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December 16th, 2002 Your questions and answers about everything stream related.
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Q. My name is Walt Bliss, and I teach Biology at Laconia High School, in Laconia, New Hampshire. Every year for the past 12, we have performed an ecological field study at a local brook near the school. I am looking for what you may consider to be the "best" resources, written or on video/film, for identifying freshwater macro invertebrates and protists available today. Also, I am looking for a good stream ecology video to present to my students as an introduction to the project. Carolina Biological had a filmstrip on Stream Ecology out about 10 years ago (which I hate to say, I still use)... the information is very good, but of course in today's world of DVD's, the format isn't very appealing to the students. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
A.
First, thanks for the clarification you sent in response
to my email. Your question has opened up quite a range
of possibilities, so I hope what I'm sending you isn't
over-kill. However, I'd rather send too much than too
little and let you pick and choose. Here goes.
An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America, 3rd edition
This book is the most widely used among researchers
identifying insects; each chapter is written by an
expert for a particular group, and the book contains
a wealth of ecological information, collecting
techniques, etc. Remember, it is for insects only.
Aquatic Entomology
This book is written more for the angler and presents
the identification keys in pictorial fashion rather
than straight text, as does the above volume. However,
it is not as up-to-date as Merritt and Cummins, but
does have beautiful color paintings (not photos) of
many species of insects.
Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Northeastern North America
This is a regional book that encompasses your area of
concern. I'll admit that I haven't personally used
this book because there are more applicable ones
for the west where I work.
Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates
There is a 2nd edition of this book out, but I don't
have a copy. This book will help you with all invertebrates,
but only covers the insects and Collembola collectively in
a single chapter. For all other inverts and "protists," it
should do the job.
Streams: Their Ecology and Life
Dave and I wrote this book for the non-professional
but seriously interested layman. It has a lot of
colored photos of streams, insects, mollusks, fish,
and other organisms. However, it does not have
identification keys but only has chapters describing
the different organisms found in streams - from algae to mammals.
Wildstream
Tom wrote this book for essentially the same reason
that Dave and I wrote ours; the funny thing is that
we didn't know the other was doing it until they
were almost done!
The Biology of Streams and Rivers
I don't have a copy of this, but the author told me
that it was similar in approach to our book. The authors
are from Europe, and I don't know if they emphasize those
streams or not in the book.
A Guide to the Study of Fresh-Water Biology
This slim little paperback was first copyrighted in
1938 and last in 1962; I got a copy when I took my
first limnology class in 1951. I don't know if it
is still available, but it makes a nice little guide.
There are brief keys to everything from "protists"
to fish plus chapters on collecting, etc. - all in about 100 pp.
I'll list below some related visual material so you'll
know what is available.
How to Use a Dichotomous Key to Identify Aquatic Insects
I learned about this video just last night from Vince
Resh (see below). I called Rich; he said that Kendall/Hunt
Publ. has produced the video and that it is available by
calling 1-800-338-8290. Price $50.
A couple of comments: First, I don't know if the video
just shows you how to use a key, as the title would seem
to imply. Certainly, it couldn't take you through the
identification of very many different bugs. My guess
is that it probably presents the basics of identifying
a few typical aquatic insects, including morphology and
how to use a key. Rich is sending me a copy of the tape
to use in my classes. As soon as I have a chance to look
at it, I'll email you further information on just what
is on the video.
The Living Stream
This is an 80-slide presentation with accompanying
printed text that the North American Benthological
Society sells for $145. I developed this presentation
many years ago and have used it for teaching, lecturing
to fishing clubs, etc. The Society asked if they could
distribute it and I agreed. They are now making it
available in a CD-ROM format that should be available
any day. You can purchase a copy by contacting Dr.
Leonard Smock, Dept. of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth
University, Richmond, VA 23284. Incidentally, they
also have slide sets on riparian environments and
an extensive slide collection of algae and
macro invertebrates that are available for purchase;
we used a lot of them in our book.
Sampling Aquatic Insects
This video was made by a friend of mine who sent me a copy.
It shows a number of methods and equipment used for collection
aquatic insects under different conditions. It is available
for $15 from Dr. Vincent Resh, Dept. of Entomology, Univ.
of California/Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720.
Given your comment about the suitability of format for
today's kids, these videos probably won't cut it with
your students - not a single car chase or explosion in
either of them!
Be sure to let me know if I can help further on this.
~ C. E. (Bert) Cushing, aka Streamdoctor
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The 'Stream Doctor' is a retired professional stream ecologist and
author, now living in the West and spending way too much time
fly-fishing. You are invited to submit questions relating to
anything stream related directly to him for use in this Q & A Feature
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