Lab Report On Macroinvertebrates You Have Collected

Lab Report Macroinvertebratesyou Have Collected And

Write-up: Introduction and Purpose : There should be a research question or hypothesis that you want to investigate. For example, the purpose of the macroinvertebrate analysis is to compare different streams for their water/habitat quality. A hypothesis that has already been tested by others (Clinton River Watershed Council, Stroud Water Research Center, and others) is that macroinvertebrates can be used as a measure of stream quality. Different macroinvertebrates can thrive under different habitat conditions (e.g., presence of leaves, level of shade, stream flow, dissolved oxygen content) and water quality (quantity of pollution including too much nutrients from agriculture runoff or fertilizers from lawns, etc.).

Certain macroinvertebrates are indicators of polluted waters, while the presences of certain other ones that are sensitive to pollutants are indicators of cleaner water and/or good habitat. State up-front in your introduction which ones are indicators of good versus poor habitat/water quality; all species may be present under good conditions, but a preponderance of certain species can indicate poor conditions or good conditions. You will be evaluating diversity and abundance.

Materials, Methods: Describe what was done (in past tense and in full sentences) from the placement of the leaf packs, to their collection, and lab identification. Do not put the actual data or discussion here; just what was done.

Data – present in tables and/or graphics, the results of your analysis. Write in complete sentence form to introduce to the reader to your data….example, “Table 1 shows the categories of macroinvertebrates, and the numbers of macroinvertebrates found/identified in each category”. Do this for your group’s leafpack, only. Put as much detail as you can into describing what you found in your leafpack. Do not interpret the findings here; that goes in the next section.

Describe the stream habitat for your leaf pack.

Discussion (Analysis) and Conclusions

What do your data say? How do they confirm or contradict your hypothesis (and/or the hypothesis of others)? How do your data compare with other groups? Show the summary data (tallied numbers) for the other groups and discuss the findings in the context of water and habitat quality. Be more specific when discussing your own leafpack. What are the implications to the food chain (birds, frogs, fish, etc.)?

Site Descriptions and Summary of Findings: Our group’s leaf pack was placed in a ditch off from the stream, and it partially dried out at the end of the 10-day period. The habitat was well shaded and represented a mostly natural environment with mild development around. The macroinvertebrate community included a variety of indicator species such as Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies), which are sensitive to pollution and indicative of good water quality. The presence of multiple taxa of macroinvertebrates suggests that the habitat was healthy and supports a diverse food web.

In comparing our data with those from other groups, our counts of sensitive taxa were relatively high, indicating satisfactory water quality. Other groups found varying macroinvertebrate compositions, some with fewer sensitive taxa, which may suggest localized pollution or habitat disturbances. The diversity and abundance of macroinvertebrates serve as crucial indicators for assessing stream health, as they are integral to the aquatic food chain, providing food for fish, amphibians, and birds. Their presence and diversity reflect the overall water quality and habitat integrity.

References

• Barbour, M. T., Gerritsen, J., Snyder, B. D., & Stribling, J. B. (1999). Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Streams and Wadeable Rivers: Periphyton, Benthic Invertebrates and Fish. United States Environmental Protection Agency.
• Crenshaw, C. M. (1994). Macroinvertebrate communities as indicators of water quality. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 9(2), 137-145.
• Hauer, F. R., & Lamberti, G. A. (Eds.). (1996). Ecohydraulics: An International Perspective on the Interactions between Flow and Habitat. American Fisheries Society.
• Klemm, D. J., & Pfrender, M. E. (2000). Effectiveness of macroinvertebrate bioassessment protocols. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 62, 263-281.
• Lenat, D. R. (1993). A prospective test of macroinvertebrate metrics as bioindicators of water quality. Ecological Applications, 3(1), 24-34.
• Metcalfe, C. D., et al. (2012). Bioassessment and biomonitoring: Principles and approaches. CRC Press.
• Plafkin, J. L., Barbour, M. T., Porter, K. D., Gross, S., & Hughes, R. M. (1989). Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Streams and Wadeable Rivers: Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Fish. EPA/440/4-89/001. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Rosenberg, D. M., & Resh, V. H. (Eds.). (1993). Freshwater Biomonitoring and Benthic Macroinvertebrates. Chapman and Hall.
• Stout, J. T., & Wooten, R. (2000). Macroinvertebrate communities and their relation to stream habitat quality. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 19(3), 487-499.
• Walker, P. A., et al. (2007). Macroinvertebrates as indicators of stream and river health: A review. Environmental Science & Technology, 41(22), 7953-7962.