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The role of macroinvertebrates and diatoms as indicator for metal pollution was investigated by assessing both biota along a metal gradient in the Belgian river the Dommel. Macroinvertebrates and diatoms were sampled in summer and winter and physical–chemical characteristics of the water were measured at four different sample periods and related to sediment characteristics. Although metal concentrations, except cadmium, in the water nowhere exceeded water quality standards, high metal concentrations were measured in the sediment, indicating historical contamination of the Dommel. At the sites that were situated downstream of the pollution source, high levels of conductivity and chloride were measured in the water. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) indicated pH, phosphate and zinc as the significant environmental variables explaining each respectively 7.7%, 11.6% and 22.6% of the macroinvertebrate …