Biological and functional responses of in situ bioassays with Chironomus riparius larvae to assess river water quality and contamination

Single species responses have the potential to measure impacts at earlier stages than more traditional methods based in community structure. This study evaluates a bioassay with biological (survival, development, growth) and functional (post-exposure feeding rate) responses of Chironomus riparius la...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The Science of the total environment Vol. 371; no. 1-3; pp. 125 - 137
Main Authors:	Faria, Mafalda S., Ré, Ana, Malcato, João, Silva, Paula C.L.D., Pestana, João, Agra, Ana R., Nogueira, António J.A., Soares, Amadeu M.V.M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Shannon Elsevier B.V 01-12-2006 Elsevier Science
Subjects:	Animal, plant and microbial ecology Animals Applied ecology Benthic macroinvertebrates Biological and medical sciences Biological Assay Chironomidae - drug effects Chironomidae - growth & development Chironomus riparius Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution Environmental Monitoring - instrumentation Environmental Monitoring - methods Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology General aspects In situ bioassays Larva - drug effects Larva - growth & development Metal contamination Organic contamination Portugal Rivers - chemistry Seasons Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity Portugal In situ bioassays Metal contamination Chironomus riparius Benthic macroinvertebrates Organic contamination Chironomidae Bioassay Functional response Insecta In situ Larva Arthropoda Water quality Developmental stage Water pollution Invertebrata Environmental monitoring River water Diptera Environment quality Chemical contamination Benthic zone
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Summary:	Single species responses have the potential to measure impacts at earlier stages than more traditional methods based in community structure. This study evaluates a bioassay with biological (survival, development, growth) and functional (post-exposure feeding rate) responses of Chironomus riparius larvae to assess water quality and contamination in rivers. The bioassay with C. riparius third instar larvae was performed, in autumn and spring, in reference sites and in organic and metal contaminated sites in Portuguese rivers. Biotic, physical and chemical parameters were determined for each site. The relationship between both bioassays responses and biotic indices (IBMWP and IASPT) and the physical and chemical parameters of respective sites were determined. In general biotic indices were able to discriminate between contaminated and not contaminated sites although they demonstrated a poor ability to detect low level of metal contamination during autumn. IASPT was negatively related to ammonia concentrations in both seasons. No significant differences in survival and post-exposure feeding rate were found between sites. Development was inhibited in the most metal contaminated site during autumn, but pH and ammonia concentrations in water accounted for 82% of developmental variation during this season. Growth was highly inhibited in the most metal contaminated site during both seasons. In autumn, growth was also inhibited in the low metal contaminated site and, during this season, pH and Mn and Fe concentrations in water samples accounted for 97% of growth variation between sites. The results suggest that in situ bioassay with C. riparius larvae using growth as the endpoint is a responsive and suitable tool that can be used as bioindicator of metal pollution and to biomonitor water quality in metal contaminated rivers.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0048-9697 1879-1026
DOI:	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.08.036