| dc.description.abstract | One of the biggest mining sites in Serbia is located in close proximity of the upper stretch of
the Pek River, near the Majdanpek city. In the process of copper extraction from the ore, waste
water is produced and discharged into the River. In order to estimate the influence of mining
activities we conducted the research of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities along this river.
Macroinvertebrate samples were gathered with benthological hand net using multihabitat
sampling procedure, in the Summer of 2015. To estimate the influence of the waste waters we
had chosen the reference site on the Veliki Pek River, the constituent of the Pek, and five
downstream sites along the Pek River course. The second site receives the majority of the
pollutants from the mining site. For the assessment of the ecological status, the Asterics
software package and the following biological indices were used: Total number of taxa (N),
Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H), Zelinka-Marvan saprobic index, BMWP, and ASPT.
A total of 76 macroinvertebrate taxa were recorded, with insects being the dominant component
both in terms of abundance (89.73%), and taxa richness (72 taxa). The reference site had the
highest number of recorded taxa (48) and high values of diversity (H) and evenness (2,38; 0,61,
respectively) and was assessed as the site with very good ecological status (I class). In contrast,
at the second site which is influenced by the mining discharge, the lowest number of taxa (8)
with low diversity values (H=1.15) and very poor overall ecological status (IV class) were
observed. The EPT group (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera), which constituted
46,30% of the community at the first site, was completely absent at the second site where
dominant groups were Diptera (70%) and Oligochaeta (20%). Downstream localities (sites 3 to
6) showed a gradual trend of water quality improvement. At the fifth locality the community
showed complete recovery, with far less Diptera participation. Moreover, Ephemeroptera,
Trichoptera, and Crustacea comprised over 70% of the community. Diversity and evenness
(2,75; 0,8) at this site increased significantly, reaching very good ecological status.
The results of our investigation point to strong negative mining impact on the upper river
stretch, which reflects on the studied biological elements. However, this medium sized river
showed capacity to overcome intensive upstream pollution, and revitalize itself along its course.
To determine which negative effects mining activities have on the river biota, and to
recommend river protection measures, a more comprehensive investigation should be
conducted | sr |
