1. Conduct physical survey for this 200’ segment.
   1. Date:_____________________ Collector:___________________________
   2. Stream Name:________________________(city and/or county):___________________
   3. Landmarks and Description of Sampling Site:
   4. The sampling site is in (habitat type i.e. woods, meadow, yard, etc.):
   5. Weather Conditions This Date:
   6. Temperature of the Stream (Degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit):
   7. Width of Stream at Sampling Site (meter.centimeter):
   8. Depth of Stream Center at Sampling Site (meters.centimeter):
   9. Stream Flow: Swift    Moderate    Slow
   10. Are there fish in the stream? Yes    No
   11. Are there plants in the water? Yes    No
   12. Plants on stream bank: Trees   Grasses   Flowers    Shrubs     None
   13. The water is: Clear    Muddy    Cloudy     Oily
   14. Additional Observations:
       
       
       
2. Wade to the first general collection area, choose the first specific collection spot to place the net, and get into position.

3. Have 1 person place and hold the net, facing upstream, on the river bottom at the collection spot.

4. Have another person dislodge the organisms from a rectangular area of the stream bottom as wide as the net and 1 foot back from the opening so that the organisms are carried into the net. Pick up and rub and/or brush off the rocks and dig into the river bottom. First, pick up the larger rocks in the rectangle upstream of the net and, holding them inside the net, vigorously rub them all over with your hands to dislodge organisms clinging to the surface. If you have a sieve bucket, place rocks in the bucket to rub them more thoroughly with a brush. If you don’t have a sieve bucket, be thorough with your hand rubbing. Place rocks aside when finished rubbing. When you’ve rubbed off all the rocks and placed them aside or in a sieve bucket, use your feet or a hand trowel to dig down as far as possible into the river bottom in the same rectangular area to dislodge burrowing organisms. If you find any more rocks, treat them as in the step above.

5. Place the first sample in a large white tub with a few inches of water (enough to cover all the items in your sample). If you have a large amount of debris, you might shake each piece thoroughly under the water to dislodge the organisms, and then remove the debris from the tray.

6. Collect an assortment of the organisms you find and sort them in white ice cube trays or petri dishes.

7. Once you have have picked the entire sample, review the sorting that you have done and organize the categories more accurately.

8. Identify and sort organisms in your sample to the order / major group level. The Stream Study provides a method to determine the water quality of a stream based on the collection and identification of stream-bottom macroinvertebrates. The Stream study also provides a useful IDENTIFICATION KEY for common stream-bottom macroinvertebrates. Another Identification key can be found at this New York State site. Identify the Macroinvertebrates found at the stream sampling site using the form below, and put the number of each type in the box beside the name of each type you find. Count how many you have of each type and record the total on the appropriate line.

9. Try using the "Bug Card" to confirm identification and placement. For taxa not pictured, make up your own description (e.g. furry-gilled, mottled color, etc.) and write it in the “other” box for the appropriate order.

10. Repeat steps to analyze the second (replicate) sample.

11. Record your counts on the Data Reporting Sheet below.

Assessing the Stream's Health

1. Enter the presence (check mark) of each type of macroinvertebrates you found in your sample in the appropriate blanks below below.
   
   

   Very Sensitive to Pollution Stonefly _____ Mayfly _____ Caddisfly _____ Riffle Beetle _____ Water Penny _____ Planarian_____ Gilled Snail_____ Dobsonfly _____

   Somewhat Sensitive to Pollution Crayfish _____ Sowbug _____ Scud _____ Alderfly _____ Crane Fly _____ Fishfly _____ Aquatic Beetle _____ Dragonfly _____ Clam or Mussel_____ Damselfly _____ Watersnipe Fly _____ Whirligig _____

   Not Sensitive to Pollution Aquatic Worm _____ Midge Fly _____ Leech _____ Lunged Snail _____ Black Fly _____

2. Enter how many different sensitivity types (not the number of each type) of macroinvertebrates you checked in each sensitivity group below.
   
   
3. Multiply by the number in the table to get a group score.
   
   
4. Add the three group scores.
   
   
5. Look at the total score and circle the correct rating.
   

   Sensitivity Groups	Number of Types	Scoring Value		Group Score
   Very Sensitive		3	=
   SomewSomewhatitive		2	=
   Not Sensitive		1	=
   		Total Score	=

   
   

   Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
   (23 or more)	(17 - 22)	(11 - 16)	(10 or less)