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Potential significance of insects in the removal of contaminants from aquatic systems

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Abstract

Larvae of many aquatic insects live on or in sediments and thus come into contact with contaminants which accumulate there. The larvae may bioconcentrate these contaminants in their tissues and when they emerge as adults may transport contaminants out of the aquatic system. A simple model was developed to consider the potential significance of this transport for three levels of insect production (100, 15 and 1 g m−2 yr−1) and three bioconcentration factors (10000, 1000 and 100X). The period of time it would take insects to remove 50% of contaminants from a sediment layer 30 cm thick was estimated to range from 1.2 yr for conditions of high production and a bioconcentration factor of 10000 to 12000 years for conditions of low production and a bioconcentration factor of 100. Moderate levels of production, coupled with bioconcentration factors of 10 000 and 1000, would result in removal of 50% of contaminants in 8 and 80 yr. Contaminants bioconcentrated in tissues of adult aquatic insects may enter into terrestrial food webs and could be biomagnified still further as they pass from lower to higher trophic levels. Because this evaluation was based on several assumptions and a selected set of conditions, the significance of insects in a particular situation must be determined on a case-by-case basis.

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  1. EG&G Environmental Consultants, 151 Bear Hill Road, 02154, Waltham, MA, USA

    Charles A. Menzie

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  1. Charles A. Menzie
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Menzie, C.A. Potential significance of insects in the removal of contaminants from aquatic systems. Water Air Soil Pollut 13, 473–479 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02191848

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02191848

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