Consolidation of Baseline Information, Development of Methodology, and Investigation of Thermal Impacts on Freshwater Shellfish, Insects, and Other Biota

摘要

A computerized information system was developed for storing, retrieving, and analyzing data collected during limnological surveys. To facilitate storage of information, a series of hierarchial codes was developed. These codes not only reduced storage requirements, but also helped reduce computing costs. The information system utilized three analytical procedures, cluster analysis, ordination using nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS), and measurement of species diversity from information theory. The heuristic properties of species diversity were used to evaluate two classifications stressing functional morphology and trophic-functional relationships of benthic invertebrates, independent of the taxonomic hierarchy. Both methods produced results similar to ones obtained by cluster analysis, suggesting that they merit further investigation.