Macroinvertebrates Project

Potential changes in macroinvertebrates: Mitigation recommendations needed

In Lannisport, a major town located in the city of Westeros, water sampling has been conducted by the Friends of the Turkey River Organization every three weeks from January to June in order to monitor the impacts of the Milford Farm on the Turkey River (Fig. 6).

Figure 6. Map of Milford Farm along the Turkey River

There is growing concern that the levels in glyphosate and/or bacteria levels may impact the macroinvertebrate population found in the Turkey river. Data shown below on glyphosate levels (Fig. 2) and fecal bacterial levels (Fig. 3) have been collected every three weeks by a water quality sampling team.

Figure 7. Glyphosate levels found both upstream and downstream from farm on the Milford property taken every three weeks.

Figure 8. Number of fecal coliform bacterial levels per 100 ml sample upstream and downstream the farm on the Milford property taken every 3 weeks.

There is serious concern about the impacts of the farm to the water quality of the creek. The growing concern is whether or not these changes in glyphosate or bacteria levels will result in changes to the macroinvertebrate population and thus the trout population. Both macroinvertebrates and fish populations are used to assess river health however as macroinvertebrate populations are a large source for many animals in this ecological system, the Friends of the Mission Creek (FMCO) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) are currently interested in looking at macroinvertebrates specifically.

Your Role

You have been hired by the Friends of the Mission Creek Organization (FMCO) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to investigate how this happened, what the possible effects are on the aquatic life and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

Due to budget constraints you and your partner will need to conduct this research in lab and provide the FMCO and the NWF with a proposal for approval prior to initiating your research. (The FMCO and NWF will be represented by your TA in case you were wondering). Before you can begin developing your proposal you must first become immersed in your topic. You and your partner will need to source out 5 primary source papers related to this topic.