Benthos

Question 1

What are the Major Groups

Answer 1

1. worms (3): (round worms, flatworms, aquatic earthworms & leeches)
2. Crustaceans (amphipods, crayfish)
3. insects (chironomids, burrowing mayflies, Chaoborus)
4. mollusks (freshwater mussels and fingernail clams, snails)

Question 2

Littoral zone

Answer 2

• habitat varies on a daily and seasonal basis
• turbulence provides oxygen, and brings food particles
• substrate can be coarse or fine
• relative diversity and abundance of benthic community depends on whether lake is oligotrophic or eutrophic (eutrophic lakes have more organisms)

Question 3

Food Sources in Benthic Zone

Answer 3

1. Algae sinking from above
2. Feces sinking from above
3. Detritus in the sediments (dead rotting stuff at the bottom.