1. TITLE OF YOUR POSTER GOES HERE Student Names go here Science And Math Institute, Tacoma, Washington Abstract Introduction MethodsMethods Continued Discussion Results Work Cited Benthic-macro invertebrates or BMI are bottom dwelling organisms that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye and lack a backbone. Examples of BMI’s include insects, crayfish, and worms. These organisms live in various types of running water, from fast streams to slow moving rivers and live attached to submerged debris. BMI’s are commonly used to test water pollution because their abundance indicates the health of the environment. BMI’s are broken up into four groups, with four being the most tolerant to pollution. The relative distribution of pollution tolerant and intolerant BMIs can indicate the health of a stream. The goal of the study was to observe benthic-macro invertebrates in Puget Creek in order to see the levels of pollution in the creek. Smaller teams analyzed different sections of a transect in order to compare localized health levels within a larger environment. This study also analyzed the species composition and diversity of terrestrial plants and animals in the riparian zone. Methods for Transect Set-up Using Trail as baseline, a 700ft transect with 7 plots at every 100ft was measured Plots were divided into 10 lateral transects of 10 feet each At each lateral transect the distance from edge of trail to both wetted edges was measured in order to map the stream Record major structures such as rocks and stumps on map Methods for BMI Collection Place net (D-net, Surber or Pocket) in three locations per 100 ft transect and record GPS location of placement Clean BMI’s off rocks in a 1 sq. meter area in front of net Pour debris into a clean tub with adequate water to submerge organisms Rinse net, making sure all debris are collected in tub Methods for BMI Processing Segregrate organisms in ice trays based upon species (using turkey baster, spoon, or micropipette) Place organisms in labeled containers Record total abundances of different BMI species BMI organisms are an extremely efficient way to test water quality. The study is designed to capture a snapshot of the pollution levels at Puget Creek. First, a graph was made of the creek and unique features (human alterations, vegetation, and stream characteristics) were observed and recorded. A Stream Reach Study was conducted observing wildlife and fish along in the stream and riparian zone. Next, BMI organisms were collected using three different nets from the stream. The BMI were processed to see the proportions of PTI classes. After two days of data collecting over 1700 BMI organisms were tallied. The majority of BMI organisms found were in the PTI Class 3. Over 90% of the BMI organisms came from PTI classes 3 and 4, and 81.72% of BMI organisms came from PTI class 3. Only 7% of PTI Class 1 and 1% of PTI Class 2 organisms were found. Our study showed that some areas of Puget Creek have concerning levels of pollution. Further studies to monitor BMI distribution are recommended. BMI monitoring is a cost effective method of looking at a stream’s water quality. Since BMI organisms live for several months one can see an overall picture of the health of the stream. A healthy stream has a diverse population of BMI organisms. Once BMI communities are collected and processed, the proportions of PTI classes give an idea of the level of pollution in the water. Looking at the transect as a whole we see the majority of organisms fall in to the PTI Class 4 (Figure 2). According to the Macro-invertebrate Identification Key handout, class 4 organisms are “fairly tolerant” to pollution, suggesting that there are higher than ideal levels of pollution in the creek. In a healthy stream one would expect to find more evenly distributed levels of BMI classes, including those organisms that are very sensitive to pollution. Future Classes should return to Puget Creek and repeat the Stream Reach Survey and BMI Collection next semester to see if the stream’s water quality has improved. By extending the work and adding more data, one can grasp a better understanding of the pollution and a solution for the water quality over time. Figure 2. Number and class of BMI’s found in Puget Creek. Each plot represents a 100m transect along the creek. Figure 1. Google Map of whole Transect and detailed map of stream for each plot. Acknowledgements We would like to graciously acknowledge and thank: Science and Math Institute Our Instructor-Ralph Harrison Puget Creek Restoration Tacoma Metro Parks 1.Murdoch, T., & Cheo, M. (2001). Stream Keepers Handbook. The Adopt-a- Stream Foundation. 2.Stream Reach Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved January 5, 2015, from http://www.in.gov/idem/nps/files/wmp_littlecalumet_river_6-01_chap_4_part_5.pdf 3.Moore. (n.d.). Sampling Basics. Retrieved January 5, 2015, from http://www.stroudcenter.org/research/projects/Moore/Fdn/pdf/SamplingBasics.pdf 4.Biological Monitoring. (n.d.). Retrieved January 5, 2015, from http://www.communityscience.org/biological-monitoring Future Work Image 1. BMI Collection Image 2. BMI Collection using a pocket net Image 3. During BMI processing, a Salomon redd was found Image 4. Students head down to the creek for BMI collection. Picture 3. Water and Debris collected, ready to be processed.. After two days of data collection over 1700 BMI organisms were tallied. The majority of BMI organisms found were in the PTI Class 3. Over 90% of the BMI organisms came from PTI classes 3 and 4, and 81.72% of BMI organisms came from PTI class 3. Only 7% of PTI Class 1 and 1% of PTI Class 2 organisms were found. As seen in Figure 4, the majority of BMI organisms sampled fall into PTI class 3. Classes 1 and 4 were found to have roughly a similar number of organisms in each plot. For example, In Plot 2 there were 25 class 1 organisms and 34 class 4 organisms. Their respective percentages are 4.55% and 5.30%. Also in Plot 4, there were 7 class 1 organisms and 6 class 4 organisms.