What do monitors do?

Adults and children 10 or older, accompanied by their parents, visit local streams to find and identify small animals that live in the streambed called “benthic macroinvertebrates.” Because these small animals, many of them immature insects, have a range of sensitivities to pollutants and stressors, they help us determine the streams’ health. Monitors also record information on the condition of the stream and its banks, test the pH of the water, and measure the temperature of the water and air. Everyone who enters the program is assigned to a team that monitors a given stream site. Each team is led by an experienced monitor who has passed a test in benthic macroinvertebrate identification.

How often do monitors visit their streams?

The teams visit their stream sites once in every season -- in April, July, October, and optionally during the winter (December to February). This gives us a record of aquatic life throughout the year. 

How does the ANS program differ from other monitoring programs? 

Our monitors identify aquatic insects to the taxonomic level of family. This gives us a clearer picture of aquatic diversity and stream health than programs with more general identification practices. Because our monitors identify organisms in the field and then release them alive, they do not have to preserve them in alcohol and send them to a lab for identification.  

How is the monitoring data used? 

We provide data to government agencies and to others upon request. Periodically we issue special reports of our data. [Link to reports?] ANS also contributes data to the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative. 

How can I become a stream monitor?  

Apply here to become a stream monitor. No prior experience is necessary. We ask that new monitors take at least one introductory stream science class.