SESSION-3: Aquatic Biodiversity
PAPER-12: Impact of Iron Ore mining on the Stream Insect Communities 
of the Bhadra River Catchment at Kudremukh, Karnataka
Subramanian K.A.

Abstract:

Impact of iron ore mining on the stream insect communities of Bhadra River catchment was studied at Kudremukh, Karnataka. The study recorded 54 aquatic insect taxa, belonging to seven orders and thirty-three families. Highest diversity was recorded from orders Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), Ephemeroptera (mayflies) and Trichoptera (caddiesflies). The reference sites, representing sampling sites upstream of the mining area, had higher species richness than the mining-impacted sites. Biologically poor characters of mining impacted streams were reflected in the diversity indices (Simpson's and Shanon's) and biomonitoring scores (BMWP and % EPT). A Cluster analysis of the data using Jaccard's dissimilarity index also clearly separated the impacted Lakhyahole from rest of the sites. The importance of using biomonitoring techniques for Environmental Impact Assessment is also discussed.