Middle and high school students in the South Sound GREEN program sample local streams for benthic macroinvertebrates
(aquatic insects) in late September and early October. Students
collect samples using the Salmonweb protocol (see below).
Sampling the "stream bugs" or benthic macroinvertebrates gives us a
picture of the biological health of a stream. Aquatic insects are
an important food source for fish. Diversity of aquatic insects,
including those intolerant of pollution, is an indicator of stream
health. The two bottom photos to the right are examples of the types of insects students frequently find. The black insect is a mayfly and the brown one is a stonefly.
You can view the current year data as well as the cumulative data, by clicking on the Data Summaries link on the right hand column of this page.
Samples are sent to Aquatic Entomology (Mindy Allen) for identification
and analysis. Ten (10) metrics are scored and an Index of Biological
Integrity (IBI) is assigned to each sample.
Click on the pdf link below to learn more about the importance of macroinvertebrates: Canaries of the Stream.pdf
Click on the pdf link below to view the salmonweb protocol. Benthic Protocol.pdf
Funding for sample analysis in 2006 was provided by The Mountaineers Foundation and Thurston County Surface and Stormwater.
Middle and high school students in the South Sound GREEN program sample local streams for benthic macroinvertebrates
(aquatic insects) in late September and early October. Students
collect samples using the Salmonweb protocol (see below). 
