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Biomonitoring, Monitoring,Sampling, and Testing
 In January, we take our nets to a no-name stream in thefoothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to do aspecial kind of macroinvertebrate monitoring — lookingfor “winter stoneflies.” Winter stoneflies have an unusuallife cycle. Soon after hatching in early spring, the larvaebury themselves in the streambed. They spend the summerlying dormant in the mud, thereby avoiding problems likeoverheated streams, low oxygen concentrations, fluctuat-ing flows, and heavy predation. In later November, theyemerge, grow quickly for a couple of months, and thenlay their eggs in January.January monitoring of winter stoneflies helps in interpret-ing the results of spring and fall macroinvertebrate sur-veys. In spring and fall, a thorough benthic survey isconducted, based on
Protocol II 
of the USEPA’s
 Rapid  Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Streams and Rivers
.Some sites on various rural streams have poor diversityand sensitive families. Is the lack of macroinvertebratediversity because of specific warm-weather conditions,high water temperature, low oxygen, or fluctuating flows,or is some toxic contamination present? In the Januaryscreening, if winter stoneflies are plentiful, seasonal con-ditions were probably to blame for the earlier results; if winter stoneflies are absent, the site probably suffers fromtoxic contamination (based on our rural location, probablyemanating from non-point sources) that is present year-round.Though different genera of winter stoneflies are found inour region (southwestern Virginia), Allocapnia is soughtbecause it is present even in the smallest streams.
 
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 14.1WHAT IS BIOMONITORING?
 The life in, and physical characteristics of, a stream eco-system provide insight into the historical and current statusof its quality. The assessment of a water body ecosystembased on organisms living in it is called biomonitoring.The assessment of the system based on its physical char-acteristics is called a habitat assessment. Biomonitoringand habitat assessments are tools used by stream ecologiststo assess the water quality of a stream.Biological monitoring involves the use or the obser-vation of organisms to assess environmental condition.Biological observation is more representative as it revealscumulative effects as opposed to chemical observation,which is representative only at the actual time of sampling.The presence of benthic macroinvertebrates is monitored;as mentioned, these are the larger organisms, such asaquatic insects, insect larvae, and crustaceans, that live inthe bottom portions of a waterway for part their life cycle.Routine surveys of macroinvertebrates of lakes, wetlands,rivers, and streams are done in order to measure the bio-health, or biodiversity, of the resource surveyed. They areideal for use in biomonitoring, as they are ubiquitous,relatively sedentary, and long-lived. They provide a cross-section of the situation, as some species are extremelysensitive to pollution, while others are more tolerant. How-ever, like toxicity testing, biomonitoring does not tell youwhy animals are present or absent.As mentioned, benthic macroinvertebrates are excel-lent indicators of stream conditions. This is the case forseveral reasons:1.Biological communities reflect overall ecolog-ical integrity (i.e., chemical, physical, and bio-logical integrity). Therefore, biosurvey resultsdirectly assess the status of a waterbody relativeto the primary goal of the Clean Water Act(CWA).2.Biological communities integrate the effects of different stressors, providing a broad measureof their aggregate impact.3.Because they are ubiquitous, communities inte-grate the stressors over time and provide anecological measure of fluctuating environmentalconditions.4.Routine monitoring of biological communitiescan be relatively inexpensive because they areeasy to collect and identify.5.The status of biological communities is of direct interest to the public as a measure of aparticular environment.6.Where criteria for specific ambient impacts donot exist (e.g., nonpoint-sources that degradehabitats), biological communities may be theonly practical means of evaluation.
 
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 Benthic macroinvertebrates have an advantage overother monitoring methods. They act as continuous moni-tors of the water they live in. Unlike chemical monitoring,which provides information about water quality at the timeof measurement (a snapshot), biological monitoring can
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© 2003 by CRC Press LLC
 
 
provide information about past or episodic pollution (acontinuous videotape). This concept is analogous to min-ers who took canaries into deep mines with them to testfor air quality. If the canary died, the miners knew the airwas bad and they had to leave the mine. Biomonitoring awater body ecosystem uses the same theoretical approach.Aquatic macroinvertebrates are subject to pollutants in thewater body. Consequently, the health of the organismsreflects the quality of the water they live in. If the pollutionlevels reach a critical concentration, certain organisms willmigrate away, fail to reproduce, or die, eventually leadingto the disappearance of those species at the polluted site.Normally, these organisms will return if conditionsimprove in the system.
 
