In April through October 1986, we sampled sediments and populations of nymphs of the burrowing mayfly, Hexagenia limbata (Serville), at 11 locations throughout the connecting channels of the upper Great Lakes, to determine if sediment contaminants adversely affected nymph production . Production over this period was high (980 to 9231 mg dry wt m -2) at the five locations where measured sediment levels of oil, cyanide, and six metals were below the threshold criteria of the U .S . Environmental Protection Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Environment for contaminated or polluted sediments, and also where the criterion for visible oil given in the Water Quality Agreement between the U .S .A. and Canada for connecting waters of the Great Lakes was not exceeded . At the other six locations where sediments were polluted, production was markedly lower (359 to 872 mg dry wt m -2). This finding is significant because it indicates that existing sediment quality criteria can be applied to protect H. limbata from oil, cyanide, and metals in the Great Lakes and connecting channels where the species fulfills a major role in secondary production and trophic transfer of energy .
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.