Coupled with studies on land use impacts on benthic macroinvertebrate communities and the use of benthic indices for water quality assessment, studies have been conducted to determine how indices vary with season. Big and Little Sister Creeks, tributaries to Lake Erie, were studied in summer and winter to compare the range of variability in benthic indices and macroinvertebrate community composition. If water quality managers seek to identify small changes in surface water quality, they need to have data with low variability. Understanding the seasonal variability in macroinvertebrate community metrics might assist water quality managers in collecting benthic data able to show smaller changes in water quality.
