Stream Monitoring
Biological Monitoring
Volunteers netting a sample
There are many ways to characterize stream conditions, including analysis of the physical and chemical properties of water, measurement of stream channel morphology, assessment of the landscape draining to the stream, and analysis of the community of organisms living in the stream.
Over the course of the last decade, environmental managers have turned increasingly to benthic macroinvertebrate sampling as the method of choice for gauging the biotic integrity of streams. Benthic invertebrates (i.e. bottom-dwelling spineless critters) are responsive to environmental change and are excellent indicators of system stresses. Benthic assessment protocols are designed to measure a stream’s health in relation to natural streams. That is, they are designed to detect human-caused impairment.
StreamWatch benthic data are collected and evaluated via two protocols. The first is the Virginia Save Our Streams modified method. The SOS modified method was developed at Virginia Tech and is the subject of published research that documents the protocol’s effectiveness as an assessment and monitoring tool. The second is the Adapted Stream Condition Index, a professional protocol developed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and adapted by StreamWatch for our citizen monitoring efforts.
‘Critters’ — ready for counting
If you want to learn more about the science and practice of stream assessment and monitoring, try the following resources:
General methods
- Restoring Life in Running Waters—Better Biological Monitoring
James R. Carr and Ellen W. Chu. 1999. Island Press. - Rapid Bioassessement Protocols for Use in Streams and Wadeable Rivers
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1999. - Monitoring Ecological Impacts—Concepts and Practice in Flowing Waters
Barbara Downes et al. 2002. Cambridge University Press.
Benthic macroinvertebrate methods
- Virginia Save Our Streams—general description of method
- Virginia Save Our Stream—online training session
- Rapid Bioassessement Protocols for Use in Streams and Wadeable Rivers Chapter 7
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1999 - Methods for Collecting Benthic Invertebrate Samples as Part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
U.S. Geological Survey. 1993.