Document Type
Article
Abstract
Aquatic macroinvertebrates bridge the gap in part between primary and secondary consumers, making them ecologically important for most aquatic systems. They are used as biotic indicators for water quality due to their sensitivity to pollutants and may be affected, specifically, by chloride ion concentrations in the water. Water quality can be evaluated by looking at species compositions and their respective tolerance values. To determine long-term effects of road salt on macroinvertebrate colonies, a total of 338 identified macroinvertebrates of 10 families (two generalized to class) at 9 sites were collected from before, after, and between three bridges on Turtle River in Bemidji, Minnesota. The most numerous families of invertebrates were Gammaridae, Ephemeridae, and Corixidae (116, 73, and 71, respectively), and the weighted average tolerance values ranged from 4.10 to 8.07. The conductivity was also measured at each collection by using 1000 mL of surface water, with an average of 294.0 µS/cm for all sites, ranging from 285.5 to 305.1 µS/cm. Conductivity had no significant relationship with tolerance values, diversity, or richness (P > 0.10). There was, however, a significant positive, linear relationship between river kilometer and conductivity (P = 0.01).
Publication Date
2021
Recommended Citation
Fink, Kendra, "Effects of Salt Runoff on Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Colonies" (2021). Journal of Earth and Life Science. 12.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/j-earth-life-sci/12
Included in
Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Biodiversity Commons, Biology Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Laboratory and Basic Science Research Commons, Population Biology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
Comments
Faculty sponsor: Dr. Andrew Hafs, Department of Biology, Aquatic Biology Program