EVPP 110 Lab Freshwater Streams 1-2 Diversity of Life 12 Week of October 29th 2018 Version 1 2. 5/11/2019 5:31:18 AM

Activity 1 – Field Data Collection from Stream Freshwater Streams – Activity 1 – Field Data Collection from Stream

Freshwater Stream Relatively pure, holding few dissolved salts. Usually < 1% salt. Stream A body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks.

Importance of streams: Support diverse assemblage of fish and wildlife. Essential to residents who use them as: A source of drinking water. A place for recreational activities. Nutrient cycling.

Threats to streams Industry, towns and roads Crops Septic tank Dams. Water withdrawals. Pollution, resulting from: Nutrient influx. Agricultural runoff. Urban runoff. Industry. Invasive/exotic species. Direct habitat degradation by: Agriculture. Urbanization. Acid rain. Overharvesting of plants and animals. Climate change, which alters: Temperature. Flow. Salinity. Crops Septic tank Livestock farming Human effluent disposal

Stream Health Indicators Chemical/physical characteristics: Presence of pollutants. Presence of organisms: Water temperature. Desired / undesired. Nitrates. Phosphates. Dissolved O2. pH. Alkalinity. Conductivity. Turbidity.

Organism collection Kick net sampling: Flow direction Kick net sampling: Place net on stream bottom at a riffle. Net opening should face upstream. Net body should point downstream. Water should flow through the net. Stand on the upstream side of the net to kick. Kick (disturbing rocks and surface) for one minute in area as wide as the net and from the net back to a distance of about one meter.

Photo © Amy Rose, GMU Fourth Estate. Take materials to Mason Pond stream. Organisms will be observed back in the lab in this class period. Gather data on physical and chemical properties of stream water. We only have one stream, so don’t fill out tables 1.3 and 1.4, nor the “stream 2” column in Table 1.5. Photo © Amy Rose, GMU Fourth Estate.

Table 1.1. Chemical and physical properties of water Sample Source Table # Water Temp. (C) Nitrate (units ____) Phosphate (units _____) Dissolved O2 (units _____) pH Alkalinity (units _____) Conductivity (units ____) Turbidity (units _____) Stream name: 1 2 3 Mean:

Table 1.2. Results of pollutant tests Sample Source Table # _______ (units ____) _______ (units ____) _______ (units ____) _______ (units ____) Stream name: 1 2 3 Mean:

Be sure to label jars with section # and group #. © GMU Fourth Estate, 2014. You do not need to add alcohol to jars with organisms since you will look at the organisms today. Be sure to label jars with section # and group #.

Activity 2 – Identifying Organisms Freshwater Streams – Activity 2 – Identifying Organisms

Table 2.2. Abundance codes based on ranges of organisms to calculate water quality score. (Source: Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Monitoring and Assessing Water Quality) Code: R C D Indication: Rare Common Dominant # Organisms: 1-9 10-99 => 100

Organism Type (Species) Tolerance Group # individuals Abundance Code I Table 2.3. Number of individuals, tolerance group, and abundance code for each type of organism Stream Name:   Organism Type (Species) Tolerance Group # individuals Abundance Code I II III ? Total: Determine the abundance code using Table 2.2 (p. 591).

Since you are sampling only ONE stream, OMIT Tables 2.5 and 2.6. Table 2.4. Summary of the number of abundance code letter appearing in each tolerance group Stream Name:   Abundance Code Tolerance Group I II III R C D Since you are sampling only ONE stream, OMIT Tables 2.5 and 2.6.

Table 2.9. Group index values, water quality score and water quality   Group Index Value Stream I II III Water Quality Score Water Quality Calculate group index values: I = (R x 5) + (C x 5.6) + (D x 5.3) II = (R x 3.2) + (C x 3.4) + (D x 3.0) III = (R x 1.2) + (C x 1.1) + (D x 1.0) Calculate water quality score (WQS) by adding the total of the three index values. Record water quality based on WQS: > 40 = Good 20-40 = Fair < 20 = Poor

Table 2.10. Water quality   Water Quality Stream  Lab Table  1 2 3 Since you are sampling only one stream, you will complete only two rows in Table 2.10 (one for the reference stream and one for the stream you sampled).

Diversity of Life – Activity 12 – Trees https://eeltown.org/common-trees-of-northern-virginia/

Photo © Student Government (2016) Trees provide valuable ecosystem services: Reduce stormwater runoff. Help control erosion. Removes pollutants from air NO2, SO2, O3, CO, particulate matter. Absorbs atmospheric carbon. Aids in energy conservation. Provide food and shelter for other organisms. Photo © Student Government (2016)

Importance of Tree Diversity Diversity varies by forest type. Affects diversity of other organisms in ecosystem. Dictates type of ecosystem services a particular type of forest can perform.

Circle versus tree trunk Cross-section of tree trunk is roughly “circular” in shape. Circumference (C) distance around perimeter of circle C =  D (or, C = 2  r) Diameter (D) Distance from edge to edge of circle, passing through center. D = C /  (or, D = 2 r) Radius (r) distance from center of circle to edge of circle r = ½ D Area (A) A =  r2

Determining the diameter of a tree trunk while it is still standing/uncut: Can’t be done directly, so… Measure circumference and do the math, e.g.: Circumference = 150cm C /  = D 150cm/  = D 47.75cm = D D = 47.75cm

Go to your quadrat. Use diameter tape to measure (in cm) the DBH (diameter at breast height) of each tree with DBH ≥10cm. “breast height” = 4.5ft ~ 1.37m 1.37 m DBH

Record data for each tree in your quadrat: Table 12.1. Tree species, DBH (cm, m) and basal area (m2) for each tree with DBH >= 10 cm by individual tree for trees in group quadrats Tree # Tree Species DBH (cm) DBH (m) Basal Area (m2) 1 White oak 145 1.45  ((½(1.45))2 =1.65 m2 2 Red maple 45 0.45 0.159 3 Black gum 23 0.23 0.042 4 89 0.89 0.622 5 Total = 2.473 Record data for each tree in your quadrat: Run calculations at the lab: DBH in m (=DBH in cm / 100). Species. DBH in cm. Basal area (aka area), using the formula A =  (½ D)2

Population Density #/m2 Table 12.2. Total number of trees (abundance), population density (#/m2), total basal area (m2), and % basal area by tree species for group quadrat Tree Species Abundance (#) Population Density #/m2 Total Basal Area (m2 ) % Basal Area White oak 2 2/98 = 0.02 2.272 (2.272/2.473) x 100 = 91.87 Red maple 1 0.01 0.159 6.43 Black gum 0.042 1.70 Abundance of each species = # individuals of each species. Population density of each species = abundance / area of quadrat. Quadrat = 7m x 14m = 98m2 Total basal area per species = sum of all basal areas of one tree species. Percent of the total basal area represented by each species = (total basal area for a species / total basal area in quadrat) x 100.

% basal area of dominant species Table 12.3. Dominant tree species, number of trees of dominant species, total number of all trees, % dominant tree and % total basal area for dominant species by group Table # Dominant tree species # trees of dominant species # trees (all species) % dominant species % basal area of dominant species Ex. White oak 2 3 (2/3) x 100 = 66.67 91.87 1 Determine the dominant (most abundant) tree in your quadrat and record the results for all groups.

Weekly Data Sheet pages What’s Due Weekly Data Sheet pages Weekly Write-Up pages Activity 1 573, 581 173-174 Activity 2 593, 601 605-606 Activity 12 203, 207 211-213 PowerPoint available at: https://eeltown.org/evpp-110