Densities of the major benthic macroinvertebrate groups declined dramatical
ly at sites shallower than 50 m in southern Lake Michigan between 1980 and
1993. Declines in Diporeia, Oligochaeta, and Sphaeriidae ranged from 40 to
75% at these depths. Total densities declined from 16 800.m(-2) in 1980-198
1 to 4800.m(-2) in 1992-1993 at sites in the 16-30 m depth interval and fro
m 21 300 to 11 300.m(-2) at sites in the 31-50 m depth interval. Changes at
sites deeper than 50 m were minimal; only sphaeriids declined to any exten
t. Declines in oligochaetes and sphaeriids occurred uniformly throughout th
e nearshore region and over the entire sampling period. Declines in these t
wo groups were most Likely related to reductions in phosphorus loads and a
general decrease in productivity in the nearshore area over the sampling pe
riod. On the other hand, declines in Diporeia occurred mainly in the later
portion of the sampling period and were greatest in the southeastern region
of the lake. Densities at many sites in the southeastern region were <100.
m(-2) in 1993, down from 3000-8000.m(-2) in 1980-1987. We hypothesize that
the filtering activities of large populations of Dreissena polymorpha in ne
arshore waters may be having a negative impact on Diporeia in deeper waters
by decreasing the amount of food available to this surface-feeding detriti
vore.