Response of Aquatic Life to Coal Mining in Appalachia
Rivers and streams of Appalachia harbor some of the most biologically diverse, endemically rich, freshwater faunas in the world. Many aquatic species, however, are threatened by a wide array of anthropogenic stressors, including past and present mining. T
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Abstract Rivers and streams of Appalachia harbor some of the most biologically diverse, endemically rich, freshwater faunas in the world. Many aquatic species, however, are threatened by a wide array of anthropogenic stressors, including past and present mining. This chapter reviews impacts of mining on aquatic life in Appalachia, including interactive effects on food web dynamics, effects on ecosystem functional processes, and effects that are manifested in aquatic communities at watershed scales. Responses to mining depend on whether mine effluent is acidic in nature or highly alkaline; this dichotomy structures much of the discussion. Mining directly impacts aquatic biota because effluents can be toxic due to elevated major ions, trace metals, notably selenium, and/or acidity. Drainage from mined areas also affects complicated changes to biota indirectly by altering food webs, biotic interactions, and movement processes in stream networks. Finally, we review the response and recovery of aquatic biota to remediation efforts that treat mine effluent, and we discuss the use of aquatic organisms in assessing and managing impacts of mining activities. Throughout, we present uncertainties and gaps in our knowledge about impacts of mining activity on aquatic life in Appalachia, which represent important directions for future research. Keywords Mountaintop removal · Mine drainage · Fishes and salamanders · Mussels and crayfish · Stream ecosystem function · Recovery of freshwater biota
G. T. Merovich Jr. (B) Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA e-mail: [email protected] N. P. Hitt U.S. Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center, Kearneysville, West Virginia, USA E. R. Merriam U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA J. W. Jones U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 C. E. Zipper and J. Skousen (eds.), Appalachia’s Coal-Mined Landscapes, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57780-3_10
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1 Introduction Appalachia is one of the most biologically diverse regions of the world, with freshwater faunal richness higher than any other temperate region (Jelks et al. 2008). For example, Appalachia represents one of two known hotspots for crayfish diversity in the world (Crandall and Buhay 2008) and also has the highest rate of endemism for fishes in North America (Warren et al. 2000). Salamander and amphibians are exceptionally diverse (Kozak and Wiens 2010), and Appalachia contains the majority of the world’s mussel diversity (Mynsberge et al. 2009). However, freshwater ecosystems are also among the most threatened ecosystems in the world (Abell et al. 2008). This is particularly true in Appalachia, where unique natural resources are threatened by landscape and water quality changes brought about by numerous activities including coal mining (Bernhardt and Palmer 2011). Coal mining, through various effect pathways, has considerable negative impacts on the chemical and physical conditions of receiving streams (Kr
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