Effects on the Macroinvertebrate Community in a North Florida River From the Discharge of an Unbleached Linerboard Mill, 1992 Environmental Conference Proceedings

During 1989-1999, the Valdosta Mill worked in conjunction with the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER) on an in-stream macroinvertebrate study examining effects of the mill discharge. Community structure was determined using Hester-Dendy multiple plate samplers at four locations above and four below the discharge. Additional qualitative sampling further described macroinvertebrate characteristics.

Analysis of the data using species richness and abundance as well as the Shannon-Weaver diversity and the Florida Index revealed no significant impact on the downstream segment of the River from the discharge. All major taxonomic groups were observed within the zone of influence of the discharge including many pollution sensitive species. Mean upstream Shannon-Weaver diversity (3.1) was not significantly different from mean downstream diversity (2.7). Similarly, the mean upstream organism density of 2585/square meter and species richness of 32 were not significantly different from respective downstream values of 2920 individuals/square meter and 28 species.