Monday, June 29, 2009

Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
Clifton Forge, Virginia

Forestry data and freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates

It took all morning to get our forestry data into meaninful information.

The afternoon was an opportunity to get wet while learning how to perform the "Save Our Streams" protocol.

First we have to get into the river and find a suitable riffle.

Then we have to scrub rocks and collect "bugs" in the big net for 20 seconds.

Finally, we have to get the full net back to the shore for analysis.

In the process, we left behind in the river:
* two pairs of Wal-Mart's finest water shoes
* one birthstone ring
* blood (!)

Once on shore we had to find and collect all the invertebrates in the net. It can take an hour or more to find all the "critters", classify, count, and record the data.

Sometimes it takes close examination to figure out what kind of "bug" it is.

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Updated 6/29/09