-
ferences in studied variables between sites. A non paramet-
ric two-independent-groups test was chosen because of low
number of data points for which normality cannot be estab-
lished and because control values were several times higher
so the changes among the impact sites would not be re-
vealed using a multiple-independent-groups test. Canonical
correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to ordinate the
changes of biotic variables in respect to abiotic variables.
For the CCA only taxa found in 75% of the control sam-
ples (3 out of 4) were used. CCA was performed on 16 data
points for 14 taxa and 4 environmental variables. Data were
log transformed. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used
to link the changes of biotic variables to the changes of abi-
otic parameters (only for those parameters that were proven
to change significantly among the four sites). In the results
we will particularly report and subsequently interpret the
findings with the level of significance 0.05 < P < 0.09 as
borderline significant to avoid type-two errors in results in-
terpretation (Zar 1996).
Results
Physicochemical effects
Turbidity, pH and temperature were higher down-
stream of the quarry and dissolved oxygen content,
522 M. Miliša et al.
Table 1. Changes in water characteristics along the study reach.
Site pH Temperature [O
2
] Turbidity COD Conductivity
(
◦
C) (mg dm
−3
)(mgSiO
2
dm
−3
)(mgO
2
dm
−3
)(µScm
−1
)
07.94± 0.09 10.85 ± 1.91 10.02 ± 1.02 0.112 ± 0.015 1.90 ± 0.78 229 ± 11.0
18.13± 0.07* 15.15 ± 2.14* 8.99 ± 0.70 0.236 ± 0.082* 1.62 ± 1.05 226 ± 15.6
28.12± 0.10* 13.90 ± 2.89* 9.68 ± 0.84 0.170 ± 0.027* 1.62 ± 0.96 226 ± 17.9
38.04± 0.15 14.45 ± 3.75* 9.03 ± 0.89 0.162 ± 0.044* 1.72 ± 1.07 224 ± 19.1
Explanations: Mean values ± SD are given; * significantly changed variables in comparison to the values at the control site (Mann-
Whitney U test, P < 0.05).
Fig. 1. Changes in richness of macroinvertebrate assemblages
along the study reach. Note that the indices values are on the
secondary y axis (H’ – in bits per individual; Simpson’s E – no
unit). The letters (a, b, c) suggest which of the parameters are sig-
nificantly different among sites, e.g., if the same letter is present
for a parameter at more sites, these are not different.
Fig. 2. Changes in the structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages
along the study reach. Other temp – Temporary taxa excluding
Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT); Juv EPT –
Juvenile EPT (1
st
and 2
nd
instars).
COD and conductivity values were lower (Table 1). Sig-
nificant differences were found for turbidity among sites
0andallother(site0–site3,P = 0.083), for pH be-
tween site 0 and sites 1 and 2 and for temperature only
between sites 0 and 1. From a physicochemical point of
view sites downstream of the quarry (1, 2 and 3) were
not found to be statistically different from each other
(Table 1). COD, dissolved oxygen content and conduc-
tivity were not found to be significantly different among
the studied sites.
Biocenotic effects
Almost all studied biocenotic factors were found to
be significantly changed between site 0 and sites 1
and 2. Only the value of Simpson’s evenness index
increased while all other biocenotical descriptors de-
creased (Fig. 1). At the farthest downstream site (3)
significantly lower values of total taxa, individuals of
permanent fauna, P : T ratio and EPT number (P <
0.09) still remained (Fig. 2). From the biocenotic point
of view sites 1 and 2 were not found to be different. Both
site 1 and site 2 were found to be different from site 3.
They both had fewer total individuals, less temporary
fauna and a higher evenness index. Additionally, site
2 had significantly fewer taxa overall and fewer EPT
(Figs 1, 2).
Through taxon specific analyses (Table 2) we found
that Gastropoda, Hydrobiidae, Oligochaeta, Gam-
marus fossarum, Ephemeroptera (Rhithrogena sp.), ju-
venile Plecoptera and Glossosoma sp. were most sen-
sitive to the disturbance as their abundance decreased
significantly at all sites downstream of the quarry. Such
decline in abundance of sensitive taxa was responsible
for the observed changes in aforementioned biocenotic
descriptors.
Additionally, significantly fewer representatives of
Baetis sp. were found at sites 1 and 2 than at site 0.
