Benthic Macroinvertebrates or “Benthos” are small aquatic bugs generally found at the bottom of lakes and rivers. These creatures exhibit a wide range of tolerances to environmental pollutants and can therefore be powerful indicators for the health of lakes and rivers.

Biological stream indicators, such as benthos, are important components when assessing stream health as they reveal stresses to stream conditions that may not be captured during water quality sampling, such as acute incidents of environmental contamination. The JCSC strives to establish and maintain stream monitoring programs, and in 2019 launched a benthic monitoring program in Junction Creek courtesy of the STREAM project.

STREAM PROJECT

STREAM (Sequencing the Rivers for Environmental Assessment and Monitoring) is a joint venture between Living Lakes Canada, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the University of Guelph. The project is an initiative aimed at expanding community-based monitoring to collect and share benthic macroinvertebrate and water quality data across Canada.

As a participant in the STREAM program, the JCSC was able to get the required training and gear to be able to collect annual benthos data in Junction Creek from 2019-2023.

UNDERSTANDING BENTHIC MONITORING

Benthic macroinvertebrates make for great water quality indicators because they are:

  • relatively long-lived
  • stationary within their environment
  • exist in a wide range of habitat conditions

By understanding the different requirements of each benthos species, researchers can look at their absence/presence, as well as their relative abundance, to assess the health of the waterway.

In the Fall, JCSC staff and volunteers collect benthos samples following strict Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) protocols. The samples are then sent to the University of Guelph for eDNA analysis to identify the benthos.

The data becomes part of a national database, helping to maintain up-to-date knowledge on the health of streams, creeks, rivers, and lakes throughout all of Canada. This is especially important for Northern Ontario as the area is currently “data deficient” for many water quality metrics.

When collected as part of a comprehensive water quality monitoring program, this information provides a solid foundation from which scientific-based watershed management and restoration decisions can be made.