An ecological study of the macroscopic bottom fauna of Lac la Ronge (with special reference to the Tendipedidae)

The macroscopic invertebrates living on the bottom of lakes provide an interesting field for ecological study and they are of economic importance as food for fish. Numerous quantitative studies have ranged from quick surveys to long and thorough investigations, such as those of Lundbeck (1926) in the north German lakes. With few exceptions, the results of these quantitative studies have not been subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. In many cases also, the ecological interpretation of the data has been handicapped by the lack of detailed taxonomic knowledge of the organisms involved. For these reasons, it was decided that an extensive study of the bottom fauna of Lac la Ronge should be made applying, as far as possible, modern statistical methods and that a beginning should be made in working out the taxonomy and life histories of that most important group in the bottom fauna, the chironomids. The situation at Lac Is Ronge was favorable for such a study. Physical, chemical and biological studies have been in progress each year since 1948. In 1948 to 1950 the field parties had taken many dredgings. These were made available to the writer, who, in 1952 and 1953, made a detailed study of the bottom fauna. In 1954, additional observations, taxonomic work and analysis of the data were carried out