Effects of Three Consecutive Rotenone Treatments on the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Fauna of the River Ogna, Central Norway

The effects of piscicides on aquatic invertebrates are often studied after one treatment, even though piscicides may be repeatedly applied within river management. Here we investigate the impacts of repeated piscidie treatment on riverine benthic invertebrates. The River Ogna, Norway, was treated with rotenone three times over a 16-month period. The two first treatments caused temporary density reduction of a few rotenone sensitive benthic invertebrate taxa. Effects of the third treatment were variable with some taxa unaffected while all Plecoptera, were locally extinct. The toxic effect of rotenone increases with water temperature and high water temperature (20 °C) combined with high rotenone concentration was probably the main reason why the benthic community in the third treatment was more negatively affected than during the two previous treatments (4 and 8 °C). Eight months after the treatment benthic densities had not reached pre-treatment levels, but most taxa had recolonized the treated area within a year. Our data suggest that the severe effects of the third treatment were not influenced by the two former ones. This implies that the timing of piscicide treatment has a greater impact on the benthic invertebrate community than the number of treatments. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.