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Find Out What Lives in My Stream

find out whats living in my streamMacroinvertebrates—creatures without backbones but that you can see with your naked eye—live in streams and are important food sources for larger wildlife. These critters are easy to find and identify by turning over rocks and sifting the streambed through a net.

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How to Information

Field Survey of Macroinvertebrates in the Susquehanna River Basin

This 3-minute video explains what macroinvertebrates are and shows you how to find some in your stream.


Signs of Healthy Creeks and Streams

See more signs of healthy streams and ways to look for them with this video by Ranger Nick from the University of Georgia.


Key to Macroinvertebrate Life in the River

This easy key will help you identify macroinvertebrates. You can also use it to figure out your stream’s water quality based on the kinds of critters you find. In the key, the letters represent how tolerant to pollution a species is: “S” for sensitive, “F” for “fairly tolerant,” and “T” for “tolerant.”

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