As a zoologist specializing in freshwater invertebrates I focus my PhD research on the Israeli mayfly fauna (order Ephemeroptera). While mayflies are relatively abundant in freshwater systems and serve as popular bioindicators in other parts of the world, knowledge on the taxonomy and ecology of the Israeli mayflies is lacking and the group has not been used here in a similar way. My work will provide the first complete checklist of the local mayfly fauna with the addition of the unknown (and mostly undescribed) members of the big and taxonomically difficult family Baetidae. In another part of my study I revised generic concepts among Mediterranean representatives of the family Heptageniidae, including the description of the new genus Anapos. In the ecological part of my work I characterize mayfly assemblages from streams in three catchment basins in different seasons and identify important factors that shape community composition in these habitats. The results of this study will hopefully promote the development of local insect-based protocols for freshwater bioassessments, and ultimately contribute to conservation efforts of threatened aquatic habitats in Israel.