Exploratory benthic studies "ere c'BTrieQ m;t'thi'0ugl19Ut LfKe A"ORllrnat 17 stations for 10 months. Bottom samples ".ire colle"t.ed by usingrnan Ekman grab and the fauna of the macrophytes from the littoral regionrnwas sampled using a fine standard hand net. For determination of totalrnorganic matter of the profundal mud an oven and a muffle furnace "erernused.rnC .. mmunities of benthic fauna '{ere reported from the Lake in relationrnto the types of bottom substrates and aquatic macrophytes. The profundalrnmud '{as analysed with respect to its total organic matter and texture.rnConditions in the mouth of Tikur Huha (the main inflOlf) as a smallrncontrol area was compared to the main lake ,rith regard to its chemical,rnvegetations and bottom types.rnThe fauna of open littoral, weed beds, the mouth of Tikur lfuha andrnseasonally flooded areas "ere identified and their distribution in thernlake ;T/l,S mapped. The ostracods "ere found to be the most numerous of'rn2 j all benthic conununities (mean number 48,751/m ). Other benthic crustaceansrnsuch as cyclopoid copepods and Cladocera 'Iere also reported.rnChironomids "ere also found to be among the most dominant benthicOther mncroinvertebrates including' Epheme~CiP:tqd (.GHRr:i.-1. aridSCl0;oQ.J.lrnspp), Odonata nymphs (Anisoptera and Zygoptera); H6t'e>'optera, C('leopt~ra,rncaddis fly larvae (mainly Leptoceridae), gastropod snails and some othersrn1(ere mainly found from the roacrophyte zone. Some parasitic and semi--rnparasitic forms 1(el'l' also collected.rnIn the littoral zone fauna numbers decreased ;Iith increasing depth.rnIn the profundal l'egion, benthos was absent. This seems to be due tornthe flocculant nature of the bottom mud. Hater level fluctuations didrnnot seem to affect faunal distribution.rnSeasonal variations of the benthic organisms of the lake 1'ererntested for their significance using students t-test and most ~f thernbenthos were fOlmd to be 1m affected by ';,et and dry seasons. Only thernmayfly Cloeon spp and the chironomids Pr.2,cla(}ius spp "el'e found to bernsignificantly affected by seasonal variations.rnforms. 2,( genel'a of chironomids vere reported from the lake. ,!'1ilodorumrnspp. seem to be the dominant littoral midges in the vegetation.rnClad"!,anytarsus and Procladius species are the dominant bottom midgesrnin the mud belm{ the vegetation and under open fater.