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Laurel Creek In Water Essay

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Assessing rising invertebrate indicator species presence using the kick-and-sweep method at Laurel Creek in Waterloo
Graham Mantha 20553752
Keywords
Benthic Invertebrate: commonly used to provide information on the status of a water system. Having a short life span and a limited range of motion, this organism can do little to avoid pollution and therefore provides significant data concerning anthropogenic impacts. (Beatty et al., 2006)
Indicator Species: an organism that provides information on the environmental condition of a region with its presence, either depicting positive or negative changes. (Carignan & Villard, 2002)
Kick-and-sweep method: a low cost, high result method of extracting invertebrates from the floor of a water system …show more content…

(Johnson, 2004)
Stream Morphology: used to describe the shape of water channels and how they change over time through erosion, vegetation, and the availability and rate of sediment transport. (Hogan & Luzi, 2010)

Introduction Through the city of Waterloo flows a stream named Laurel Creek that originates from well north of the city, and as it flows into Silver Lake, it provides a home for many organisms both on land and in the water. This stream has been heavily influenced by human construction, and has a number of reservoirs along its path. As the water moves downstream towards more populated areas, it becomes a sink for waste coming from many sources along the way. To monitor the health of Laurel Creek, indicator species such as benthic invertebrates that reside in the water are collected to determine the current status of the stream. The purpose of this study is to determine the best location to collect samples of invertebrates in relationship to the stream morphology of Laurel Creek. The results from this study could then be used on other locations suffering the same problem in Waterloo. These areas can then be observed to determine if a solution can be found to decrease pollution, therefore decreasing the

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