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By Deanna Donovan
The NRNC is in the midst of completing its third round of invertebrate identification as part of an estuarine restoration study being conducted by Nisqually Wildlife Refuge and Nisqually Tribe biologists. The invertebrate identification portion of the study serves as a determinant as to whether or not estuary restoration facilitates the increase in population of invertebrate species included in the salmon diet and to what extent.
The invertebrate monitoring partnership began in 2005 when one part-time employee, a couple of interns, and a group of dedicated volunteers spent hundreds of hours sorting and identifying terrestrial, benthic, and nueston (from the water column) samples. The long hours and volunteer dedication paid off and we are hard at work at the microscope again.
Results from the project's interrelated salmon gut analysis study gave evidence indicating that the diet of salmon in the studied habitats correlates strongly with terrestrial fallout insects. Due to this discovery, we are now putting all of our focus towards the slightly more macroscopic terrestrial samples. This allows for a little less eyestrain on our data collectors since we can actually see most of the specimens with the naked eye! But it does take a gentle touch with the tweezers to count the wing venation.
One of our new interns, Leia Gartner and new volunteer Karly McKee, have revised the Invertebrate Monitoring Identification Records and Procedures (IMIRP) notebook, and they and a handful of volunteers have been gathering data at a steady rate. Center Direcor Daniel Hull has also put together a slide presentation to help guide interns and volunteers through the process of identification and recording data. We are thrilled that our efforts have been a success so far. It is exciting to see students and the public actively participating in scientific research conducted in their community. We are looking to complete this round of identification this winter, so if it sparks your interest, let us know by calling the Center at 459-0387. We would be glad to show you the ropes and have you join our invertebrate monitoring team!
The following is a list of invertebrates identified as part of restoration monitoring: (For more information about the study, click here.)
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