M
Mike
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- Joined
- Nov 10, 2006
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Most urban and suburban streams have fair macroinvertebrate diversity at the Family level plus some at the Class level. Stream degradation is generally associated with stormwater runoff, including it’s forces and poor water quality. It is not hard to find the following in most urban streams.....Baetids, Heptagenids (2 mayflies), Gyrinids (Beetle), Hydropsychids (Caddis), Gomphids (Dragonfly), Chironomids (Midge), Gerrids, Veliids (true bugs), Planarids (planaria/ flatworms), Class Oligochaeta (Aquatic Worms), Class Gastropoda (Snails), Class Pelecypoda (Clams). While some of these could be missing from a typical urban stream survey site, a few others that I have not listed could be present, such as crayfish, but in my system of Class and Family diversity that I used for decades to provide some numerically based descriptive diversity classification, such streams with 11- 19 macroinvertebrate families/classes would have been described as having a fair diversity. The point that I would really like to make about macroinvertebrate diversity for anglers is that it can include a lot of organisms beyond mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, and midges.
Depending upon where you are geologically or geographically, you might be able to add or substitute other common critters, such as Tricorythids, other Coleoptera (beetles), such as Psephenids (water penny), Hydroptylids or Philopotamids (Caddis), other Odonates, such as Damselflies, other Diptera, such as Tipulids (water worms/craneflies), Sialids (fishflies), other true bugs, Gammarids (scuds), Asellids (cress bugs), Spongillids (freshwater sponges), and Class Hirudinea (leeches). I have listed all of these in the paragraphs above because they can all occur (not all together in any one stream though) in a suburban or urban sampling site, but none is indicative of very good water quality, fair at best for Heptageniids, Psephenids and Hydroptilids, and Tipulids, for example.
Generally speaking, some of the other problem streams for macros that I have seen have been agricultural, not just urban or suburban streams, although the very worst have been streams in any area with poor sewage treatment plant (instead of good sewage treatment) or raw sewage discharges, ones with very bad manure problems, and streams with mine acid drainage problems.
Depending upon where you are geologically or geographically, you might be able to add or substitute other common critters, such as Tricorythids, other Coleoptera (beetles), such as Psephenids (water penny), Hydroptylids or Philopotamids (Caddis), other Odonates, such as Damselflies, other Diptera, such as Tipulids (water worms/craneflies), Sialids (fishflies), other true bugs, Gammarids (scuds), Asellids (cress bugs), Spongillids (freshwater sponges), and Class Hirudinea (leeches). I have listed all of these in the paragraphs above because they can all occur (not all together in any one stream though) in a suburban or urban sampling site, but none is indicative of very good water quality, fair at best for Heptageniids, Psephenids and Hydroptilids, and Tipulids, for example.
Generally speaking, some of the other problem streams for macros that I have seen have been agricultural, not just urban or suburban streams, although the very worst have been streams in any area with poor sewage treatment plant (instead of good sewage treatment) or raw sewage discharges, ones with very bad manure problems, and streams with mine acid drainage problems.
