Resources
Seagrass beds provide habitats for fish, prawns and other invertebrates and provide seafloor stability and are found in the littoral and sub-littoral zones along the coast and estuaries.
Aquatic benthic invertebrates, of which chironomids are the largest family, are good indicators of nutrient enrichment and can be used to assess lake water quality. Passively drifting pupal skins accumulating at the lake leeward shore are easily collected.
Macrophytes provide habitats for fish and smaller animals; they bind sediments, protect banks, absorb nutrients and provide oxygenation. Macrophytes can indicate the impact of increased nutrients in lakes and are also influenced by other pressures such as water level change or acidification.
This classification method encompasses fish abundance, taxonomic composition and age structure.