Mojave Desert Benthic Macroinvertebrate (BMI) Data Package (2009-2023)

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, Presence of “stressed or impaired” water quality using regional bioassessment criteria.