Responses of Stream Periphyton and Benthic Insects to Increases in Dissolved Inorganic Phosphorus in a Mesocosm

Abstract

Responses of stream periphytic algae and benthic insects to increases in dissolved inorganic phosphorus (P) were assessed in a streamside mesocosm. Controls and treatments were colonized continuously in summer by biota from the stream. P was maintained in the treatments at 10 μg∙L −1 , [Formula: see text] times the concentration in the controls. In the treatments the biomass of chlorophyll a reached 3.5 times that of the controls, accompanied by an increase in Cyanophyta relative to diatoms. No difference was detectable in the numbers of insects drifting from controls and treatments. Numbers of individuals emerging (> 40 species) from the treatments over 7 wk were 2.2 times those from the controls. In both controls and treatments, 77% or more of emerging insects were Chironomidae. After week 7 the density of benthic insects in the treatments, determined without size selection, was 1.75 times that of the controls; size distributions in treatments and controls were similar. Addition of P, therefore, increased the food of insects and resulted in a doubling of their survival to emergence.