Using Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in Stream Bioassessment

Bioassessment is an evaluation of the biological condition of a waterbody using biological surveys and other direct measurements of resident living organisms. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are important indicators of stream health: they are relatively long-lived, differentially sensitive to environmental stressors, and relatively easy to sample. This lesson is a hands-on introduction to the use of stream macroinvertebrates in assessing a stream’s biological condition. Students will learn how to (1) sample and identify stream macroinvertebrates and (2) conduct a rapid bioassessment to quantify ecosystem integrity based on the macroinvertebrate taxa that they collect. The lesson can be conducted with any number of students (although a second instructor would likely be needed for class sizes >20) and is appropriate for undergraduates of all levels.

生物评估是通过对水体的生物调查和其他直接测量栖息生物的方法来评估其生物状况。水生大型无脊椎动物是河流健康状况的重要指示器：它们具有较长的生命周期，对环境压力源的敏感性存在差异，且相对易于采集。本课程以亲身体验的方式介绍了利用河流大型无脊椎动物评估河流生物状况的方法。学生将学习如何（1）采集和鉴定河流大型无脊椎动物，以及（2）基于所收集的大型无脊椎动物类群进行快速生物评估，以量化生态系统完整性。本课程适用于任意数量的学生（尽管在班级规模超过20人时可能需要第二位指导教师）且适用于所有层次的大学生。