Effect of a neonicotinoid mixture on the aquatic invertebrate community
SWSIL NTA_2018-0354
The experiment will be run in outdoor aquatic microcosms. An aquatic community will be created in late spring, by adding well water, dry leaf litter and pond water (as a source of phytoplankton and zooplankton). Insects will be allowed to naturally colonize the microcosms. However, common invertebrate predators, such as, water bugs, backswimmers, water boatmen, and dragonfly larvae, collected from nearby ponds, will be added into the pools. One week after the addition of the predators in the system, three neonicotinoid insecticides, plus their mixture will be applied at concentrations measured in wetlands adjacent to agricultural fields. The community will be sampled one day before treatment, two days,7 days and then every 2 weeks until the end of the experiment. On each sampling date, chlorophyll a concentration and temperature, pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen will also be monitored. The experiment will run until community recovery is observed in the treated pools.