Week 12. Manoa Stream Survey PDF

Preview

Summary

Field trip to upper reaches of Manoa stream to collect data, then doing data analysis to determine the health of the stream...

Description

NREM 301L

Week 12. Manoa Stream Survey: Water Chemistry, Biological Assessment, and Stream Flow Measurement Introduction Humans and all other organisms need water for survival. Freshwater and marine environments provide habitat for a wide array of organisms, and also support a large number of recreational activities, such as swimming, fishing, surfing, diving and sailing, among others. Aquatic environments are also important for harvesting food and other beneficial products. Water quality and the health of aquatic environments, therefore, need to be managed to protect resident organisms and for people to enjoy the uses and benefits of recreational and livelihood activities, now and well into the future. Human activities have already caused alterations in many aspects of aquatic and marine environments. Solid and liquid wastes disposed on the ground or dumped in drains eventually end up in surface or ground water. Rain and floods carry pollutants and wastes from urban areas into drains and then into the streams, rivers, bays, beaches and the ocean. Thus, water quality monitoring and assessment is becoming an increasingly important focus of environmental protection programs. Monitoring and assessing the quality of water and the environmental health of aquatic environments involves measuring a suite of physical, chemical and biological parameters. In this exercise, students will learn how to conduct a stream . In addition, we will conduct a simple assessment of the health of the biota that live in the streams. The objectives of this exercise are to: Get to know about your stream and watershed by o Learn several basic water quality measurement o Learn the baseline and basic biological assessment. o Learn basic streamflow measurement Exercise Instructions Materials  

General o Mosquito repellant o Tabis or water shoes Watershed description o Topographic map of Mānoa Valley (Honolulu Quad)



Water Quality o YSI-Professional-Plus.



Bioassessment o Tabis or water shoes



Streamflow o Tape measure o oranges

1

NREM 301L

Activities  at the bank 1. Divide into 3 groups. 2. Develop a hypothesis regarding stream water quality and health at the survey location of Mānoa stream. 3. Instruction on biological sampling and assessment  In the stream 4. Measure key water quality parameters with YSI multiparameter meter. 5. Conduct biological sampling and assessment 6. Stream flow measurement  At home 7. Prepare a written report to document the condition of stream in terms of water quality, streamflow, and biological assessment. Procedure Students will work in groups for all activities. Please avoid disturbing stream banks or shallow waters until you are instructed to. Record data on the datasheets at the end of this handout. Safety precautions will include wearing latex gloves for water measurements and being very cautious in walking along the stream.

Activity I: Stream and Watershed Description, Develop Hypothesis 

Look at the topography map and describe your survey location relative to the watershed. Look at the land use. Write down on the datasheet.



Observe the survey location to describe the stream condition. Write down on the datasheet.

Hypothesis (To be generated as a class from objectives): Look at datasheet to fill in hypothesis. It was hypothesized that the stream water quality and stream health is ____________________at the surveyed reach of Mānoa stream. This is hypothesized because __________________________ ____________________________. To test this hypothesis, surface water quality was measured with the discharge and water quality measurements along with the biological assessment at a lower reach of Mānoa Stream.

2

NREM 301L

Activity II: Water Quality Measurements Characteristics of a Healthy Stream Healthy stream environments have certain basic characteristics that are critical for supporting aquatic life. To survive, stream organisms require diverse habitat; . The presence of vegetation in riparian zones contributes to stream health by providing shade, keeping the water temperature low, contributing food to aquatic invertebrates which feed on leaf litter, and minimizing sediment erosion into the water. Use the following tables to rate the health of the stream based on average velocity and water temperature (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research 1992)

Activity III: Stream Biological Assessment (with seines, A-framed nets (‘Ōpae nets)) Classroom lecture introduces participants to native / non –native stream animals and how they are indicators of stream health. Participants are then able to view live native / non-native animals from their watershed, as well as engage in hands-on activities. The entire lesson ranges between 30 to 60 minutes, and depends on the age of participants or the length of time allotted for a class period. In the lab, students learn how to work together to capture stream fishes in a standardized method. After being assigned to specific teams, where various seines, A-framed nets (‘Ōpae nets), and PVC pipes are used to herd and trap animals in a predetermined length of a modeled stream. Participants familiarize themselves with the appropriate field equipment for their team, as well as the roles of other teams, in preparation for field application. The lesson requires ~ 30 minutes per class, but may require more time if entire grade levels participate. After rehearsing their field methods, participants are taken to a nearby stream site for field application, as Lesson 3. The stream bioassessment survey requires 45 minutes per replicate, but performing the survey twice is strongly encouraged if time permits. Once captured, animals are identified to species, counted and measured. If the animal is native, they are released after being recorded, but if invasive, the animal is removed from the site (Figures 1 and 2). Data from the activity is then used to score the stream site using the Hawaiian Stream Index of Biological Integrity (HS-IBI, http://hbmpweb.pbrc.hawaii.edu/iolani/sites/default/files/Kido%202012.%20Hawaiian%20IBI.pdf ) and then stored in an online database maintained by UH-CCRT personel (http://hbmpweb.pbrc.hawaii.edu/iolani/monitoring/macrobiological_confirmed ). The field activity concludes with a summary about what animals are found and what they tell us about the health of the stream / habitat. After the activity, invasive species are euthanized with ice, and taken to Ho‘oulu ‘Āina (a nearby conservation and gardening community center, http://www.hoouluaina.com ) to be used for composting 3

