Benthic macro invertebrates - help needed!

[Snikkles]

Hello everyone! :-)

Can anyone recommend any good resources or give any pointers to a student stuck on a question about benthic macro invertebrates please?

Basically I have to describe the bmi communities found in both a shallow stony riffle and a deep, silty pool - as well as the dominant taxa, relativbe abundances, modes of locomotion, feeding habits etc - but I'm having real difficulties finding any reliable information on the subject?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as after 5 hours of research I'm no further than before? Thanks!

[Marineboy]

Whether this will lead to anything I'm not sure, but it's maybe worth a try. Send an e-mail to the Natural History Museum, London. I know they can be a little sticky when it comes to receiving things for identification, but the zoological department might just be able to point you in the right direction or even have the information you are looking for. Get an e-mail off to them tonight.
One other possible I just found is the London Biodiversity Partnership. Not had a proper look yet myself, but they seem to have various wildlife and habitat audits.
Good luck.

[Snikkles]

Thanks, I'll give it a try and see what they say! :-)

[zan]

hiya

I've got a great book, called the Biology of Streams and Rivers by Paul S Giller and Bjorn Malmqvist (pub. 2002). That's got a load of info and you should get it in a library. Worst case, you can buy it for about £20 and sell it again on ebay when you're done (unless it's due sooner than the post coud deliver!).

The NHM are certainly worth a go, but they'll be prett busy so don't bank on them just in case. Try and get in touch with your local river trust (every river has a group who manage and look after it, and they might be able to help you as well).

I think the idea behind the question is probably to look at your understanding of the 2 habitats. In terms of diversity, how would a gravelly, riffle bed differ from a deep silty pool? What about in terms of the oxygen content or the temperature? The speed of water movement will have a pretty major effect on any wee inverts trying to hang on to their place in the stream. As far as examples go, don't go crazy, just pick two or three example species and talk about them. I don't know what level you're at or how detailed the essay needs to be, but that might be a good place to start.

Good luck!

Zan

[RobSutton]

I think the best general textbook on stream life would be the Ecology of Running Water by H B N Hynes - published by Liverpool University Press in 1970. It's well out of print now but is a bit of a classic and would have what you need in it. It's a library job rather than the internet!

Even better would be to go and look at a real stream for yourself. Are you anywhere near a suitable stream? - If you are then I'd get a pond net and go and have a look.

[Snikkles]

Thanks Rob and Zan, I'll be in the university library tomorrow looking for both of those! It doesn't really need to be too detailed an answer to be honest (a couple of a4 sides should be plenty), but I want to make sure I have accurate information, so I really appreciate the help and advice! :-)

[ladyhawk]

waterwatch is a goood site have used for my own essays, good luck

[moo]

Giller and Malmquist very good: also Brian Moss Ecology of Fresh Waters, which has a good section on feeding types (which is one of the ways to differentiate between the two habitats). Don't know what level you're at, but background reading on biotic indices and rivpacs might give you ideas about why each community is found where it is, and what sort of abundances should be expected.

If all else fails then google it and look for any university's teaching notes online. Lancaster and UEA always used to be particularly good if you could track the sites down!

[devon]

Everything you need, should be on the ' Environments' website. Check it out.