Abstract
We report daytime drift behavior of lotic macroinvertebrates following short term (12 h) additions of HCl or HCl plus AlCl3 to a circumneutral softwater (alkalinity ca. 100 µeq 1-1) mountain stream in British Columbia, Canada. Addition of HCl (pH reduced from 7.0 to 5.9) resulted in an overall tripling of invertebrate drift density with rapid (< 1 h) increases in chironomid Diptera and Trichoptera. Small Ephemeroptera also entered the drift at high densities, but were delayed about 6 h. Addition of AlCl3 (0.71 to 0.95 mg 1-1 total Al3+) in HCl (stream pH reduced to 5.9) resulted in an overall 6-fold increase in invertebrate drift, with rapid increases by Ephemeroptera and delayed responses by chironomids and Trichoptera. These results suggest that the behavior of several macroinvertebrates from low alkalinity, unacidified streams can be altered by simulations of short-term, mild acidic deposition events. Further, the magnitude and timing of entry into the drift varies among taxonomic groups with the presence or absence of low concentrations of aluminum ions.
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Bernard, D.P., Neil, W.E. & Rowe, L. Impact of mild experimental acidification on short term invertebrate drift in a sensitive British Columbia stream. Hydrobiologia 203, 63–72 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005614
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005614