Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Benthic Macroinvertebrates - Related Videos
08:56
Automatic Image Processing to Determine the Community Size Structure of Riverine Macroinvertebrates
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Cited by 1 •
2023
The article is based on the creation of an adapted protocol to scan, detect, sort, and identify digitized objects corresponding to benthic river macroinvertebrates using a semi-automatic imaging procedure. This procedure allows the acquisition of the individual size distributions and size metrics of a macroinvertebrate community in about 1 h.
10:17
Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers
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Cited by 6 •
2017
Most common gut content analyses of macroinvertebrates are visual. Requiring intense knowledge about morphological diversity of prey organisms, they miss soft bodied prey and, due to strong comminution of prey, are nearly impossible for some organisms, including amphipods. We provide detailed, novel genetic approaches for macroinvertebrate prey identification in the diet of amphipods.
07:43
Methods for Image-based Surveys of Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Their Habitat Exemplified by the Drop Camera Survey for the Atlantic Sea Scallop
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Cited by 24 •
2018
Image based surveying is an increasingly practical, non-invasive method to sample the marine environment. We present the protocol of a drop camera survey that estimates the abundance and distribution of the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus). We discuss how this protocol can be generalized for application to other benthic macroinvertebrates.
10:11
The Benthic Exchange of O2, N2 and Dissolved Nutrients Using Small Core Incubations
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Cited by 13 •
2016
Here, we present small core incubations for the measurement of sediment-water gas and solute exchange. These will provide reliable measurements of sediment-water exchange that assess the role of sediment in influencing biological and biogeochemical processes in aquatic ecosystems.
07:41
Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems
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Cited by 1 •
2019
This is a protocol to model the size spectrum (scaling relationship between individual mass and population density) for combined fish and invertebrate data from wadable streams and rivers. Methods include: field techniques to collect quantitative fish and invertebrate samples; lab methods to standardize the field data; and statistical data analysis.
FAQs
A community’s composition changes because its members do not share the same tolerance to environmental stress. Taxa sensitive to oxygen depletion, pollutants, habitat disturbance, or altered substrate and flow may respond differently from tolerant taxa, changing which organisms are present and how abundant they are. This makes community patterns useful for linking biological observations with environmental conditions.
Several environmental variables can shape benthic macroinvertebrate communities at the same time. Oxygen depletion and pollutants act as stresses, while habitat disturbance and changes in substrate or water flow alter the conditions available on the bottom. Because these factors affect taxa according to their tolerance, shifts in community composition can signal ecological change.
These organisms influence ecosystems through three complementary roles: consumers, decomposers, and prey. As consumers and decomposers, they participate in nutrient cycling; as prey, they transfer energy through aquatic food webs. Their environmental importance therefore extends beyond monitoring, because they are biological participants in the processes that support freshwater and marine ecosystem function.
These measures provide different views of the same biological community. Abundance shows how numerous organisms are, diversity describes the range of organisms present, and indicator taxa identify organisms whose tolerance helps relate the community to environmental conditions. Considering them together gives a broader basis for assessing water quality and tracking ecological change over time.
Researchers examine the organisms present in bottom habitats, characterize community composition, and use abundance, diversity, and indicator taxa as biological evidence. They then relate the observed pattern to conditions such as oxygen depletion, pollutants, disturbance, substrate, or flow. Repeating the assessment over time helps track ecological change rather than describing only one moment.
Researchers use these communities to assess water quality and track ecological change over time. The approach is especially relevant when environmental conditions may affect oxygen availability, pollutant exposure, habitat disturbance, substrate, or flow. The resulting biological information can support conservation and ecosystem management by showing how aquatic communities correspond to changing conditions.
The approach applies in both freshwater and marine settings because these organisms occupy sediments and other bottom surfaces in each environment. Researchers can evaluate community composition within the relevant habitat, interpret differences in tolerance to environmental stress, and follow changes over time. This broad environmental scope supports monitoring, conservation, and management across aquatic ecosystems.