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How Does Different Levels of Pollution in Streams or Ponds Affect Macro Invertebrate Species?

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How Does Different Levels of Pollution in Streams or Ponds Affect Macro Invertebrate Species?
How does Different Levels of Pollution in Streams or Ponds Affect Macro invertebrate Species? Organisms without back bones are Macro Invertebrate species (Seminole.Wateratlas.Usf.Edu ,2012) . These organisms are small but can be seen without a magnifying glass (Waitakere.Govt.Nz , 2002) . Size ranges from 3-20mm long (Waitakere.Govt.Nz , 2002) .Insects, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, leeches, and anemones are classified a Macro invertebrate species (Waitakere.Govt.Nz , 2002). Streams that are free from pollution will contain a variety of these animals. Streams that have higher pollution levels will less of these animals. Macro invertebrates that live in the stream can determine information about the stream. These organisms can determine the quality of water through the temperature, oxygen, nutrients, and pH levels (Waitakere.Govt.Nz, 2002). Different types of macro invertebrates can exist in various types of environmental conditions. For example, the stonefly and the mayfly can only live in oxygenated streams (Waitakere.Govt.Nz, 2002).When pollution and heavy metals are added to the stream, many of these organisms die. Sensitivity levels determine what conditions the species can live in (Waitakere.Govt.Nz , 2002). The level ranges from 1 to 10 (Waitakere.Govt.Nz , 2002). Ten is the best score. Ten means the stream is clean and free from pollution. Organisms with scores of ten can only live in streams that are not polluted. One means the organisms are living in an unclean or polluted stream. Some macro invertebrates are good indicators because they live in the water almost all their life, they stay in safe places , can tolerate pollution at different levels, can be recognized easily, can live over a year, and can determine what type of condition the environment is in(Biological Indicators Of Watershed Health , 2012) . The streams are less slimy because the invertebrates eat the algae (Waitakere.Govt.Nz, 2002). Invertebrates also keep the stream


References: Seminole.Wateratlas.Usf.Edu (2012). [online] Retrieved from: Seminole.wateratlas.usf.edu (2003)Learn More About Macroinvertebrate - Seminole.WaterAtlas.org. [online] Available at: http://www.seminole.wateratlas.usf.edu/shared/learnmore.asp?toolsection=lm_macro [Accessed: 8 Nov 2012]. [Accessed: 8 Nov 2012]. Biological Indicators Of Watershed Health (2012). Invertebrates as Indicators. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/bioindicator/html/invertebrate.html [Accessed: 8 Nov 2012]. Waitakere.Govt.Nz (2002). Underwater life - Macroinvertebrates - Focus on 'bugs '. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ei/ecowtr/macroinv/bugmainpage.asp [Accessed: 8 Nov 2012].
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