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 When are biomonitoring surveys conducted? Biomon-itoring (and the related term, bioassessment) surveys areconducted before and after an anticipated impact to deter-mine the effect of the activity on the water body habitat.Surveys are also performed periodically to monitor waterbody habitats and watch for unanticipated impacts.Finally, biomonitoring surveys are designed to referenceconditions or to set biocriteria (serve as monitoring thresh-olds to signal future impacts, regulatory actions, etc.) fordetermining that an impact has occurred.
 
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  Note:
The primary justification for bioassessment andmonitoring is that degradation of water bodyhabitats affects the biota using those habitats.Therefore, the living organisms provide themost direct means of assessing real environ-mental impacts.
 14.1.1B
 
IOTIC
 I
 
NDICES
 (S
 
TREAMS
 )
 Certain common aquatic organisms, by indicating theextent of oxygenation of a stream, may be regarded asindicators of the intensity of pollution from organic waste.The responses of aquatic organisms in waterways to largequantities of organic wastes are well documented. Theyoccur in a predictable cyclical manner. For example,upstream from the discharge point, a stream can supporta wide variety of algae, fish, and other organisms. How-ever, in the section of the water body where oxygen levelsare low (below 5 ppm), only a few types of worms survive.As stream flow courses downstream, oxygen levelsrecover, and those species that can tolerate low rates of oxygen (such as gar, catfish, and carp) begin to appear. Ina stream, eventually, at some further point downstream, aclean water zone reestablishes itself and a more diverseand desirable community of organisms returns.During this characteristic pattern of alternating levelsof dissolved oxygen (DO) (in response to the dumping of large amounts of biodegradable organic material), astream goes through a cycle called an oxygen sag curve.Its state can be determined using the biotic index as anindicator of oxygen content.The biotic index is a systematic survey of macroin-vertebrates organisms. Macroinvertebrates can be verydescriptive of the overall water quality of a waterway, butthey cannot pinpoint specific chemical parameters.Because the diversity of species in a stream is often a goodindicator of the presence of pollution, the biotic index canbe used to correlate with stream quality. Observation of types of species present or missing is used as an indicatorof stream pollution. The biotic index, used in the deter-mination of the types, species, and numbers of biologicalorganisms present in a stream, is commonly used as anauxiliary to biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) determi-nation in determining stream pollution.The biotic index is based on two principles:1.A large dumping of organic waste into a streamtends to restrict the variety of organisms at acertain point in the stream.2.As the degree of pollution in a stream increases,key organisms tend to disappear in a predictableorder. The disappearance of particular organismstends to indicate the water quality of the stream.There are several different forms of the biotic index.In Great Britain, for example, the Trent Biotic Index, theChandler score, the Biological Monitoring Working Party(BMWP) score, and the Lincoln Quality Index are widelyused. Most of the forms use a biotic index that rangesfrom 0 to 10. The most polluted stream, which containsthe smallest variety of organisms, is at the lowest end of the scale (0); the clean streams are at the highest end (10).A stream with a biotic index of greater than 5 will supportgame fish; on the other hand, a stream with a biotic indexof less than 4 will not support game fish.As mentioned, because they are easy to sample, macro-invertebrates have predominated in biological monitoring.In addition, macroinvertebrates can be easily identifiedusing identification keys that are portable and easily usedin field settings. Present knowledge of macroinvertebratetolerances and response to stream pollution is well docu-mented. In the U.S., for example, the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) has required states to incorpo-rate a narrative biological criteria into its water qualitystandards by 1993. The National Park Service (NPS) hascollected macroinvertebrate samples from Americanstreams since 1984. Through their sampling effort, NPShas been able to derive quantitative biological standards.
 
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 Macroinvertebrates are a diverse group. They demon-strate tolerances that vary between species. Discretedifferences tend to show up, containing both tolerant andsensitive indicators.The biotic index provides a valuable measure of pol-lution. This is especially the case for species that are verysensitive to lack of oxygen. An example of an organismthat is commonly used in biological monitoring is the
 
© 2003 by CRC Press LLC
 
 
stonefly. Stonefly larvae live underwater and survive bestin well-aerated, unpolluted waters with clean gravel bot-toms. When stream water quality deteriorates due toorganic pollution, stonefly larvae cannot survive. The deg-radation of stonefly larvae has an exponential effect uponother insects and fish that feed off the larvae; when thestonefly larvae disappears, so do many insects and fish.
 
