Course objective: This course will focus on acquiring knowledge on the morphological properties and ecological traits of common macroinvertebrate taxa in the Balkan Peninsula and the role of the benthic community structure in the bioassessment process. Benthic macroinvertebrates are probably the most complex part of the biotic quality elements (BQE) required in the freshwater bioassessment, due to their diversity, abundance, ecological traits and life cycle. This course will provide the state of the art knowledge on these topics, and provide adequate taxonomical/systematical features necessary in the process of identification of macroinvertebrates. Finally, we will address the specialties of the Balkan macroinvertebrate fauna and habitats.
Course outcome: students will be able to identify main macroinvertebrate groups, which will enable them to construct adequate databases and calculate some of the indices used in freshwater bioassessment both in lotic and lentic habitats.
Literature:
Hauer, F.R. & Resh., V.H. (1996). Benthic Macroinvertebrates, In: Methods in Stream Ecology, F.R. Hauer & G.A. Lamberti (eds), pp. 339-369, Academy Press, New York, USA.