Changes in the caddis-fly fauna of Lake Erie, Ohio, and of the Rock River, Illinois, over a fifty year period of environmental deterioration

Abstract

This report is the first of a series that will deal with techniques for the development of water quality tolerances of species of North American caddis-flies. In this study, the changes in the caddis-fly fauna of two regions in the midwestern United States that have undergone drastic environmental deterioration over the past fifty years, are used in analyzing the potential of the caddis-fly genus Athripsodes (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) as indicators of water quality. The faunal changes in the caddis-fly populations are documented by a re-examination of the collecting sites, records and specimens of past studies of these areas that are currently maintained in university and museum collections. The information compiled in this study emphasizes the value of using museum and university collections in environmental assessments. In addition, the role and importance of the systematic biologist in environmental assessment and the development of the indicator organism concept is further delineated.