{"id":50406,"date":"2015-06-25T14:49:05","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T18:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nybg.org\/plant-talk\/?p=50406"},"modified":"2015-06-30T11:55:21","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T15:55:21","slug":"citizen-science-emerging-macroinvertebrates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2015\/06\/learning\/citizen-science-emerging-macroinvertebrates\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizen Science: Emerging Macroinvertebrates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Madeline Breda<\/a> is a GreenSchool Science Education Intern at The New York Botanical Garden<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Citizen<\/a>
Students performing abiotic water tests on a sample of water from the Bronx River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In early March, I posted a primer<\/a> on the Garden\u2019s Citizen Science program, focusing on the biotic water quality testing workshops offered to visiting students at NYBG\u2019s own GreenSchool. Presented in partnership with the New York City Department of Education STEM Matters, Citizen Science workshops aim to educate children from all five boroughs about ongoing, “crowd-sourced” scientific research that is accessible to amateur scientists and laymen alike.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the month of March, I had the pleasure of working with the students of P.S. \/ I.S. 87 Middle Village as they sorted leaf packs, bravely handled and identified macroinvertebrates, and ventured into the Thain Family Forest<\/a> in order to perform site surveys. Under the guidance of science teacher Ms. Vivian Alforque, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders were all given the chance to participate in meaningful scientific research on the grounds of our historic institution.<\/p>\n

Now, on to what I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve all been wondering: which macroinvertebrates did we find?
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\n(As a reminder, macroinvertebrates can be defined as “large” (>0.2 mm) animals lacking backbones. The macroinvertebrates we study are technically benthic freshwater macroinvertebrates\u2014they inhabit low-lying areas within bodies of fresh water, such as streams, rivers, and ponds. These critters flock to naturally-forming and man-made leaf packs alike: assemblages of waterlogged, decomposing leaves serve as excellent habitats for diminutive insect larvae, crustaceans, and more.)<\/p>\n

\"Citizen<\/a>
Students sorting through a leaf pack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the time of my last posting<\/a>, the ground of the Thain Family Forest was blanketed thickly with snow, and conditions looked tough for our leaf pack-dwelling invertebrate friends. By the arrival of our first group from P.S. \/ I.S. 87, however, snow had started to thaw with a vengeance, adding snowmelt runoff to the volume of water flowing down tributary streams and into the Bronx River. The waterways were turbulent, looking like fairly inhospitable places for insects and other small creatures to dwell.<\/p>\n

After transporting leaf packs from the stream back to the classroom, however, it became clear that the macroinvertebrate life cycle was continuing on happily, uninterrupted by the early spring runoff. Amongst many varied taxa, three were the most prevalent:<\/p>\n