Mojave Desert Network (MOJN) Benthic Macroinvertebrate (BMI) Data Package (2009-2024)

Benthic macroinvertebrates are an abundant, diverse, and ecologically important component of aquatic ecosystems. They are also widely used to infer water quality and overall ecosystem health because their assemblages are sensitive to changing physical, chemical, and biological conditions over multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Benthic macroinvertebrate taxa and metrics data from two monitoring protocols are included in this publication: Streams and Lakes and Selected Large Springs. For the Streams and Lakes monitoring protocol, samples are collected at nine perennial springs in Great Basin National Park. For the Selected Large Springs protocol, samples are collected at five springs in Death Valley National Park, three springs in Great Basin National Park, two springs in Joshua Tree National Park, one spring in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and two springs in Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.

These data are intended to address the following monitoring objectives: status and trends in the overall ecosystem health of streams and springs, status and trends in benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in streams, and presence of “stressed or impaired” water quality using regional bioassessment criteria.

Additional data collected for the monitoring protocols, such as water quality and chemistry parameters, are published in separate data packages.

底栖大型无脊椎动物（Benthic macroinvertebrates）是水生生态系统中丰度颇高、类群多样且生态意义显著的组成部分。因其群落结构对多时空尺度下物理、化学与生物环境的变化极为敏感，它们也被广泛用于推断水质状况及整体生态系统健康水平。

本出版物收录了源自两类监测方案的底栖大型无脊椎动物类群与指标数据：溪流与湖泊（Streams and Lakes）监测方案，以及精选大型泉眼（Selected Large Springs）监测方案。针对溪流与湖泊监测方案，样本采集自大盆地国家公园内的9处常年泉眼；针对精选大型泉眼监测方案，样本分别采集自死亡谷国家公园的5处泉眼、大盆地国家公园的3处泉眼、约书亚树国家公园的2处泉眼、密德湖国家游乐区（Lake Mead National Recreation Area）的1处泉眼，以及大峡谷-帕拉尚特国家纪念地的2处泉眼。

本数据集旨在达成以下三项监测目标：一是评估溪流与泉眼整体生态系统健康的现状及变化趋势；二是评估溪流中底栖大型无脊椎动物群落的现状及变化趋势；三是依据区域生物评估标准，判定水质是否存在“受胁迫或受损”的情况。

为上述监测方案采集的附加数据（如水环境理化参数等）已另行发布为独立数据包。