title: Secondary production of a zoobenthic community under metal stress.
abstract: Little is known about the influence of toxicants on the function of freshwater sediments. To better understand these effects, a long-term microcosm experiment was carried out with cadmium (Cd) as the model pollutant (50 and 400 mg Cd kg(-1) dw). In a seven-month study the effect of Cd was examined on secondary production of the zoobenthos (higher taxonomic level) and specifically of the nematode community (species level). Production of almost all taxa decreased under low Cd stress, with rotifers as the only taxon that was able to thrive under this condition. High Cd stress resulted in a decrease in secondary production of all groups with strong differences between taxa. Nematode production likewise decreased, with strongest effects in the higher Cd concentration. Interestingly, at the end of the study, several bacteria-feeding species had benefited from the low Cd stress, probably due to their rapid development in relation to other species and/or the high bacterial density under this condition. Taken together, the results of this study provide insight into secondary production of sediment communities and the important effects of a toxicant thereon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Ecology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany. michael.faupel@uni-bielefeld.de
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faupel
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Traunspurger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D017753:Ecosystem; D009348:Nematoda / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium