<p class="HeadingRunIn"><strong>Using various lines of evidence to identify <em>Chironomus</em> species (Diptera: Chironomidae) in eastern Canadian lakes</strong></p>

Abstract

Chironomus Meigen (Diptera, Chironomidae) larvae are usually the largest sediment-burrowing chironomids, and as such often constitute a major part of the freshwater infaunal biomass. However, use of this genus in ecological, environmental and paleoecological studies is hampered by the fact that Chironomus larvae are difficult to identify to species because the larvae of many species are morphologically similar. We used a combination of morphological, cytological and genetic techniques to distinguish Chironomus larvae collected from 31 water bodies located in eastern Canada, producing 17 distinguishable groupings. These groups of larvae were ultimately identified as belonging to 14 known species (C. anthraci-

Differences in feeding behaviour amongChironomusspecies revealed by measurements of sulphur stable isotopes and cadmium in larvae

“…From 2 to 5 Chironomus species were collected in a given lake (Fig. Twelve of these species are known, whereas the status of 3 remain uncertain (Table 2; Proulx et al, 2013). Twelve of these species are known, whereas the status of 3 remain uncertain (Table 2; Proulx et al, 2013).…”

“…For more details on the identification techniques used and the species collected, see the work of Proulx et al (2013). Morphological determinations were based on the presence and shape of the ventral and lateral tubules, the coloration of the frontoclypeus and the gula, the teeth of the mentum, mandible and pecten epipharyngis as well as the shape of the anterior margin of the ventromental plates.…”

Histological description of immature Chironomus columbiensis (Diptera: Chironomidae): A potential contribution to environmental monitoring

“…The taxonomic identification of species of the genus Chironomus has been a challenge for experts of this group, due to the external morphological similarity among species (Lindeberg & Wiederholm, ). This has limited the study of these organisms at the ecological, environmental, and paleo‐ecological levels, considering that their behavior can vary from one species to the next (Proulx et al, ).…”

“…Many species of this genus have been widely used as test organisms in ecotoxicological assays (Lee & Choi, ; Maloney, Morrissey, Headley, Peru, & Liber, ; Silva et al, ; Watts & Pascoe, ). However, the use of the genus Chironomus in ecological and environmental studies has been hindered by the difficult morphological identification at the species level; therefore, molecular studies are currently quite useful for this genus (Pfenninger, Nowak, Kley, Steinke, & Streit, ; Proulx, Martin, Carew, & Hare, ). Currently, Chironomus columbiensis has been reported in specific areas in countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, and the United States (Pape & Thompson, ).…”

DNA barcoding supports reclassification of JapaneseChironomusspecies (Diptera: Chironomidae)

“…; Proulx et al . ). Although there is neither a critical nor a universal threshold value for distinguishing a wide variety of organisms, DNA barcoding for species identification has been validated (Jinbo et al .…”