Coleoptera and Hydraena sp. were less sensitive but sig-
nificantly fewer were found at site 1 than at site 0. Sig-
nificantly fewer Plecoptera and Trichoptera were found
at site 2 than at site 0 (Table 2).
On the other hand, increase in abundance was
noted for Tanypodinae. Significantly more were found
at site 3 than at other sites. Also, the numbers of Tri-
choptera and Ephemeroptera increased at site 3 com-
pared to site 2.
No significant change in numbers of any taxa was
noted between sites 1 and 2.
A number of taxa were proven to be unaffected
by quarry and associated stressors: Simuliidae, Tanypo-
dinae, Protonemura sp., Perla sp., Beraea sp., Glosso-
soma sp., Cyphon sp. and Liponeura sp.
Most of the biocenotical factors were negatively
correlated with turbidity (Spearman’s correlation in-
dex). At P < 0.05, negative correlations with turbidity
were observed for total taxa number, total number of in-
dividuals, number of individuals of both permanent and
temporary fauna and number of individuals of EPT and
juvenile EPT as well as percentage of juvenile individu-
als in total EPT. The Simpson evenness index was posi-
Effect of quarrying on a stream 523
Table 2. Mean abundances in individuals per m
2
with P -levels from Mann-Whitney U tests revealing significance of changes in
abundance of each taxon between sites.
P-value
Site 0 Site 1 Site 2 Site 3
0–1 0–2 0–3 1–2 1–3 2–3
Gastropoda 44.4 8.3 0.0 2.8 0.014 0.026 0.131 0.405 N-A
Oligochaeta 113.9 2.8 0.0 0.0 0.018 0.014 0.014 N-A N-A N-A
Gammarus fossarum 16.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.013 0.013 0.013 N-A N-A N-A
Collembola 0.0 0.0 2.8 13.9 N-A N-A 0.317 N-A 0.317 0.850
Ephemeroptera 94.4 16.7 11.1 41.7 0.028 0.020
0.877 0.137 0.017
Plecoptera 33.3 22.2 11.1 16.7 0.439
0.304 0.278 0.350 0.877
Trichoptera 44.4 25.0 2.8 25.0 0.309 0.026 0.375 0.122 0.882 0.034
Coleoptera 16.7 0.0 8.3 5.6 0.047 0.369 0.225 0.131 0.127 0.752
Diptera 11.1 11.1 2.8 38.9 1.000 0.405 0.457 0.405 0.457 0.122
Simuliidae 5.6 5.6 0.0 5.6 1.000 0.317 1.000 0.317 1.000 0.317
Tanypodiynae 27.8 5.6 25.0 261.1 0.166 0.770 0.029 0.122 0.018 0.021
Hydrobiidae 41.7 8.3 0.0 2.8
0.014 0.026 0.131 0.405 N-A
Rhithrogena sp. 36.1 2.8 2.8 0.0 0.025 0.025 0.013 N-A N-A N-A
Baetis sp. 16.7 2.8 2.8 22.2 0.032 0.032 0.765 N-A 0.321 0.321
Ephemerella sp. 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.3 N-A N-A 0.131 N-A 0.131 0.131
Ephemeroptera juvenile 36.1 11.1 5.6 11.1 0.508 0.536 0.766 0.739 0.439 0.343
Protonemura sp. 19.4 19.4 11.1 13.9 0.741 0.294 0.234 0.278 0.225 0.741
Perla sp. 5.6 2.8 0.0 0.0 0.850 0.317 0.317 N-A N-A N-A
Plecoptera juvenile 8.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.040 0.040 0.040 N-A N-A N-A
Beraea sp. 11.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.131 0.131 0.131 N-A N-A N-A
Glossosoma sp. 27.8 2.8 0.0 8.3 0.026 0.014
N-A 0.405 0.131
Hydr opsyche sp. 0.0 11.1 0.0 0.0 0.131 N-A N-A 0.131 0.131 N-A
Rhyacophila sp. 2.8 11.1 2.8 11.1 0.405 1.000 0.850 0.405 0.741 0.850
Hydr aena sp. 11.1 0.0 2.8 2.8 0.046 0.155 0.155 N-A N-A N-A
Cyphon sp. 5.6 0.0 2.8 0.0 0.317 0.850 0.317 N-A N-A N-A
Liponeura sp. 8.3 5.6 0.0 0.0 0.850 0.317 0.317 0.317 0.317 N-A
Pediciidae 0.0 2.8 0.0 16.7 N-A N-A 0.317 N-A 0.850 0.317
Explanations: Bold are significant; bold-italicized are borderline significant changes.
tively correlated with turbidity. A negative effect of tur-
bidity was found on total Ephemeroptera, Rhithrogena
sp., juvenile Plecoptera, Hydraena sp., Oligochaeta and
G. fossarum. The numbers of Gastropoda, Hydrobi-
idae, Coleoptera (P < 0.07), juvenile Ephemeroptera
(P < 0.08) and Beraea sp. (P < 0.09) were negatively
correlated with turbidity. Only Diptera seem not to be
significantly affected by changed turbidity, pH and tem-
perature.
