Sampling+for+BMI

BMI Collection (Lisha Kill)

B: Benthic- Bottom M: Macro- Can be seen by the eye I: Invertebrate – No back bone

Overview: Part of our science class took a trip to Lisha Kill Preserve in order to collect BMI. The main purpose was to see if the area was well suited for our soon-to-be growing trout. The BMI are the indicators of how impacted the area is and whether or not it is stable enough for our trout.

Sampling Conditions: 10/10/11 (8:40 AM- 10:40 AM) Sampling conditions- 58° F, Clear Skies No precipitation in the past four days

Materials:
 * Mesh nets
 * Wader Boots
 * 90% ethyl alcohol
 * Several trays, cups with tops labeled
 * Tweezers

Procedure:

1.Measure out a 200 foot segment of riffle 2.Have 1 person stand with net on river bottom at collection spot (net opening is facing upstream) 3.Have another person stand directly 0.5 m upstream from net 4.Person upstream will disturb stream bottom by foot and picking up/rubbing rocks for 30 seconds and bugs will dislodge into the flowing water -> bugs will land into net 5.Once finished at that one spot, lift net out of water and both people will walk upstream diagonally to repeat 6.Continue this until approximately 100 BMI are sampled *This 5 meter collection is considered 1 replicate sample 7. Remove sediment from net by gently swirling net partially in stream 8.Transfer contents to a tray containing 90% ethyl alcohol

9.Cap this tray with site name, number, and date

Collection: Caddis fly Water penny Mayfly Scud Water Snipe Riffle Beetle Megaloptera Stonefly *All pictures of BMI were taken by Sydney Bowker and Marissa Muller

EPT Richness: EPT richness is measured by finding the sum of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera in a body of water. The estimated EPT richness is 6. This indicates that the location that we tested is slightly impacted but still has conditions sustainable for trout growth.

Biotic Index: Biotic index is measured by the number of organisms in total in an ecosystem by indicating the type of species in it. The estimated biotic index score for Lisha Kill is 4.22. That places the location in the non-impacted category. The lower the biotic index; the better.

Summary: Overall, we decided that Lisha Kill’s stream will be able to sustain the trout we raise. The biotic index is 4.22 which means the stream is not impacted and since the richness of the stream is 6 it shows that the stream is only slightly impacted therefore it’s a safe place to eventually release our trout. = =