Record notes in your notebook  Record at least 5 facts/ideas in your notebook.  Write down and answer the following questions:  What are“benthic macroinvertebrates”?  What is the B-IBI and how does it relate to water quality?  What are three things that could be done to improve the B-IBI of a water source?

BENTHIC INDEX OF BIOTIC INTEGRITY: INDICATOR OF WATER QUALITY Kate Macneale, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Mountlake Terrace High School November 24, 2015

Clean Water Act (1972) “To restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's waters”

Biological Integrity “the ability to support and maintain a balanced, integrated, and adaptive community of organisms having a species composition, diversity and functional organization comparable to those of natural habitats within a region” Karr, 1981

Since 1972…  Turns out invertebrates are good indicators of freshwater & stream habitat quality

Benthic Macroinvertebrates ( bottom-dwelling animals without backbones visible to naked eye )  Insects  Crustaceans  Worms  Snails  Bivalves Mayfly larva Caddisfly larva Stonefly larva musselcrayfish Aquatic worm Snail

Why Benthic Macroinvertebrates?

Macroinvertebrates as Indicators Stonefly Water Penny Beetle Mayfly Dobsonfly Alderfly Mussel Snipe Fly Riffle Beetle Pollution Sensitive (“Clean Water”) Benthos

Macroinvertebrates as Indicators Pouch Snail Midgefly Worm Leech Pollution Tolerant (“Polluted Water”) Benthos

Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) Metric Total Taxa Mayfly Taxa Stonefly Taxa Caddisfly Taxa Long-lived Taxa Intolerant Taxa % Tolerant Individuals % Predator Individuals Clinger Taxa % Dominance 10 Metrics in the “Bug Index”  Pollution tolerance/ intolerance  Taxonomic composition  Population attributes  Feeding and habits

B-IBI Condition Categories

% Urban area in watershed vs. B-IBI

DeGasperi et al JAWRA

Invertebrates sensitive to hydrologic disturbances DeGasperi et al JAWRA  B-IBI scores in watersheds that have frequent high flows are lower than expected

Invertebrates sensitive to hydrologic disturbances DeGasperi et al JAWRA  B-IBI scores in watersheds that have frequent high flows are lower than expected Few high flows Many high flows

Invertebrates and coho salmon sensitive to contaminants McIntyre et al Chemosphere

Invertebrates and coho salmon sensitive to contaminants McIntyre et al Chemosphere

Invertebrates sensitive to …  Frequent high flows  Chemicals in stormwater runoff  Silt  Changes in food (leaves vs algae)  Fragmented land cover, no pathways for dispersal  Most of these are associated with urbanization

Very poor

Excellent

Environmental Scientists get to both understand but also try to fix the problem

In-stream and riparian restoration  Add wood  Add rocks  Stabilize stream banks  Plant trees

Farm land  Keep livestock out of streams  Manage waste  Manage soil loss

Forests  Road maintenance  Minimize clearcutting  Replant

Slow down and filter stormwater  Reduce high flows  Treat stormwater runoff

Invertebrates and coho salmon sensitive to contaminants McIntyre et al Chemosphere

Other Recommendations  Limit pesticide use  Outreach and education campaign  Encourage public to take care of streams  Enforce laws that protect streams

Conclusions  Benthic macroinvertebrates are good indicators of water quality because:  They are common  They live a long time  Some are more sensitive than others  They are relatively easy and inexpensive to sample  The BIBI is a standard measure that can be used to compare sites and look for changes over time  Studying macroinvertebrates is helpful for figuring out how restore streams and protect water quality

Questions?

0.9 vs 30.1

Some expected declines Monticello Creek (MontRed35)

But other patterns hard to explain