Relationships Between Dipteran Emergence and Phytoplankton Production in the Experimental Lakes Area, Northwestern Ontario

Abstract

Dipteran emergence was monitored at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) between 1973 and 1977 in seven lakes of different trophic status. The data were used to develop a number of equations which related the quantity and spatial distribution of average annual emergence to lake productivity. These models explained > 94% of the variation in mean emergent biomass among lakes or > 76% of the variation in numbers of emergent Diptera in terms of phytoplankton production or phosphorus loading. On average, ELA lakes produced 40.8 dipteran adults (9 mg dry weight) per gram carbon fixed by phytoplankton. A single equation for all lakes predicts the surface distribution of emergent biomass, relative to lake depth at any location, from vertical profiles of phytoplankton production. The mean size of dipteran adults was related to lake depth at the point of emergence and average phytoplankton production. An empirical model which used data on the vertical profile, and lake average, of phytoplankton production was developed to predict the number of Diptera emerging from each depth. The maximum depth of emergence was related to depth of the euphotic zone and average phytoplankton production in each lake. Initial tests suggested that the models may provide useful predictions of dipteran emergence for a wider spectrum of lakes.Key words: aquatic insects, Diptera, Chironomidae, eutrophication, primary production