Recently formed beaver-ponds surrounding an abandoned copper-nickel ore roast yard near Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, were influenced by highly acidic and heavy-metal contaminated effluent . Fish, including Culaea inconstans, Phoxinus neogaeus, Phoxinus eos, and Pimephales promelas, were found in the ponds upstream of the roast yard only . Macroinvertebrate taxon richness and diversity were greater in the upstream ponds than in the downstream ponds . Acid intolerant taxa, including Mollusca and Hyalella azteca, were found upstream only ; acid tolerant taxa, including Enallagma and Ischnura (Odonata : Coenagrionidae) were found in the downstream ponds . One taxon, a species of Chironomus, was especially tolerant of both acid and metal stresses, and was the only invertebrate taxon found in the pond located directly on the roast yard itself . We conclude that long-abandoned mining and refining sites can continue to have a marked effect on aquatic communities .
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