Benthic Invertebrate Monitoring

The insect community within stream bed sediments serves as an excellent indicator of stream health. Some species are very sensitive to environmental stressors such as water pollution, thermal stress, and low flow conditions while others are quite tolerant of such stressors. The presence and number of the sensitive species versus the stress-tolerant species in streams within the watershed can be compared to relatively undisturbed reference sites to provide an objective evaluation of stream conditions throughout the watershed.

In 2002, a benthic macroinvertebrate sampling program pilot project involving the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and the Ministry of the Environment was initiated within the Lake Simcoe watershed. This program is an extension of the Provincial Water Quality Monitoring Network, which examines the water quality of streams across Ontario as described in the following sections.

Parameters
Sampling Methodologies