Biological Monitoring Instructions for Stream Monitors

Transcription

1 Bioogica Monitoring Instructions for Stream Monitors Surveying stream macroinvertebrates provides information about the heath of your stream. Many stream-dweing organisms are sensitive to changes in water quaity. Their presence or absence can serve as an indicator of environmenta conditions. Before seecting a site to monitor, pease foow these rues: Check with state and county agencies to make sure you are not disturbing a survey area used by government agencies (over-monitoring may harm the stream). Contact oca andowners before monitoring to make sure you are not trespassing. Ask for permission if you need to cross private and. Most andowners wi give permission for your study and may even want to hep you conduct your survey. Monitoring shoud be conducted at the same station (ocation) each time you sampe during the year. If you want to monitor severa stations on your stream, make sure the stations are no coser than one-quarter mie. This means, for exampe, that if you want to monitor a one-mie segment of a stream, you can have a maximum of four monitoring ocations. If the stations are spaced more cosey, the monitoring activity may become the main impact on water quaity. Carefuy record the ocation of your monitoring station on your Bioogica Monitoring Data Form. Incude roads, bridges, and significant andmarks. Use your smart phone s GPS functionaity to determine your ongitude and atitude. THINGS TO CONSIDER If you are monitoring more than one station, begin monitoring downstream and move upstream. This wi prevent macroinvertebrates disturbed by the first test from washing downstream and being captured in your net a second time. Each survey shoud record ony the organisms present at that particuar ocation and time. Bioogica monitoring shoud be conducted twice per year at each station. The best times to monitor are in the fa (September, October, or the beginning of November) and the spring (Apri, May, or the beginning of June). Fa and spring are when we see the best macroinvertebrate popuations, which ensures that we are documenting an accurate representation of the stream s heath. Monitoring during the heat of summer or dead of winter aso poses a risk to vounteers, which is why we ask that you refrain from monitoring then. When scheduing monitoring events, remember that excessive monitoring can become the major threat to stream heath because each monitoring event disturbs the streambed and disodges macroinvertebrates. In genera, monitoring stations shoud have two months to recover from a monitoring event. It is crucia to the integrity of your data that you do not over-monitor your stations. There is some fexibiity in this rue. For exampe, if an oi spi occurs, you might want to monitor your stream, even if you have done your two surveys for the year. The data you coect might be the ony data avaiabe on the immediate impacts of the spi. The methods described in these instructions are for use in wadabe streams. To be wadabe, the water eve in the stream must not exceed the height of your knees. When panning monitoring sessions for younger peope, pease keep in mind that knee height varies greaty between aduts and chidren. There are two samping methods avaiabe to coect aquatic macroinvertebrates. Muddy Bottom Samping is used in streams that do not have riffes, a streambed feature with cobbe-sized stones between 2 to10 inches in diameter where the water bubbes over the rocks. If your stream has riffes, pease refer to the Rocky Bottom Samping section. MUDDY BOTTOM SAMPLING The Muddy Bottom Samping method is intended for vounteers samping streams that do not have rocky bottoms or riffes. Muddy bottom streams are composed of muddy or sandy substrate, overhanging bank vegetation, and submerged woody and organic debris. This method enabes samping of streams where kick-seining techniques do not yied the best representative sampe of macroinvertebrates or aow easy coection from the most productive aquatic habitats. Monitoring is conducted using an aquatic D-frame or dip net with 1/32-inch mesh and a four-foot poe. The dip net is used to sampe a wide variety of habitats and coect many different kinds of organisms. Before you begin monitoring, famiiarize yoursef with the four main habitats that can exist aong muddy bottom streams: steep banks/vegetated margins, sity bottom with organic matter, woody debris with organic matter, and sand/ rock/grave substrate. Search for these habitats aong a 50-foot section upstream from the monitoring station. Share your stream monitoring data at 1

