119 Small invertebrates are functionally important in many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (Wilson 1992, Freckman et al. 1997, Palmer et al. 1997, Postel and Carpenter 1997). In freshwater sediments, benthic invertebrates are diverse and abundant, but they are often patchily distributed and relatively difficult to sample, especially when they live in deep subsurface sediments. Thus, the spec...

Assessing ecological quality of standing waters under the European Water Framework directive (2000/60/EC) requires inclusion of biological elements. For all surface waters this includes the “composition and abundance of benthic invertebrate fauna”. The use of benthic macroinvertebrates in river monitoring has a long tradition and is used routinely in many countries (Hellawell 1986; Metcalfe 198...

Water resources especially lotic ecosystems drain diverse landscapes with their peculiar climatic regime, making them extremely diverse in terms of establishment of complex network of biotic communities, one such component are benthic macroinvertebrates or zoobenthos which are integral components of freshwater systems. They are represented by insects, molluscans, crustaceans, annelids and nemat...

The absence of species in polluted sediments does not necessarily imply exclusion due to toxicity. Other factors, like for instance food availability and oxygen content, could also partly cause their absence. Hence, knowledge of the (combinations of) factors acting on individual organisms is essential in order to understand how populations can persist in polluted sediments. In this study specie...

The Copper River Delta, Alaska is the largest contiguous coastal wetland system along the West Coast of North America. Vast expanses of tidal mud flats formed by sediments carried by the suspended load of the Copper River serve as a connection between the Gulf of Alaska and the extensive network of wetlands, rivers and sloughs of the delta system. In addition to providing habitat for resident f...

Although the effects of nutrient enrichment on consumer-resource dynamics are relatively well studied in ecosystems based on living plants, little is known about the manner in which enrichment influences the dynamics and productivity of consumers and resources in detritus-based ecosystems. Because nutrients can stimulate loss of carbon at the base of detrital food webs, effects on higher consum...