Abstract
This study reports on the density, growth, and production response of the dominant black fly, Prosimulium martini, to whole river fertilization of the Kuparuk River in arctic Alaska during the summer of 1984. Beginning in 1983, a long term study of fertilization effects was initiated in the Kuparuk River. Increased nutrient supply stimulated algal and microbial biomass and microbial activity, which in turn affected the larval growth and abundance of Prosimulium. This experiment allowed us to isolate the effects of nutrient supply from other factors in determining black fly growth and abundance.
Phosphorus addition had the following indirect effects on Prosimulium: growth was higher, but abundance decreased in the enriched section, leading to a net decrease in secondary production from 2.62 g m -2 yr-1 to 0.77 g m -2 yr-1. Prosimulium emergence rates were not measureably affected. The decrease in abundance and production appears to be a result of competitive displacement by the caddisfly Brachycentrus americanus which increased in abundance in the fertilized section of the river.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anderson, N. H. & K. W. Cummins, 1979. Influence of diet on the life histories of aquatic insects. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 36: 335–342.
Brown, A. V. & K. B. Brown, 1984. Distribution of insects within riffles of a stream. Freshwat. Invert. Biol. 3: 2–11.
Benke, A. C., 1984. Secondary production of aquatic insects. In Resh, V. H. & D. M. Rosenberg (eds), The ecology of aquatic insects. Praeger Publishers, NY: 289–322.
Carlsson, M., L. M. Nilsson, B. Svensson & S. Ulfstrand, 1977. Lacustrine seston and other factors influencing the black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) inhabiting lake outlets in Swedish Lapland. Oikos 29: 229–238.
Chutter, F. M., 1968. On the ecology of the fauna of stones in the current in a South African river supporting a veryb large Simulium (Diptera) population. J. appl. Ecol. 5: 531–561.
Chutter, F. M., 1970. A preliminary study of the factors influencing the number of oocytes present in newly emerged blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 48: 1389–1400.
Colbo, M. H. & G. N. Porter, 1978. Effects of food supply on the life history of Simuliidae (Diptera). Can. J. Zool. 57: 301–306.
Colbo, M. H. & G. N. Porter, 1981. The interaction ofrearing temperature and food supply on the life history of two species of Simuliidae (Diptera). Can. J. Zool. 59: 158–163.
Downes, J. A., 1965. Adaptations of insects in the arctic. Ann. Rev. Ent. 10: 257–274.
Edmondson, W. T., 1970. Phosphorus, nitrogen, and algae in Lake Washington after diversion of sewage. Science 169: 690–691.
Elwood, J. W., J. D. Newbold, A. F. Trimble & R. W. Stark, 1981. The limiting role of phosphorus in a woodland stream ecosystem: effects of P enrichment on leaf decomposition and primary producers. Ecology 62: 146–158.
Freeman, M. J. & J. B. Wallace, 1984. Production of netspinning caddisflies (Hydropsychidae) and black flies (Simuliidae) on rock outcrop substrate in a small southeastern Piedmont stream. Hydrobiologia 112: 3–15.
Gallepp, G. W., 1977. Response of caddisfly larvae (Brachycentrus spp.) to temperature, food availability, and current velocity. Am. Midl. Nat. 98: 59–84.
Gersabeck, E. F. & R. W. Merritt, 1979. The effect of physical factors on the colonization and relocation behavior of immature black flies. Envir. Ent. 8: 34–39.
Grimm, N. B. & S. G. Fisher, 1986. Nitrogen limitation in a sonoran Desert stream. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 5: 2–15.
Hart, D. D. & C. T. Robinson, 1990. Resource limitation in a stream community: phosphorus enrichment effects on periphyton grazers. Ecology 71: 1494–1502.
Hershey, A. E., 1988. Effect of a caddisfly on black fly density: interspecific interactions limit black flies in an arctic river. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 7: 188–196.
Hershey, A. E., A. L. Hiltner, M. A. J. Hullar, M. C. Miller, J. R. Vestal, M. A. Lock, S. Rundle & B. J. Peterson, year? Nutrient influence on a stream grazer: Orthocladius microcommunities respond to nutrient input. Ecology 69: 1983–1992.
Krueger, C. C. & T. F. Waters, 1983. Annual production of macroinvertebrates in three streams of different water quality. Ecology 64: 840–850.
Lamberti, G. A. & J. W. Moore, 1984. Aquatic insects as primary consumers. In Resh, V. H. & D. M. Rosenberg (eds), The Ecology of Aquatic Insects. Praeger Publishers, New York, pp. 165–195.
Maciolek, J. A. & M. G. Tunzi, 1968. Microseston dynamics in a simple Sierra Nevada stream system. Ecology 49: 60–75.
Mackay, R. J. & T. F. Waters, 1986. Effects of small impoundments on hydropsychid caddisfly production in Valley Creek, Minnesota. Ecology 67: 1680–1686.
