Validation and performance of an invertebrate index of biotic integrity for Lakes Huron and Michigan fringing wetlands during a period of lake level decline

摘要: Development of indicators ‘ecosystem health’ for the Great Lakes was identified as a major need at State-of-the-Lakes Ecosystem Conference in 1998, 2000, and 2002. Our goal to develop an invertebrate-based index biotic integrity that robust water level fluctuations applied broad classes lacustrine wetlands across wave-exposure gradients. objectives were evaluate performance test robustness our preliminary (e.g., Burton et al., 1999) range levels, eliminate any problems with integrity, remove status, on similar Lake Michigan, establish stressor:ecological-response relationships. Twenty-two sites, both open- protected-fringing marshes Huron Michigan selected study. Correspondence analysis Mann-Whitney U tests used existing metrics search additional metrics. Wilcoxon Signed Rank use...