Study on effects of mining pollution in populations of native fish of the Bacanuchi and Sonora rivers
Authors: Varela-Romero, Alejandro*, GÁƒÂ³mez-Alvarez, Agustin, Haros-Mendez, Celso
Year: 2015 (xlvii)
Abstract
In official press release of August 2104, SEMARNAT) says the spill of 43,000 m 3 acidified copper sulfate in Las Tinajas creek in the town of Cananea, Sonora on August 6, 2014, product of a failure in Las Tinajas reservoir. Aa a consequence this spill reached Bacanuchi and Sonora rivers and El Molinito dam near Hermosillo, and affected, in some degree, the native fauna that inhabit these natural habitats of the Sonora River basin. The SEMARNAT to address promptly the damages caused by the copper sulfate spill in Sonora and Bacanuchi rivers, created the Fideicomiso Rio Sonora, in order to serve as a source of payment to carry out remedial measures, repair and / or compensation for damage to the environment and human health caused by the spill. The locals detect a fish mortality in Bacanuchi River. The fish impacted are longfin dace Agosia n. sp., the Mexican stoneroller Campostoma ornatum, desert carp Gila eremica, Opata sucker Catostomus wigginsi, Gila topminnow Poeciliopsis occidentalis. The Opata sucker and Gila topminnow are currently considered as threatened under the protection Norma Oficial Mexican NOM-059. In this project we will evaluate the impact of the spill on the populations of native fish in the rivers and Sonora Bacanuchi using historical records of fish and the content of heavy metals in endangered species inhabiting the basin.