Event Title
A Comparison of Benthic Slednet and Surfact Slednet Gears with Sampling Microinvertebrates
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
18-4-2016 10:00 AM
End Date
18-4-2016 11:30 AM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Shannon Fisher
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Second Mentor's Name
Nathaniel Lederman
Second Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Second Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
The Minnesota River has been degraded by habitat alterations, invasive species, and runoff from industrial and agriculture sources. Assessing degradation can be difficult; however, macroinvertebrates can help index riverine system conditions. An abundance of pollutant- tolerant macroinvertebrates tends to be an indication of degraded habitats. Therefore, monitoring macroinvertebrates can help determine the levels of impairments present in riverine ecosystems. Common methods to capture the macroinvertebrates are tow nets, surber sampler, kick nets, and Hester-Dendy samplers; surface and benthic sled nets were identified as the best potential gear for the physical characteristics of a deep and fast flowing system such as the Minnesota River. How benthic and surface sled net catches comparisons are unknown to us. Therefore, we assessed macroinvertebrates captured between the two sled net strategies. Data will provide insight about the performance of these gears for sampling macroinvertebrates in the Minnesota River. As long-term sampling, will help improve efficiency and data value. We believe more individual macroinvertebrates and more macroinvertebrate taxa will be captured in the surface sled net samples because there appears to be more algae and other food resources at the surface during the time of sampling. Data collected so far have shown several families of Ditera, Ephemeroptera, and Hemiptera are commonly captured using surface sled net. These will also be useful in furthering our understanding of the quality of the Minnesota River water, and the role macroinvertebrates play in the functionality of the system.
A Comparison of Benthic Slednet and Surfact Slednet Gears with Sampling Microinvertebrates
CSU Ballroom
The Minnesota River has been degraded by habitat alterations, invasive species, and runoff from industrial and agriculture sources. Assessing degradation can be difficult; however, macroinvertebrates can help index riverine system conditions. An abundance of pollutant- tolerant macroinvertebrates tends to be an indication of degraded habitats. Therefore, monitoring macroinvertebrates can help determine the levels of impairments present in riverine ecosystems. Common methods to capture the macroinvertebrates are tow nets, surber sampler, kick nets, and Hester-Dendy samplers; surface and benthic sled nets were identified as the best potential gear for the physical characteristics of a deep and fast flowing system such as the Minnesota River. How benthic and surface sled net catches comparisons are unknown to us. Therefore, we assessed macroinvertebrates captured between the two sled net strategies. Data will provide insight about the performance of these gears for sampling macroinvertebrates in the Minnesota River. As long-term sampling, will help improve efficiency and data value. We believe more individual macroinvertebrates and more macroinvertebrate taxa will be captured in the surface sled net samples because there appears to be more algae and other food resources at the surface during the time of sampling. Data collected so far have shown several families of Ditera, Ephemeroptera, and Hemiptera are commonly captured using surface sled net. These will also be useful in furthering our understanding of the quality of the Minnesota River water, and the role macroinvertebrates play in the functionality of the system.
Recommended Citation
Zblewski, Chelsa. "A Comparison of Benthic Slednet and Surfact Slednet Gears with Sampling Microinvertebrates." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 18, 2016.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2016/poster-session-A/31
