The Influence of Macroinvertebrates Communities in Water Quality Parameters

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

The health of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay was found based on Biological (macroinvertebrates and wildlife) and Chemicals characteristics (pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, etc.) as well as physical observations (amount of forested buffers, wetlands, etc.) Overall it was concluded that the health of the water was good to excellent. What was found was that many of the macroinvertebrates found in the water were sensitive or facultative, meaning the water quality was good enough for them to live in. Also, the level of ph, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, and turbidity showed that the water quality was good. Finally, while we were canoeing down the Susquehanna River, observations were made on the land

Through our research we aimed to determine if there were any differences in water quality of both the north and south forks of Strawberry Creek. As time progresses and the environment changes it is important to keep track of how certain species are being impacted by these features, and how they cope with change. We hypothesized that due to the lack of pollution, the south fork will promote a greater diversity of macroinvertebrates. This was due to the fact that there was less runoff and trash that could be introduced to the water in the south fork, than there was in the north fork. We gathered data by analyzing the different organisms living in both forks. We collected a total of fifty vials composed of five organisms from each fork, and inspected them under microscopic view. After gathering data and identifying the different kinds of organisms living in the different forks we assessed whether the organisms from the samples could live in high or low resolution water. We also took a t-test to assess the probability of these differences being due to relevant factors or by chance. Our major findings suggest that organisms in the south fork showed a higher demand to living in cleaner water indicating that our hypothesis was correct.

The Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network was created to assess the quality of aquatic environments and ecosystems using benthos organisms as biomarkers (Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 2007). Exclusively used in Ontario, this biomonitoring program assesses ecological function and condition of streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands across the province (The Dorset Environmental Science Centre, 2017). The OBBN protocol is ideal for assessing water quality because of the use of aquatic macroinvertebrates (Borisko, et al. 2007). Since macroinvertebrates are easy and inexpensive to collect, determining water quality can be conducted continuously over the course of the year, across many locations (Borisko, et al. 2007; Ontario Ministry of 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.

6. Richter, Brian D., Baumgartner, Jeffrey V., Powell, Jennifer, and Braun, David P. (1996). A method for assessing hydrologic alteration within ecosystems. Conservation Biology 1996:1163. http://libproxy.txstate.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.2387152&site=eds-live&scope=site

The populations of each habitat vary, as they would be dependent on abiotic factors such as: light, temperature, water and soil.

This study was done to assess the health of the Humber River watershed by collecting and analyzing benthic macro-invertebrates. It was predicted that most of the species collected would have high tolerances, and that the percentages of the benthic macro-invertebrates would mostly fall in the impaired or potentially impaired categories. Transects were measured out along the stream, and the D-net was held along the bottom to catch the invertebrates. Once 100 or more were caught, they were then counted and identified. The Hilsenhof Biotic Index was use to calculate the total tolerance of the organisms collected. The results showed that the distribution of species fell into the potentially impaired category, while the total tolerance was in the unimpaired range. This could be an indicator of a disturbance in the ecosystem that is affecting certain organisms more than others. The study was mostly consistent with the hypothesis.

Invertebrates and water chemistry (pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity) were sampled from four sites along the Kananaskis river (figure 1). Sites C and D were located near the Kananaskis bridge (Figure 2), the Latitudes and Longitudes are 50°55’51’N 115°7’48’W and 50°55’56’N 115°7’47’W, respectively. The other two sites, A and B, were located in the Galatea area (figure 3) and the corresponding coordinates are 50°50’52’N 115°10’30’W and 50°50’47’N 115°10’27’W.

Mcmenamin, S. K., et al. “Climatic Change and Wetland Desiccation Cause Amphibian Decline in Yellowstone National Park.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 105, no. 44, 17 Sept. 2008, pp. 16988–16993. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809090105.

The Aquatic biome is the most significant out of all of the five biomes. Water is essential and important for life here on Earth. It’s what we all need in order to survive. Water also supports life, and many different species live in it, or for some parts of their life. Since water covers one-thirds of the Earth, the temperature of the aquatic biome tends to be humid and slightly cool. It is fairly constant so it can be able to tolerate life. This region is filled with so many different species of animals some big and some even small. The Aquatic biome is broken into two regions freshwater and marine

Class input data into excel and a class mean and standard deviation was gathered from both wetlands for each species. Excel was used to produce the mean and standard deviation for all data, then graphed for ease of interpretation.

The patterns of biological diversity in rivers and streams among taxa vary on a spatial and temporal scale (Ligeiro et al. 2010; McGarvey and Terra 2015). Variations in stream ecology can be contributed to water quality, habitat, and history of disturbance (Lingeiro et al. 2010). Creeks and streams feed into rivers and other larger bodies of water, which provide food, water, and other commercial and recreational services as well as a home to an array of plants and animals which rely on clean water. The health of these smaller bodies of water can act as indicators for the health of the larger watershed.

Global warming is a major problem when providing a suitable habitat and lifestyle for ample marine life. With sea levels rising there are consequences to plant life in coastal wetlands that can not handle the amount of water being provided. The wetlands are important in their job to protect the species they contain and for stabilizing coastlines. Storms are increasing in magnitude and severity, causing the transport of nutrients to marine life to be disturbed. As shores move further inland animals will have to move and adapt, history has shown how this can decrease populations. In the future both rare and abundant species could become locally extinct, with rare species on the verge of becoming totally extinct.

I decided to test the ecological status of the wetland by gathering samples from the wetland and testing it for various aspects in the water and the plants that are found within the area.