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Citizens’ Environment Watch

Water Quality Monitoring with Benthic Macroinvertebrates

Spring 2009

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Citizens’ Environment Watch• Mission

CEW empowers people to take an active role in protecting and sustaining nature. We give people the tools for education, monitoring and influencing positive change.

• Since 1996, CEW has:– Worked with over 6,000 volunteers

including over 3,500 youth– Led over 100 environmental

monitoring sessions in 10 watersheds across Ontario

– Held over 10 multi-stakeholder community forums

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Our ProgramsCEW has a diverse set of programs to

maximize the impact of our volunteers to protect and sustain nature.

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Changing Currents• One of CEW’s

longest running programs

• In over 10 watersheds

• Standardized protocols

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Students in Action!

“I signed up because I heard the course would be mostly outside and I thought it would be fun, but it was really much more than that. It gave us the tools to go out and actually change something.”

Grade 11 student participant

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Roles and ResponsibilitiesCEW:

– Provide training & equipment– Aid in scheduling and project planning– Help with finding and ‘adopting’ sites – Provide leadership during field study– Data management– Guidance in developing community projects

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Roles and ResponsibilitiesTeachers:

– Deliver in-class components of the program (see CEW’s Teacher & Student Guide)

– Determine sample site(s)– Scheduling field study (transportation and

permission forms)– Provide CEW with copies of the datasheets– Ensure timely equipment return– Send CEW materials related to your field study

(e.g. pictures, comments, action plans, etc.)

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What are we doing today?• Monitoring: The Foundation (20 mins)• Study Techniques (40 mins)

Break (15 mins)• Identification Workshop (45 mins)

Lunch (30 mins)• Field Study (1hr & 30 mins)

Break (15 mins)• Understanding your Data (15 mins)• Debrief and Overview (15 mins)

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Why Monitor?• To understand the state of your local environment• Monitoring is a process, or a means to an end• All monitoring needs to be informed by a goal, or

a study question

Sample Study Questions:• What is the water quality of my local stream?

(baseline monitoring)• Is this golf course affecting water quality?

(upstream and downstream)• Do these new houses have an impact on water quality?

(before and after)

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Why Monitor?Benefits of monitoring:• Improve understanding

within your community• Raise a red flag• Inform stewardship

projects• Link to local decision-

making process• It’s fun!

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Site Selection• Wadable stream close to your school• Enough space to accommodate a large group• Should have 40 metres length of stream• Should be pre-scouted for safety

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Safety & Equipment• Do not trespass• Make sure there are multiple safe access points to the stream•Be aware of water levels, poisonous plants and adverse weather• Don’t monitoring in deep areas• Bring a cell phone & first aid kit (provided by CEW)

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What indicators can we use?Type Examples Pros Cons

Physical Water temperature, turbidity, stream channel dimensions,

Direct, simple equipment

Frequency, duplication

Chemical pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates

Direct, set standards Frequency, duplication, expense, technical

Biological

Benthic macroinvertebrates, fish, plant biomass

Frequency, integrated/ cumulative effects, ecosystem approach, inexpensive

Indirect, training, standards

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Benthic MacroinvertebratesBenthic Macroinvertebrates (BMIs) are:• Aquatic• Bottom-dwelling (benthic)• Visible to the naked eye (macro)• Lacking a “backbone” (invertebrate)• Include both adult and immature forms

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Why Use BMI?• Sedentary mode of life (i.e. narrow ecological range)• Integrate the effects of both long- and short-term

environmental impacts (i.e. ecosystem health)• Relatively easy to sample (e.g. D-nets) and identify

(i.e. coarse taxonomy)• Are abundant in most streams and are a primary

food source to many important fish• Standardized – applied by many different groups

(government, conservation authorities, academics)

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Data Collection: In Brief

• Choosing a site and setting up the transects• Data collection and sieving• Datasheet completion• Working with large groups• Sampling options and steps• Filling in Data Sheet 3

