Benthic Macroinvertebrates

This is a video that describes benthic macroinvertebrates, which are used as biological indicators of water quality. The video does a great job in showing how to collect and identify the benthic macroinvertebrates. Around 18:50, the video explains the benefits and uses of these organisms.



Macroinvertebrate video from Tim Craddock on Vimeo.

 An index of pollution quality has been determined to give a general overview of water quality. The greatest benefit of biological indicators is that these organisms live within the water for years. By knowing the habitat and niche of these organisms one can determine the water quality for a given time span, instead of water quality test that observes a fix point. Below is a table that groups the organisms according to the intolerance to pollution.

Website and Documents

• Macroinvertebrate Monitoring - A lab that helps to collect, identify, and index of macroinvertebrates. The chart on the post is a preview of the lesson.
• Macro ID Card - Offered by WV DEP, this is one sheet of paper that can be laminated and used in collecting specimens.
• WV Department of Environmental Protection - Offers great resources on water quality and benthinc macroinvertebrates. Contains links to games and labs that can be used in the classroom.