A field-based microcosm method to assess the effects of polluted urban stream sediments on aquatic macroinvertebrates

Abstract

A method using field-based microcosms was developed to determine the effects of contaminated sediments on aquatic macroinvertebrates. Fine sediments from nonpolluted, moderately polluted, and severely polluted bodies of water were placed in microcosms positioned within the littoral zone of a nonpolluted wetland near Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). In three experiments, 47 taxa, including 18 Chironomidae, 6 taxa from other Diptera families, and 7 Hemiptera taxa, colonized the microcosms, mostly via eggs deposited by flying adults. The effects of sediment type on the presence and abundance of common taxa were considered statistically. Pollution levels in sediments (indexed either by a princip..