Stream monitoring manual

104 Pages·1995·3.8 MB·English

by  Illinois RiverWatch Network

333.916209773
IDNR/EEA-95/03
St83
ILLINOIS
RIVERWATCH
NETWORK
Stream
Monitoring
Manual
Illinois
Departmentof
NaturalResources
JimEdgar,Governor
BrentManning,Direaor
Natural History Suivey
Library;
ILLINOIS IDNR/EEA-95/03
RIVERWATCH
NETWORK
Stream
Monitoring
Manual
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September 1995
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BrentManning,Director
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TheIllinoisRivcrWatchNetworicwouldliketoacknowledgethosepeoplewhocontributedtothe
writingofthismanual TheNetworkcouldnothaveproducedthismonitoringmanualwiAoutthe
hardworkandscientificexpertiseofDeniseB.StoeckelfromtheIllinoisNaturalHistorySurvey. Bill
EttingeroftheIllinoisEnvirraiinentalProtectionAgaicyandJimMickoftheDepartmentofNatural
ResourcesprovidedtechnicalassistancenecessarytoensurethatdatacollectedbyIllinoisGiizenSci-
entistswouldbeusefultostatewaterqualityscientists. TheNetworkwouldalsoliketothankMitchell
HarrisofdieIllinoisNaturalHistorySurveyforassistinginthereviewofourtechnicalprotocols. Our
appreciationalsogoestoBenBarberoftheNatureofIllinoisFoundation,DaleLeuchtoftheUSEPA
RegionVandBrookMcDonaUoftheDuPageRiverProjectforprovidingcommentsandsuggestions
duringthewritingofthismanual
Rnally,theNetworkwouUliketothankLieutenantGovernorBobKustraforbringingusallto-
gedier WeareespeciallygraiefiiltoDanSprehe,assistanttodieLieutenantGovernor,forhisinstm-
mentalroleincoordinatingdieinitialworkofdieIllinoisRivcrWatchNetworkSteeringCommittee.
DanaCurtiss
Coordinator,IllinoisRiverWatchNetwork
IllinoisDepartmentofNaturalResources
8
Table ofContents
sectionOif:TtwIllinoisRIvtWatchNatwork
2
ChapterI, APartnershipforIllinoisWatersheds 1
> WhyIllinoisneedsvolunteerstreammonitors 1
HowtheIllinoisRiverWalchNetworkmonitorsstreams 2
CitizenScientistStreamMonitoringProgram 2
RiverWatcherStreamMonitoringProgram 2
Chapter11. MonitoringIllinoisStreams 3
Whatisstreammonitoring? 3
Biologicalmonitoring 4
Whatarebenthicmacroivertebrates? _ 5
Lifecyclesofbenthicmacroinvertebrates 5
Habitatassessment 6
Streams,watersheds,anddrainagebasins 6
Streams 6
Watershedsanddrainagebasins 6
Streamchannels 6
Riparianzones 6
Streambottoms 7
Riffles 7
Runs 7
Pools 7
ChapterHI. GettingStarted 9
Determiningthelegaldescriptionofthemonitoringsite 9
WhattheGroupLeadermustdo 10
Equipmentyouwillneed 11
Advanceobservationofthesite 12
Safetyprocedures 12
Daumanagementandqualityassurance 12
Wheretofindhelp 13
S«c0onTwo:ThoChlzenSc/entfstStnamMonitoringPrognm
ChapterIV. HowtoConductaCitizenScientistLevelHabitatAssessment 14
Assessingyoursite 14
Markingoffyoursite 14
MakingaSiteSketch 15
FillingouttheHabitatAssessmentDataSheet 16
FillingouttheHabiutParameterSheet 18
Channelmorphologyandflowcharacteristics 18
Streambanks 18
Watershedfeatures 1
Aesthetics 19
Habiutrating 19
ChapterV. HowtoConductaCitizenScientistLevelMacroinvertebrate
CommunityAssessment 20
Howtoassessastream'smacroinvenebratecommunity 20
Rifflesampling 21
Leafpacksampling 22
Samplingsnagareas,treeroots,andsubmergedlogs 22
Samplingundercutbanks 22
Samplingsediments 22
ChapterVL HowtoInterpretCitizenScientistLevelStreamMonitoringData....23
Subsamplingprocedures 23
Metrics 25
FillingouttheMacroinvertebrateDauSheet 26
Identifyingtheorganisms 27
Calculatingthebioticindices 28
Problemsandcomments 28
SectionThnm:TtnRhnrWatchTStnamMonitoringProgrmm
ChapterVIL HowtoConductaRiverWatcherLevelHabitatAssessment 29
Measuringwaterqualityusingmacroinvertebrates 29
FillingouttheIllinoisRiverWatcherStreamMonitoringDatoSheet 29
Siteidentification 29
HabitatAssessment 30
ChapterVHI.HowtoConductaRiverWatcherLevelMacroinvertebrate