2 Foowing are simpe descriptions of the habitat types and coection techniques for each habitat. Steep banks/vegetated margins The area aong the bank and the edge of the water body consists of overhanging bank vegetation, pants iving aong the shoreine, and submerged root mats. Vegetated margins may be home to a diverse assembage of dragonfies, damsefies, and other organisms. Move the dip net in a bottom-to-surface motion, jabbing at the bank to oosen organisms. Each scoop of the net shoud cover one foot of submerged area. Sity bottom with organic matter Sity substrates with organic matter can be found where the water is sow-moving and where there is overhanging vegetation or other sources of organic matter. The substrates harbor burrowing organisms such as dragonfies or burrowing mayfies. Coect sampes by pushing the net upstream with a jabbing motion to disodge the first few inches of organic ayer. Woody debris with organic matter Woody debris consists of dead or iving trees, roots, imbs, sticks, and other submerged organic matter. It is a very important habitat in sow-moving rivers and streams. The wood traps organic partices that serve as food for the organisms and provides sheter from fish and other predators. To coect woody debris, approach the area from downstream and hod the net under the section of wood you wish to sampe, such as a submerged og. Rub the bottom of the net frame aong the surface of the og for a tota surface area of one foot. It aso is good to disodge some of the bark, as organisms may be hiding underneath. You can aso coect sticks and eaf itter and rub roots attached to submerged ogs. Be sure to thoroughy examine any sma sticks you coect with your net before discarding them. There may be caddisfies, stonefies, riffe beetes, and midges attached to the bark. Sand/rock/grave substrate In sow-moving streams, bottoms are generay composed of ony sand or mud because the water is not fast enough to transport arge rocks. Sometimes you may find a grave bar ocated at a bend in the river. The bottom can be samped by pushing the net upstream with a jabbing motion to disodge the first few inches of grave, sand, or rocks. You may want to genty wash the grave in your screen-bottom bucket and then discard the grave into the stream. To provide for accuracy of coection and comparabiity of data from one station to another, take a tota of 20 scoops MUDDY BOTTOM SAMPLING EQUIPMENT One D-frame aquatic dip net with mesh of 1/32 inch Fied Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Monitor s Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Bioogica Monitoring Data Form Fahrenheit thermometer Two sma magnifier boxes (optiona) Magnifying gass (optiona) Shaow pastic pan Specimen jars or ice cube trays for sorting organisms One screen-bottom bucket with a mesh of 1/32 inch (optiona) Tweezers or forceps (optiona) Cipboard (optiona) White sheet or pastic trash bag (optiona) Od sneakers or sandas that secure to your feet. Waders may be preferred in cod weather or for additiona eg protection when water is coudy. from the different habitats. Ideay, you shoud identify ocations for a four habitat types and coect the foowing number of scoops from each: 10 scoops from steep banks/vegetated margins 3 scoops from sity bottom with organic matter 4 scoops from woody debris with organic matter 3 scoops from sand/rock/grave substrate If one of the habitat types is not present, divide the number of assigned scoops from that habitat between the other habitat types that are present. For exampe, if the stream does not have sand/rock/grave substrate, take one extra scoop from each of the other three habitat types. The most important thing is to have a tota of 20 scoops and to make sure a habitat types that are present are represented. The D-frame net is one foot wide, so one scoop equas one square foot being monitored. If you have arge rocks (greater than two inches in diameter), it is important to disodge any burrowing organisms. To do this, hod the net on the downstream side of the rocks. In a one-square-foot area in front of the net, genty kick up the rocks with your toes or push them free with your fingers. This shoud disodge burrowing organisms and aow them to wash into your net. Share your stream monitoring data at 2

3 After coecting some sampes, dump the net into a shaow white pan fied with a few inches of water. Each time you sampe, sweep the mesh bottom of the D-frame net back and forth through the water (not aowing water to run over the top of the net) to rinse fine sit from the net. This wi avoid a arge amount of sediment and sit from coecting in the pan and couding the water. Coect organisms from the net or pan and pace them in simiar groups as you go through the sampe. This wi make your identification quicker when you are ready to record resuts on your survey form. Pastic ice cube trays are hepfu when sorting the sampe. For exampe, put a organisms with two tais in one section and a organisms with three tais in another section. See the Identification section for detais on identifying the organisms in your sampe. ROCKY BOTTOM SAMPLING The Rocky Bottom Samping method is intended for vounteers samping streams that have rocky bottoms or riffes. A kick-seine net a finey meshed net with supporting poes on each side is the best too to use for coecting macroinvertebrates in rocky bottom streams. The League s Rocky Bottom Samping method recommends using a kickseine net that is 3-feet square with 1/32-inch mesh. The 1/32-inch mesh net wi provide you with a arge sampe because it captures younger, and therefore smaer, organisms of each species, and some state and oca government agencies require use of the 1/32-inch mesh. Seect a riffe that is a shaow, fast-moving area of water with a depth of 3 to 12 inches and cobbe-sized stones (2 to 10 inches) or arger. Before entering the stream, record observations about riffe composition on the back of the Bioogica Monitoring