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Choosing a Site

• Identifying riffles and pools

• Site must be 40 m or greater – mark downstream and upstream limits

Setting Up Transects

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• Measure the wetted width• Determine # transects:

Minimum Stream Width

# of Transects

Less than 1 m 101 m to 1.5 m 8Greater than 1.5 m 6Greater than 3 m 5

• Calculate distance between transects = site length / (# transects - 1)

Example

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• Stream Width: 4 m• Site Length: 40 m

Direction of Flow

Upstream Limit

Downstream Limit10m 10m10m10m

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Direction of Flow

Upstream Limit

Downstream Limit

Data Collection and Sieving 1

• Start at downstream limit

• Travel along transect (see next slide)

• Transfer to next transect

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• Hold D-net so that flow goes into net• Kick upstream of net ~5cm deep as travel along transect• After 1 or two transects, sieve sample, transfer to sample bucket, continue sampling• Pick-up unembedded rocks and dislodge any attached bugs• MUST collect bugs from ALL transects before subsampling!

Data Collection and Sieving 2

• Empty D-net into sieve over waste water bucket• Inspect rocks for bugs (return rocks to stream)• Pour waste water through sieve• Transfer sieved sample to sample bucket (add water)• Scoop sub sample into smaller tray• Identify until you have 100 bugs

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Data Collection and Sieving 3

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Datasheet Completion

• Datasheet 1: Group info, Riparian data, Stream width, substrate type, overhead cover

• Datasheet 2: Site observations, photographs, sketch

• Datasheet 3: Bug count

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Working with large groups

• Split students into groups • Give students specific “jobs”

– Sample collection– Sieving– Completion of each datasheet– Picking up garbage, etc.

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Sampling Options• In-field processing and ID with hand lenses• In-class processing and ID with hand lenses or

microscopes for a closer look• Preserve the sample and ID in-class/lab

(required for first monitoring session - QA/QC)• Take note of your method at the top of

Datasheet 3

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Steps• In your kit, you have…• Sub-sampling using the 125 ml scoop• Swirl the sample, take ONE scoop and put it

into your white tray• Scan the tray and pick out bugs• Can’t find any more bugs in your sub-sample?

Look again (about 2 min), then dump the remains and get another scoop

• Collectively pick out AT LEAST 100 bugs – you MUST finish the last scoop!

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Steps, cont’d• Options: A) Pick and sort at the same time OR

B) Pick all the bugs, then sort• Use the tweezers and pipettes to pick up bugs,

the petri dishes and hand lenses to take a closer look and the ice cube tray to sort

• TIP: assign different people in your group different tasks: ie picker, sorter, recorder

• TIP: use CEW resources to help you ID, sort bugs into similar groups, then narrow it down, remember the major identification techniques

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Filling in Datasheet #3

• Fancy scientific number recording system:. . . . . . .

. . . . . .1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

.

9 10 11

Break

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Citizens’ Environment Watch

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Identification

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BMI Indicators• The CEW protocol uses a suite of 27 BMI

indicators that vary in their tolerance levels to pollution

• BMIs include organisms in different developmental stages (e.g. adult and immature forms - larvae and nymphs)

• An organism is a larvae or nymph depending on its type of metamorphosis

Larvae vs. NymphsEgg↓

Larva↓

Pupa↓

Adult

Egg↓

Nymph(instars)

↓Adult

Com

plet

e M

etam

orph

osis

Incomplete M

etamorphosis

Larvae vs. Nymphs• Complete metamorphosis• 4 stages: egg/larva/pupa/adult• 88% of insects• Larvae: worm-like, don’t resemble adults

• Incomplete metamorphosis• 3 stages: egg/nymph/adult• 12% of insects• Nymphs: resemble adults

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BMI Breakdown• Adult BMI: no legs

• Larval BMI: no legs

• Larval BMI: legs

• Nymph BMI: legs

• Adult BMI: legs

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BMI Breakdown• Adult BMI, no legs (7)

