ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS OF THE LAKE MICHIGAN REGION Volume 5 Zoobenthos of Lake Michigan

摘要

This report summarizes Lake Michigan zoobenthic studies up to 1974, including reports of power-plant surveys. It describes eco¬logies of macroinvertebrate species and some microfauna, partly through use of data from other Gr . t Lakes. The following are discussed:methodology of field surveys;zoobenthic indicators of pol¬lution;zoobenthic effects on sediment-water exchanges;and numbers, biomass, and production of total macroinvertebrates. Prominent fea-tures of Lake Michigan zoobenthos include predominance of the amphipod Pontoporeia affinis, usefulness of tubificid oligochaetes in mapping environmental quality, and pronounced qualitative gradients in zoobenthos in relation to depth. Further research is needed on sampling methods, energy flow rates and pathways through benthic com¬munities, factors limiting distribution of species near shore, and effects of macroinvertebrates on sediment chemistry and structure.