![]() Artisanal mercury extraction is a prevalent activity in developing countries 14, 15.Įfforts to protect and preserve biological diversity are usually focused on protected natural areas (PNAs), which are the cornerstone of conservation strategies worldwide 16. Industrial and artisanal mining are widespread in the country, including opencast mining and mercury extraction, the latter associated with the use of mercury for gold amalgamation 13. The country is the largest producer of silver in the world and a major global producer of gold, copper, and zinc, among other minerals 12. However, Mexico faces several serious pollution challenges from anthropogenic activities such as mining and agriculture, which affect biodiversity and ecosystems 10, 11. Mexico is the second most populated country in Latin America 9 and one of the most biodiverse countries worldwide 10. All these stressors cause the degradation of water quality in rivers, with adverse effects on aquatic life-particularly in tropical regions where human populations are experiencing an accelerated growth 8. Furthermore, industry and human settlements discharge wastewater containing complex mixtures of pollutants 7. Additional significant sources of pollution in natural water bodies include agriculture (a key driver of deforestation, causing changes in land cover and use) and the massive use of agrochemicals 6. Particularly in Latin America, mining activities produce metal pollution that is among the main stressors of aquatic ecosystems 4, 5. Mining is an important pollution source worldwide, causing huge disturbances to aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic ecosystems 1, 2, 3. This study supports the design of cost-effective and accurate water quality biomonitoring protocols in developing countries. Aquatic biomonitoring in rivers, impacted by mining and other human activities, is critical for detecting the effect of metals and other pollutants to improve management and conservation strategies. The rivers studied displayed high alkalinity and hardness levels, which can reduce the availability of metals and cause adverse effects on periphyton by inhibiting photosynthesis and damaging MAs. Diversity indices showed that the lowest diversity matched both the most polluted and the most saline rivers. These factors were found to influence structural changes in MAs, showing that not only mining activities, but also agriculture and presence of villages in the basin, exert adverse effects on macroinvertebrate assemblages. High concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients, and salinity limit the presence of several families of seemingly sensitive macroinvertebrates. The results revealed three contrasting environmental conditions associated with different MAs. A multiple co-inertia analysis was applied to determine the relationships between environmental factors, habitat quality, heavy metals, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in 15 study sites in two different seasons (dry and wet) along two rivers running across the Central Plateau of Mexico. This study aimed to assess the ecological impairments resulting from mining activities using aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages (MA). Industrial and artisanal mining activities are widespread in Mexico, a major global producer of various metals. Mining is one of the major pollution sources worldwide, causing huge disturbances to the environment.
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