1. 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?

2. 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

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

6. 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

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

8. 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

10. Why Benthic Macroinvertebrates?

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

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

13. 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

14. B-IBI Condition Categories

15. % Urban area in watershed vs. B-IBI

16. DeGasperi et al. 2009 JAWRA

17. Invertebrates sensitive to hydrologic disturbances DeGasperi et al. 2009 JAWRA  B-IBI scores in watersheds that have frequent high flows are lower than expected

18. Invertebrates sensitive to hydrologic disturbances DeGasperi et al. 2009 JAWRA  B-IBI scores in watersheds that have frequent high flows are lower than expected Few high flows Many high flows

19. Invertebrates and coho salmon sensitive to contaminants McIntyre et al. 2015 Chemosphere

20. Invertebrates and coho salmon sensitive to contaminants McIntyre et al. 2015 Chemosphere

21. 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

24. Very poor

25. Excellent

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

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

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

29. Forests  Road maintenance  Minimize clearcutting  Replant

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

32. Invertebrates and coho salmon sensitive to contaminants McIntyre et al. 2015 Chemosphere

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

34. 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

35. Questions? www.pugetsoundstreambenthos.org kate.macneale@kingcounty.gov

36. 0.9 vs 30.1

37. Some expected declines Monticello Creek (MontRed35)

38. But other patterns hard to explain