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The response of Chironomidae (Diptera) to a long-term exclusion of terrestrial organic matter

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Abstract

We examined the effects of a seven-year detrital exclusion on chironomid assemblages in an Appalachian headwater stream. We hypothesized that litter exclusion would lead to a reduction in all chironomids at both the subfamily and generic levels because organic matter serves as both food and habitat in these headwater streams. Tanytarsini total abundance and biomass significantly declined after litter exclusion. Before litter exclusion, Tanytarsini average abundance was 4271 ± 1135 S.E. m−2 and 625 ± 98 after litter exclusion. Biomass was 3.57 ± 0.96 mg AFDM m−2 before litter exclusion and 1.03 ± 0.9 after exclusion. In contrast, Orthocladiinae abundance and biomass did not change because a psammanophilic chironomid, Lopescladius sp., and other Orthocladiinae genera did not decline significantly. Overall chironomid taxa richness and diversity did not change as a result of litter exclusion. However, Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) of genus-level biomass did show a clear separation between the litter exclusion stream and a reference stream. Separation of taxa between the two streams was due to differences in fine (r 2 = 0.39) and coarse (r 2 = 0.36) organic matter standing stocks and the proportion of small inorganic substrates (r 2 = 0.39) present within a sample. As organic matter declined in the litter exclusion stream, overall chironomid biomass declined and the chironomid community assemblage changed. Tanytarsini were replaced by Orthocladiinae in the litter exclusion stream because they were better able to live and feed on biofilm associated with inorganic substrates.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Randy Bernot, Dominic Chaloner, Wyatt Cross, Ashley Moerke, and Allison Roy for many helpful suggestions. Darold Batzer, Amy Braccia, Dominic Chaloner, Brent Johnson, and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on early drafts that improved this paper. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation grant DEB-9207498 and DEB-962968.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Sally A. Entrekin

  2. Department of Entomology and Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    J. Bruce Wallace & Susan L. Eggert

  3. USDA Forest Service, North Central Research Station, Grand Rapids, MN, 55744, USA

    Susan L. Eggert

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  1. Sally A. Entrekin
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  2. J. Bruce Wallace
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Correspondence to Sally A. Entrekin.

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Entrekin, S.A., Wallace, J.B. & Eggert, S.L. The response of Chironomidae (Diptera) to a long-term exclusion of terrestrial organic matter. Hydrobiologia 575, 401–413 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0386-7

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