Introduction Knowledge about Italian lake macroinvertebrates is still fragmentary. Recently a database referred to 37 Italian lakes (591 species: 373 chironomids, 85 oligochaetes, 67 other aquatic insects, 37 mollusks, and 8 crustaceans) was created. Means of percent of oxygen saturation, transparency, and total phosphorus weighted by taxa abundances were calculated to have a benthic quality index weight (BQIW) for each genus and were used to develop a benthic quality index (BQIL) for each site

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... (Rossaro et al. 2006 (Rossaro et al. , 2007 . This model was not validated because morphometry (volume, depth), conductivity, alkalinity, and pH affected community composition more than oxygen and nutrient concentration. We classified lakes into types according to WFD 2000/60/ CE on the basis of lake altitude, maximum depth, and total surface. Each type was analyzed separately and species assemblages were detected.