Data Form. Pace the kick-seine net at the downstream edge of the riffe. Pace rocks on the bottom edge of the net to secure it tighty against the streambed so that no organisms escape under the net. Don t aow any water to fow over the top of the net either organisms can escape over the net. Aso, if water is fowing over the top of the net, the water eve is too high for safe monitoring. Monitor the streambed for a distance of three feet upstream of the kick-seine and across the width of the net. Firmy and thoroughy rub your hands over a rock surfaces to disodge any attached insects for 40 seconds. After you have rubbed off any macroinvertebrates, carefuy pace each arge rock outside of your three-foot samping area. Stir up the bed with your hands and feet unti the entire area has been searched. A exposed and detached organisms wi be carried into the net. Then, for 20 seconds, use the toe of your shoe ROCKY BOTTOM SAMPLING EQUIPMENT Kick-seine Fied Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates A Guide to Aquatic Insects and Crustaceans Bioogica Monitoring Data Form Fahrenheit thermometer Two sma magnifier boxes (optiona) Magnifying gass (optiona) Shaow pastic pan Specimen jars or ice cube trays for sorting organisms Tweezers or forceps (optiona) White sheet or pastic trash bag (optiona) Cipboard (optiona) Camera (optiona) Squirt botte (optiona) Gass vias for coecting macroinvertebrate sampes and 70-percent acoho for specimen preservation (optiona) Od sneakers or sandas that secure to your feet. Waders may be preferred in cod weather or for additiona eg protection when water is coudy. to jab the streambed with a shuffing motion, moving towards the net. Disturb the first few inches of sediment to disodge burrowing organisms. Before removing the net, rub any rocks that you used to anchor the net to the stream bottom and remove the rocks from the bottom. Firmy grab the bottom of the net so that your sampe does not fa from the net, and then remove it from the water with a forward-scooping motion. The idea is to remove the net without aowing any insects to be washed under or off it. Pacing a white trash bag or white sheet under the net before separating the sampe wi catch any tiny organisms that may craw through the net. Use a watering can or spray botte to periodicay water your net. The organisms wi stop moving as the net dries out. Occasionay wetting the net wi cause the organisms to move, making them easier to spot. Watering the net is especiay important on hot, dry days. Pace the net on a fat, bright area, out of direct sunight. Using tweezers or your fingers, separate a the organisms from the net and pace them in your coecting container, which shoud be haf fu of water from the stream. Sort Share your stream monitoring data at 3

4 organisms into simiar groups as you separate your sampe. This wi make your identification quicker when you are ready to record resuts. Pastic ice cube trays are hepfu when sorting the catch. For exampe, put a organisms with egs in one section and a organisms with no egs in another section. Any organism that moves, even if it ooks ike a worm, is part of the sampe. Look cosey, since most aquatic macroinvertebrates are ony a fraction of an inch ong. IDENTIFICATION Once organisms are coected through either the Rocky Bottom or Muddy Bottom Samping methods, they are sorted and identified. You can use IWLA s Fied Guide to Aquatic Macroinvertebrates or A Guide to Aquatic Insects and Crustaceans, both of which can be purchased through inks on the Save Our Streams equipment page on the League s website: iwa.org/sos. The League s free Aqua Bugs app provides easy-to-foow instructions to hep you identify your macroinvertebrates. Search for it in the Appe Store and Googe Pay Store. Izaak Waton League macroinvertebrate guides provide a genera overview of the macroinvertebrate types found across the United States. The composition of macroinvertebrate popuations varies depending on oca geography and geoogy. Try contacting your oca environmenta protection agency or universities for more information about oca macroinvertebrates. Loca experts might be abe to share additiona fied guides that are specificay designed for your area. Not a organisms in your stream are isted in the guides. For instance, macroinvertebrates such as whirigig beetes, water striders, and predaceous diving beetes are not incuded on the survey sheet. They are surface breathers and do not provide any indication of water quaity. When beginning your identification, ask yoursef the foowing questions: How arge is the organism? Is the body ong and sender, round, or curved? Does the organism have any tais? How many? Does the organism have any antennae? Does the organism have egs? How many? Where? Is the body smooth and a one section, or is it segmented (two or more distinct sections)? Does the organism have any gis (fuffy or pate-ike appendages)? Where are the gis ocated? Sides, back, underside, under its egs? Does it have pinching jaws ike a beete arvae? Are any egs or antennae missing because they were broken off in the net? What coor is the organism? Does the organism swim underwater or remain on the surface? When using the macroinvertebrate guides, read the descriptions for each organism. Sizes are provided