Aquatic macroinvertebrates can be a valuable tool for people who wish to learn more about the water quality of a stream.  This page is intended to introduce people to using insects for water quality monitoring.  At first glance,  identifying these critters and determining the quality of a stream using them may seem like something only scientists can do, but in reality anyone from schoolchildren to adults can do it!  Read on and learn about why aquatic invertebrates are a good gauge of stream quality, as well as how to use them to monitor water quality.

Why aquatic invertebrates?  This section provides information on why aquatic
invertebrates are a good indicator of stream quality.

Selecting a protocol.  Monitoring protocols differ in their ease of use and in the precision of their assessment of water quality.  Which protocol is right for you depends on your goals.

Protocols.  Now that you know what to look for, here are three commonly used protocols that are suited for use by people with different levels of skill.

Construct an invert key.  Many keys for identifying aquatic invertebrates include only a few images or images that may not be found in your area.  This section includes images that can be copied and printed, so that you can have images of the invertebrates known to your area to aid in identification.

Links to other resources.  The world wide web has a wealth of information on this subject.  Links are grouped into similar subjects.