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WaitauaCatchmentStreamHealthAssessmentStudentskeyquestions:
1. Howwillourwaterbelikein10year'stimeifwedon'tchange?2. Whathappenstosealifeafteraflood?3. Howcanwemakeadifference?4. Howlongcanfreshwatereelssurviveinsaltwater?5. Isthereanyotherdifferencesbetweenfreshandsaltwaterapartfromthesalt
content?
1. NameofyourschoolKamoHighSchool
2. Nameofthewaterway
‘DamselflyStream’?(Site1)andtheWaitauaRiver(Site2)
3. Dateofstreamstudy07/04/11
4. Locationofstreamstudy
CorksRdsubdivision(Site1)andWaitauaRiver(Site2-beneaththeWhangareiFalls)
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5. Lookatthemapbelowshowingyourcatchment.
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6. ClarityMeasuretheclarityofthewater.Clarity(centimetresfromfrontoftubetodisc).Site1=77cm Site2=100cmAclarityofmorethan70cmisokay.Aclarityofmorethan100cmisgood.
7. WaterTemperatureRecordthewatertemperatureusingthethermometerandimmersinginwaterfor1-2mins.WaterTemperaturereading=Site1=18 Site2=15degreescelcius
8. DiagramofthesiteSketchaplan(birdseye)ofthesitethatyouhavechosen.Chooseastretchofwaterwayatleast10metreslong.Marktrees,buildings,paths.Bridges.Roadsetc.Answerthequestionsbelowthediagrambasedonwhatyoucansee.
Howmightthisareahavebeenchangedsincepeoplehavebeenhere?Site1 Site2Lotsofvegetationclearance Sometrackshavebeenputthroughanda
bridgebutotherwiseit’sprettynaturalDiversionofstormwater Development Isthereanyevidenceofstormwaterrunoffbeingincreasedbyhumandevelopmentofthearea?Site1 Site2Yes–therearelargestormwateroutletpipeshere
Nonotreally–thereisexcessgoinginupstreambutnotatthissite
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Isthereanyevidenceofpollutionhere?Ifso,what?Site1 Site2Rubbish RubbishStormwater SewagespillsignageExcessalgalgrowth Isthereanyevidenceofcattlehere?Ifnot,whatisthemainlanduse?Site1 Site2Onlyfurtherdownstream,sothatwouldn’teffectthissite
No
Whattypesofpollutantscouldbegettingintothisstreamandhow?Site1 Site2Typeofpollutant Howisitgettinginto
thestream?Typeofpollutant Howisitgettinginto
thestream?Oil Stormwater Rubbish Litterblowinginor
gettingwasheddownstream
Sediment Stormwaterandbankside
Sediment Upstream
HeavyMetals Stormwater Sewage Upstream(farmsorseptictanks)
Excessnutrients Stormwaterandexcesssunlight
Doyouthinkit'ssafetogetintothisstream?Why?Site1 Site2Yesaslongaswestayinourgroups,washourhandsafterstudybeforeweeatordrinkanddon’tdrinkthewaterinthestream.
Yesaslongaswestayinourgroups,don’tgodeeperthanknee-deep,don’tdrinkthewaterandwashhandsafterbeforeeatingordrinking
10. WaterFlow• Measurea5metredistance.• Measuretheflowbytimingtheping-pongballfloatingdownthe5msectionofthe
stream.Timetakentotravel5metres.Time(seconds)=Site1=42seconds. Site2=8seconds Distancetravelled/time=Site1=8.2metres/sec. Site2=1.6m/s
Avelocity(flowrate)of0.3-0.7m/sisbestformoststreamlife.
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Habitatidentification Usingthe‘WaicareInvertebrateFieldGuide’identifythistypeofhabitatusingthe‘HabitatIdentification’pagesontheback.Fillinthetablebelow:Site1 Site2WatercourseType Stream WatercourseType StreamCatchmentUse Urban CatchmentUse BushGeneralSubstrate Muddy,Weedy,
StonyGeneralSubstrate Stony,Sandy
Microhabitat Stones,Macrophytes,MudScrape
Microhabitat Openwater,Stones,WoodyDebris,Macrophytes
Shade Sometrees/Someshade
Shade Shadysite
Current Slow Current FastBankStability Someerosion BankStability StableDoyouthinktheplantsherearedoingagoodjobofkeepingthesoilfromerodingintothestream?Site1 Site2No–itneedsmore! YesreallygoodjobInslow-movingstreams(e.g.<0.1m/swaterspeed)youwilloftengetlargeplants(called“Macrophytes”)-thesearegoodhabitatformanyinvertebrates.Infasterflow,youwilloftenhavealgaegrowingonstones(called“Periphyton”).Thesemayappearasgreenfilamentsorbrownslimes.Shortfilamentsandbrownslimesaregood,longgreenfilamentousalgaearenotsogood.
12. InvertebrateLifeCollectuptofivesamples.Alwaysmoveupstreamasyougoandtakegoodcareofyourbugs!Trytosortandidentifyyourbugsusingthe“WaicareInvertebrateFieldGuide–InvertebrateIdentification’frontpages.Begintofillinthetablebelowifyoucan:SiteOne SiteTwoSpecies: Tally: Sensitivity
Score:Species: Tally: Sensitivity
Score:DamselflyNymphs
33 5 Crabs 3 5
CraneflyLarvae 3 5 DobsonflyNymph 1 7Beetle 1 6 RoundedSnails 4 3OligochaeteWorm
2 1 Midge 1 2
DragonflyNymph 4 6 Free-livingCaddisfly
20 5
SandflyLarvae 2 3 LatiaLimpet 1 6WaterBoatman 3 5 Shrimps 5 5Isopod 1 5 TOTALS 49 36 35 33
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9. FishandEelsCheckthetrapswithKimandrecordwhatyoufindinthetablebelow:SiteOne SiteTwoSpecies: Size: Tally: Species: Size: Tally:n/a n/a n/a Common
Bullies2-12cm 16
Inanga 10-14cm 4 Elver 14cm 1
10. Puttingitalltogether...Addallofyoursensitivityscorestogetheranddividethatnumberbythenumberofdifferentspeciesyoufound.Thiswillgiveyouahealthrating.Writeyourcalculationbelow...
Site1(5x33)+(5x3)+(6x1)+(1x2)+(6x4)+(3x2)+(5x3)+(5x1)165+15+6+2+24+6+15+5=238238/49=4.9
Site2(5x3)+(7x1)+(3x4)+(2x1)+(5x20)+(6x1)+(5x5)15+7+12+2+100+6+25=167167/35=4.8
Takingyourhealthscoreforthestreamandeverythingelseyousawandexperiencedatthestream,howhealthydoyouthinkthestudysiteis?Writeyourdecisionasaratingoutofteninthespacebelow...Site1 Site25/10 6/10Brainstormideasyouhaveonhowthequalityofthehabitatandwaterinthestreamcouldbeimproved...writeyourideasbelow...Site1 Site2RiparianPlantings Findsourceofsewagespillsupstream Removepestplantsandfish
