Benthic Monitoring Program

Benthic Monitoring Program

In July 2021, Seguin Township partnered with Georgian Bay Biosphere to coordinate and conduct benthic monitoring on 10 lakes within the township (see map below). This was the second year of what is intended to be a multi-year monitoring program in the township.

Benthic macroinvertebrates (or benthos) are small aquatic organisms (including insects, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks). These animals are well suited as indicators of water and sediment quality as they spend most or all of their lives (1-3 years) in constant contact with lake sediments and the water in a specific area. Furthermore, they are relatively easy and inexpensive to sample and they have different tolerances to disturbances and pollution.

Benthic monitoring requires consecutive years of sampling data to allow results to be compared. Therefore, results from the first few years of the benthic monitoring program are for information purposes and to set a baseline for future interpretation.