– Shells:• Clams (Pelecypoda)• Snails (Gastropoda)

– Tentacles:• Hydras (Coelenterata)

– Flat Body:• Flatworms (Turbellaria)• Leeches (Hirudinea)

– Round Body:• Roundworms (Nematoda)• Aquatic Earthworms (Oligochaeta)

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Gastropoda (Snail)• Size range: 2 - 70 mm• Movement: none (found

floating or at bottom of tray)

• Colour: grey, brown or black

• Hard shell• Spiral shaped• Do not count empty shells• Tolerance Value: 8

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Pelecypoda (Clam)

• Size range: 2 - 250 mm• Movement: none (found at

bottom of tray)• Colour: white, yellow, brown,

grey, black• Hard shell• Flat, two halves hinged• Do not count empty shells• Tolerance Value: 6

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Coelenterata (Hydras)

• Size range: 2-25 mm long• Movement: sessile• Colour: variable, often clear

to whitish• Inconspicuous, tube with

tentacles • Asexual reproduction

through budding• Tolerance Value: 8

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Turbellaria (Flatworm)• Size range: 5-30 mm • Movement: creep slowly on

bottom • Colour: greyish brown,

colourless• Very flat, eyespots on head• Tolerance Level: 8

http://www.microscopyu.com/moviegallery/pondscum/platyhelminthes/dalyellia/

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Hirudinea (Leech)• Size range: 5-400 mm• Movement: inch along

bottom with the aid of suckers at either end of body

• Colour: brown, black, green on top/orange on bottom

• Segmented body• Often with several pairs

of eyes on head• Tolerance Value: 8

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Nematoda (Roundworms)• Size range: usually <1

cm long• Movement: Rapid, whip-

like movements• Colour: frequently clear• Unsegmented, head

usually tapered, tail pointed

• Tolerance Value: 8

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Oligochaeta (Aquatic Earthworm)• Size range: 1 to 30 mm• Movement: crawl along bottom of tray• Colour: pinkish, light brown• Similar appearance to earth worm, with bundles of hairs on each

segment behind the first• Segmented body with clitellum (swollen, glandular region)• Tolerance Level: 8

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BMI Breakdown• Larval BMI, no legs (7)

– Chubby leathery body: Flies• Horseflies (Tabanidae)• Craneflies (Tipulidae)• Misc. flies (Diptera)• Blackflies (Simuliidae)

– Thin smooth segmented body: • No-see-ums (Ceratopogonidae)• Midges (Chironomidae) (parapods)

– Large head:• Mosquitos (larvae and pupae)

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Tabanidae (Horsefly)• Size range: 1.5 - 40 mm• Movement: unknown• Colour: white or cream• pointed at both ends, leathery texture• Segmented, straight or slightly curved• Seven pairs of bumps on abdomen (creeping welts with hooks)• Head retracted into thorax• Tolerance Level: 5

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Tipulidae (Cranefly)

• Size range: 10-45 mm• Movement: similar to a

worm• Colour: white, yellowish or

light brown• One end with finger like

projection, lobes or long hairs

• Reduced head is retracted into thorax

• Soft body; may have creeping welts

• Tolerance Level: 3http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegal/diptera/tipulidae/3936.94craneflylarv.html

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Misc. Diptera (Misc. True Flies)

• May have parapods, pseudopodia (temporary projection), creeping welts or other appendages, but no jointed thoracic legs

• Often maggot-like; head may be retracted into thorax

• Adults with one pair of wings

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Simuliidae (Blackfly)• Size range: 3 - 15 mm• Movement: Similar to an

inch worm• Colour: brown or

greyish• Often with labral fans• Similar to flattened

maggot with one end 1/3 fatter

• Sessile (non-motile), attached at posterior end

• Tolerance Level: 6

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Ceratopogonidae (no-see-ums)

• Size range: 3-13mm• Movement: whipping

motion, but stiff when picked up

• Very slender, pointed at both ends, segmented; small pointed sclerotized (hard) head

