There are thousands of invertebrate species in aquatic systems, from mountain top headwaters to the greatest depths of the oceans. Benthic ecologists study the invertebrates and the communities of invertebrates that live on the bottoms of streams, lakes, rivers, estuaries, bays, and the ocean. They do research experiments, counts and measurements, look at the effects of pollution, and determine the health of invertebrate communities. Benthic ecologists usually have a master’s or doctorate degree in biology or ecology.

Photo credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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Texas Aquatic Science is a cooperative education project sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife, The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University.