Biotic Indicators

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Fresh Water Studies Water Quality
Living Organisms
Part 2 Biotic Indicators
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Temperature
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Optimal Temperature Range Organism Temp(C) Trout
5-20 Smallmouth Bass 5-28 Caddisfly
larvae 10-25 Mosquito larvae 10-25 Carp 10-25
Catfish 20-25
Temperature
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Dissolved Oxygen
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Minimum DO Requirements Organism DO
(mg/l) Trout 6.5 Smallmouth Bass 6.5 Caddisfly
larvae 4.0 Carp 2.0 Catfish 2.5 Mosquito
larvae 1.0
Dissolved Oxygen
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
pH
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Effects of pH on aquatic life pH___________Effect_
_________________ 4.0-4.5
All fish, most frogs, insects absent 5.0-5.5
Bacteria die. Detritus accumulates, locking
up essential nutrients. 6.5-8.2 Optimal for
most organisms 11.0-11.5 Rapidly lethal to all
species of fish
pH
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Natural TDS come from rocks and soil from the
watershed that drains into the stream, river,
pond or lake. Changes in TDS can indicate a
problem. If salts are high, dehydration occurs.
Solids cause a laxative effect. Dissolved
minerals can affect the pH, raising or lowering
depending on the ions present. Range 50-250 mg/l
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
Turbidity
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How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
How do abiotic factors affect freshwater
organisms?
High turbidity decreases sunlight which decreases
the rate of photosynthesis. Water that is highly
turbid will warm faster, decreasing the dissolved
oxygen available for respiration of all
organisms.
Turbidity
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Photo M.B. Elder
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Photo M.B. Elder
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The Sun
Tier 0
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The Sun
Tier 1
Tier 0
Pytoplacton Plants
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The Sun
Tier 1
Tier 0
Pytoplacton Plants
Zooplankton Insects
Tier 2
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The Sun
Tier 1
Tier 0
Crustaceans, Insects, Mollusks, Small Fish
Pytoplacton Plants
Zooplankton Insects
Tier 2
Tier 3
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The Sun
Tier 1
Tier 0
Crustaceans, Insects, Mollusks, Small Fish
Pytoplacton Plants
Zooplankton Insects
Tier 2
Smaller Fishes
Tier 3
Tier 4
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The Sun
Tier 1
Tier 0
Crustaceans, Insects, Mollusks, Small Fish
Pytoplacton Plants
Zooplankton Insects
Tier 2
Smaller Fishes
Tier 3
Predatory Fishes
Tier 4
Tier 5
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The Sun
Tier 1
Tier 0
Crustaceans, Insects, Mollusks, Small Fish
Pytoplacton Plants
Zooplankton Insects
Tier 2
Smaller Fishes
Tier 3
Predatory Fishes
Tier 4
Top Predators
Tier 5
Tier 6
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Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators
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Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators

• Includes
• Insects
• Crustaceans
• Mollusks

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Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators

• Sensitive to Changes
• Cannot easily escape changes
• Collected very easily

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Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators

• What do macroinvertebrates do?
• Job Example
• Predators dragonfly, damselfly, beetles
• Filter feeders mussels, fly larvae, midge larvae
• Scrapers snails, mayfly larvae
• Collectors worms, planarians
• Shredders amphipods, caddisfly larvae

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Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators
Group A Very sensitive to
Environmental Stresses Stoneflies Mayflies Caddisf
lies Dobsonflies Water penny Group B
Somewhat sensitive to Environmental
Stresses Dragonflies Craneflies Damselflies Crayfi
sh Scuds Group C Tolerant to
Environmental Stresses Midges
Leeches Snails Pouch Snails Blackfly larva
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Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators

• Conclusion
• Freshwater organisms-the Biotic part of the
  Freshwater environment- have Limits or Optimal
  ranges in water quality where they prefer to
  live.
• The quality of water can be determined by what
  and how many organisms are living in that
  environment.
• Macroinvertebrates are used to evaluate the
  quality and history of the water environment.

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Image credits-Used with permission 1-17 R.B.
Elder 18-25 Norbert Hamm 26-32 Norbert Hamm
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