Parts Of Speech

Wai Care Week 7

Wai Care: Water Testing - Week 7

Some factors that have an impact on stream health include;

• seasonal variation - in summer there is usually less rainfall (lower water levels and less ow) and water temperatures can be higher
• storms - lots of rain can a ect the amount of sediment carried in the water and therefore a ect the water clarity readings
• human activities – digging work or logging adjacent to the stream can increase the amount of sediment in the water

The health of a stream is dependent on its location within a catchment.  

My Hypothesis of Te Karamu Stream health, 129 Napier Road, Havelock North -

You will be investigating the health of the stream by carrying out tests and observations on:

1. stream habitat – observations of the stream bed, algae, pool/ri e/run, shading, bank stability and any human impact feature
2. water quality – tests for water temperature and water clarity
3. aquatic invertebrates – observations of the types of invertebrates present

Use google maps or google earth to create a map from the time we leave school to our destination. Be sure to include starting point, route we are travelling and where the stream is. Can you find out how many kilometers it is to our destination. So where is the catchment for Te Karamu stream and how does the water end up in the river? (This will require catchment research).

When monitoring the health of the stream, you will need to observe the following very carefully;

Stream bed, algae, pool/riffle/run, stream shading, bank stability, human impact. For each of these, find a google image and a definition of what it is and how it would negatively impact on the stream health.

Algae: Algae are organisms, or living things, that are found all over the world. Algae are very important because they make much of Earth's oxygen, which humans and other animals need to breathe. Some algae, such as seaweed, look like plants.                     

Riffle:  a rocky or shallow part of a stream or river where the water flows brokenly.

Stream Bed: , A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek, the physical confine of the normal water flow.

Pool: a small body of standing water, any small collection of liquid on a surface, or a still, deep place in a stream.

Run: (with reference to a liquid) flow or cause to flow.

Stream Shading: A riparian buffer of vegetation lining a farm creek in Story County, Iowa. A riparian buffer is a vegetated area (a "buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect a stream from the impact of adjacent land uses.

Human Impact:  Human impact on the environment or anthropogenic impact on the environment includes impacts on biophysical environments, biodiversity, and other resources. The term anthropogenic designates an effector object resulting from human activity.

Bank Stability :Bank Stability is the wearing away of the banks of a stream or river. This is distinguished from erosion of the bed of the watercourse, which is referred to as scour. The roots of trees growing by a stream are undercut by such erosion. As the roots bind the soil tightly, they form abutments which jut out over the water.

 

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Stream temperature - obviously with seasonal change, the temperature of the stream will fluctuate. The temperature of the stream affects how the oxygen is dissolved in the water.  FACT - Cool water contains more oxygen than warm water, hence it is more heavier/dense. Water at 0 degrees has twice the amount of oxygen at 30 degrees. What is the optimum temperature for invertebrates whose habitat is streams? RESEARCH:

Stream temperature is important because every species has a preferred temperature range. The range varies considerably from species to species. Sometimes, a temperature change is important, for example, as a trigger for egg hatching in some mayflies. Many organisms are unable to survive in temperatures above about 30 °C (except for some adapted to life in hot springs). At the other end of the scale, temperatures below freezing point constitute a very harsh environment because of the effects of ice.

https://waicare.org.nz/Home.aspx - Wai Care have won numerous awards for their environmental work and the revitalisation of water ways in New Zealand. Write down three facts from this website that you found positive and/or interesting.

1.Just six years ago, the former Auckland Regional Council considered Manukau’s 12km Puhinui Stream to be the dirtiest of all 31 streams that were monitored. It was also rated in the bottom 25 per cent of rivers for E. coli, ammoniacal nitrogen and total phosphorus levels.

2.The Puhinui stream runs 12km through Tōtara Park and the Auckland Botanic Gardens, through Manukau City urban and light industrial zones, and ends up in the Manukau Harbour, not far from the airport.

3.The Gardens School in South Auckland have joined planting days to help the Puhinui Stream.

One of the biggest commitments has come from The Gardens School. They have been growing plants on the school grounds from seeds, then planting along the stream bank every year, keeping the water cool and clear. The biggest thing that makes the difference to water quality is this kind of planting. More than 25,000 natives have been raised and planted to date.

Critter Identification - what do we find in streams?

Bugs/Insects

Complete the table…

Critter	I have seen it in a stream before	I have not seen it in a stream before	One fact/piece of information you can share with us about this critter.
May Flies	No	Yes	It will spend most of my life as a larva in the water. I am found throughout North America and in most parts of the world.
Large Stoneflies	No	Yes	Mayflies and stoneflies live most of their lives as these immature nymphs underwater. They may live a year, two years, or only a couple of weeks as nymphs
Small Stoneflies	No	Yes	Mayflies and stoneflies live most of their lives as these immature nymphs underwater. They may live a year, two years, or only a couple of weeks as nymphs
Uncased Caddis	No	Yes	Most caddisfly larvae either spin shelters of silk or build tubular cases
Cased Caddis	No	Yes	Most caddisfly larvae either spin shelters of silk or build tubular cases
Pursed Caddis	No	Yes	Most caddisfly larvae either spin shelters of silk or build tubular cases
Dobsonfly	No	Yes	Dobsonflies are a subfamily of insects, Corydalidae, part of the Megaloptera family Corydalidae. The larvae are aquatic, living in streams, and the adults are often found along streams as well.
Beetle	Yes	No	Beetles are the common name for an order of insects called Coleoptera.
Damselflies	No	Yes	They capture prey by using a modified lower lip (called a labium) that shoots out rapidly and seizes the prey item.
Dragonflies	Yes	No	Dragonflies were some of the first winged insects to evolve, some 300 million years ago. Modern dragonflies have wingspans of only two to five inches, but fossil dragonflies have been found with wingspans of up to two feet.
Amphipods	No	Yes	Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from 1 to 340 millimetres and are mostly detritivores or scavengers.
Snails	Yes	No	Most snail species have a ribbon-like tongue called a radula that contains thousands of microscopic teeth. The radula works like a file, ripping food up into tiny pieces.
Water BoatMen	Yes	No	The water boatman is a common water bug, which swims on its back and is often seen at the surface of the water
Worms	Yes	No	The myth about both halfs of a worm surviving when it is cut in half is false. Only the half with
Flies	No	Yes	Flies lay their eggs on fruit, food, other animals and even rotting flesh. Their larvae are known as maggots

Measuring Water Clarity