Assessment of water quality contaminated with arsenic using diatoms and Ostracodtoxkit F test

Abstract

The release of such contaminants as metals into aquatic environment and its accumulation in sediment is a great concern due to the potential effect to the whole ecosystem. Water biocoenosis can change completely with the introduction metals into the water course. The aim of the study was to compare the water quality of three small streams contaminated with arsenic on the basis of multimetric diatom index IO and microbiotest designed to evaluate sediment toxicity (The Ostracodtoxkit F). The quality of three small streams located within Złoty Stok community in Lower Silesia (SW, Poland) has never been assessed with the biological methods before. What is more, the impact of arsenic on water biocoenosis has been rarely studied worldwide. Such studies have not been conducted before in Poland. The findings showed that each of used method classifies similarly three studied streams. The obtained results confirmed that the biological methods are the most reliable in the assessment of water quality.