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Overview |
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Benthic macro-invertebrates are invertebrates (or animals without a backbone) that live on the bottom of streams during all or part of their life cycle. Their name sounds complicated, but it literally describes these creatures. "Benthic" means bottom dwelling, and "macro" indicates that benthic macro-invertebrates can be seen with the naked eye. Although benthic macro-invertebrates (BMI´s) often go unnoticed because of their size and habitat, they are an extremely important part of river ecosystems, and serve as a link in the food web between decomposing leaves and algae, and fish and other vertebrates. |
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During spring and summer 2006, one undergraduate student from Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) is collecting aquatic critters from the Maple River to determine the biological health of the river. Pabina Bista is spending her summer collecting and identifying these critters that live under rocks, branches and other debris in the Maple River. The critters, known as benthic macroinvertebrates, come in many different shapes and colors, and most are less than 1/2 inch in size. The student are collecting these "bugs" at several monitoring sites in the Maple River Watershed. The students collect the macro-invertebrates monthly from traps that are set out at each of the monitoring sites. |
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Studying the type and number of these critters in the river is important as it can tell us the biological health of the river. As some macro-invertebrates live in dirty water and some clean, we are able to identify how healthy the river is, or in this case, each branch of the Rush River. |
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The MSU students will finish the macro-invertebrate study fall 2006. |
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Macro-invertebrates such as these help determine the general health of the river. |
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