A downloadable booklet in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format (4.2Mbytes).
18 pages at A4 size with black and white illustrations.

 

Micscape Editor's note: Charles Drewes, the author of this booklet, has kindly allowed Micscape to share it with our readers. The booklet is an excellent overview of some major invertebrate groups found in many other suitable freshwater bodies as well as the Iowa Great Lakes.
A colour version of this booklet in PowerPoint format (25Mbytes) and colour scans of each separate page as jpeg files are available on the author's web pages (on the web site of Iowa State University), where a wide range of his other freshwater biology resources are available.

Author's introduction: The so-called Iowa Great Lakes (which include Spirit Lake and West Lake Okoboji) are much smaller than the well-known Great Lakes of the U.S. Nevertheless, they are the biggest natural lakes in Iowa, with depths in some areas being well over 100 feet. The lakes are a big tourist and recreation attraction. Each summer for the past 11 years I have taught summer residential workshops for high school biology teachers at a biology field station on West Lake Okoboji. In fact, those workshops have been a main inspiration for much of my involvement in educational outreach.
The descriptions in the booklet are of representative invertebrate groups (non-insect) from Iowa lakes/wetlands. It's not a taxonomic key but rather a biodiversity survey of invertebrate form and function.

Comments to the author Charles Drewes are welcomed. The author's other contact details can be found on his web pages.

Related links: Iowa Lakeside Laboratory website. Author's note: Some of the summer biology courses at this station are recognized both nationally and internationally. In addition, there are Nature Photography and Sketching courses offered there.

      

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