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Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2016

Environmental Sciences

Series

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

River ecology

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Three Simple Experiments To Examine The Effect Of Sediment Pollution On Algae-Based Food Webs In Streams, Patrick M. Edwards, Rodney Shroufe Jan 2016

Three Simple Experiments To Examine The Effect Of Sediment Pollution On Algae-Based Food Webs In Streams, Patrick M. Edwards, Rodney Shroufe

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Streams and stream macroinvertebrates are ideal natural systems for ecological inquiry. We present three simple experiments that students can use to conduct field-based investigations which illustrate the importance of algae-based food webs in streams and measure the effects of sediment pollution (scour and deposition) on stream ecological processes. Over the past 5 years, we have conducted these experiments 19 times with our students. We report on the results and reliability of these experiments and make suggestions for other educators who may want to conduct them.