Metal-mixtures experimental stream study 1 (2013): Cd and Zn exposures: aquatic chemistry and larval counts

This dataset is from the first of four experiments which test the toxicity of several metals with aquatic insect communities that were colonized in the field and then transferred and tested in experimental streams. Here we report original data from an experiment testing the toxicity of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn), singly and in mixtures, to natural aquatic insect communities. Trays of cleaned gravel were placed in a stream (the Cache La Poudre River, Colorado) and allowed to colonize for about 40 days before being translocated to Aquatic Experimental Stream Laboratory (AXL) which was located at the USGS Fort Collins Science Center. There the insects were exposed for 30 days to metal mixtures in ratios and concentrations similar to those occurring in ambient conditions.