McAuliffe, J. R., 1984. Competition for space, disturbance, and the structure of a benthic stream community. Ecology 65: 894–908.
McCullough, D. A., G. W. Minshall & C. E. Cushing, 1979. Bioenergetics of lotic filter feeding insects Simulium spp. (Diptera) and Hydropsyche occidentalis (Trichoptera) and their function in controlling organic transport in streams. Ecology 60: 585–596.
Merritt, R. W., D. H. Ross & G. J. Larson, 1982. Influence of stream temperature and seston on the growth and production of overwintering larval blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae). Ecology 63: 1322–1331.
Morgan, N. C., T. Backiel, G. Bretschko, A. Duncan, A. Hilbricht-Ilkowska, Z. Kajak, J. F. Kitchell, P. Larsson, C. Leveque, A. Nauwerck, F. Schiemer & J. E. Thorpe, 1980. Secondary production. In E. D. LeCren & R. H. Lowe McConnell (eds), The functioning of freshwater ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
Oswood, M. W., 1979. Abundance patterns of filter feeding caddisflies (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) and seston in a Montana (USA) lake outlet. Hydrobiologia 63: 177–183.
Parker, C. R. & J. R. Voshell, Jr., 1982. Life histories of some filter-feeding Trichoptera in Virginia. Can. J. Zool. 60: 1732–1742.
Peterson, B. J., J. E. Hobbie & T. L. Corliss, 1986. Carbon flow in a tundra stream ecosystem. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. In press.
Peterson, B. J., J. E. Hobbie, A. E. Hershey, M. A. Lock, T. E. Ford, J. R. Vestal, V. L. McKinley, M. A. J., M. C. Miller, R. M. Ventullo & G. S. Volk, 1985. Transformation of a tundra river from heterotrophy to autotrophy by addition of phosphorus. Science 229: 1383–1386.
Pringle, C. M., 1987. Effects of water and substratum nutrient supplies on lotic periphyton growth: an integrated bioassay. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 44: 619–629.
Richardson, J. S., 1984. Effects of seston quality on the growth of a lake outlet filter feeder. Oikos 43: 386–390.
Ross, D. H. & D. A. Craig, 1979. The seven larval instars of Prosimulium mixtum Syme and Davies and P. fuscum Syme and Davies (Diptera: Simuliidae). Can. J. Zool. 57: 290–300.
Sheldon, A. L. & M. W. Oswood, 1977. Blackfly (Diptera: Simuliidae) abundance in a lake outlet: test of a predictive model. Hydrobiologia 56: 113–120.
Schindler, D. W., 1974. Eutrophication and recovery in experimental lakes: implications for lake management. Science 184: 897–899.
Schindler, D. W., 1977. Evolution of phosphorus limitation in lakes. Science 195: 260–262.
Smock, L. A., 1980. Relationships between biomass and body size of aquatic insects. Freshwat. Biol. 10: 375–383.
Smock, L. A., E. Gilinsky & D. L. Stoneburner, 1985. Macroinvertebrate production in a southeastern United States blackwater stream. Ecology 66: 1491–1503.
Stockner, J. G. & K. R. S. Shortreed, 1978. Enhancement of autotrophic production by nutrient addition in a coastal rainforest stream on Vancouver Island. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 35: 28–34.
Sweeny, B. W., 1984. Factors influencing life-history patterns of aquatic insects. In Resh, V. H. & D. M. Rosenberg (eds), The ecology of aquatic insects. Praeger Publishers, New York, pp. 56–100.
Ward, G. M. & K. W. Cummins, 1979. Effects of food quality on growth of a stream detritivore, Paratendipes albimanus (Meigen) (Diptera: Chironomidae). Ecology 60: 57–64.
Waters, T. F., 1977. Secondary production in inland waters. Adv. Ecol. Res. 10: 91–164.
Waters, T. F. & J. C. Hokenstrom, 1980. Annual production and drift of the stream amphipod Gammarus pseudolimnaeus in Valley Creek, Minnesota. Limnol. Oceanogr. 25: 700–710.
Wotton, R. S., 1978. Growth, respiration, and assimilation of blackfly larvae (Diptera: Simuliidae) in a lake outlet in Finland. Oecologia 33: 279–290.
Wotton, R. S., 1979. The influence of a lake on the distribution of blackfly species (Diptera: Simuliidae) along a river. Oikos 32: 368–372.
Zahar, A. R., 1951. The ecology and distribution of black-flies (Simuliidae) in south-east Scotland. J. animo Ecol. 20: 33–62.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hiltner, A.L., Hershey, A.E. (1992). Black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) response to phosphorus enrichment of an arctic tundra stream. In: O’Brien, W.J. (eds) Toolik Lake. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 78. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2720-2_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2720-2_21
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5206-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-2720-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive