Aquatic Invertebrate Monitoring

Researchers conducting aquatic invertebrate monitoring at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

NPS

Importance

Aquatic invertebrates are excellent indicators of ecosystem health because they are ubiquitous, abundant, relatively long-lived, diverse, and typically sedentary. The growth, survival, and reproduction of aquatic invertebrates are all sensitive to declines in environmental health, making analysis of assemblage structure a good ecosystem monitoring tool.

While water samples can be directly analyzed for suspected pollutants, these provide snapshots of water quality only and can easily miss discrete discharges of pollutants or other undesirable conditions. Sampling the invertebrate community can help supplement water quality monitoring to fill in these gaps.

Monitoring Objectives

• Determine the status and trends of aquatic invertebrate species diversity, abundance, and community assemblages.

Vital Signs

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

Parks Monitored

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

Monitoring Documents

Read more about aquatic invertebrate monitoring in the resource briefs (short summaries), monitoring reports (detailed results), or protocols (monitoring procedures) below.

Resource Briefs

Source: Data Store Saved Search 2373. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Reports

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1194. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Protocol Documents

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1193. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

For More Information

Contact

Kara Paintner-Green