NREM 301L

Safety and other concerns As far as safety/health of students, no one is "required" to go into the stream. Leptospirosis is present in at least some amounts in almost all streams in Hawai‘i. We can do our best to prevent anyone from becoming ill by not letting anyone into the stream that have open cuts. No one will be swimming, submerging the head, or getting wet above the knee. Students will be reminded to not splash excessively and horseplay is not acceptable in this activity. While in the water, they should not open their mouths unless absolutely necessary (for communication, etc.), to prevent water from splashing into it. If students choose to touch fish shown to them, they will be given antibacterial hand wipes and/or hand sanitizer. In the event of any general first aid is needed, we will have first aid kits on hand. In the case of more serious injury, we will call 911 immediately. If weather forecast predicts heavy rain for the day of the field trip, and if real-time stream gages indicate problematic stream heights, the activity will be cancelled and/or postponed to a later date, when stream heights and weather are safer. Restrooms may not be nearby some of our study sites. We do have limited felt-bottomed footwear (which grip wet rocks well) and other waterproof footwear for students that do not have any. If a student has their own felt bottomed footwear, please bring them! An old pair of socks can also be used to cover rubbersoled shoes. Students can also participate in other parts of the activity that do not require getting wet, like counting fish or carrying nets.

4

NREM 301L

Activity IV: Measuring Stream Flow Using Float

Calculating Discharge 1. When the velocity measurement is complete, calculate the total discharge (Q). The mid-section method is currently recommended by the U.S. Geological Survey. 2. Using the mid-section method, compute the area (an = mid-point depth x interval length) of each subsection. 3. Next, multiply the subsectional area (an) by the mean velocity (Vn) for the subsection to get the Sub-section discharge (Qn). If only one velocity measurement was taken at 0.6 depth, it is the mean velocity (Vn). If two measurements (v1 and v2) were taken at 0.2 and 0.8 depth, compute the mean value. 4. To compute the discharge for each subsection, use the equation: Qn = anVn where, Qn = discharge for subsection n, an = area of subsection n, and Vn = mean velocity for subsection n. The calculation repeats this process for each subsection, as shown below: Q1=a1 V1, Q2=a2 V2, Q3=a3 V3, Q4=a4 V4, and so on. .. The subsection products are then added to get total discharge (Q): Q1 = Q1 + Q2 +Q3 +Q4 +Q5, and so on... Thus, total discharge (Q) equals the sum of all discharges ( aV ) , as stated earlier in the basic equation:

Q = ( aV ) .

5

NREM 301L

What to Turn in? Students are required to turn in:  Datasheet will be marked and collected by TA today  lab report 3 need to be submitted to Google Classroom before 1:30pm before next lab (depending on your lab day)  There will be no longer draft opportunity!  The file naming convention for the lab reports should be: LastName_301L_Report3_final.doc. o Your lab report will include 1. water quality measurement table, 2. The final value of estimated discharge. 3. the table of bioassessment o Using the provided information and your measurement to interpret your observation of the stream health. o Include at least 2 citation (reference) in your lab report, based on the EndNote Basic Lab instruction.  Refer to the lab report guidelines that you were given earlier in the semester for information on how to write a good lab report.  Answers to questions below must be incorporated into the Introduction and Discussion sections of the lab report, respectively. Feel free to discuss these questions with your labmates and instructors during today’s lab. Questions 1. How can the stream condition be inferred by first observation and visual assessments, such as those carried out in today’s field exercise? 2. How can the stream condition be inferred by water quality, flow, and biological assessments, such as those carried out in today’s field exercise? 3. What would you conclude about the stream (health) condition based on the survey today?

6

NREM 301L

Week 12. Datasheet

Name_________________ Group ___________

Activity I: Stream and Watershed Description, Develop Hypothesis Stream Name ______________________Watershed ________________________ Date__________ Observe and describe the following (This information should be used to write the “Study Site” subsection of the Methods section of your lab report): Reach Location Description:

Land Use along Stream *:

Hydrologic modifications: (dams, bridges, diversions, etc.)

Active Channel Width (m): *e.g., land use (residential/commercial/agriculture/forest), distance from the streamside, specific types of buildings or plant species/crops, any disturbance or construction activities, note the presence of animals, human population, any conservation structures, etc. Hypothesis (To be generated as a class from objectives): It was hypothesized that the stream water quality and stream health is ____________________at the surveyed reach of Mānoa stream. This is hypothesized because __________________________ ____________________________. To test this hypothesis, surface water quality was measured with the discharge and water quality measurements along with the biological assessment at a lower reach of Mānoa Stream.

7

NREM 301L

Activity II: Water Quality Measurements Measurement

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Mean

Sample time (00:00) Temperature (oC) Dissolved Oxygen (%) Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) Electrical Conductivity (μS/cm) Salinity (ppt) pH

Activity III: Stream Biological Assessment (with seines, A-framed nets (‘Ōpae nets)) Group 1: upstream Group 2: downstream Group 3: chaser Native/Nonnative Species Hawaiian names Quantity Size Note Native (Endemic) Eleotris sandwicensis ‘O‘opu akupa Native ‘O‘opu nakea Awaous guamensis (Indigenous) ‘O‘opu hiukole Native (Endemic) Lentipes concolor (Alamo‘o) Sicyopterous ‘O‘opu noplili Native (Endemic) stimpsoni Stenogobius ‘O‘opu nahiha Native (Endemic) hawaiiensis

Total # of Native Total # of Nonnative Score 3

Taxonomic richness

1. number native species (5: 4-3; 3: 2-1; 1:0) 2. % native taxa (5: 100-75%; 3: 74-50%; 1:...