Total taxa number and number of EPT individ-
uals were negatively correlated with temperature (P
< 0.08). Temperature increase negatively affected Ple-
coptera (both total and juvenile) and G. fossarum the
most.
Even though pH change was found significant, pH
was found not to have a significant effect on general
biocenotical descriptors. Only when a taxon specific ap-
proach was employed was a significant negative effect
of pH change found. Total Ephemeroptera, Baetis sp.,
Glossosoma sp., Oligochaeta and G. fossarum were the
most sensitive.
Abundance of Rhithrogena sp. (P < 0.07), juvenile
Plecoptera (P < 0.07) and Hydropsyche sp. (P < 0.08)
were negatively correlated with both temperature and
pH.
The results of the CCA analysis (Fig. 3) reveal the
importance and combined negative effects of changed
turbidity, pH and temperature on the studied taxa.
Axis 1 was highly correlated with the pH (R = 0.94)
and axis 2 with the turbidity (R = 0.78). Comparing the
lengths of the environmental vectors we conclude that
pH and turbidity are the most important. Most of the
studied taxa (except Protonemura) are located opposite
these two vectors on the left plane. Juvenile EPT dis-
play different preferences than the older larvae. While
the juveniles are responding negatively to turbidity the
older larvae seem affected by the oxygen concentration
decrease (too near to the ordination center to firmly
claim). Tanypodinae are also near the ordination cen-
ter which may explain their abundance downstream, as
they seem unaffected by these environmental changes.
Discussion
The most important physicochemical effects of the
quarry were increase of turbidity, temperature and pH.
Increased turbidity resulted both from rinsing the ma-
terial and from dust settling from air. Temperature in-
crease was undoubtedly caused by increased turbidity
with particles absorbing extra solar energy as well as by
the broadening of the channel and reducing flow veloc-
ity for purposes of rinsing the extracted diabase. This
‘pond’ is broad, shallow and lacking riparian vegetation
so excess accumulation of solar energy is imminent. We
consider increase in pH value of pure geochemical ori-
gin already noted at a similar site in Korea (Kim et al.
2007). Lowering of pH, temperature and turbidity from
site 1 downstream is an indicator of the physicochemi-
cal recovery of the system.
Quarrying certainly has a negative influence on
524 M. Miliša et al.
Fig. 3. Canonical correspondence analysis of selected biotic and abiotic variables at Bistra Stream. Eigenvalues and species-
environmental factors correlation for the first two axes are Axis 1: Eigenvalue = 0.099; R = 0.83, Axis 2: Eigenvalue = 0.040;
R = 0.73. The two axes explain 88.2% of taxa-environment relation.
the ecology of stream habitats, as proven in this study.
However, a number of taxa appeared to be unaffected
by this stress. Sediment dwellers and predators were ex-
pectedly among those less affected. But also the taxa
with low original abundances, e.g., Simuliidae which
readily drift and the few specimens may occur along
the reach. Because of their low abundances this result
should be taken cautiously.
The most evident effect on aquatic macroinverte-
brate assemblages is the absence of many taxa down-
stream of the quarry (Quinn et al. 1992). Several taxa
do not recover even 3 km from the quarry, most likely
due to the permanence of disturbance from the quarry
(Table 2). In short term disturbances, the indigenous
taxaareabletorecovertoinitiallevelsinamatterof
weeks (Gray & Ward 1982).
The intensity of disturbance is indicated by al-
most total (85%) loss of macroinvertebrates immedi-
ately downstream of the quarry with virtually complete
absence of permanent fauna at all sites downstream of
the quarry and also by increase in assemblage evenness.
Evenness is normally a measure of assemblage fitness.