for reference. However, if you catch a young macroinvertebrate that has just hatched and has not yet reached fu size, it may be smaer than indicated in the guides. Specimens can be put into magnifying boxes to ease identification. During identification of macroinvertebrates, tay/record your resuts on the bioogica monitoring tay sheet. Make sure you have coected at east 100 individua macroinvertebrates. If you did not, compete a second samping. Once a coected macroinvertebrates have been identified and counted, check off each species in the Bioogica Monitoring Data Form tabe and add the tota of each species found. Add the number of check marks in each coumn Sensitive, Less Sensitive, and Toerant and mutipy by the index vaue at the bottom of that coumn. Add the subtota for each coumn to arrive at your tota index vaue, which provides the fina water quaity rating. Incude information reating to habitat and physica parameters of the stream. Return the organisms to the stream after samping is competed. You wi notice that neither the number of each macroinvertebrate identified nor the tota number of macroinvertebrates found affects the fina water quaity rating. This is because the stream heath survey is based primariy on the diversity, not the numbers, of individua organisms found. However, changes in the numbers of each macroinvertebrate can indicate changes in stream heath over time, which is why it is important to monitor a site over the entire year. The League updates the sensitivity rankings for macroinvertebrates based on the most recent scientific research. To downoad a copy of the atest data form, pease visit our website at iwa.org/sos. Share your stream monitoring data at 4

5 BIOLOGICAL MONITORING DATA FORM QUESTIONS The Bioogica Monitoring Data Form aso incudes questions about the and and vegetation surrounding the stream. These questions hep characterize the quaity of stream habitat and its abiity to support a heathy popuation of stream organisms. The and use information aso paints a picture of the stream for other peope who might review your data. Guideines for correcty answering these questions are given beow. Record the answers based on the area that is upstream from your monitoring site; generay, you shoud record the data for the area you can see. For and use information, incude uses for one mie upstream from your site or the section of stream you have adopted. If necessary, take a wak or consut a map for this information. Fish popuations: Different fish have different toerances to poution. The type of fish present may indicate the type of water quaity expected. If you coect fish but don t recognize the type, write a description of the fish on the data form or take a picture to use for ater reference. You can find fish identification charts or experts to hep with fish identification at oca schoos, agencies, ibraries, or onine. Barriers to fish movement: The absence of certain fish types may be due to a dam or other arge obstace, not because of water quaity. Note on your survey form if the dam is upstream or downstream from your monitoring site and how far away. Waterfas shoud ony be recorded if they are arge enough that a fish coud not reasonaby jump over them or swim around them. Usuay, waterfas of a few feet or ess are not impediments to the upstream movement of fish. Surface water appearance: You may check more than one of the coors isted but not a of them. Note if strange coors are present throughout the stream or ony in one section, such as immediatey beow a discharge pipe or highway cuvert. Streambed deposit (bottom): Record the over-a appearance of the stream bottom. If the streambed does not have any apparent coating, you may note it as other and write in norma. Odor: Note any unusua odors. Odors may come from natura processes or may indicate potentia water quaity probems. Stabiity of streambed: An unstabe streambed can mean that soi is eroding from the bottom of the stream and may indicate water quaity probems. When standing in the stream, determine how frequenty the bed sinks beneath your feet. Agae coor: Agae fees simy. You wi notice it as you rub rocks during monitoring. A great dea of agae may indicate too many nutrients in the water. Sometimes more agae wi appear in the spring after snowmet reeases extra nutrients into the stream. However, take note of the percent and type of agae present in the stream to make sure it is not increasing over time. Agae ocated: Estimate the percentage of stream bed that is covered by agae. Agae is often present in sma quantities in heathy streams. Excess agae may indicate water quaity probems. Stream channe shade: Over the course of the day, estimate what percentage of the stream channe is shaded by streamside trees, shrubs, and grasses. Shading heps keep water coo and can be beneficia for aquatic ife. Streambank composition: Remember to ook at both sides of the stream s banks. When questions ask for a percentage, use the information for both the eft and right bank and combine vaues. For instance, if one side of the bank is competey bare due to erosion whie the other side is we vegetated, you shoud record the percent of bank coverage as 50 percent. When recording tota percentages of shrubs, grasses, and trees, you shoud aso ook at both