Macroinvertebrates (macros) are an important part of the food web, espe-cially for fish. Aquatic macroinvertebrates include species of insects, worms, snails, mussels, leeches, and crayfish. ... Macroinvertebrates are an important link in the food web between the producers (like leaves and algae) and higher consumers such as fish. Macroinvertebrate species can be found in nearly every stream and river, except in some of the world's harshest environments. Some macros shred and eat leaves that enter the water. Many of them feed on algae and bac-teria at the lower end of the food web. Benthic macroinvertebrates are an important food source, help scientists know if there is too much pollution in the river, and eat dead material in the river. Macroinvertebrates constitute an important source of food for numerous fish, and unless outside energy subsidies are greater than in-stream food resources for fish, effective fisheries management must account for fish-invertebrate linkages and macroinvertebrate linkages with resources and habitats. Some benthic macroinvertebrates, such as midges, are small and grow no larger than 1/2 inch in length. Benthic macroinvertebrates have many important ecological functions, such as regulating the flow of materials and energy in river ecosystems through their food web linkages. Loss of macroinvertebrates in the stream, or of trees along the stream bank, are environmental impacts that a wide segment of society can relate to. Benthic macroinvertebrates are important indicators of the health of a steam and the quality of its water. Benthic macroinvertebrates are extremely important in aquatic food webs. Benthic macroinvertebrates generally live in lakes and rivers between 1 and 3 years and are in constant contact with lake sediments. Macroinvertebrates serve several important functions within the aquatic environment: They provide a valuable "cleaning" service by scavenging dead or decaying bacteria, plants, and animals, which helps recycle nutrients back into the system. What is the ecological importance of benthic macroinvertebrates? Macros have large popula˛ons and play an important role as the “middle-men” in the aqua˛c food web. They consist of aquatic insects, crustaceans, worms and mollusks that live in the vegetation and stream beds of rivers. Benthic indicators for water quality testing. Benthic surveys are one of the primary ways that scientists can assess the health of streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and our coastal waters. In most streams, the energy stored by plants is available for consumption by benthos either in the form of leaves that fall into the water or in the form of algae that grows on the stream bottom. Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used as indicators of the general biological condition of waterbodies. Benthos are an important part of the food chain, especially for fish. Others, like the three ridge mussel, can be more than ten inches long. Benthic macroinvertebrates are found within the benthic zone of a stream or river. This is due in part to the fact that some species can live in degraded, polluted waters, while others cannot. Benthic freshwater macroinvertebrates are animals without backbones, that are visible with the naked eye, living on the bottoms of streams, river, lakes, and ponds. 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