The goal of this study was to describe the benthic community and the food habits of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus, and to compare these food habits to the available prey observed in southeastern Lake Michigan. Nematodes and chironomid larvae were the most abundant organisms within the benthic samples, composing 22.4% and 17.2% of the total organisms collected respectively. Diet contents were identified, enumerated, and measured volumetrically. Copepods (35.7%) were the most abundant prey consumed, while chironomid larvae accounted for 30.5% of the total prey items. However, by volume, chironomid larvae composed 57.6% of the round goby diet, while zebra mussels Dreissena polymorpha composed 19.3%. The round goby were actively feeding on a variety organisms, but were selecting for certain prey. Diet and benthic community comparisons were also made with previous studies in the Great Lakes, which showed a difference in the dominant prey of the round goby as well as a decline in the abundance of zebra mussels in southeastern Lake Michigan. / Department of Biology