Individual- and community-level responses of littoral macroinvertebrates to lake nutrient enrichment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the response of littoral macroinvertebrates to nutrient enrichment across 66 Irish lakes representing a broad nutrient gradient. It was hypothesised that an increase in lake trophic state would effect a change in macroinvertebrates, at both species and community level. A further, more detailed, study of 9 lakes, examined the importance of changing food resources on generalist macroinvertebrates, hypothesising that littoral zone seston would have higher rates of gross primary production in nutrient enriched lakes, and would be of greater importance to generalist macroinvertebrate diets.