In our study the disturbance is so great that the even-
ness index loses its function because of extreme changes
in the number of taxa resulting in uniformly low abun-
dances of a decreased number of taxa. The most obvious
cause of such changes in macroinvertebrate assemblage
structure is change in turbidity and pH (Quinn et al.
1992; Kim et al. 2007). Changes in temperature played
a significant role in the community changes as well.
Results of previous work (Nuttall 1972; Larsen et
al. 2009) associated poor incidence of plants and macro-
invertebrates with the unstable shifting nature of the
sand deposits, rather than turbidity. In our study we
have linked most of the changes with increased turbid-
ity, i.e., increase in amount of suspended particles. The
difference was probably yielded because in the men-
tioned studies the particles were larger (sand) and de-
posited more rapidly so turbidity is not even reported
as a measure of stress. Also, fine sediments cause a more
efficient siltation of interstices, especially in riffles which
are abundant at our study site, rendering them unsuit-
able for most indigenous taxa (Bo et al. 2007; Weigel-
hofer & Waringer 2003).
The other difference was faunal: Baetis rhodani,
Rhithrogena semicolorata and Oligochaetes were abun-
dant where sand depositionhadoccurredinprevi-
ous studies (Nuttall 1972; Gray & Ward 1982; Larsen
et al. 2009). In our study these taxa seemed more
sensitive which concurs with data of Weigelhofer &
Waringer (2003) and Bo et al. (2007). Additional differ-
ence may be in the assemblages themselves, e.g., Tubi-
ficidae (Nuttall 1972) are an indicator species of organ-
ically polluted water or generally of poor quality so the
taxa might have developed a higher tolerance in such
an environment.
In some previous studies the abundances of Ephe-
meroptera and Oligochaeta increased with higher fine
sediment loads (Gray & Ward 1982; Weigelhofer &
Waringer 2003; Larsen et al. 2009). The discrepancies
Effect of quarrying on a stream 525
with our findings could be due to the duration of distur-
bance, which is several years in our study while in their
study it was short-term. Also, in our study a change
in pH and temperature was noted and Ephemeroptera
and Oligochaeta (as well as other taxa) were proven
sensitive to such changes. We found that the main rea-
son for changes in the general structure of benthic are
increases in suspended solids as found by Gray & Ward
(1982).
In natural sediment erosion-settlement survey, to-
tal, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera rich-
ness decreased significantly at the most impacted sites
(Larsen et al. 2009).
Baetis genus was reported as one of the most sen-
sitive to sediment disturbance (Bond & Downes 2003).
These results are in agreement with our findings but
in our study the decrease in abundance was more pro-
nounced. Our findings are most similar to those of Doeg
& Koehn (1994) where a reduction of 63.9% in the total
abundance and 39.7% in the number of taxa was found.
Again, the losses in our study were more pronounced
(approximately 85% fewer total individuals and 60%
less taxa 1.5 km downstream of the disturbance source).
In our study most effects were still noted after
3 km. Unfortunately, we were not able to test the claims
that very fine silt may affect habitats 4.5 km down-
stream (Doeg & Koehn 1994) because our study reach
was only 3 km before the stream exits the forest and en-
ters open grassland. The stream characteristics change
extremely, rendering any further biological comparison
impossible.
The significant decrease in numbers of Baetis sp.,
Coleoptera (Hydraena sp.), Plecoptera and Trichoptera
found at sites 1 and/or 2 compared to site 0 was not
found between sites 3 and 0. This leads to the conclu-
sion that recovery takes place even while the distur-
bance is present but only 3 km downstream. Compar-
ing with the findings of the previous experiments and
taking into account the significant increase in the num-
bers of Plecoptera and Trichoptera at site 3, we believe
the recovery of aquatic assemblages upon closure of the
quarry would be successful (Gray & Ward 1982; Doeg
& Koehn 1994). The aspect of recovery (especially of
temporary fauna) is promoted by the vicinity of other
mountain streams from which absent species are able
to recolonize the affected stream (sensu M¨uller 1982;
Winterbourn & Crowe 2001).
We conclude that the effects of quarrying are simi-
lar to those in experimental work using natural stream
sediments, but more severe. This is a result of difference
in the characteristics of stress: 1) quarrying produces
extremely long term disturbance and 2) the sediments
produced in quarries alter the chemistry of water (e.g.,
change of pH), which does not occur in experiments
where natural stream sediments were used (Kim et al.
2007; Mishra et al. 2008).
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Received July 10, 2009
Accepted January 15, 2010
