Water Quality and the Observation of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Diversity

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
Insects, worms, snails, crayfish, other arthropods Live in all types of water habitats Most have gills for absorbing oxygen Cannot escape pollution events Certain species are more or less tolerant of pollution

Biomonitoring
Stream biomonitoring is the study of the biological organisms present in a stream. Based on what organisms are present, you can get an idea of what the water quality is like.
Species dependent depends on number of species of different sensitivities to pollution

Watershed
land area draining into one water body

Our Watershed
The next time you get some water from the tap, trace where it has been before reaching your glass. Where does it go when you pour it down the drain? In what ways do our lives change when we expand the boundaries of our home to include our watershed?

Bath Nature Preserve

Bath Creek
Lots of sunlight Abundant plant growth Warmer water Mud bottom Slow water flow

North Fork of Yellow Creek

Shaded Cooler water Few aquatic plants Fast flowing water Rocky bottom

Did you know???

Photosynthesis happens during the day, and only in plants Cellular Respiration happens all the time, in ALL living things (including green plants!) In streams with lots of plants, the amount of oxygen increases during the day, but may drop very low at night. This means some organisms may not be able to survive in the river

Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight C6H12O6 + 6O2
Carbon dioxide + water + sun organic matter + oxygen

Cellular Respiration
C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
Glucose + oxygen carbon dioxide + water + energy

Which stream would have more dissolved oxygen?

Bath Creek Yellow Creek

Which is Bath Creek?

Quantifying the hemolymph glucose concentration response in crayfish

In plain English
Studying how blood sugar changes in a response to the environment Think about how organisms would change over generations, in response to the environment

Comparative Biology
Why is it so important?

Comparing features (physiology, behavior, etc.) across different species experiencing similar situations, helps us to hypothesize trends in how organisms respond to their environment!

Physiology comparisons
Most invertebrates Most vertebrates

Circulatory system: similar (blood transports nutrients) but different (open vs. closed)

Crayfish produce Crustacean Hyperglycemic Hormone (CHH) from the sinus glands behind their eyes!
This hormone is similar to glucagon in humans it tells the crayfishs body to release more glucose intoCHH the hemolymph!

Temperature affects blood-glucose levels

Endotherms (mammals, birds) and Ectotherms (reptiles, fish, arthropods, crustaceans) both need to maintain proper bloodglucose levels at different temperatures (remember homeostasis?)

Salinity affects blood-glucose levels

Substances absorbed/ingested from the environment (food, air, water) can affect your bodys release of hormones such as cortisol (stress hormone), which can in turn stimulate other hormones, including insulin and glucagon, which can affect your blood-glucose level! (homeostasis again!)

Stress affects blood-glucose levels

Stress (searching for mates, fighting for territory, avoiding predators, etc.) can elevate blood-glucose levels Fight-or-flight response: Your body releases many hormones, including glucagon, which provides your cells with more glucose, so you have more energy to deal with a tough situation!