 Air pollution -

▪ Measure the acidity

of rain water to
determine pH
▪ Measure CO2, CO, or
NOx levels in the
atmosphere using a
gas sensor
▪ Measure particulate
matter suspended in
the atmosphere
 Soil pollution
▪ Test for nitrates and phosphates (Using LaMotte
test kits)
 Water pollution
▪ nitrate and phosphate tests
▪ fecal coliform tests
▪ tests for heavy metals (Hg, Pb, As)
 BOD is the amount of oxygen required to support
respiration by organisms living in a water sample.
▪ high BOD indicates there are many organisms
using oxygen for respiration
▪ low BOD indicates relatively few organisms
needing oxygen for respiration
▪ high BOD = low DO levels = high pollutant
levels, especially nitrate & phosphate
▪ low BOD = high DO levels = low pollutant levels
 A Biotic Index uses the presence or absence
of key organisms to indicate the relative level
of pollution in a stream.
 Indirect method of measuring pollution
 Advantage: Easy to use, especially for
moderately or heavily polluted sites.
 Disadvantages: not specific enough, doesn’t
fully account for habitat quality
Pollution Semi-Pollution Pollution
Tolerant Tolerant Intolerant
 Species that are present
either only in polluted
areas or only in
unpolluted areas.
 Lichens – Not present in
air pollution
 Rat-tailed maggot
and sludge worms –
Found only in polluted
water
 Gammarus - small
crustaceans that are not
found in high levels of
salinity.