Laboratory Studies on Chironomid Feeding

For this laboratory study, I set up various “diets” and examined their effects in terms of gain or loss of mass of bloodworms collected from Augusta Creek, Michigan. The insects grew at rates that correlated with the quality of the substrate, which might be expected and yet suggests that they do not select particles of higher quality in the process. Robert King, who made extensive studies of this insect, guided me to their whereabouts at the stream site.

The work is published as: 

Title: The influence of substrate organic content on the growth of a stream chironomid

Authors: Rosanna L. Mattingly, Kenneth W. Cummins, and Robert H. King

In: Hydrobiologia 77: 161–165