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Volunteer Aquatic Monitoring Protocol
Step-by-Step Checklist

A. Site Selection

  1. Choose streams greater than 6 feet across
  2. If you must sample near a bridge, go at least 50 ft downstream.
  3. Avoid areas where point-discharge from industrial or waste from agricultural sites enters the stream (no pipes or cows directly upstream).
  4. Whenever possible choose sites you or others have sampled previously.
  • At right, DLIA intern, Stephen Gosnel uses a dip net to test the water quality of Le Conte creek. Photo by Charles Wilder.

 

B. Kick Net (Riffle) Sampling (2 person)

  1. Choose a riffle according to the rules given in the protocol (Safely wadeable, preferably 10-30 inches deep, with a gravel to cobble bottom substrate).
  2. Place the kicknet at the downstream end of the 15 ft 2 (5 long x 3 wide) section you wish to sample. Do not enter the sampling area until you are ready to kick.
  3. Place the kicknet is along the bottom of the stream (weight with rocks to make sure) and facing directly upstream into the current.
  4. Kick and dislodge stones for one minute (use a stopwatch or timer to make sure). Don’t let any water flow over the top of the net or you will lose organisms.
  5. As you remove the net from the water slowly, push forward and up (in a sweeping arc) to wash sampling material back into the net. If you lose the majority of your material, redo the procedure in another 15 ft 2 of stream bottom.
  6. Carry net, bugs and all back to the identification station, taking care to not lose organisms. Keep separate from leaf pack and visual samples.

C. Leaf Pack Sampling (1 person, preferably group leader)

  1. Only collect leaf packs which are submerged in flowing water. Look at the leaf packs carefully to make sure they are appropriate for sampling You should see discoloration or physical decomposition of leaf pack, (especially ‘lace-like’ appearance where insects have been consuming leaf matter).
  2. Take no longer than 3 minutes to make your leaf pack collections, or until you have an inch of leaf material in the bottom of the deep white pan. Keep your collection into the white pan and return to the identification station. Keep the leaf pack sample separate from the kick net and visual samples.

D. Visual Inspection and Survey (One person, preferably group leader)

  1. Turn over rocks and logs in and around the stream. Pay careful attention to these surfaces, macroinvertebrates can be difficult to see at first. Stay in the water and don’t collect any insects that are not in the water.
  2. Don’t destroy habitats during your search and be careful to replace any objects you turn over during sampling.
  3. Take 5 minutes to collect macroinvertebrates this way and take your sample to the identification station. Use field forceps while handling benthic macroinvertebrates and keep this sample separate from the kick net and leaf pack samples.

E. Habitat Survey

  1. Answer the questions given on your data sheet that pertain to the characteristics of your sample site. If you are unsure of the meaning of any words or how to answer the questions, ask your group leader. This procedure should take about 10 minutes.

F. Sorting and Identification of Macroinvertebrates

  1. Use the keys and the time provided to sort the insects and other organisms you have collected into rough groups (all mayflies, stoneflies, etc). Make sure you keep your three samples (Kicknet, Visual, Leafpack) separate during sorting.
  2. Use ice cube trays or other partitioned containers to put similar insects together. Group the sample into appropriate groups before attempting to count or identify aquatic macroinvertebrates (counts and identifications do not have a time limit).
  3. Mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies should be in separate containers or trays. This means you will need three containers for mayflies, three containers for caddisflies and three containers for stoneflies (one for each sample: kick net, leaf pack and visual).
  4. The separation and identification procedure for the kick net sample should take two people no longer than 20 minutes; the leaf pack should take one person no longer than 10 minutes. At the end of the time limit, identify all organisms, tally your results and enter on the data sheets provided. If fewer than 20 minutes are required for field identifications, note the time on the data sheet.