Gear Evaluation and Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Composition in the Upper Mississippi River

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are not only important indicators of water quality and habitat health, but they are a key component to the food web in large river systems. The macroinvertebrate community composition in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) is diverse, but poorly understudied. Our main objective is to 1.) evaluate macroinvertebrate community differences sampled using three different sampling methods stratified through the water column and 2.) provide a comprehensive assessment of aquatic macroinvertebrate community composition and structure in Pools 17-19 of the UMR. Backwater areas were targeted for aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling due to low velocity and high levels of habitat availability. Macroinvertebrates were collected by an ichthyoplankton push net, benthic sled, and light traps to cover a variety of habitat types. Sites were randomly stratified and macroinvertebrates were collected using an ichthyoplankton push net (n=90), benthic sled (n=69), and light traps (n=280) across a variety of habitat types. Samples were sorted and macroinvertebrates were identified to family.