Biotic Index

APPLICATION OF THE BISEL BIOTIC INDEX AT SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL

Complete Manual

English Version
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission (Project number 116534-CP-1-2004-1-AT-MINERVA-M). This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Biotic Index
Complete Manual

INTRODUCTION
Using a biotic index in biology classes at secondary school level is in many important aspects different from the professional routine assessment by means of biotic indices. The assessments made by secondary school students should not in any way be less accurate as those of professional investigators, but the focus is different: in water research center, obtaining a repetitive and lengthy series of biotic indicator values is important in order to monitor if water quality treatment efforts for surface waters (e.g., construction of wastewater treatment plants and sewage systems) are successful. In a school setting students will, as a rule, be unable to follow the changes in biotic index values over many years, nor should that be the purpose of the exercise.

Environmental education, in particular, familiarising students with such concepts as ecosystem, biodiversity and the impact of man on non-renewable natural resources is the major purpose of working with the BISEL Biotic Index in secondary schools.

Using this approach, as many students as possible should be involved during all steps of the investigation and there should not exist a strict division of tasks as is advised for professional research (e.g. one technician taking samples and another identifying the animals). Another factor that strongly differs is the limitations of distance and time of research which are imposed when utilising biotic index studies in a school.

Preparing a case study

Prior to going out in the field with the students the project needs to be carefully prepared, meaning that the biology teacher needs to identify a suitable study site, decide how the study can be fit into the curriculum and time table, and acquire the necessary material.

Selection of the study site

There are some practical considerations to be taken into account regarding distances between the school and the sampling site. Preferably the river or the water courses to be studied should be within walking distance of the school. Even if a bus is easily available, preference should be given for waters as close a possible to the school in order to avoid travel time and maximize time in the field.

Since the purpose of the BISEL Biotic Index is to study differences in the biodiversity of waters according to the amount of pollution present and to find causal relations between biotic and abiotic factors, the study site must be chosen so that the quality differences between sampling sites can be easily detected. The study site must therefore have at least two sampling sites e. g. site A with a diversified macroinvertebrate community quality and site B with poorer quality. Optimally, 3 sampling sites should be selected with various water quality: good (15 or more species), moderate (more then 5 species) and distinctly poor (5 or less species). These sampling sites can be located along the same watercourse or in 2 or 3 different ones. One usually finds good quality stretches in the upper reaches of a water course, distinctly bad ones immediately downstream of sewage outlets or sewage treatment plants from urbanised zones, e.g., a village, and moderate ones some kilometres downstream of such an outlet.

The sampling sites should be photographed and indicated on a topographic map with a scale of 1: 25,000 or less.

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Biotic Index
Complete Manual
Information has to be collected beforehand concerning all possible aspects related to the quality assessment e.g., concerning the chemical composition and origin of waste-water emissions, the periodicity and type of mechanical cleaning, the type of land-use around the water course, etc.) For this kind of information one may contact the local authorities, which if they do not possess it themselves, should be able to direct you to the proper regional or national institutions. It may also be very useful to contact local environment organisations since their staff or members usually can give information which authorities may not possess; such as illegal dumping of liquid manure or pesticides.

The data collection of the study site should be completed regularly e.g. an institution analyses the physico-chemical composition annually.

Selection of the study period

Two factors have to be taken in consideration of the timing of the study: (1) the period of the year best suited for taking samples and (2) the amount of time necessary for working out the case study in the field and at school.

First, the best period to take samples of a macroinvertebrate community in the temperate zone is April - September. If performed later or earlier in the year, temperatures may be so low that many animals are still hidden in the mud in a state of hibernation and high water levels during autumn/winter may make it difficult to reach the permanent part of the water course.

In southern Europe this time period may be shorter and start earlier i.e. from March to July, since it will become too dry in the later months.

Practical considerations concerning exam periods and of course summer holidays shorten the available time period to a few months.

Probably the best time in the temperate part of Europe is in the beginning of the school year i.e. in September and in the beginning of the second term i.e. in early May. In Southern Europe the only suitable period may be during spring time as it is too dry in September, or later in autumn.

Second, consideration has to be given to the fact that a field trip takes at least two hours and sorting out and identification at least six hours. For each campaign, therefore, a full day needs to be reserved. Collecting, processing and identification of the samples do not necessarily have to take place on the same day. If not, then the samples are to be fixed which makes it more difficult and unpleasant to identify certain groups of macroinvertebrates such as leeches and flatworms. Also, from an educational point of view, it is recommendable that the observations the students make in the field are spaced not too far in time from the lab study. Otherwise it will become difficult to form a conceptual whole.

