Bioassays with a Natural Assemblage of Benthic Macroinvertebrates

Burks, S.L.; Jl, Wilhm

doi:10.1520/stp32395s

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In addition, Hurlbert [28] discusses the statistical problems of field experimentation that require replication of both control and treated streams. The approach that we have outlined here, using colonized artificial substrates for toxicity testing, is similar to that employed by Burks and Wilhm [14] and may represent an alternative to field experimentation and an important supplement to single species tests. This approach provides a unique opportunity to examine community level responses to toxicants under both replicable and environmentally realistic conditions and may be particularly useful during initial screening of an effluent, prior to its release into the environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structural Alterations in Aquatic Insect Communities Exposed to Copper in Laboratory Streams

Clements

Cherry

Cairns

1988

Environ Toxicol Chem

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The effects of copper on aquatic insect communities were examined using rock-filled trays colonized in the field for 30 d, transferred to laboratory streams, and dosed with CuSO4. Each stream was randomly assigned to one of three treatments: control (0 pg/L), low dose (15-32 pg/L), and high dose (135-178 pg/L). Experiments were replicated over three seasons. Exposure to copper for 96 h significantly reduced both the total number of individuals and number of taxa during each season, with greatest effects observed in summer. Owing to differences in sensitivity to copper, the percent composition of dominant orders of aquatic insects varied among treatments. The relative abundance of Ephemeroptera decreased in treated streams during each season. The response of other aquatic insects, including Diptera and Plecoptera, varied between seasons, but these groups were generally less sensitive to copper exposure. These results indicate that the artificial substrates employed in this study are amenable to experimental manipulation and will provide a unique opportunity to examine the community responses of aquatic insects to toxicants under environmentally realistic conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These devices have also been used in experimental studies to test the effects of toxicants on colonization rate and community composition of protozoans [ 131. Burks and Wilhm [14] employed artificial substrates in experimental streams to document the effects of sewage effluents on aquatic macroinvertebrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Alterations in Aquatic Insect Communities Exposed to Copper in Laboratory Streams

Clements

Cherry

Cairns

1988

Environ Toxicol Chem

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“…A major lirnitation of this technique is the inability to control the experimental conditions of exposure. Outdoor stream mesocosms (c$, Odum, 1984) have been used in multispecies toxicity testing for some time in an attempt to better control the dosage received by the communities being tested (e.g., Burks & Wilhm, 1977;Stout & Cooper, 1983;Allard & Moreau, 1987). However, such mesocosms often are costly to construct, are difficult or impossible to transport (therefore site-specific), and are susceptible to meteorologic, anthropogenic, and biological perturbations during testing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing and maintaining laboratory-based microcosms of riffle insect communities: their potential for multispecies toxicity tests

Pontasch

Cairns

1989

Hydrobiologia

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The purpose of this study was to determine which of the following artifkid stream designs would be most logistically simple yet effective in maintaining riffle insects during a 30 d bioassay: 1) static and no current (S-NC); 2) flow-through and no current (FT-NC); 3) static with current (S-C); or 4) flow-through with current (FT-C). Flow-through and current, when provided, were 12 ml ruin -' and 30 cm sec -', respectively. Streams were covered by emergence traps, and daylight equivalent lights provided a natural photoperiod. The four stream designs were evaluated in triplicate based on changes in insect speciesabundances after 30 d. Test organisms were transferred to the artif~cial streams in rock-filled containers previously colonized for 30 d in a third-order mountain stream rime. Additional colonized substrates were sampled immediately to provide an estimate of initial densities placed in the artificial streams. Hess samples were taken directly from the source rime to evaluate how well the artif~cial substrates reflected species-abundances on the natural substrate. Adults were collected from the -cial streams every 48-72 h to determine the percentage of initial densities that emerged. After 30 d (7AugdSept, 1986), all organisms remaining in the streams were censused. Designs were evaluated using combined densities of adults and young.Relative to benthic samples taken directly from the source rime, the artificial substrates selected for collector-filterers and against collector-gatherers. The FT-C and S-C stream designs maintained most taxa at or above initial densities, and even in the FT-NC and S-NC streams densities of some taxa were not significantly different (P I 0.05) from initial densities. Emergent adults comprised a large proportion of mayfly and chironomid densities and must be monitored during bioassays with aquatic insects. These results indicate that microcosms of rime insect communities can be maintained for at least 30 d with moderate current and minimal flow-through.

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“…Cairns et al (1979) proposed a protozoan colonization test to determine whether the protozoan communities that colonize the artificial substrates were affected by the chemical substances in the substrates (exposure). Burks and Wilhm (1977) described a similar approach using artificial substrates for benthic invertebrates. Both tests were sufficiently sensitive to detect differences between the two types of effluents, but it took a long time to measure the effects (six weeks for el sedimento.…”

Section: Field Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in marine ecotoxicology: laboratory tests versus field assessment data on sediment quality studies

DelValls

Conradi²

2000

Cienc. Mar.

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Ecotoxicology is concerned with describing and predicting the behaviour of substances in the environment and the response of biological systems, and ultimately with assessing the risks associated with emissions. These assessments are complicated from a basic-science point of view and they should be carried out by using integrative assessments. Contaminated sediments are a significant regulatory issue with important science implications. Determining the impact of contaminated sediments is a key element in environmental risk assessment and management of water resources. Tests for ecotoxicology assessment in sediments may be conducted either in the laboratory or field. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. Data from different studies performed in laboratory conditions and in field assessments are compared here. The principal advantages of sediment toxicity tests in the laboratory are the possibility to standardize methodologies and to provide direct evidence of sediments as causative agents of toxicity; however, the results are difficult to extrapolate to the field. The results obtained here show the importance of the end point selected in each test and the variability of the responses. Therefore, the results highlight the necessity and importance of the battery-of-tests approach for toxicity assessment. On the other hand, field sediment toxicity has the advantage of empirical evidence and strong correlative indication of the contaminants responsible for toxicity; however, the results obtained from these tests are highly affected by casualty, so it is not possible to isolate a single causative factor. When structural macrofaunal parameters are incorporated into field tests, the results are even more difficult to interpret, because their parameters can be mainly related to organic enrichment or another kind of natural stress, such as salinity gradient, tidal stress conditions, etc.

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Bioassays with a Natural Assemblage of Benthic Macroinvertebrates

Cited by 11 publications

References 6 publications

Structural Alterations in Aquatic Insect Communities Exposed to Copper in Laboratory Streams

Structural Alterations in Aquatic Insect Communities Exposed to Copper in Laboratory Streams

Establishing and maintaining laboratory-based microcosms of riffle insect communities: their potential for multispecies toxicity tests

Advances in marine ecotoxicology: laboratory tests versus field assessment data on sediment quality studies

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