Comparing Riparian and Catchment Influences on Stream Habitat in a Forested, Montane Landscape
Waitaua Catchment Stream Health Assessment...1 Waitaua Catchment Stream Health Assessment Students...
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1 Waitaua Catchment Stream Health Assessment Students key questions: 1. How will our water be like in 10 year's time if we don't change? 2. What happens to sea life after a flood? 3. How can we make a difference? 4. How long can fresh water eels survive in salt water? 5. Is there any other differences between fresh and salt water apart from the salt content? 1. Name of your school Kamo High School 2. Name of the waterway ‘Damselfly Stream’? (Site 1) and the Waitaua River (Site 2) 3. Date of stream study 07/04/11 4. Location of stream study Corks Rd subdivision (Site1) and Waitaua River (Site 2 - beneath the Whangarei Falls)
Transcript of Waitaua Catchment Stream Health Assessment...1 Waitaua Catchment Stream Health Assessment Students...
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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