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Biotic Index
Complete Manual

Equipment needed
EQUIPMENT CHECK-LIST Personal outfit: Rubber boots and outdoor clothing that may get dirty e.g. a parka and an old pair of jeans (responsibility of the students). Ask the students to bring their outfit to school prior to the first excursion so it can be checked. Female students have a tendency to prefer being smartly dressed above practical considerations and may show up in golden rubber galoshes hardly xml:namespace prefix = st1 />10 cm high. A pair of surgical gloves. These are necessary for reasons of general cleanness (especially when working in mud) and for reasons of hygiene (i.e. to avoid possible contaminations in polluted water). There is also the almost instinctive tendency to use clothing for wiping hands. A backpack or bag with the necessary items for cleaning up after sampling (a plastic bottle filled with tap water, soap and a towel for washing hands as well as a jack-knife for scraping mud of boots, a plastic garbage bag to put boots in, and an extra pair of socks and spare trousers) Equipment for sampling macroinvertebrates: Hand net and Wellington boots (one per group of students); Large and small laboratory trays Tweezers or pincers to pick up out some of the animals from the sediment which need to be kept alive for identification and observation. Equipment for filling out record sheets Record sheets (one per group of students per sampling point). Clipboards the size of an A4 paper consisting of a tin sheet of hardboard, a clip and a sheet of transparent plastic (e.g. a Xerox transparency). The record sheet is fixed between the board and the transparency which protects it from rain. To write on the record sheet while it rains the board is held at an angle while the plastic sheet is partially lifted up. Non water-soluble writing material such as fine tipped permanent markers or pencils. One topographical map. Equipment for identifying Stereoscopic microscopes + transformators + lights (at least one set for each group of students) or magnifying glasses Petri dishes to identify the animals under the microscope. Notebooks for writing down the identifications and semi-quantitative data. Identification keys for each group of students. Field Studies Council FSC Publications Preston Montford Montford Bridge Shrewsbury SY41HW UK Tel: 01743 852140 Fax: 01743 852101 Equipment for calculating the BISEL Biotic Index Compilation sheet and the biotic index.

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Biotic Index
Complete Manual
To optimise the educational value of such a study it is necessary that there is sufficient equipment of good quality. For instance, if there is only one stereoscopic microscope available for twenty students and only one hand net, then the possibility of involvement of the individual student becomes technically limited. A good rule of thumb is a 1 to 3 ratio: there should be sufficient essential material for each group of 3 students to sample, process the samples and identify the species.

Task distribution
As previously stated, it is strongly recommended that each student participates as fully as possible in each of the different steps of the study. This means that work distribution of particular tasks should be avoided (e.g. one group takes the samples, another sieves). It is better to split up the class into groups of two or three students (depending on the size of the class) so that each group carries out all the different steps of the study. This will stimulate all of the students as tasks that require keen observation and deduction, e.g., filling out the protocol form and identifying the animals are shared and hence seem less difficult. Of course, each group should take their own macroinvertebrate sample at the same place where they made the abiotic measurements and averages are also subsequently calculated.

Field work Sampling of study site

According to the standard procedures for sampling, the same area must be sampled during the same time (e.g., 1x 20 m during 3-5 minutes) since otherwise the obtained qualitative and semi-quantitative data can not be compared. Standardisation of sampling surface and sampling time is therefore the first necessary step and the area sampled should be divided among the groups of students and should be consistent over the years. If in one year there are 4 groups of 3 students then each group can sample 5 m over a stretch of 20 m. If the next year there are 15 students or 5 groups then each can sample a 4 m stretch. Sampling should start in the most downstream section and the other groups should subsequently work in the upstream direction.

The hand net with the catch (collected sample) that is collected after 5 minutes is laid down on land so that the contents become visible.

IMPORTANT: Vertebrates such as newts, tadpoles and fish should be thrown back in the water as well as large pieces of debris such as stones and branches. Special attention must be given to hard substrates as stones and branches which are protruding out of the sediment since sessile rare macroinvertebrates such as freshwater sponges only occur there.

Filling out the record sheet

Most items in the record sheet should be filled out before the sampling site is disturbed.

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Biotic Index
Complete Manual

Field measurements
Physico-chemical field measurements need to be carried out, as stated, prior to the biological sampling (start with an undisturbed water sample).

Safety and sanitary precautions

All students should have had their injection against tetnis (lock jaw).

Use surgical gloves since even slightly polluted water can be infected with human wastes or by animals (e.g. ducks, beavers, etc) by Salmonella which causes paratyphoid. Removal of amphibians from the net is also best done with a protection as some people get severe allergic reactions against the toxins secreted by these animals, especially by toads, newts and salamanders. It is important to handle amphibians with wet hands so as not to damage their delicate skin.

Avoid or take extra care when sampling in heavily polluted waters as the risks of getting paratyphoid, typhus and meningitis are too high. Some of these waters can also be polluted by chemicals which are highly toxic.

