Benthic Invertebrate Community (Great Lakes Nearshore Areas)

This dataset contains information on benthic invertebrate community structure of samples collected from nearshore index monitoring stations within a Great Lake basin each year. The composition of benthic invertebrates (such as insects, worms, mussels, snails and crayfish) found in a sample is used as a biological indicator of trophic status and general environmental conditions to help understand ecosystem function, structure and change. Surveys are typically conducted in one of the Great Lakes basins each year. In most cases, five replicate samples (600 μm mesh, 9-inch ponar) were collected at each station. This dataset links with Sediment chemistry (Great Lakes nearshore areas) and Water chemistry (Great Lakes nearshore areas) datasets.