Jump to main content or area navigation.

Contact Us

Water: Bioassessment

Appendix B: (Part I)



REGIONAL TOLERANCE VALUES, FUNCTIONAL FEEDING GROUPS, AND HABIT/BEHAVIOR ASSIGNMENTS FOR BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES
 
Appendix B has been split into 7 parts (I-VII) due to its size.



  Continue to Appendix B (Part II).

  Appendix B

Appendix B is a list of selected benthic macroinvertebrates of the United States in phylogenetic order. Included are the Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN) and the Parent Taxonomic Serial Number for each of the taxa listed according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). The ITIS generates a national taxonomic list that is constantly updated and currently posted on the World Wide Web at <www.itis.usda.gov> [BROKEN]  Exit EPA Disclaimer . If you are viewing this document electronically, this page is linked to the ITIS web site.

This Appendix displays regional tolerance values, primary and secondary functional feeding group information, and primary and secondary habit designations for selected benthos. In an effort to provide regionally accurate tolerance information, lists included in the Appendix were taken from the following states (and workgroup); Idaho (Northwest), Ohio1 (Midwest), North Carolina (Southeast), Wisconsin (Upper Midwest), and the MACS workgroup (Mid-Atlantic Coastal Streams). Tolerance values are on a 0 to 10 scale, 0 representing the tolerance value of an extremely sensitive organism and 10 for a tolerant organism. For functional feeding group and habit/behavior designations, primary and secondary designations are listed, if both are known. The following are lists of the designations used in this appendix. Each designation is based on the organisms' larval characteristics, except a group of beetles (listed as 'adult') that are aquatic mostly as adults.

FUNCTIONAL FEEDING DESCRIPTIONS
PA=parasite
PR=predator
OM=omnivore
GC=gatherer/collector
FC=filter/collector
SC=scraper
SH=shredder
PI=piercer
HABIT/BEHAVIOR DESIGNATIONS
cn=clinger
cb=climber
sp=sprawler
bu=burrower
sw=swimmer
dv=diver
sk=skater
 


Sources For Benthic Tolerance, Functional Feeding Group, and Habit/Behavior Designations (a)

ID= Idaho DEP (Northwest)

OH= Ohio EPA (Midwest)

NC = North Carolina DEM (Southeast)

WI = Wisconsin DNR (Upper Midwest)

MACS= Mid-Atlantic Coastal Streams Workgroup (NJ DEP, DE DNREC, MD DNR, VA DEC, NC DEM, SC DHES)

(a) Habit/Behavior information is primarily based on Merritt and Cummins (1996) and pertains to insect larval forms (except for Dryopidae adults) and is mostly at genus level.

1 Ohio traditionally uses an inverted 60-point scale compared to the other states in this list. In order to be comparable to the other listed states, the Ohio values were converted to a 0-10 scale as discussed above.



  Continue to Appendix B (Part II).

Jump to main content.