Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Importance of insects in environmental impact assessment

  • Profile
  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Insects are particularly suited for use in environmental impact assessment (e.i.a.) because of their high species diversity, ubiquitous occurrence, and importance in the functioning of natural ecosystems. Examples are given of the use of insects in the predictive phase of e.i.a., in the monitoring and assessment phase, and in the much rarer instance of an e.i.a. that includes both of these phases. The importance of working at the species level to understanding the results of e.i.a. is emphasized.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

  • Anderson, R. L., C. T. Walbridge, and J. T. Fiandt. 1980. Survival and growth ofTanytarsus dissimilis (Chironomidae) exposed to copper, cadmium, zinc, and lead.Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 9:329–335.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baranov, I. V. 1961. Biohydrochemical classification of the reservoirs in the European USSR. Pages 139–193in P. V. Tyurin (ed.), The storage lakes of the USSR and their importance for fishery. Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beanlands, G. E., and P. N. Duinker. 1983. An ecological framework for environmental impact assessment in Canada. Institute for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., and Federal Environmental Assessment Review Office, Ottawa, 132 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beanlands, G. E., and P. N. Duinker. 1984. An ecological framework for environmental impact assessment.Journal of Environmental Management 18:267–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belluck, D., and A. Felsot. 1981. Bioconcentration of pesticides by egg masses of the caddisfly,Triaenodes tardus Milne.Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 26:299–306.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, T. R. 1977. Northern frontier, northern homeland. The report of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, vol. 1. Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa, cat. no. CP 32-25/1977-1. ISBN 0-660-00775-4, 213 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besch, W. K., I. Schreiber, and D. Herbst. 1977. DerHydropsyche—Toxizitatstest, erprobt an Fenethcarb.Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Hydrologie 39:69–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Besch, W. K., I. Schreiber, and E. Magnin. 1979. Influence du sulfate de cuivre sur la structure du filet des larves d'Hydropsyche (Insecta, Trichoptera).Annales de Limnologie 15:123–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borror, D. J., D. M. DeLong, and C. A. Triplehorn. 1976. An introduction to the study of insects, 4th edn. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 852 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bromenshenk, J. J., S. R. Carlson, J. C. Simpson, and J. M. Thomas. 1985. Pollution monitoring of Puget Sound with honey bees.Science (Washington, DC) 227:632–634.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, L., G. Alexander, and P. J. Franco. 1976. Cadmium and other heavy metals in sea-skaters (Gerridae:Halobates, Rheumatobates).Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 6:33–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, L., P. J. Franco, and M. Schulz-Baldes. 1979. Heavy metals in the sea-skaterHalobates robustus from the Galapagos Islands: concentrations in nature and uptake experiments with special reference to cadmium.Marine Biology 54:201–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danks, H. V. (ed.). 1979. Canada and its insect fauna.Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 108, 573 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folmar, L. C. 1978. Avoidance chamber responses of mayfly nymphs exposed to eight herbicides.Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 19:312–318.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freitag, R., L. Hastings, W. R. Mercer, and A. Smith. 1973. Ground beetle populations near a kraft mill.Canadian Entomologist 105:299–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friesen, M. K., T. D. Galloway, and J. F. Flannagan. 1983. Toxicity of the insecticide permethrin in water and sediment to nymphs of the burrowing mayflyHexagenia rigida (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae).Canadian Entomologist 115:1007–1014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, A. L., and O. A. Saether. 