Little Creatures that tell us If our natural waterways are healthy Macroinvertebrates Little Creatures that tell us If our natural waterways are healthy

Benthic Macroinvertebrates Benthic means: living at the bottom of a body of water (stream, river, pond) Macro- large Invertebrate- animal without backbone Macroinvertebrate- large water dwelling invertebrate able to be seen without a microscope

What are Macroinvertebrates? Organisms that have no backbone Visible without a microscope Found in Fresh Water Streams Eats leaves & algae in stream Source of Energy for larger animals

What are Macroinvertebrates? Snails Crayfish Worms Fly larva Mayfly, caddisfly, stone fly larva Clams Water beetles

Indicator Species Indicator Species means… They tell scientists when there is a problem in nature- specifically the stream environment The problem being pollution

Why are Macroinvertebrates Important? Source of Energy for larger animals Brook Trout or other fish eats them… Then fish are eaten by birds, raccoons, humans Helps with the Food Web

Where do Macroinvertebrates live? Bottom of a Stream Attached to rocks Attached to plants In fast moving water, need oxygen

Why are Macroinvertebrates Important? They are good indicators of the stream’s overall health These animals are different sizes, shapes, and have different adaptations that make it easy for scientists to learn if a stream is healthy

Why do they need clean water? To survive the macroinvertebrates that show that the water is clean need… Lots of oxygen to survive Poor oxygen, they die and provide no food for the Trout, kingfishers, Salmon, etc. Those macroinvertebrates that need poor dirty water to survive- tell scientists that the water is polluted

Macroinvertebrates

What do Macroinvertebrates tell Scientists about a Stream? Some macroinvertebrates are only found in Healthy untouched waters- not polluted- these tell scientists that the water is pure and good Others are found in moderate or OK waters- these may have some pollutants- they tell the scientists that the water is starting to get worse Also other macroinvertebrates only survive in poor water, this tells scientists that the water quality is poor and needs help

Which Macroinvertebrates tell that there is good quality water? Different kinds of stoneflies, mayflies, and caddisflies tell a scientist the stream is healthy. Scientists look for a variety of the above

Stonefly Larva

Which macroinvertebrates do you find in a Moderately clean Stream? The number of different macroinvertebrates becomes less as pollution rises There will be fewer stoneflies, many fewer mayflies, and only some types of caddisflies Soft-bodied worms and fly larva also increase Beetles are probably still in the stream; mollusks are not.

What macroinvertebrates are in poor quality streams? Stoneflies are not present at all A few mayflies and caddisflies- may be there Most found are soft-bodied animals: fly larvae, leeches and planaria (round worm, tape worm). Amphipod- fast moving shrimp looking creature

Macroinvertebrate Identification Key GROUP 1 DO NOT TOLERATE POLLUTION Stonefly nymph 5-35mm Caddisfly larva 2-40mm Mayfly nymph 3-10mm Alderfly nymph 10-25mm Fishfly larva 5-16mm Stonefly adult 10-40mm Caddisfly adult 14-25mm Mayfly adult 5-25mm Alderfly adult 24-50mm Water penny 4-6mm Hellgrammite (dobsonfly larva) 25-90mm Freshwater mussel 2-250mm Pouch snail 2-70mm Ramshorn snail Snipe fly larva 12-18mm

Macroinvertebrate Identification Key GROUP 2 TOLERATE SOME POLLUTION Dragonfly larva 15-50mm Damselfly larva 10-50mm Water beetle larva 2-6mm Whirligig beetle 3-15mm Riffle beetle adult 2-4mm Dragonfly nymph 30-50mm Damselfly nymph Water beetle 3-40mm Whirligig beetle larva 3-12mm Water strider 10-25mm Dragonfly adult 17-200mm Damselfly adult 25-55mm Backswimmer 5-16mm Waterboatman Cranefly larva Scud (amphipod) 5-21mm Crayfish 10-150mm Water scorpion 20-43mm Sowbug 5-22mm Freshwater clam 30-270mm

Macroinvertebrate Identification Key GROUP 3 TOLERATE POLLUTION Blackfly larvae 3-12mm Midge larva 2-15mm Mosquito larva 1-6mm Flatworm (planaria) Freshwater worm 1-30mm Blackfly adult 2-5mm Midge adult 3-4mm Mosquito adult 6-13mm Leech 5-40mm Water snail 2-70mm

Macroinvertebrate means… Small creature that you need a microscope to see Small creature that you can see without a microscope Small creature that lives on land 0 of 21

Benthic means… Living at the bottom of a stream Living on land, near a stream Living by floating in a stream of 21

Macroinvertebrates tell if a stream is healthy or not. True False Unsure 0 of 21

A sample of a Macroinvertebrate is… Small bird Mayfly larva Butterfly larva Turtle of 21

Macroinvertebrates that tell if water is clean need only a little bit of oxygen True False 0 of 21

Macroinvertebrates that survive in low oxygen water tell scientists The water is polluted The water is clean That it is water of 21

Large amounts of caddisfly larva, mayfly larva, and stone fly larva are found in… Polluted water Moderately clean water Healthy, good quality water 0 of 21

Smaller amounts of caddisfly, mayfly and stone fly larva, along with some worms are in this type of water Polluted water Moderately clean water Healthy, good quality water 0 of 21

Stoneflies are not present at all, more leeches, and fly larvae are found in this stream Polluted water Moderately clean water Healthy, good quality water 0 of 21