Original paper
Cyclopoid distribution in an agriculturally impacted alluvial aquifer
Dumas, Pascal; Lescher-Moutoué, Françoise
Archiv für Hydrobiologie Volume 150 Number 3 (2001), p. 511 - 528
48 references
published: Jan 20, 2001
DOI: 10.1127/archiv-hydrobiol/150/2001/511
ArtNo. ESP141015003009, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
A study was undertaken to investigate the possible impacts of agricultural pollutants (mainly nitrate fertilizers) on the cyclopoid communities of the Ariège alluvial aquifer (French Pyrénées). Fifteen wells were sampled over two contrasting seasons for zoological and physicochemical analysis. Physicochemical parameters of the aquifer showed slight variations, while temporally stable, diverse cyclopoid assemblages were found in the wells. Agriculturally-induced pollution was clearly detected in groundwaters with strong among-site nitrate variations, but weak correlations were found between environmental and biological data; community parameters (abundance, taxonomic richness, dominance) did not differ between polluted and non-polluted sites. At the scale of this aquifer, the field results suggest that nitrates do not influence distribution patterns and cannot be considered as a major threat for interstitial cyclopoids.
Keywords
Agricultural pollutants • groundwater • Ariège • French Pyrénées