1971. The occurrence of characteristic deformities in the chironomid larvae of several Canadian lakes.Canadian Entomologist 103:363–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes, H. A., 1979. Invertebrates as indicators of river water quality. Pages 2–1 to 2–45in A. James and L. Evison (eds.), Biological indicators of water quality. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hecky, R. E., R. W. Newbury, R. A. Bodaly, K. Patalas, and D. M. Rosenberg. 1984. Environmental impact prediction and assessment: the Southern Indian Lake experience.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 41:720–732.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellawell, J. M. 1978. Biological surveillance of rivers. A biological monitoring handbook. Dorset Press, Dorchester, UK, 332 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilsenhoff, W. L. 1977. Use of arthropods to evaluate water quality of streams. Technical Bulletin no. 100. Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin, 15 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilsenhoff, W. L. 1982. Using a biotic index to evaluate water quality in streams. Technical Bulletin no. 132. Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin, 22 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirst, S. M. 1984. Applied ecology and the real world. I. Institutional factors and impact assessment.Journal of Environmental Management 18:189–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kevan, P. G., and W. E. LaBerge. 1979. Demise and recovery of native pollinator populations through pesticide use and some economic implications.In Proceedings of the 4th symposium on pollination.Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station Special Miscellaneous Publication 1:489–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kevan, P. G., and E. B. Oppermann. 1980. Blueberry production in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine: a reply to Wood et al.Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 28:81–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimball, K. D., and S. A. Levin. 1985. Limitations of laboratory bioassays: the need for ecosystem-level testing.Bio-Science 35:165–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koehn, T., and C. Frank. 1980. Effect of thermal pollution on the chironomid fauna in an urban channel. Pages 187–194in D. A. Murray (ed.), Chironomidae: ecology, systematics, cytology and physiology: proceedings of the 7th international symposium on Chironomidae, Dublin, August 1979. Pergamon, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larkin, P. A. 1984. A commentary on environmental impact assessment for large projects affecting lakes and streams.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 41:1121–1127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lash, T. J. F., D. E. L. Maasland, G. Filteau, and P. Larkin. 1974. On doing things differently: an essay on environmental impact assessment of major projects. Issues in Canadian Science Policy 1:9–16. Science Council of Canada, Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lauenroth, W. K., D. G. Milchunas, and T. P. Yorks. 1984. Sulfur dioxide and grasslands: a synthesis. Pages 185–198in W. K. Lauenroth and E. M. Preston (eds.), The effects of SO2 on a grassland: a case study in the northern Great Plains of the United States. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leetham, J. W., J. L. Dodd, J. A. Logan, and W. K. Lauenroth. 1981. Response ofMelanoplus sanguinipes to low-level sulphur dioxide exposure from egg hatch to adult (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Pages 176–184in E. M. Preston, D. W. O'Guinn, and R. A. Wilson (eds.), The bioenvironmental impact of a coal-fired power plant. Sixth interim report, Colstrip, Montana, August 1980. EPA 600/3-81-007. US Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, Oregon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leetham, J. W., W. K. Lauenroth, D. G. Milchunas, T. Kirchner, and T. P. Yorks. 1984. Responses of heterotrophs. Pages 137–159in W. K. Lauenroth and E. M. Preston (eds.), The effects of SO2 on a grassland: a case study in the northern Great Plains of the United States. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehmkuhl, D. M. 1981. Report on the impact of methoxychlor on non-target organisms in the Saskatchewan River, appendix III, 165 pp.In W. W. Sawchyn (ed.), Impact of methoxychlor as a blackfly larvicide in the Saskatchewan River. Saskatchewan Research Council Publication no. C-805-19-E-82.

