Benthic Invertibrates

Overview

Historically, limnology has focused primarily on the open water or Pelagic portion of lakes. However, the bottom or benthic region of lakes is also bustling with life. Recently, new emphasis has been placed on the study of benthic organisms and the way they interact with and affect the rest of the aquatic ecosystem.

The term benthic invertebrate encompasses a large group of organisms. At Castle Lake this group includes crayfish, bottom dwelling zooplankton, chironimid larvae, and the aquatic larval phase of insects such as caddis flies, stone flies, dragon flies and damsel flies.

In the spring the midge fly makes up a large part of the insect population in Castle Lake. Their main source of food is algae. In the larval stage the midge fly burrows in the silt at the bottom of the lake where it is often found by the fish. As the midge matures it floats to the surface, where it is vulnerable to fish predation. Once the adult midge fly is free of the larval case it flies away to reproduce.

Species List

Dragonfly (Odenate) Larva Shell

Insects

Odonata
Dragonflies
Damselflies

Trichoptera
Caddisflies (Oecetis inconspicua)

Ephemeroptera
Mayflies - several spp.
Diptera - many spp. in Chironomide

Other Invertebrates

Decapoda
Pacific Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus)
Cladocera (Alona guttata)

Mollusca
Pill Clam (Psidium sp.)

Cnidaria
Green Hydra
Porifera
Green Sponge

Sediment References

  • Beatty, K. W. 1968. An Ecological Study of the Benthos of Castle Lake, California. Ph.D., University of California Davis.
  • Carlton, R. G. 1984. Forms and distribution of carbon in sediments of Castle Lake (California, U.S.A.). pp. 578-582
  • Hagley, C. A. 1988. Seasonal and spatial biomass variation of the submerged macrophyte, Isoetes occidentalis, in a subalpine lake. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 23:1920-1926.
  • Kimmel, B. L. 1978. An Evaluation of Recent Sediment Focusing in Castle Lake (California) Using a Volcanic Ash Layer as a Stratigraphic Marker. Verh. Int. Ver. Theor. Angew. Limnol. 20:393-400.
  • Kimmel, B. L. and C. R. Goldman. 1977. Production, sedimentation and
    accumulation of particulate carbon and nitrogen in a sheltered subalpine lake, p. 148-154. In H. L. Golterman [eds.], Interactions between sediments and fresh water.
  • Marzolf, Erich R. 1991. The Mechanisms of Benthic Nutrient Release
    and its importance to subalpine Castle Lake, CA. Ph. D. Thesis, University of California Davis.
  • Neame, P. A. 1975. Benthic oxygen and phosphorus dynamics in Castle
    Lake, California. Ph. D. Thesis, University of California-Davis.
  • Neame, P. A. and C. R. Goldman. 1980. Oxygen uptake and production in sediment-water microcosms. U.S. Dept of Energy. 267-278.
  • Paulsen, S. G. 1987. Contributions of sediment denitrification to the nitrogen cycle in Castle Lake, California. Ph.D., University of California Davis.
  • Reuter, J. E., S. L. Loeb, R. P. Axler, R. G. Carlton and C. R. Goldman. 1985. Transformations of nitrogen following an epilimnetic nitrogen fertilization in Castle Lake, CA: 1. Epilithic periphyton responses. Arch. Hydrobiol. 102:425-433.
  • Sanders, F. S. 1976. An investigation of carbon flux in the sediments of Castle Lake, California. Ph.D., Univ. California Davis.