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G C Hose

Publications and source records attributed to G C Hose.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Depauperate macroinvertebrates in a mine affected stream: clean water may be the key to recovery.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is frequently linked with changes in macroinvertebrate assemblages, but the relative contribution of water and sediment to toxicity is equivocal. We have shown that the macroinvertebrate fauna of Neubecks Ck, a mine impacted stream in New South Wales, Australia, was much poorer than in two reference streams. Multivariate RELATE analyses indicated that the patterns in the biological data were more strongly correlated with the concentrations of common metals in the surface water than the pore water of these streams. From this we hypothesised that the water was more toxic to the biota than the sediment and we tested this hypothesis with a sediment transplant experiment. Sediment from Neubecks Ck that was placed in reference streams retained high concentrations of metals throughout the experiment, yet supported a macroinvertebrate assemblage similar to that in the reference streams. Sediment from the reference streams that was placed in Neubecks Ck supported few, if any, animals. This indicates that water in Neubecks Ck is toxic to biota, but that sediment is able to support aquatic biota in clean water. Therefore, remediation should focus on improving water quality rather than sediment quality.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Confirming the species-sensitivity distribution concept for endosulfan using laboratory, mesocosm, and field data.

In Australia, water-quality trigger values for toxicants are derived using protective concentration values based on species-sensitivity distribution (SSD) curves. SSD curves are generally derived from laboratory data with an emphasis on using local or site-specific data. In this study, Australian and non-Australian laboratory-species based SSD curves were compared and the concept of species protection confirmed by comparison of laboratory-based SSD curves with local mesocosm experiments and field monitoring data. Acute LC50 data for the organochlorine pesticide endosulfan were used for these comparisons; SSD curves were fitted using the Burr type III distribution. SSD curves indicated that the sensitivities of Australian fish and arthropods were not significantly different from those of corresponding non-Australian taxa. Arthropod taxa in the mesocosm were less sensitive than taxa in laboratory tests, which suggests that laboratory-generated single-species data may be used to predict concentrations protective of semifield (mesocosm) systems. SSDs based on laboratory data were also protective of field populations.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Spider webs as environmental indicators.

Analysis of spider webs from limestone arches in New South Wales, Australia showed levels of lead and zinc to be several times higher at Jenolan Caves than reference sites at Abercrombie and Wombeyan Caves. The high concentrations at Jenolan were attributed to emissions from motor vehicles that travel through the arch. Analysis of water-soluble ions in webs from Jenolan and Abercrombie Caves showed large differences between the sites, which could be explained by differences in the geology and biology of the cave environments. Spider webs proved useful indicators of environmental chemistry and undoubtedly have applications beyond the cave environments studied here.

Animals↗