A Guide to the Zooplankton of Lake Champlain

Abstract

This key was developed by undergraduate research students working on a project with NYDEC and the Lake Champlain Monitoring program to develop long-term data sets for Lake Champlain plankton. Funding for development of this key was provided by, the Lake Champlain Basin Program through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC). The key contains couplet keys for the major taxa in Cladocera and Copepoda and a picture key to the major Rotifer plankton in Lake Champlain. All drawings are original by Ian M. Ater. Many thanks to the employees of the Lake Champlain Research Institute and the NYDEC for hours of excellent work in the field and in the lab: Robert Bonham, Adam Bouchard, Trevor Carpenter, Virginia Damuth, Jeff Jones, Marti Kroll, Dustin Lewis, Shannon Margrey, Tracy McGregor, Stephanie Stone and David Welch. We greatly appreciate the time and effort of Paula Woodward and Francis Dumenci in helping to put this guide together.