Gross pollution of rivers and streams by pesticides can have a catastrophic effect on fish life. Lower degrees of contamination, however – such as occur after aerial spraying of neighbouring forests – frequently affect fish only indirectly, through their effect on the macro-invertebrates on which they feed. Low levels of insecticides commonly induce such organisms to loosen their attachment to the beds and sides of rivers and drift downstream. While this provides an immediate flush of food for the fish, it is followed by a period of famine as the depleted population of invertebrates slowly restores itself.
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