CommunityAssessment 32
Benthicmaaoinvenebratesaspollutionindicators 32
GroupI:Pollution-intolerant 32
GroupH:Moderatelypollution-intolerant 32
Groupni:Fairlypollution-tolerant 33
GrouprV:Pollution-tolerant 33
IllinoisRiverWatchermacroinvertebrateassessmentprocedures 34
Rifflesampling 34
Leafpacksampling 35
Samplingsnagareas,treeroots,andsubmergedlogs 35
Samplingundercutbanks 36
Samplingsediments 36
ChapterIX. HowtoInterpretRiverWatcherLevelStreamMonitoringData 37
Subsamplingprocedures 37
Macroinvertebratetally 39
Whattodoifyoufindpoorwaterquality 39
Whattodowithyourinformation 39
App»ndlen
AppendixA. FactorsThatAffectStreamQualityinIllinois 40
AppendixB. TheLifeHistoryofMacroinvertebrates 42
AppendixC. MacroinvertebrateIdentificationKey 50
AppendixD. MacroinvertebrateIdentificationReferenceGuide 72
AppendixE. Glossary 74
AppendixF. SuggestedLiteratureandSourcesofInformation 78
AppendixG. BiologicalEquipmentSuppliers 79
AppendixH. DataSheets 81
SECTIONONETHEILUNOISRIVERWATCHNETWORK
Chapter A Partnership For Illinois Watersheds
I
ThetimeissurelyathandwhenthepeopleofIllinoiswilllearntoappreciate
anddevelopthisgreatgiftofnatureinthevariousdirections
inwhichitmaybemadetoservetheirinterestsandtheirpleasures.
—StephenA.Forbes,1919
FounderandFirstChi^qftheIllinoisNaturalHistorySurvey g
o
WelcometotheIllinoisRIverWetchNetworkI
TheSlateofIllinoisisconsidereda"water-richstate." Threemajorrivers,theMississippi,the
Ohio,andtheWabash,bonierthestate.Another900streamscanbefoundwithinthestate'sborders. S
Astreamisacombinationofallofitsphysical,chemical,andbiologicalcharacteristics.Thesechar- q
acteristicschangeovertimeinresponsetobothnaturalandhuman-causedevents.Forexample,hu-
manactivitiesonthelandnearastream(suchasconstructionandfarming)affeatheecosystemof
thestreamitself.Byobservingthenumberandtypeoforganismslivinginastreamandrelatingthat
informationtotheconditionofthesurroundinghabitat,theextenttowhichhumanactivitieshave
affectedastreamcanbemeasured.
WhyIllinoisneedsvolunteerstreammonitors
StateagenciessuchastheIllinoisEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyandIllinoisDepartmentof
NaturalResourcesarechargedtoprotectIllinoisstreams.Unfortunately,theseagencieshaveonly
enoughtimeandresourcestomo—nitoralimit—ednumberofstreamseachyear.Of thestate's32,190
totalstreammiles,only14.159 44percent weremonitoredbystateagenciesin1992-93.Some
Illinoisstreamsaremonitoredonlyonceeveryfiveyears.
Illinois'stateagenciesneedmanyadditional"eyes"iftheyaretoobservechangesinthestate's
streamenvironmentsyearbyyear.Volunteermonitorscancollectvitalinformationaboutthe
environmentthatotherwisewouldneverbediscovered. Volimteermonitoringprogramsalsogive
citizens,scientists."andgovernmentagenciesatvariouslevelsachancetocommunicateabout
environmentalissues.
TheIllinoisRiverWatchNetworic,or IRWN.isapartnershipamongIllinoiscitizenstomonitor,
restore,andprotectthestate'sriversandstreams. ItwasestablishedinApril1993underaninitiative
ofLieutenantGovernorBobKustra. TheprogramiscoordinatedthroughtheIllinoisDepartmentof
NaturalResources.
IRWNhasthreeprimaryobjectives:
• toeducateandinformIllinoiscitizensabouttheecologyandimportanceofIllinoisstreams:
• toprovideanopportunityforIllinoiscitizenstobecomeinvolvedinprotectingthehealthof
localstreams:and
• toprovideconsistenthigh-qualitydatawhichcanbeusedbyscientiststomeasurehowthe
qualityofstreamecosystemsischangingovertime.
AnycitizenofIllinoiscantakepartintheIllinoisRiverWatchNetwork's trainingworkshopsand
monitoringactivities.Byleaniingtousescientificmethodsinthefield,youwillprovidevaluable
informationconcerningtheenvironmentalintegrityofthestate'sstreamsystems.Youwillalsogain
knowledgewhichwillincreaseyourrespectandenjoymentofIllinois'natural resources.