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 Table 14.1 shows a modified version of the BMWPbiotic index. Considering that the BMWP biotic indexindicates ideal stream conditions, it takes into account thatthe sensitivities of different macroinvertebrate species arerepresented by diverse populations and are excellent indi-cators of pollution. These aquatic macroinvertebrates areorganisms that are large enough to be seen by the unaidedeye. Moreover, most aquatic macroinvertebrates specieslive for at least a year, and they are sensitive to streamwater quality both on a short-term and long-term basis.For example, mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies areaquatic macroinvertebrates that are considered clean-water organisms. They are generally the first to disappearfrom a stream if water quality declines and are given ahigh score. On the other hand, tubificid worms (which aretolerant to pollution) are given a low score.In Table 14.1, a score of 1 to 10 is given for each familypresent. A site score is calculated by adding the individualfamily scores. The site score or total score is then dividedby the number of families recorded to derive the averagescore per taxon (ASPT). High ASPT scores result due tosuch taxa as stoneflies, mayflies, and caddisflies beingpresent in the stream. A low ASPT score is obtained fromstreams that are heavily polluted and dominated by tubifi-cid worms and other pollution-tolerant organisms.From Table 14.1, it can be seen that those organismshaving high scores, especially mayflies and stoneflies, arethe most sensitive. Other organisms, such as dragonfliesand caddisflies, are very sensitive to any pollution (deoxy-
14.1.1.1Benthic Macroinvertebrate Biotic Index
The benthic macroinvertebrate biotic index employs theuse of certain benthic macroinvertebrates to determine(gauge) the water quality (relative health) of a water body(stream or river).In this discussion, benthic macroinvertebrates are clas-sified into three groups based on their sensitivity to pollution.The number of taxa in each of these groups is tallied andassigned a score. The scores are then summed to yield ascore that can be used as an estimate of the quality of thewater body life.
14.1.1.1.1Metrics within the Benthic Macroinvertebrates 
The three groups based on the sensitivity to pollutionare described as follows:Group One — Indicators of poor water qualityGroup Two — Indicators of moderate water qualityGroup Three — Indicators of good water qualityA sample index of macroinvertebrates, concerning thesubject of sensitivity to pollution, is listed in Table 14.2.In summary, it can be said that unpolluted streamsnormally support a wide variety of macroinvertebrates andother aquatic organisms with relatively few of any onekind. Any significant change in the normal populationusually indicates pollution.
 14.2BIOLOGICAL SAMPLING (STREAMS)
 A few years ago, we were preparing to perform benthicmacroinvertebrate sampling protocols in a wadable sec-tion in one of the countless reaches of the YellowstoneRiver, WY. It was autumn, windy, and cold. Before westepped into the slow-moving frigid waters, we stood fora moment at the bank and took in the surroundings.
 TABLE 14.1BMWP Score System
FamiliesCommon-Name ExamplesScore
 HeptageniidaeMayflies10LeuctridaeStonefliesAeshnidaeDragonflies8PolycentropidaeCaddisflies7HydrometridaeWater StriderGyrinidaeWhirligig beetle5ChironomidaeMosquitoes2OligochaetaWorms1
  Note:
 Modified for illustrative purposes.
Source:
 Spellman, F.R.,
Spellman’s Standard Handbook  for Wastewater Operators,
 Vol. 1, Technomic Publ., Lan-caster, PA, 1999.)
 TABLE 14.2Sample Index of Macroinvertebrates
 Group One(Sensitive)Group Two(Somewhat Sensitive)Group Three(Tolerant)
 Stonefly larvaAlderfly larvaAquatic wormCaddisfly larvaDamselfly larvaMidgefly larvaWater penny larvaCranefly larvaBlackfly larvaRiffle beetle adultBeetle adultLeechMayfly larvaDragonfly larvaSnailsGilled snailSowbugs
 Source:
 Spellman, F.R.,
Spellman’s Standard Handbook for Wastewater Operators,
 Vol. 1, Technomic Publ., Lancaster, PA,1999.)
 
© 2003 by CRC Press LLC
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