Stream Mesocosm Experiments Show Significant Differences in Sensitivity of Larval and Emerging Adults to Metals

Abstract

Evaluations of aquatic insect responses to contaminants typically use larval life stages to characterize taxa sensitivity, but the effects of contaminants to emerging terrestrial adults has received less attention. We present the results of two stream mesocosm experiments that exposed aquatic insects to mixtures of Cu and Zn. We compared responses of larvae and emerging adults in a single-species experiment with the mayfly Rhithrogena robusta and a benthic community experiment. Results showed that R. robusta larvae and emerging adults were highly tolerant of metals. In the benthic community experiment, larval and emerging adult life stages of the mayfly Baetidae were highly sensitive to metals exposure, with significant alterations in adult sex ratios. In contrast, the emergence of Chironomidae (midge) was unaffected, but larval abundance strongly decreased. Timing of adult emergence was significantly different among treatments and varied among taxa, with emergence stimulation in Chironomidae and delays in emergence in R. robusta and Simuliidae. Our results demonstrate that metal tolerance in aquatic insects is life stage dependent and that taxa sensitivity is influenced by a combination of physiology and phylogeny. Regulatory frameworks would benefit by including test results that account for effects of contaminants on metamorphosis and adult insect emergence for the development of aquatic life standards.