Submitted by Patina Mendez on
Intermittent streams are streams that only flow for part of the year and dry in summer. Aquatic insects such as caddisflies rely on having access to water for at least some of their life cycle. In this project, we catalog species diversity of caddisflies in an intermittent stream year-round, even during dry months to determine the active adult period for different species. The current phase of the project focuses on lab processing of the adult light-trap samples and continued light-trap monitoring. We will sort the benthic macroinvertebrates from the collected material and make identifications using dichotomous keys and will be making “species notebook pages” to help rapidly identify California Caddisflies. We'll visit the field site monthly to sample and work together to design additional studies for independent student projects. We will also develop and install a suite of sensors (both instream and a weather station) at the sites to monitor the changing habitat conditions. The goal of this semesters’ project is to make species determinations of the estimated 17-20 taxa found at the site.
Sort and identify adult aquatic insects and other organisms from light trap samples. Work using a dissecting scope and use dichotomous and pictorial keys to identify organisms. Learn how to recognize freshwater aquatic invertebrates and identify organisms to the order and family level. Some fieldwork to make new collections.
Qualifications include interest in biology, particularly in freshwater systems, entomology; good organization skills, and attention to detail. We are also looking for students who are interested in creating resources of specimen-level information from the taxonomic literature to speed adult identifications. We enjoy working with students that are motivated to learn and seek hands-on experience in aquatic entomology. Experience with basic insect identification useful, but are not required.