{
 "culture": "en-CA",
 "name": "",
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 "snippet": "Summary of benthic community quality at survey stations in Canadian Great Lakes nearshore waters; data is part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters.",
 "description": "<DIV STYLE=\"text-align:Left;font-size:12pt\"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>This data was integrated into the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters. The general health of an ecosystem may be reflected in the benthic invertebrate community, as composition can vary from habitat conditions and human stressors. Contaminants in benthic communities can bioaccumulate or biomagnify in the food chain and become a source of contamination to other aquatic life and to humans. The benthic community is assessed through statistical analysis of survey sites using total benthos, taxon richness and evenness<\/SPAN><SPAN>(Lakes Ontario, Superior, and Huron) or tolerance (Lake Erie)<\/SPAN><SPAN>.<\/SPAN><\/P><P><SPAN>LAKE SUPERIOR: <\/SPAN><SPAN>Data is summarized by Regional Unit (points are the Regional Unit centroid); within each Regional Unit, the mean total benthos, taxon richness and evenness was calculated using the MECP stations within the Regional Unit. This was done to weight each Regional Unit equally when classifying quality.<\/SPAN><SPAN /><SPAN> Source data is from Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Great Lakes Index Stations (<\/SPAN><SPAN>2011<\/SPAN><SPAN>) Network<\/SPAN><SPAN>.<\/SPAN><\/P><P><SPAN>LAKE ERIE:<\/SPAN><SPAN> Benthic community quality is summarized by total benthos, taxon richness and average tolerance to disturbance of individuals at each survey station; sites with higher tolerance scores have, generally, a more tolerant benthic community. Source data is the Erie Collaborative Comprehensive Study (2004).<\/SPAN><\/P><P><SPAN>LAKE ONTARIO: <\/SPAN><SPAN>Benthic community quality summarized at each MECP or ECCC survey station in each sample year; generally, higher quality corresponds to higher total benthos, higher taxon richness and higher evenness. <\/SPAN><SPAN>Source data is the <\/SPAN><SPAN>Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Great Lakes Index Stations (2006, 2009, 2012) Network and Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) Great Lakes Action Plan Area of Concern and Reference Sites (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014).<\/SPAN><\/P><P><SPAN>LAKE HURON: Data is summarized by Regional Unit (points are the Regional Unit centroid); within each Regional Unit, the mean total benthos, taxon richness and evenness was calculated using the stations within the Regional Unit. This was done to weight each Regional Unit equally when classifying quality. Source data is from ECCC Great Lakes Action Plan Area and Concern and Reference Sites Assessments (2010-2014). <\/SPAN><\/P><P><SPAN /><\/P><P><SPAN><SPAN>Low Stress: benthic community condition is functional; Moderate Stress: benthic community condition is degraded but functional; High Stress: benthic community condition is degraded and not functional<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P><P><SPAN /><\/P><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/DIV>",
 "summary": "Summary of benthic community quality at survey stations in Canadian Great Lakes nearshore waters; data is part of the Overall Assessment of the State of Nearshore Waters.",
 "title": "Great Lakes Nearshore Waters: Benthic Community",
 "tags": [
  "Great Lakes",
  "Lake Erie",
  "Lake Ontario",
  "Lake Huron",
  "Lake Superior",
  "Nearshore Framework",
  "water quality",
  "ecosystem health",
  "cumulative stress",
  "Contaminants in Water & Sediment",
  "Benthic Community"
 ],
 "type": "",
 "typeKeywords": [],
 "thumbnail": "",
 "url": "",
 "minScale": 150000000,
 "maxScale": 5000,
 "spatialReference": "",
 "accessInformation": "Various datasets; see lake specific descriptions.",
 "licenseInfo": "",
 "portalUrl": ""
}