Level 2 Biology Freshwater Investigation

Level 2 Biology classes visited the Kakanui stream recently to do their Freshwater investigation. Students are looking at a range of factors to determine the health or otherwise. The main measure is the macroinvertebrates such as Mayfly larvae and Caddisfly as well as snails, worms and others.
Students carry out kick sampling then sort and identify what is found. 

Other factors such as pH, dissolved Oxygen, Algae, Temperature and substrate are observed, measured and recorded. The result is a pattern between the factors and the quality of the Macroinvertebrates found. In this case there were a lot of Mayflies (which are the most sensitive to any substances in the water) found and different types of Caddis with a few Worms and Snails (the least sensitive).

This suggests a healthy stream but doing the sampling when the water is cold means we can only have a snapshot. This is the third year of SKC doing this and we are building an interesting picture which also gives students a better understanding of what is going on in streams.