Impacts of habitat alteration on macroinvertebrates in large shallow lakes: An application of a macroinvertebrate‐based multimetric index.

This article focuses on the development and application of a macroinvertebrate-based multimetric index (MMI) to assess the ecological health of the pelagic and littoral zones of Lake Hongze, a large shallow lake in China. Separate MMIs were constructed for each zone using key biological metrics, including the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) score and functional feeding group proportions, with historical data serving as reference conditions for the pelagic zone and minimally disturbed sites for the littoral zone. The assessment revealed a "poor" health status in the pelagic zone, strongly influenced by sediment organic matter, and a "fair" status in the littoral zone, where water quality factors such as chlorophyll a and transparency, affected by littoral zone utilization, were more influential. The study highlights the sensitivity of functional feeding groups to environmental disturbances and supports the use of zone-specific MMIs for monitoring and managing ecological health in large shallow lakes.