HowtheIllinoisRiverWatchNetworkmonitorsstreams
Thismanualteachesvolunteerslikeyouabouttheecologyofwatersheds.Themanualalsoex-
plainshowtoassessbothstreambiologicalcommunitiesandstreamhabitatsfortheIllinois
RiverWatchNetwork.Generally,thebiologicalmonitoringproceduresdescribedinthismanualare
bestsuitedforwadeable,small-tomedium-sizestreams.Largerstreamsandriverswillbeincluded
infuturemonitoringeffortsbytheIllinoisRiverWatchNetwork.
TwotypesofstreammonitoringprogramsarcorganizedthroughIRWN.Bothofthem-theCiti-
zenScientistStreamMonitoringProgramandtheRiverWatcherStreamMonitoringProgram-arc
describedinthismanual.Bothusethesametechniquestosamplestreamlifeanddescribestream
conditions,althoughtheyusediffercntmethodstoanalyzethedatathatist»llected.
CitizenScientistStreamMonitoringProgram
"VolunteersindieCitizenScientistStreamMonitoringProgramwillexaminethesamestream
monitoringsitesatthesametimeeachyear. Thisprogramofannualassessmentsisdesignedto
providetrenddatatomeasurechangesinthesesitesoverextendedperiodsoftime. Itisdescribed
indetailinSectionTwoofthismanual.
TheannualdatacollectedbyvolunteerCitizenScientistswillbeenteredintoastatewidedatabase
accessible throughEcoforum,anelectronicbulletinboardsystem(BBS)maintainedbythe
IllinoisDepartmentofNaturalResources.FromtheEcoforumBBS,thedatawillberetrieved
tobevalidatedandanalyzed.Theinfomiationwillalsobepresentedinanannualreportavailable
toallinterestedpersons.
ByhavingQtizenScientistsreportalloftheirinformationtoonesourceforvalidationand
analysis, weassurethattheinformationisaccuratebeforeanydecisionsarcmadeconcerning
theconditionofIllinoisstreams.Ifthedataindicatepotentialproblemsatanysamplingsite,
IRWNwillforwardthatinformationtothepropergovernmentagencyfortheirreview.
RiverWatcherStreamMonitoringProgram
TheRiverWatcherStreamMonitoringProgram(describedindetailinSectionThreeofthis
manual)asksvolunteerstosampleatstreamsitesatleasttwotimesayear.Thismorelimited
seasonaldatawillbemaintainedbyRiverWatchervolunteers,whowillreportanychangesin
thequalityoftheirstreamtotheirrespectiveIRWNregionalcoordinator.
SECTIONONETHEILUNOISRIVERWATCHNETWORK
Chapter II Monitoring Illinois Streams c
Thereisaphenomenalresiliencyinthemechanismsoftheearth.
Ariverorlakeisalmostneverdead.Ifyougiveittheslightestchance
bystoppingpollutantsfromgoingintoit,thennatureusuallycomesback.
—
ReneDubos,1981
WhatIsstreammonitoring?
AsavolunteeroftheIllinoisRiverWatchNetworkyouwillstudyboththeorganismsofstreams
(biologicalmonitoring,describedbelow)andtheirsurroundinghabitat(habitatassessment,also
describedbelow).
Biologicalmonitoringtechniquessamplecertainkindsoforganismsthatliveinstreams.Habitat
assessmentsdescribeconditionsinthestreamitself,includingtheareasimmediatelysurrounding
thestream. Informationgainedfromhabitatassessmentshelptoexplainchangesinstreamlife
identifiedbybiologicalmonitoring.Inmuchthesameway.thenumberandvarietyoftheorganisms
presentinastreamisausefulmeasureofthehealthofthathabitat
Habitatassessmentsalsoareusefulforclassifyingstreamsandfordocumentinghowtheychange
overtime.Forexample,manystreamsinIllinoishavehadtheirchannelsstraightenedordammed
andtheirbankscleared.Suchchangeshavedestroyedhabitatsbothwithinandalongsidestreams.
Thelossofthesehabitatshasledtothelosstothestateofmanyaquaticorganisms,includingwhole
speciesoffish,freshwatermussels,crayfish,andaquaticinsects.Habitatassessmentscatalogthe
namreandextentofthesekindsofchanges.
Thedatacollectwillgiveyouanimmediateassessmentoftheconditionofastreamatthetime
yousampledit Datacollectedoveraperiodoffiveyearsormorealsobegintoshowlong-term
trendsintheconditionsofthestream.Scientistsneedbothsetsofinformationtoascertainthe
qualityoftheenvironment
Here'showitworks.Let'ssaythatIRWNCitizenScientistshavesnidiedStreamAforfiveyears.
Thevolimteersusedthesamemethodsinsamplingatthesamesiteson thestreamduringthattime.
EachyeartheCitizenScientistsfoundthestreamtobeingoodcondition,accordingtoaccepted
criteria(seeFigure1,nextpage).
GOODWATERQUALITY
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