Invertebrate Samplers

Invertebrate Sampling is a procedure for measuring water quality using species of macroinvertebrates as biological indicators. The method is based on the principle that different aquatic invertebrates have different tolerances to pollutants. The presence of mayflies or stoneflies for instance indicate the cleanest waterways and are given a tolerance score of 10. The lowest scoring invertebrates are worms (Oligochaeta) which score 1. The number of different macroinvertebrates is also an important factor, because a better water quality is assumed to result in a higher diversity.