• No abdominal appendages; may have some terminal abdominal hairs

http://www.junglewalk.com/popup.asp?type=v&AnimalvideoID=3160

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Chironomidae (Midge)• Size range: 2 - 20 mm• Movement: whip back

and forth• Colour: red, white or

cream• Shaped like letter “J”• May be in tube of silt• Well developed, hardened

head with eyes; anterior and posterior parapods (lobed shaped body extensions)

• Tolerance Level: 7

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Culicidae (Mosquitos)• Size range: 3-15

mm• Movement: twitch

when touched• Colour: brown• Thickened body at

head• Segmented body,

curved at one end• Tolerance Level: 5 http://insects.tamu.edu/images/insects/common/images/b-txt/bimg221.html

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BMI Breakdown• Larval BMI, legs (4)

– Alderflies / Fishflies (Megaloptera)– Caddisflies (Trichoptera)– Beetles (Coleoptera)– Aquatic Moths (Lepidoptera)

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Megaloptera (Helgrammite)• Size range: 25-90 mm• Movement: Crawl on

bottom• Colour: brown• Large and hairy similar to

centipedes• Hair on first few

abdominal segments• Well developed mandibles• Often with anal prolegs• Tolerance Level: 4

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Trichoptera (Caddisfly)• Size range: 2-50 mm• Movement: Slow movements

on bottom• Colour: abdomen cream

coloured• Often no movement if found

in cases of sticks, stone or sand (look for heads inside cases)

• Three pairs of legs behind head

• Dorsal thoracic plates variously sclerotized

• Anal prolegs with hooks• Tolerance Level: 4

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Coleoptera (Beetle)• Size range: 2 - 40 mm• Movement: swimming or crawling

on bottom• Colour: brown, black (sometimes

mottled)• Most have 3 pairs of legs near

head• Larvae are similar to caddisfly

larvae but bodies are hard, with mandibles, maxillae, labium and 2- or 3-segmented antennae; may have unsegmented terminal abdominal appendages

• Adults: hardened forewings protect soft hind wings, antennae with 11 or fewer segments

• Tolerance Level: 4

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Lepidoptera (Aquatic Moths)• Size range: 10 - 25 mm• Movement: crawl like a

caterpillar• Head with ring of ocelli

(small simple eye)• 3 pairs of short, segmented,

thoracic legs (between head and abdomen)

• Ventral, abdominal prolegs http://www.nature.ca/rideau/b/b5b-e.html#synclita

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BMI Breakdown• Nymph BMI, legs (4)

– Dragonfly (Anisoptera)– Damselfly (Zygoptera)– Mayfly (Ephemeroptera)– Stonefly (Plecoptera)

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Anisoptera (Dragonfly)• Size range: 15-45 mm• Movement: slow• Colour: green to greenish

brown• Larger than mayfly but

without tail filaments; no visible external gills

• Modified labium for catching prey

• Large eyes and head• Often flat• Tolerance Level: 5

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Zygoptera (Damselfly)• Size range: 10 to 26 mm• Movement: slow moving but more active than dragonflies• Colour: green to greenish brown• 3 gills present on end of tail• Thinner than dragonfly• Three pairs of legs• Tolerance Level: 7

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Ephemeroptera (Mayfly)• Size range: 3-28 mm (not

including tail)• Movement: Swim up and

down in ‘s’ pattern• Colour: brown or brownish

black (sometimes mottled)• 3 pairs of legs• Single tarsal claw• Feather-like gills under

abdomen• Three tail filaments

(sometimes two)• Tolerance Level: 5

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Plecoptera (Stonefly)

• Size range: 5-50mm• Movement: slow• Colour: yellowish, brown or

blackish (sometimes mottled)• Similar to mayfly but with 2 tail

filaments• Sometimes feather-like gills

under body (not dorso-lateral on abdomen)

• Tarsi with 2 claws• Tolerance Level: 1

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BMI Breakdown• Adult BMI, legs (6)

