Ref ID : 1861
D. Strayer; The benthic micrometazoans of Mirror Lake, New Hampshire. Arch.Hydrobiol/suppl. 72(3):287-426, 1985
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The entire zoobenthic community (including the micro- and meiofauna, but excluding the Protozoa) of this small, oligotrophic lake is described in detail. The fauna is dominated by chironomids, oligochaetes, copepods, chaoborids, and nematodes and contains at least 322 species from 12 phyla. I discuss the distribution, abundance, and natural history of 81 common species. Community composition varies strongly with water depth and weakly with season. Most (51%) of the animals live in the top centimeter of sediment in Mirror Lake. Mean annual density and biomass are 1,200,000 m-2 and 2.5 g dry weight m-2, respectively, and annual production is about 14 g dry weight m-2 yr-1. I estimate that micro- and meio-benthic animals contribute 68% of the species, 98% of the individuals, 25% of the biomass, and 35% of the production of the zoobenthos in Mirror Lake.