Second, properly trained volunteers can generally do as good a job as professionals. And finally, they're great for teaching participants about watershed ecology. Because habitat surveys commonly include observations of the land-water interface, such as width and condition of the riparian corridor, presence of streamside vegetation, and eroding or channelized banks, they encourage volunteers to make connections between what we do on the land and how the water body and its inhabitants react to these events. Assessing Lake Habitat Many lake monitoring groups are involved in habitat assessment without labeling it as such. A case in point is aquatic plant mapping, which many lake monitoring programs perform in order to understand the role of plants in a lake ecosystem.
Aquatic plants provide nest- building materials and food for fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Fish spawning areas and nurseries are found in aquatic plant beds, and the vegetation provides cover for large and small fish. Small organisms that live on the plant stems and leaves provide food for fish and wildlife. And emergent vegetation near the shoreline may provide habitat for birds and muskrats. The Wisconsin Self-Help Lake Monitoring Program, sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, is one program that includes an aquatic plant monitoring component. The presence of a diverse mix of plant types indicates that the lake can provide good habitat for a variety of creatures.