– 3 pairs of legs:•True bugs (Hemiptera)•Beetles (Coleoptera)

– More than 3 pairs of legs:•Water mites (Hydrachnidae)•Scuds (Amphipoda)•Sow Bugs (Isopoda)•Crayfish (Decapoda)

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Hemiptera (True Bug)

• Size range: 15-40 mm• Movement: swimming or

skimming on water surface• Colour: black or brownish• Legs sometimes long and

stick out from body• Often two pairs of soft folded

wings• Often with well developed

breathing appendages• Sucking mouth parts

(rostrum)• Tolerance Level: 5

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Coleoptera (Beetle)• Size range: 2 - 40 mm• Movement: swimming or crawling

on bottom• Colour: brown, black (sometimes

mottled)• Most have 3 pairs of legs near

head• Larvae are similar to caddisfly

larvae but bodies are hard, with mandibles, maxillae, labium and 2- or 3-segmented antennae; may have unsegmented terminal abdominal appendages

• Adults: hardened forewings protect soft hind wings, antennae with 11 or fewer segments

• Tolerance Level: 4

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Hydrachnida (Water Mite)• Size range: 0.4-3 mm • Movement: appear like a

small moving dot - uncoordinated, scrambling

• Colour: bright red, green, blue or brown

• Body round• Four pairs of legs• Difficult to see• Tolerance Level: 6

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/moviegallery/pondscum/arachnids/hydracarina/

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Isopoda (Sow Bug)

• Size range: 5-20 mm • Movement: crawl slowly on

bottom• Colour: brownish, red• Many pairs of legs (up to 8)• Dorso-ventrally compressed• Often associated with organic

matter• Tolerance Level: 8

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Amphipoda (Scud)

• Size range: 5-20 mm• Movement: swim on side• Colour: blueish grey, brown,

green, red• Many pairs of legs (up to 14)• Long antennae• Tolerance Level: 6

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kils/hyperia/hyperia1.htm

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Decapodae (Crayfish)

• Size range: 10 to 150 mm• Movement: walk on bottom• Colour: green, brown, blue• Similar appearance to lobster• Large claws• Eyes on small stalks• Escapes backwards by beating

tail• Tolerance Level: 5

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References

• Images and characteristics adapted from Gartner Lee Limited, 1997 and EMAN Biomonitoring Course 2003

• Commonness rankings from Jacques Whitford Environmental Limited, 2001

• Tolerance values taken from Watershed Report Card, 2000

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Summary – Major Identification Characteristics

• Colour

• Size

• Body Type/Features

• Movement

Lunch

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Data EntryTaxon Common Name Tolerance Value Count (#) Pres/Abs (1 or 0)

Amphipoda Scud 6    

Anisoptera Dragonfly 5    

Ceratopogonidae No-see-ums NA    

Chironomidae Midge 7    

Coleoptera Beetle 4    

Cuclidae Mosquito 5    

Decapoda Crayfish 5    

Diptera, Misc. Misc. True Flies NA    

Ephemeroptera Mayfly 5    

Gastropoda Snail 8    

Hirudinea Leech 8    

Isopoda Aquatic Sowbug 8    

Unknown Unknown NA    

Number (All Groups except Unknown)    

Number (Diptera)    

Number (Insects)    

Number (Most Abundant Group)    

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Data Analysis in Brief• Different indices:• % worm, % midge, % sowbug, % snail, # of groups, %

dominant group, % EPT, % diptera, % insects, Hilsenhoff Biotic Index, aggregate assessment

Index Explanation Impaired

Possibly Impaired

Unimpaired

Source(s)

% midge (Chironomidae)

= 100 x Chir/Nwhere,Chir = # of Chironomidae and N = total # of individuals

> 40 10 to 40

< 10 Griffiths (1998)

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Data Analysis & Interpretation

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Citizens’ Environment Watch 204-147 Spadina Avenue

Toronto, OntarioM5V 2L7

647-258-3280www.CitizensEnvironmentWatch.org

Thank You!