Hi there,
It’s the Riverfly apprentice Emma again, I’ve just finished the first stint of my placement with the NIEA and am currently working away with the Ballinderry River’s Trust which so far has been really interesting and great fun (I’ll tell you about it it my next blog)
Anyway, during my last week or so with the NIEA I’ve been practising my microscopy photography skills (thanks Ciara!) and I thought I’d share a few images of some of the beasties we get in Northern Ireland’s rivers with you.
These are a selection of both the BMWP and the Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (RMI) organisms that are used for assessment of water quality. The RMI methodology is undertaken primarily by volunteers, but also by River Trust staff in order to provide ongoing monitoring of local waterways, whilst BMWP is carried out for more thorough investigations often again by rivers trusts, universities and government agecies such as the NIEA. The main differences between the RMI and the BMWP technique are that RMI only requires 8 different groups to be identified as opposed to 85+, and sorting of the sample is carried out primarily in the field rather than taking it back to the lab.
Anyway I hope you enjoy the pictures, as you can see they range quite greatly in their appearance! There are of course far more than that, but I’d be spoiling you if I showed you them all at once ;), plus some of them are rather difficult to photograph (or fit under the microscope for that matter)…
Until next time,
Emma
Cased Caddis – Beraeidae
BMWP Score 10 – High water quality indicator
Water Mite – Hydracorina
Not used as an indicator, but fascinatingly alien looking.
Mayfly – Heptageniidae
BMWP Score 10 – High Water Quality Indicator
Caseless Caddis – Hydropsychidae
BMWP Score 5 – Moderate Water Quality Indicator
Caseless Caddis – Polycentropodidae
BMWP 7 – High/Moderate water quality indicator
Freshwater Cockles/Orb Mussels – Sphaeriidae
BMWP 3 – Low/Moderate water quality
Fly larvae –Simuliidae
BMWP 5 – Moderate* water quality indicator* Often present in huge numbers at polluted sites however, low numbers no cause for concern
Beetle – Scirtidae
BMWP 5 – Moderate water quality indicator
Beetle larvae – Haliplidae
BMWP 5 – Moderate water quality indicator