Investigating the Effects of Nitrates on Macroinvertebrates

Watch a conference presentation from the Georgia Water Resources Conference that explores a 10-day study examining how different nitrate concentrations affect Maccaffertium mayflies in freshwater environments. Learn about the experimental setup involving 60 mayflies collected from Lampkin Branch, exposed to six nitrate concentration levels from 0-80 mg/L across multiple seasonal trials. Discover how temperature variations influenced survival and emergence rates, with warmer conditions leading to higher mortality and emergence. Understand the relationship between increasing nitrate levels and earlier mayfly emergence patterns, while examining how these nutrients, commonly introduced through agricultural runoff and wastewater, impact aquatic ecosystems. Gain insights into using benthic macroinvertebrates as water quality indicators and their sensitivity to nutrient changes in water systems.