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

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Authors: Rosenberg, D. M., Wiens, A. P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1976
• Subjects: Northwest Territories
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f76-249; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f76-249

On oiled and unoiled artificial substrates in the Trail River, Northwest Territories, communities of Chironomidae were different during open-water periods but were similar over the winter. Greater numbers of species and individuals of Orthocladiinae occurred on the oiled than on the unoiled artificial substrates. The reverse was true for Tanypodinae and Chironominae. Ten species of Chironomidae showed a positive response to the presence of oil, 9 species showed a negative response, and 10 species were apparently unaffected. Based on the results of this study and a literature review, 11 species of Chironomidae showing either positive or negative responses to contamination by oil or petroleum products were evaluated for their potential to indicate oil contamination of freshwater ecosystems. Three criteria were used: taxonomic soundness, wide zoogeographic distribution, and numbers in the community. We predict that Nilotanypus fimbriatus (Walk.), Cricotopus bicinctus (Meig.), and C. varipes Coq., individually or as an assemblage, would fulfill this role.