Aquatic Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Streams from the North Shore of Lake Superior, 2005 and 2007
Deacon K and Lavoie L. 2008. Aquatic Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Streams from the North Shore of Lake Superior, 2005 and 2007. Study Our Streams
Benthic macroinvertebrates respond to ecosystem changes faster than other members of the aquatic community, and are therefore commonly used as indicator species to assess the health of aquatic ecosystems. Trends and changes in aquatic macroinvertebrate populations and their community structure can serve as indicators of short-term stresses that may ultimately influence the aquatic community of Lake Superior. The goals of this part of the project were fourfold: to locate reference sites for minimally impacted streams along the north shore of Lake Superior, to sample benthic macroinvertebrates at two sites that had previously been sampled in an attempt to determine the effect of season/year on the composition of the benthic macroinvertebrate community, to assess the biological health of a remediated stream by comparing the community structure with that found in minimally impacted reference sites with similar physiographic features, and to compare the normal range of biotic indices for benthic macroinvertebrate communities along the north shore of Lake Superior with those of communities in Southern Ontario.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Deacon, Ken; Lavoie, Lucie
- Date of Issue
- 2008-08
- Publisher
- Study Our Streams
- Units
- APIS
- Keywords
- benthic, Lake Superior, macroinvertebrate, monitoring