Assessment of ard effects on river ecosystem using benthic aquatic macroinvertebrates (Marinduque Island, Philippines)

Abstract

The benthic macroinvertebrate community in the Boac River (Marinduque Island) is controlled by the dissolved copper concentration from the acid rock drainage originating from the Marcopper Mine. A four-year survey shows how the benthic community composition responds to the prevailing Cu concentration in the water. The point of first macroinvertebrate occurrence, species richness, and metal bioaccumulation data all correlate well with Cu concentration. Continuing this biomonitoring protocol may be advantageous in terms of determining water quality trends and how remediation efforts in the Boac River may be assessed.