1	2011 Pond Meadow Study South Middle School Braintree, MA Brook Buddies Group
2	Curriculum Connection We found some Macroinvertebrates in the brook and classified them by Orders. We found: Ephemeroptera Trichoptera Diptera: Chironomidae Diptera: Other Amphipoda Gastropoda In our sixth grade science class, we have learned about the 8 levels of taxonomy: Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
3	About Pond Meadow Park Opened in May, 1976. It was a flood control project for Weymouth Landing. The park has abundant plant and wildlife. It is a place for passive recreation area year-round. The Monatiquot River goes through the park.
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5	Objectives/Purpose of Study What is the relationship between water quality and macroinvertebrates? How healthy is the water at Pond Meadow? How do the two sites at Pond Meadow compare? How many different kinds of macroinvertebrates are in the water around us?
6	What is a Macroinvertebrate? Macro = large Invertebrate = no backbone A “large” bug found in the bottom of water. Macro-invertebrates are an indicator of the water health.
7	Major Group Biotic Index Each organism has a tolerance value from 1-10. A value of 1, means the organism is not tolerant of bad water quality. A value of 10, means the organism is tolerant of bad water quality. A high MGBI = low water quality. A low MGBI = high water quality.
8	Procedure 1. A student holds the net while another student disturbs the area to get the insects into the net. 2. Some students brush the rocks to make sure all bugs are in the net.
9	Procedure 3. Remove the bugs from the net and put them in a bucket with water. 4. Pour everything through a filter to catch the bugs. 5. Put the bugs and debris into a bottle with alcohol solution.
10	Procedure 6. Find the bugs in the debris. 7. Sort the bugs using the dissecting microscopes by similar characteristics. 8. Count the bugs in each order. 9. Make calculations and conclusions.
11	Data
12	MGBI
13	Conclusion In our Brook Buddies program, we discovered that Site #1 had a MGBI of 6.7. Site #2 had a MGBI of 5.0. Therefore, the Macro-invertebrates in Site #1 are more tolerant to poor water quality. Site #2 (Dam) has better water quality. We think that the water quality may have been better at Site #2 because it was flowing faster than Site #1.