  • Lehmkuhl, D. M. 1982. The impact of methoxychlor on non-target organisms in the Saskatchewan River with emphasis of long-term effects and the effectiveness of reduced dosages. Unpublished manuscript prepared for the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture, Regina, Saskatchewan, 54 pp.

  • Lehmkuhl, D. M., H. V. Danks, V. M. Behan-Pelletier, D. J. Larson, D. M. Rosenberg, and I. M. Smith. 1984. Recommendations for the appraisal of environmental disturbance: some general guidelines, and the value and feasibility of insect studies.Supplement to the Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Canada 16(3):8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, R. A., A. S. Lefohn, and N. R. Glass. 1976. Introduction to the Colstrip, Montana, coal-fired power plant project. Pages 1–13in R. A. Lewis, N. R. Glass, and A. S. Lefohn (eds.), The bioenvironmental impact of a coal-fired power plant. Second interim report, Colstrip, Montana, June 1975. EPA-600/3-76-013. US Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, Oregon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lock, M. A., R. R. Wallace, D. R. Barton, and S. Charlton. 1981a. The effects of synthetic crude oil on microbial and macroinvertebrate benthic river communities. I. Colonisation of synthetic crude oil contaminated substrata.Environmental Pollution (Series A) 24:207–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lock, M. A., R. R. Wallace, D. R. Barton, and S. Charlton. 1981b. The effects of synthetic crude oil on microbial and macroinvertebrate benthic river communities. II. The response of an established community to contamination by synthetic crude oil.Environmental Pollution (Series A) 24:263–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Majer, J. D. 1983. Ants: bio-indicators of minesite rehabilitation, land use, and land conservation.Environmental Management 7:375–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauck, W. L., and L. E. Olson. 1977. Polychlorinated biphenyls in adult mayflies (Hexagenia bilineata) from the upper Mississippi River.Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 17:387–390.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan, A. J. 1974. Development of some lake ecosystems in tropical Africa, with special reference to the invertebrates.Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 49:365–397.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNary, T.J., D. G. Milchunas, J. W. Leetham, W. K. Lauenroth, and J. L. Dodd. 1981. Effect of controlled low levels of SO2 on grasshopper densities on a northern mixed-grass prairie.Journal of Economic Entomology 74:91–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNeil, J. N., R. Greenhalgh, and J. M. McLeod. 1979. Persistence and accumulation of fenitrothion residues in jackpine foliage and their effect on the Swaine jackpine sawflyNeodiprion swainei (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae).Environmental Entomology 8:752–755.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman, J. R., and R. K. Schreiber. 1984. Animals as indicators of ecosystem responses to air emissions.Environmental Management 8:309–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patalas, K., and A. Salki. 1984. Effects of impoundment and diversion on the crustacean plankton of Southern Indian Lake.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 41:613–637.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, L. B.-M, and R. C. Petersen, Jr. 1983. Anomalies in hydropsychid capture nets from polluted streams.Freshwater Biology 13:185–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston, E. M., D. W. O'Guinn, and R. A. Wilson (eds.). 1981. The bioenvironmental impact of a coal-fired power plant. Sixth interim report, Colstrip, Montana, August 1980. EPA 600/3-81-007. US Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis, Oregon, 331 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resh, V. H., T. S. Flynn, G. A. Lamberti, E. P. McElravy, K. L. Sorg, and J. R. Wood. 1981. Responses of the sericostomatid caddisflyGumaga nigricula (McL.) to environmental disruption. Pages 311–318in G. P. Moretti (ed.), Proceedings of the 3rd international symposium on Trichoptera. Series Entomologica vol. 20. Dr. W. Junk, The Hague.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resh, V. H., and G. Grodhaus. 1983. Aquatic insects in urban environments. Pages 247–276in G. W. Frankie and C. S. Koehler (eds.), Urban entomology: interdisciplinary perspectives. Praeger, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resh, V. H., and D. G. Price. 1984. Sequential sampling: a cost-effective approach for monitoring benthic macroinvertebrates in environmental impact assessments.Environmental Management 8:75–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resh, V. H., and J. D. Unzicker. 1975. Water quality monitoring and aquatic organisms: the importance of species identification.Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation 47:9–19.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, D. M., and others. 1981. Recent trends in environmental impact assessment.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 38:591–624.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, D. M., and N. B. Snow. 1977. A design for environmental impact studies with special reference to sedimentation in aquatic systems of the Mackenzie and Porcupine River drainages. Pages 67–78, section IIIin Proceedings of the circumpolar conference on northern ecology, 15–18 September 1975, Ottawa. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, D. M., and A. P. Wiens. 1976. Community and species responses of Chironomidae (Diptera) to contamination of fresh waters by crude oil and petroleum products, with special reference to the Trail River, Northwest Territories.Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 33:1955–1963.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, D. M., A. P. Wiens, and J. F. Flannagan. 1980. Effects of crude oil contamination on Ephemeroptera in the Trail River, Northwest Territories, Canada. Pages 443–455in J. F. Flannagan and K. E. Marshall (eds.), Advances in Ephemeroptera biology. Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saether, O. A. 1975. Nearctic chironomids as indicators of lake typology.Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung für theoretische und angewandte Limnologie 19:3127–3133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saether, O. A. 1979. Chironomid communities as water quality indicators.Holarctic Ecology 2:65–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saether, O. A. 1980. The influence of eutrophication on deep lake benthic invertebrate communities.Progress in Water Technology 12:161–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schindler, D. W. 1987. Detecting ecosystem responses to stress.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (Supplement) (in press).

