Macroinvertebrate trait, abundance and site quality data from the Green Lakes Valley, 2018

This research was conducted to get a sense of the current spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates among various aquatic habitats throughout the Green Lakes Valley. Benthic macroinvertebrates are small organisms that lack a backbone (invertebrate), live on the bottom (benthic), and are visible with the naked eye (macro). To estimate the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates communities, 53 benthic macroinvertebrate samples were collected over the summer of 2018 from three alpine lakes and two streams in the Green Lakes Valley, CO at multiple points throughout the season. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled from the shoreline, inlet (inflow of water), and outlet (outflow of water) of each sampled lake, alongside estimates for habitat quality like surrounding vegetation, temperature (C°), rock volume (L), nitrate (mg/L,) pH, and dissolved oxygen saturation. The methods from this survey are broadly consistent with historic surveys ranging from 1960 to 1987 that have also sought to characterize aquatic invertebrate community composition within the Green Lakes Valley (Bushnell et al. 1987 The Great Basin Naturalist).