My Information
- Name: Amelia
- Hometown: Clayton, NC
- Land Use: Rural/Suburban
The ICI for the Big Darby Creek is excellent, as we found all of the specified sensitive macroinvertebrates,
and most of them in the two lower categories. The nitrogen levels are low, which is definitely a good thing. If there
was too much nitrogen, then eutrophication could occur, causing the fish trouble with breathing.
My Field Trip to Big Darby
We rode in vans to Big Darby Creek and fished for macroinvertebrates with nets. My group caught a helgamite, which is
basically a centipede that lives in water. It has pincers in the front, so I had to hold it right behind it's eyes. We also caught a bunch of water bugs, and a couple of small crawdads. I tested the water for total hardness and nitrogen levels. My team members tested for dissolved oxygen, pH, and phosphorus levels, and various physical measures.
Project Information
The project information is available here.
I use google to look up things I don't know.
We were assigned to find out the ICI and chemical levels of the area of the Big Darby Creek we were in. To
find out the ICI, we waded out into the creek with a special net with a weighted bottom to keep it on
the ground. Two people would hold up the net, and two people would stamp in
front of the net, facing against the current. This would disturb the macroinvertebrates, so
they would swim right into the net. After a few minutes of doing this,
we would haul in the net to terra firma. Once on land, we spread out the net on a flat surface to study the macroinvertebrates.
To find out chemical levels, we used kits and instruction sheets. Some materials we used are
poisonous, so we wore goggles and gloves until the materials were safely put away.
There were no casualties.
The link above is for another project that we formally presented on July 30th, 2011. We evaluated the Upper Little Miami Watershed.
Team Members
| Name | Hometown | Land Use |
|---|---|---|
| Athena | Cleveland | Suburban |
| Ashwini | Cincinnati | Suburban |
| Amelia | Clayton, NC | Rural/Suburban |
Top 3 Favorite Things About YWSI
- Doing Chemical Testing
- Riding on the Bus
- Talking with Friends
