Macroinvertebrate Presentation Lindsay Enebak Second Quarter Project

Macroinvertebrates n Lets take a closer look at Macroinvertebrates! n Macroinvertebrates are small organisms. n When you are talking about water quality, the different ones can tell you how polluted or non-polluted a stream is.

Some Very Sensitive Macroinvertebrates These Macroinvertebrates are sensitive, or cannot live in polluted waters. These are very delicate and, when present, usually mean that the water is not polluted very badly. They are the easiest ones to die off if the water becomes too polluted.

Stonefly n Stoneflies have two distinctive tails or “sticks” out of their abdomen. (Back section) This distinguishes these from the Mayflies.

Mayfly n Mayflies are very sensitive to pollution and usually mean that the stream is in good condition, if they are present. n Mayflies have three sticks out of their abdomen, unlike the Stonefly, which has two.

Caddisfly n Caddisflies are very sensitive to pollution. They indicate whether or not water is polluted. n Caddisflies resemble worms, have four claw-like arms, and have a pointed spear at the tail.

Hellgrammite (Dobsonfly) n A Hellgrammite, or Dobsonfly, also indicate, if present, non-polluted water. n A Hellgrammite has a shelled head and a lot of legs. This is probably the easiest to identify of sensitive Macroinvertebrates.

Planarian n This is another very sensitive Macroinvertebrate, the Planarian. It resembles a leech, to an extent.

Somewhat Sensitive Macroinvertebrates These Macroinvertebrates are “somewhat sensitive”, or meaning that these can better withstand pollution than the pollution sensitive Macroinvertebrates that were before this. These usually mean good to okay water quality. These are somewhat harder to die off when the water becomes too polluted.

Crane Fly n The first somewhat sensitive Macroinvertebrate is the Crane Fly. n This is a pictures of the larva stage. Like most of these Macroinvertebrates are.

Dragonfly n This is a picture of a Dragonfly in its larva stage. n Dragonflies are one of the few Macroinvertebrates that people normally would know and usually don’t consider them being Macroinvertebrates.

Scud n The third “Somewhat sensitive” Macroinvertebrate is a Scud. n Scuds resemble crayfish or shrimp, but are much smaller.

Not Sensitive These Macroinvertebrates are “not sensitive”, or can withstand pollution better than any other Macroinvertebrate. These can be present in any type of water. When you have a stream or body of water that has only these in it, that means that this is very polluted and won’t be very sanitary for other animals.

Aquatic Worm n Aquatic Worms are the first not sensitive Macroinvertebrate. n Aquatic Worms live on the bottom of the body of water. They usually stay in the water’s silt and dirt at the bottom.