EPA: EPA 1990: Macroinvertebrate Field and Laboratory Methods for Evaluating the Biological Integrity of Surface Waters
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Official Method Name
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Macroinvertebrate Field and Laboratory Methods for Evaluating the Biological Integrity of Surface Waters |
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Current Revision
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Media
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Surface Water (Waterbody type - Wadeable stream) |
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Instrumentation
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Invertebrate Net (w/ handle) |
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Method Subcategory
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Population/Community |
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Method Source
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Citation
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Brief Method Summary
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This manual was composed to assist biologists and managers in USEPA and other Federal, state, and private water monitoring organizations in the use of macroinvertebrates for evaluating the biological integrity of surface waters. The manual contains laboratory and field methods that will aid in the monitoring, detection, and bioassessment of surface waters and the effects of environmental stress on macroinvertebrate communities. It will also facilitate the expansion of our knowledge of the ecological requirements of macroinvertebrate species in fresh, estuarine, and marine habitats. The manual includes sections on quality assurance and quality control, safety and health, sampling site selection, sampling methods and techniques, sample processing,data evaluation, and a taxonomic bibliography, containing the current taxonomy used for identifying the macroinvertebrates of North America. Information on the pollution tolerance of selected species and examples of bench and data summary sheets are provided in the Appendices. |
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Scope and Application
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This manual describes guidelines and standardized procedures for using benthic macroinvertebrates in evaluating the biological integrity of surface waters. A community of macroinvertebrates in an aquatic lentic or lotic ecosystem is very sensitive to stress; and, thus, its characteristics serve as a useful tool for detecting environmenta1 perturbation resulting from introduced point and non-point sources of pollution. Because of the limited mobility of these benthic organisms and because many species have 1ife cycles of a year or more, their characteristics are a function of conditions during the recent past, including reactions to infrequently discharged pollutants that would be difficult to detect by periodic chemical sampling. |
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Applicable Concentration Range
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Interferences
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Quality Control Requirements
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Sample Handling
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Maximum Holding Time
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Relative Cost
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Sample Preparation Methods
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