Community responses of aquatic insects to heavy metals

Conference · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987 · Bull. Ecol. Soc. Am.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6070644

Clements, W H; Cherry, D S; Cairns, J

Community level toxicity tests were conducted in outdoor experimental streams to examine the responses of aquatic insects to heavy metals. Introduced substrates (plastic trays filled with small cobble) were colonized at several locations in a river impacted by heavy metals. After 30 d, 4delta trays from an upstream control site were transferred to 12 outdoor experimental streams. Each stream was randomly assigned to one of three treatments: control, low metals, and high metals. Two trays were removed from each stream after 4 and 10 d exposure. Community structure on these trays was compared to field data collected from control and impacted sites. Macroinvertebrate density and number of taxa were reduced in both treated streams and at impacted field sites. Owing to differences in relative sensitivity to metals, the percent composition of dominant taxa also varied among treatments.

• Research Organization: Dept. of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Inst., VA (US); State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (US)
• OSTI ID: 6070644
• Report Number(s): CONF-870835-
• Journal Information: Bull. Ecol. Soc. Am.; (United States), Vol. 68:3; Conference: 72. annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Columbus, OH, USA, 9 Aug 1987
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
INSECTS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
METALS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
ANIMAL GROWTH
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
POLLUTANTS
RIVERS
TESTING
TOXICITY
WATER POLLUTION
ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
ELEMENTS
GROWTH
INVERTEBRATES
POLLUTION
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
520200 - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)