  • Schulz-Baldes, M., and L. Cheng. 1980. Cadmium inHalobates micans from the Central and South Atlantic Ocean.Marine Biology 59:163–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. B. 1981. Alberta Oil Sands Environmental Research Program, 1975–1980: summary report. AOSERP Report 118. Alberta Environment, Research Management Division, Edmonton, Alberta, 170 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Summerlin, J. W., A. C. F. Hung, and S. B. Vinson. 1977. Residues in nontarget ants, species simplification and recovery of populations following aerial applications of mirex.Environmental Entomology 6:193–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Symons, P. E. K., and J. L. Metcalfe. 1978. Mortality, recovery, and survival of larvalBrachycentrus numerosus (Trichoptera) after exposure to the insecticide fenitrothion.Canadian Journal of Zoology 56:1284–1290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tooby, T. E., and D. J. Macey. 1977. Absence of pigmentation in corixid bugs (Hemiptera) after the use of the aquatic herbicide dichlobenil.Freshwater Biology 7:519–525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood McLellan and Associates Ltd. 1970. Churchill River diversion: study of alternative diversions. Appendix B: resources investigations, Section 4: fisheries. 116 pp. and bibliography.

  • Walton, B. T. 1981. Chemical impurity produces extra compound eyes and heads in cricket.Science (Washington, DC) 212:51–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, W. F. 1980a. Palaeolimnology of the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario: 2800 years of cultural influence.Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 206:1–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warwick, W. F. 1980b. Pasqua Lake, southeastern Saskatchewan: a preliminary assessment of trophic status and contamination based on the Chironomidae (Diptera). Pages 255–267in D. A. Murray (ed.), Chironomidae: ecology, systematics, cytology and physiology: proceedings of the 7th international symposium on Chironomidae, Dublin, August 1979. Pergamon, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiting, E. R., and H. F. Clifford. 1983. Invertebrates and urban runoff in a small northern stream, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Hydrobiologia 102:73–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiederholm, T. 1984a. Incidence of deformed chironomid larvae (Diptera: Chironomidae) in Swedish lakes.Hydrobiologia 109:243–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiederholm, T. 1984b. Responses of aquatic insects to environmental pollution. Pages 508–557in V. H. Resh and D. M. Rosenberg (eds.), The ecology of aquatic insects. Praeger, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiens, A. P., and D. M. Rosenberg. 1984. Effect of impoundment and river diversion on profundal macrobenthos of Southern Indian Lake, Manitoba.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 41:638–648.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winner, R. W., M. W. Boesel, and M. P. Farrell. 1980. Insect community structure as an index of heavy-metal pollution in lotic ecosystems.Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37:647–655.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, C. L., and W. P. Stephen. 1970. The acoustical behavior ofAcheta domesticus L. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) following sublethal doses of parathion, dieldrin and sevin.Oecologia (Berlin) 4:143–162.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, R3T 2N6, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    David M. Rosenberg

  2. Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), National Museum of Natural Sciences, K1A 0M8, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    H. V. Danks

  3. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, S7N 0W0, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Dennis M. Lehmkuhl

Authors
  1. David M. Rosenberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. V. Danks
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dennis M. Lehmkuhl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rosenberg, D.M., Danks, H.V. & Lehmkuhl, D.M. Importance of insects in environmental impact assessment. Environmental Management 10, 773–783 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01867730

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01867730

Key words

Search

Navigation