EnviroThon Aquatics Training

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EnviroThon Aquatics Training
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Topographic Maps
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Topo map

• A way to show mountains and valleys on a flat
  piece of paper
• The map shows where the hills and valleys are and
  how steep they are

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Steep slopes
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Gentle slopes
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Depressions

• Elevations are getting lower further inside
  closed loop

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Mountain tops

• Closed loops have elevations getting higher
  further in

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Benchmarks

• Actual elevations of specific spots
• Marked with a bronze plate

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Rivers

• Rivers point upstream on topos
• Make a upside down V

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Legend

• Scale 1 inch on map equal to 24,000 inches in
  real life
• Contour interval between every line is 10 feet
  in elevation

• Distance measure from one point to another and
  compare to distance scale above

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Delineate a Watershed
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• Mark mountain tops with X
• Draw line from one mtn top to next going
  perpendicular to contour lines

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Benthic Macroinvertebrates
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Why study the bugs?

• Live in stream for most of their lives
• Varying sensitivities to pollution
• Intolerant
• Somewhat tolerant
• Tolerant

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NON-INSECTS

• MOLLUSCS
• SNAILS
• MUSSELS
• CLAMS
• CRUSTACEANS
• SCUDS
• CRAYFISH
• WORMS

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AQUATIC WORMS

• different looking than the earthworms
• Aquatic worms are tolerant of a variety of water
  conditions
• Usually associate with lower quality water

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SNAILS
Stream (Gilled) snail
Pond (Lunged) snails

• gilled snail opening is to the right
• lunged snails tend to open to the left or are a
  different shape

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Mussels and clams

• Mussels are darker in color and oblong
• Clams are lighter in color in more round

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Crustaceans

• Crayfish have large claws and look like little
  lobsters
• Scuds are shrimp-like and are often seen swimming
  on their sides around the collection pan.

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Sowbugs

• small flat bodied creatures with 7 pairs of legs
  that tend to stick out on either side.
• Not insects!
• They tend to live in gravelly streams with lots
  of plant material

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INSECTS

• Three basic body parts
• Head
• Thorax
• Abdomen
• Six jointed legs
• But sometimes its tough to see them!

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CaddisflyCaddis case

• Well-developed legs on the first three segments
  of their bodies, and hooks on the last one
• Some are predators, some filter particles eat
  algae or plant material.

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• CADDISFLY CASES CAN BE MADE FROM
• REEDS, STICKS, BARK, PEBBLES, SAND
• Materials collected and stuck together with
  saliva that contains a spider-silk like protein

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Nettspinning Caddisfly

• some caddisflies dont make cases
• spin a web on rocks and capture prey or particles
  and then eat them off of the web
• More tolerant of pollution

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MAYFLIES

• Distinct head
• Two or three filamentous tails
• Gills on their abdomen
• Families vary in head, leg, gill and tail shape

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MAYFLIES
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MAYFLY ADULT
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Stonefly larva

• Two long antennae
• Two tails
• Gills-fuzzy armpits
• legs have two hooks on ends
• highly sensitive to poor conditions they need
  cold clean water with lots of oxygen

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STONEFLIES USUALLY HAVE GILLS ON THEIR THORAX AT
THE BASE OF THEIR LEGS
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STONEFLY ADULT
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Baffling Bugs

• Sometimes its not so easy..

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• Dobsonfly or Hellgrammite

• Fishfly

• dobsonfly has gills on the underside of its
  abdomen
• fishfly has a breathing tube

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ALDERFLY
WATERSNIPE FLY

• Alderfly has single filament / tail
• Watersnipe fly looks like caterpillar with
  prolegs

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Riffle beetle
Waterpenny
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DRAGONFLY

• Move in short bursts by sucking and jetting water
  in and out of their anus

DAMSELFLY

• Three paddle-like tails anymore

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CRANEFLY

• large, softbodied and caterpillar-like
• head is at the narrow end and the tail may have
  fleshy protrusions
• adults look like giant mosquitoes, but are
  completely harmless

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Blackfly

• are small, less than ½ inch, with one end bulbous
• little bowling pin

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MIDGEFLY LARVAE

• Small, thin, and wormlike
• Up to 1/2 inches long
• distinct head and one pair of tiny, fleshy legs
  below the head and one pair on the back end