The Impact Of River Macroinvertebrates On The Chemical Indices Of Water Quality And Pollution

The macroinvertebrates graph (figure 2) represents the diversity of species inhabiting the Baldwin Swamp. In 2009 the Baldwin swamp was flourishing with a large diversity of species. A total of 33 macroinvertebrates, 8 species were recorded. At this time the baldwin swamp was healthy, abundant in life and the ecosystem and food webs were unaffected by the floods. Whereas 3 weeks after the floods swept through there were little to no range of species of macroinvertebrates. There were a recorded amount of 2 Damselfly Nymph and 1 waterboat man. A theory to why these two

This was achieved by conducting freshwater sampling techniques at Flinders Lake, then analysing the samples under dissecting microscopes to identify micro invertebrates. It was hypothesised “Species richness of micro invertebrate species will be greater at the shore in comparison to one meter far from the shore in Flinders

The first piece of evidence supporting this statement is a water quality index of 48. The 7 pollution sensitive organisms in the creek are worth three points each on the water quality index, plus the 10 moderately tolerant organisms each 2 points and the 7 tolerant organisms each 1 point add up to get the 48 water quality index. The water quality level is considered excellent if it is 23 or above. The water quality in the U-High creek is more than twice that. There were many different types of organisms found in the creek including 7 pollution intolerant micro invertebrates. The total number of organisms including the 88 pollution intolerant Caddis fly larvae point to a low pollution level in the creek. The 10 moderately tolerant micro invertebrates also point to low polluted creek. There were also a high number of midges and aquatic worms. The water in the creek was also very clear and did not have a smell. There were many small fish and plants growing in and around it concluding a low pollution level in the

For the convenience of the students, a packet for recording the stream’s content and results was provided. On the first and second page, tables for seeing the taxa types of aquatic macroinvertebrates found were laid out, and students were to check the boxes with the names of the taxa they found in this area. Students entered the stream with a large water strain, and put dirt from the stream and carried it out of the stream to be examined. After observing several catches from the stream, the group one taxa findings included Stonefly nymph, Mayfly nymph, and Dobson fly nymph.

The first experiment we did to find out if the creek is polluted, was to count the macroinvertebrates in the creek. A macroinvertebrate is an aquatic insect, such as a crustacean. Different

In summary, there are many different factors that contribute to the health of the Susquehanna River. The factors include the pH, temperature, phosphate, nitrate and dissolved oxygen levels. Another factor is the wildlife living in and around the water. A healthy pH level is from five to eight. The tested level was within this range! The temperature was also at a good level because it was cold enough to have the healthy level of dissolved oxygen. The dissolved oxygen level was about nine. The nitrate levels were excellent, but the phosphate levels were just good because they were slightly above where they are supposed to be. Also, by analyzing the types of macroinvertebrates in the river, the level of pollution can be evaluated. The

Therefore some suggestions for improvement in future test include: conducting tests whilst setting controls such as time of the day and condition over a period of time to get the most accurate answers possible. Eg. Dissolved oxygen rates can vary over the period of the day. Another improvement would be following the methodology more strictly to reduce any margin for error, clearly apparent in our phosphate test. But despite our best efforts, there were some events that could not be avoided such as an oil spill in the creek that would have impacted on the macro-invertebrates results we tested after this

One of the major stresses within the Upper Wabash River is nutrients. The state of Indiana has a target of 10 mg/L of nitrate levels. During an water quality study there were 178 nitrate samples collected with 109 of the samples exceeding the target. Nitrate concentrations ranged from 9.34 mg/L to 34.48 mg/L with the highest coming from the Moser Lake and Eight Mile Creek. The total nitrogen levels of

The idea here is to find out if the ecosystem is contaminated to the point that it will risk populations from further expanding along the river.

Abstract As the human population grows to unprecedented levels reducing our impact on water resources is of utmost importance. The significance of our effect on freshwater becomes much greater as more people are relying more on safe, sustainable water therefore; we must try to understand every component of our ecosystems. With increases in human population nutrient loading has increased in our waterways through fertilizer runoff of agricultural lands and through waste water treatment facility stream enrichment. Nutrient enrichment has been studied more with excessive loading from agriculture and also untreated waste water, but the effects of nutrient loading from modern waste treatment facilities is lack luster. Our designed experiment tested the effect of external nutrient input into a stream on rate of leaf litter decomposition in two water systems. The study consisted of a single species of leaf, Populus balsamifera, we determined leaf breakdown rates using percent leaf mass remaining over the eight week study. Also measured was the biomass of macroinvertebrates relative to the mass of the cottonwood leaves at three weeks. Our results showed a 2x greater leaf litter decomposition rate on Bozeman creek than the East Gallatin below the water reclamation facility and 4x greater rate than the East Gallatin above the water reclamation facility. Macroinvertebrate shredder numbers were the highest at the

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

This lab investigates the question, What is the water quality of the U-High stream based on water invertebrates found? Water quality can be determined by multiple factors such as clarity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and levels of pollution. Clarity is the amount of sediment in the stream, higher amounts of sediment is unhealthy for water quality. pH measures the acidity or basicness of the stream, a healthy stream has a pH between 6.0-9.0. Dissolved oxygen is the level of oxygen in the water, this is necessary for the survival of organisms, higher measurements means better water quality. Finally different types of pollution can affect water quality such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Too much of either chemical can cause eutrophication which leads

The biological observations, conducted by the high school students, at the stream supported macro vertebrate fish such as trout, smallmouth bass, walleye, catfish, and smaller panfish. Other large game fish consist of musky, northern pike, pickerel, and American shad. The majority of these fish consumes a small variety of creatures, and based on the diets of the macro vertebrate fish, their diets include a wide variety of both aquatic and terrestrial insects, crayfish, other macro vertebrate fish, small fish such as minnows, and river crustaceans. Based upon this data, the population of life observed within the stream should conclude to the stream being able to consist of, however does not limit to, viable macro vertebrate fish. To collect

Benthic macroinvertebrates have been used to assess the health of aquatic environments. Quality analysis involves looking at benthic species composition and organization within the stream (Resh and Unzicke 1975). Different macroinvertebrates have differing sensitivities to pollutant, with some being more susceptible to environmental toxins than others (Metcalfe 1989). Such methods group macroinvertebrates in regards to their tolerance to pollution.

Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water; and, in almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities.