Resources
Phytobenthos are good indicators of nutrient enrichment and can be used to assess lake water quality. Diatoms are the main plant groups that we use because their silica cell walls make them easy to identify under the microscope.
This method statement describes a system for assessing and classifying surface water bodies (rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal) based on the presence of high impact alien species.
Macrophytes provide habitats for fish and smaller animals; they bind sediments, protect banks, absorb nutrients and provide oxygenation. Macrophytes can indicate the impact of increased nutrients in lakes and are also influenced by other pressures such as water level change or acidification.
Phytoplankton form the base of many food webs in lakes. This method uses the principle that an increase in nutrients (particularly phosphorus) leads to an increase in phytoplankton biomass and a change in the taxonomic composition, often leading to an increased occurrence of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae).
Aquatic benthic invertebrates, of which chironomids are the largest family, are good indicators of nutrient enrichment and can be used to assess lake water quality. Passively drifting pupal skins accumulating at the lake leeward shore are easily collected.
Macrophytes provide habitats for fish and smaller animals; they bind sediments, protect banks, absorb nutrients and provide oxygenation. Macrophytes can indicate the impact of increased nutrients in lakes and are also influenced by other pressures such as water level change or acidification.