sides of the bank. However, if one side has artificia structures such as rock riprap or concrete, you wi have to account for such ground cover. For instance, if the eft side of the bank is not vegetated, you cannot have more than 50 percent of shrubs, grasses, and trees tota when those vaues are added together. Streambank erosion: Again, ook at both sides of the bank to determine the percentage of soi erosion. Riffe composition: This question refers to the 3x3-foot area of the stream samped for Rocky Bottom Samping techniques with a kick-seine net. Do not fi out this question when using the muddy bottom samping technique. If you used a kick-seine to conduct the Rocky Bottom Samping method, answer this question before you disturb the site. The organisms you coect are most abundant in riffes composed of predominanty cobbe-sized stones (more than 70 percent cobbes is a good riffe habitat). Start with the argest rocks first when recording bed composition. If you don t have any bouders (rocks arger than 10 inches), record cobbe-sized stones and continue unti your percentages equa 100 percent. A typica riffe in a medium-gradient stream might be recorded as 5 percent bouders, 65 percent cobbes, 15 percent grave, 10 percent sand, and 5 percent sit. Ranges are given on the survey form for the rock sizes. For the smaer rock sizes, remember that sit fees ike tacum powder and sand fees gritty. If your riffe had 40 percent sit, Share your stream monitoring data at 5

6 10 percent grave, and no cobbes, you shoud either find another station to monitor or switch to the Muddy Bottom Samping method. Land uses in the watershed: The survey form asks if and use impacts within a one-mie radius of your samping site are high (H), moderate (M), sight (S), or none (N). Athough these questions are somewhat subjective, determining the impact is easy and straightforward. Note H for a and use if it: Comprises the majority of and in the watershed and is pouting the stream, such as a stream traveing through and that is being strip mined for coa. Has a severe impact on stream quaity even though the and use does not utiize a great dea of and, such as a construction site that has caused the stream to be fu of sit. Note M if the and use is definitey contributing to stream degradation, but is not the major cause for degradation (or is one of many causes). For exampe, parking ot runoff and trash from a shopping ma may contribute significanty to stream poution, but they may not be the ony causes of stream degradation. Note S for a and use if its impacts ony sighty poute the stream. For exampe, athough a farm may be present, good farming practices and conservation measures may mean the poution impact is negigibe. Note N if the and use is present but causing no poution. If the and use is not present, do not write anything. Take the time to drive or wak through your watershed before fiing out this section to determine if these and uses are present and impacting the stream. When considering and use as the controing factor in stream quaity, ook not just at the area visibe from the stream but at a the and draining into the stream the watershed. If the stream coects water from an intensey deveoped or agricutura area, do not be surprised if no organisms are found. Shoud this be the case, consider visiting a forested stream of the same size in the same watershed for samping comparison. You might be surprised by the different types of organisms you find. You can identify a poution source by samping the stream at quarter-mie intervas upstream from the initia samping point (where a poution impact is suspected) unti quaity improves. The poution sources shoud be identified somewhere between the point where degraded conditions were first found and the point where water quaity improves. Comments: Use this space to record observations that are not noted esewhere on the data form. This may incude current and potentia future threats to the stream s heath. STREAM PROBLEMS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON STREAM ORGANISMS 1. Physica Probems may incude excessive sediment from erosion, street runoff, or discharge pipes. Sediment can create poor riffe characteristics, contribute to excessive fooding, reduce fow, change water temperature, and smother aquatic ife. The resut is usuay a reduction in the number of macroinvertebrates in the study area. 2. Organic Poution is from excessive human or ivestock wastes or high nutrient enrichment from farm or yard runoff. The resut is usuay a reduction in the diversity of insects. 3. Toxic Poution incudes chemica poutants such as chorine, acids, metas, pesticides, and oi. The resut is usuay a reduction in the number of insects. MACROINVERTEBRATE COUNT AND WATER QUALITY Observation High diversity, high numbers; many sensitive species such as stonefies, caddisfies, and mayfies High diversity, ow numbers Low diversity, high numbers Low diversity, ow numbers; or no bugs found but the stream appears cean Anaysis No probem; good water quaity Possiby due to poor habitat conditions Organic poution (nutrient enrichment) or sedimentation; excessive agae growth from nutrient enrichment Toxic poution (e.g., chorine, acids, heavy metas, oi, herbicides, insecticides) Share your stream monitoring data at 6