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Anomalies in hydropsychid capture nets from polluted streams
Author(s) -
PETERSEN LENA B.M.,
PETERSEN ROBERT C.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
freshwater biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2427
pISSN - 0046-5070
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.1983.tb00670.x
Subject(s) - caddisfly , streams , anomaly (physics) , hydropsychidae , invertebrate , ecology , population , environmental science , community structure , pollution , biology , larva , computer network , physics , demography , sociology , computer science , condensed matter physics
1 Members of the genus Hydropsyche , net‐spinning caddisfly larvae, exhibit anomalies in the structure of their capture nets when collected from stream localities receiving heavy metal and toxic chemical wastes. 2 The number of nets showing anomalies was positively correlated with the number of anomalies per net suggesting a graded response to the toxic wastes. 3 Frequency of anomalies in a hydropsychid population increased the closer the nets were collected to a pollution source. Anomaly frequency was negatively correlated to total macroinvertebrate community structure as measured by the Shannon function. It is suggested that net anomaly frequeney by hydropsychids may be a useful tool in ecological monitoring.