Stream Macroinvertebrates and Water Quality
Due to differences in their tolerance to pollution, the presence or absence of certain macroinvertebrates can provide valuable information on stream water quality.
 
Why use macroinvertebrates to study stream health?

Because they...

  • are easy to collect and enumerate
  • integrate environmental conditions
  • have varying tolerances to pollution
 
 
Biotic Indices
  
Collecting Stream Macroinvertebrates