Avoid parts of the water course where risks of drowning are high, i.e. stretches with straight concrete walls, with steep banks and very strong currents. Such places do not yield good samples anyway.

Avoid parts of a watercourse were the bottom is hard and slippery as working with the hand net can throw ones balance off due to the drag of the net, and a bad fall may result.

Do not wear rubber boots with a smooth or faintly ribbed sole, since this will inevitably cause slipping even on shallow slopes, especially when the ground or the grass is wet.

Do not sample in a swift flowing watercourse during or after heavy rainfall as the drag on the hand net is very strong and you are liable to be pulled in the water. During such periods sampling is often poor.

Do not disturb the sediment with your hands as broken bottles and rusty pieces of metal may cut you.

Do not put blades of grass or pieces of other vegetation growing on the river banks in your mouth since these can be infested with parasites such as liver flukes which spend part of their life cycle in aquatic animals. Some emergent plants are also highly toxic e.g. hemlock.

Disinfect cuts and scratches immediately.

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Biotic Index
Complete Manual
Always keep a first aid kit within reach.

Sampling with a hand net is hard work. It is advisable to ask the students to bring sandwiches and something to drink with a high sugar content. Take a break in between, otherwise, fatigue will make the students attention wane.

Working near the water on sunny days may result in severe sunburn. Use a protective sun lotion.

Processing of samples
1. 2. 3. 4. Fill out the record sheet: name of the brook, sampling site, date, hour, your name(s). Put on the boots and gloves . While standing on the bank (in order not to cloud the water already), fill one large and two small laboratory trays about half-full with water from the brook. Catch as many water animals as possible with the handnet. To examine the deep parts of the brook, one person puts on the waders. After each sample, empty the net into the large laboratory tray, including parts of plants, little stones, mud, etc... Catch animals in the large laboratory tray with a small aquarium net, a spoon or a pipette - depending on their size - and move them into the first small laboratory tray until there is at least one specimen of each kind present in this tray. Pay special attention to animals that hide themselves in or on parts of plants, stones, mud (use a tweezer)... When you cannot find any other new kinds of animals in the large laboratory tray, begin to analyze your sample. Catch, with a spoon or a pipette, at least one specimen of each kind of macroinvertebrate in the first small laboratory tray and move it into the vessel with the cap magnifying glass. Be sure to screw the cap on. Identify the animal(s) by means of the cap magnifying glass. Start with the identification key card. On this basis, you will get a good idea of the different forms of the water fauna classified up to a level higher than the family (phylum, classis or ordo). Continue identifying up to the level of the family, the genus or the species, making use of the available identification keys. Note the taxa found on the record sheet. Note whether you have found one or more individuals of these animals.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10. Empty the vessel with the cap magnifying glass in the second small laboratory tray and identify another kind of macroinvertebrate in the first small laboratory tray (repeat steps 6-9). 11. After identification of all the different kinds of macroinvertebrates, empty all laboratory trays back into the brook.

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Biotic Index
Complete Manual

Calculation of BISEL Biotic Index.

Follow the instructions given in the short manual. The instruction are divided in a hi and a low level calculation.

MACRO-INVERTEBRATES

Total 01 25 610 1115 >15 S.U. BIOT IC INDEX

flattened mayfly nymph

stonefly nymph

cased caddisfly larva

freshwater limpet

mayfly nymphs

snails

dragonfly larva

freshwater shrimp

freshwater hoglouse

pea-cockle

water boatman

leeches

worms

non-biting midge larva

rat-tailed maggot Total:

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Biotic Index
Complete Manual

Biotic Index: lower level

flatworms true worms leeches snails pea-cockels swan mussels freshwater limpet freshwater crayfish water hoglouse freshwater shrimps water mites burrowing mayfly nymph flattened mayfly nymphs swimming mayfly nymph demoiselle nymph other damselfly nymph dragonfly nymphs stonefly nymphs water measurer pond skaters water scorpion water boatman alderfly larva cased caddisfly larva caseless caddisfly larva water beetles cranefly larva rat-tailed maggots blackfly larva non-biting midge larva

Biotic Index: score

Interpretation of biological assessment results

When the final stage is completed, the whole class should form a discussion group which surveys the data step-by-step, and if the biotic indices indicate the possibility of pollution, try to trace the most likely source or origin of the pollution. It may be possible that a low Biotic Index is not the result of a single stressor but of a combination of stress factors.

Finally, when the possible source (or sources) of pollution is pinpointed, the class can be divided in two groups, one group can represent the person(s) who is/are responsible for the pollution and the other group can represent an environmentally-minded organisation and sum up the reasons why the practice(s) should be changed. Have them try to come to a compromise on reaching better environmental conditions while continuing economic development.

GOOD LUCK

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