This study documents dynamic changes in the mean abundance and body size of arthropods in an ephemeral pond over the course of a summer in order to understand the nature of interactions that shape this community, and to assess the risks posed by exposure to cercariae of the entomopathogenic digenean, Plagiorchis elegans, a potential control agent for larval mosquitoes. Chironomids were the most abundant, comprising almost two-thirds of all arthropods collected; they were followed by chaoborids, the most abundant predator. Other arthropods, in decreasing order of abundance, were the ephemerids, isopods, amphipods, odonates, dytiscids, and hemipterans. Infections were found only in chironomids and were extremely rare and of low intensity, conceivably due to predation of chaoborids on cercariae and may have protected the community from exposure to these parasites. Findings are discussed in terms of using entomopathogenic digeneans as agents in the biological control of mosquitoes.

No description available.