International journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN:2313-626X

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 Volume 4, Issue 11 (November 2017), Pages: 99-103

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 Technical Note

 Title: Water quality assessment using macroinvertebrates along the mining area of Brgy

 Author(s): Queenilyn B. Albutra 1, *, Cordulo P. Ascaño II 2, Cesar G. Demayo 1

 Affiliation(s):

 1Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan, Philippines
 2Department of Environmental Science and Technology, College of Science and Mathematics, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2017.011.015

 Full Text - PDF          XML

Abstract:

In this research, water quality assessment in the Bigaan River, Brgy. Gango, Libona, Bukidnon was conducted to determine the impact of small scale mining on the aquatic ecosystem using macroinvertebrates as bioindicators. Analysis revealed that total suspended solid, total hardness and mercury content is higher in the downstream portion of the river. Species composition of macroinvertebrates differs between sites. Total abundance and species diversity is higher in the upstream portion of the river. The absence of pollution sensitive Ephemeroptera (Mayfly) and Tricoptera (Caddisfly) taxa in the downstream portion of the river indicates that the water quality is deteriorating. Although the level of mercury contamination in the downstream portion is low and within the standard limit, the outcome still indicates that long term exposure to mercury brought by small scale gold mining has detrimental effects on macroinvertebrate communities and on the quality and functionality of the river ecosystem. 

 © 2017 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: Small scale gold mining mercury, Macroinvertebrates, Bioindicators

 Article History: Received 12 February 2017, Received in revised form 12 September 2017, Accepted 13 September 2017

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2017.011.015

 Citation:

 Albutra QB, Ascaño II CP, and Demayo CG (2017). Water quality assessment using macroinvertebrates along the mining area of Brgy. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 4(11): 99-103

 Permanent Link:

 http://www.science-gate.com/IJAAS/V4I11/Albutra.html

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