State Representative Pam Faris and Donn Hinds (Flushing Township) came out monitoring with the FRWC Team on gorgeous afternoon last week at a new site for which we will be collecting data: Brent Run Headwaters. We collected Caddisfly larvae, Damselfly and Dragonfly nymphs, snails, bugs and beetles. We learned through this that this stretch of creek is in poor condition, but we’ll be working to find ways to improve it and you can help. Would you like to come out for a river clean-up day or as a volunteer monitor with us this coming spring or next fall? Sign up for our newsletter and to volunteer today! flintriver.org/blog/become-a-volunteer/ FRWC and our team of trained volunteers have been collecting and analyzing benthic macroinvertebrates at 35 locations across the whole Flint River Watershed for the past 15 years to characterize various watersheds, screen for water quality problems, and measure existing conditions and trends. Invertebrates are valuable subjects for water quality studies because they stay put. They are not very mobile and unlike fish they cannot move to avoid pollution. Using these creatures to identify water quality conditions is based on the fact that every species has a certain range of physical and chemical conditions in which it can survive. The kinds of benthic invertebrates living in a stream indicate conditions within the stream because they cannot migrate to a different location if conditions are not conducive to survival. Some organisms can survive in a wide range of conditions and are more tolerant of pollution, and so are labeled “tolerant”. Other species are very sensitive to changes in conditions and are “intolerant” of pollution. These are labeled “sensitive”. Greater diversity of species and higher numbers of sensitive species generally indicate good water quality.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:52:44 +0000
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