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Freshwater Invertebrates: Animals without backbones are called vertebrate-less animals or invertebrates. Invertebrates represent more than 95% of the known species on Earth. Diverse, interesting, colorful, and unusual invertebrates make great additions to your home aquarium. Freshwater invertebrates comprise many groups of different organisms and occur from the surface of the water into the substrate.
All sections of rivers and streams will contain invertebrates. Different species will show different habitat preferences ranging from fast rapids to still backwaters. Different species of invertebrates show various levels of sensitivity to deterioration in water and habitat quality. Generally the poorer the quality of the water, the less diversity of invertebrates that will be found. Some of the more sensitive include mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, dragon and damsel flies. Beetles, water boatmen and shrimp tend to have moderate tolerance, and the more tolerant (can survive poorer water quality) include snails, worms, chironomids, blackfly and mosquito larvae. |
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Generally they will eat a range of foods from algae to decaying leaf litter to microscopic organisms living within the sediments, some are predators that prey on other invertebrates. Some may not feed at all prior to becoming terrestrial. Invertebrates themselves are the single most important food source for most freshwater fish species. |
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