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Comparison Of Agency And Volunteer Stream Assessments Using Macroinvertebrate Assemblages, David William Petry
Comparison Of Agency And Volunteer Stream Assessments Using Macroinvertebrate Assemblages, David William Petry
Masters Theses
Professional stream assessments can be both time and cost intensive. Many states have developed citizen science programs in an effort to provide reliable data to supplement agency assessments. To test how two of these protocols and their conclusions compare, I sampled 16 sites in seven streams within east central Illinois using techniques from two different organizations: Illinois RiverWatch and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Overall, spring RiverWatch, fall RiverWatch, and fall IEPA sampling all produced unique results and conclusions. Compared to fall IEPA assessments, spring RiverWatch was affected by differences in both sampling protocol and season. RiverWatch sampling in fall reduced …