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Chironomid assemblages from seabird-affected High Arctic ponds

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Abstract

Seabirds can shunt nutrients and contaminants from marine to terrestrial ecosystems by forming dense breeding colonies and releasing wastes to these sites. A large colony of seabirds at Cape Vera (Devon Island, High Arctic Canada) has resulted in eutrophic conditions and potentially toxic concentrations of sedimentary metals in several freshwater ponds that drain their nesting sites. Here, we investigated the effects of elevated nutrient and sedimentary metal concentrations on the distribution of subfossil chironomids in surface sediments from 21 ponds that span a gradient of seabird influence. Although many ponds registered high nutrient concentrations (e.g., mean TP = 45 μg l −1), eutrophic taxa typical of temperate waters were not common, with most assemblages being dominated by morphotypes of Psectrocladius and Tanytarsina, as well as Corynoneura arctica-type, and Metriocnemus hygropetricus-type. Although the ponds within and outside the area influenced by seabirds contained largely similar taxa, variations did exist in the relative abundances of the different species. Lakewater pH was the only measured environmental variable that explained statistically significant amounts of variation in the chironomid assemblages. Although direct effects of pH on chironomids cannot be ruled out, pH is likely tracking production-related changes driven by limnetic dissolved inorganic carbon dynamics. Sediment cores collected from seabird-affected and seabird-free ponds showed a greater number of chironomid taxa and higher head capsule abundances in the pond receiving seabird inputs. Chironomid assemblages in both cores recorded increased abundances in recent decades, likely in response to warmer conditions and lengthened growing seasons.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) awards to JPS, MSVD and JMB. We are grateful to the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (NSTP), Natural Resources Canada (PCSP) and Environment Canada (CWS) for financial and logistical support pertaining to fieldwork. Chironomid identifications were greatly aided by Roberto Quinlan, Andrew Medeiros, Yarrow Axford, Elizabeth Thomas and Joshua Kurek. Konrad Gajewski generously provided chironomid data that we used for comparison with our dataset. Helpful comments on the manuscript were provided by Joshua Kurek and Bronwyn Keatley. This project is PCSP/EPCP no. 00910.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL), Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Neal Michelutti & John P. Smol

  2. Environment Canada, Iqaluit, NU, Canada

    Mark L. Mallory

  3. Program for Chemical and Environmental Toxicology, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Jules M. Blais

  4. Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada

    Marianne S. V. Douglas

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  1. Neal Michelutti
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  2. Mark L. Mallory
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  3. Jules M. Blais
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  4. Marianne S. V. Douglas
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  5. John P. Smol
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Correspondence to Neal Michelutti.

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Michelutti, N., Mallory, M.L., Blais, J.M. et al. Chironomid assemblages from seabird-affected High Arctic ponds. Polar Biol 34, 799–812 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0934-5

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