The field of ecology studies the relationship of biotic organisms with each other, and with the abiotic environment. This week you will use some standard methods employed by stream ecologists to investigate stream ecosystems.
Our study site is a reach of Juday Creek that runs through an area of protected property just northwest of campus owned by the Izaac Walton League.
While at Juday Creek each team of 4 students will:
- Complete a Citizens Qualitative Habitat EvaluationIndex(CQHEI) to evaluate stream condition.
- Develop and execute a simple survey experiment to examine the distribution of macroinvertebrates in a stream.
After the field trip, each individual student will submit a brief summary of their experiment.
By the end of this session you should be able to:
• Identify common macro invertebrates found in a Northern Indiana stream.
• Recognize the physical features of a stream used in a Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index.
• Develop an experiment to answer a classic question in ecology: “Who lives where, and why?”
Be sure to read the required reading links posted to the right, and complete the Concept Check on Sakai.