Table 1
Listed by taxonomic order (unless otherwise noted), and then family, this table presents the EQI’s 43 taxonomic groups, their SMIE tolerance values, and counts of the total number of individual specimens observed across all of the 284 high quality samples by volunteers, the entomologist, and the observed Bray-Curtis percent similarity between volunteer and entomologist identifications. Note that no alderflies were ever observed by volunteers or the entomologist so Bray Curtis cannot be calculated and this family is absent from Figure 3. These samples were collected using the three methods: kick net, leaf pack, and visual survey, and were kept separate from one another. The Bray-Curtis similarity is the same similarity as plotted in Figure 3.
| ORDER OR OTHER SCIENTIFIC TAXA GROUP | FAMILIES | GROUP NAME | SMIE TOLERANCE | VOLUNTEER COUNT | ENTOMOLOGIST COUNT | BRAY-CURTIS SIMILARITY (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class Clitellata | Hirudinidae | Leech | 7 | 11 | 1 | 17 |
| Class Clitellata | Lumbrichulidae, Tubificidae, Nadidae | Oligochaete | 7 | 258 | 202 | 81 |
| Class Crustacea | Cambaridae | Crayfish | 6 | 14 | 5 | 53 |
| Class Crustacea | Gammaridae | Scud amphipod | 7.2 | 9 | 8 | 82 |
| Class Crustacea | Asellidae | Sowbug isopod | 7.4 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Class Gastropoda | Physidae | Coiled left face snail | 8.7 | 17 | 15 | 75 |
| Class Gastropoda | Pleuroceridae, Hydrobiidae, Lymnaeidae, Viviparidae | Coiled right face snail | 5.6 | 231 | 222 | 94 |
| Class Gastropoda | Planorbidae | Rounded right face snail | 6.6 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Coleoptera | Elmidae | Adult riffle beetle | 4.5 | 101 | 96 | 89 |
| Coleoptera | Elmidae | Larval riffle beetle | 3.2 | 159 | 176 | 78 |
| Coleoptera | Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae, Gyrinidae | Larval predator beetle | 6.4 | 17 | 1 | 11 |
| Coleoptera | Psephenidae | Water penny | 2.3 | 749 | 817 | 93 |
| Diptera | Simuliidae | Black fly | 4.9 | 258 | 248 | 89 |
| Diptera | Chironomidae | Chironomid midge | 6 | 500 | 723 | 75 |
| Diptera | Tipulidae | Fat head crane fly | 3.5 | 33 | 36 | 55 |
| Diptera | Chironomidae | Red midge | 9.3 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| Diptera | Athericidae | Water snipe | 1.8 | 200 | 153 | 78 |
| Diptera | Tipulidae | Water worm | 7.5 | 305 | 381 | 78 |
| Ephemeroptera | Ephemeridae | Burrowing mayfly | 4 | 30 | 57 | 55 |
| Ephemeroptera | Oligoneuridae, Isonychiidae | Filter mayfly | 3.6 | 231 | 252 | 91 |
| Ephemeroptera | Heptageniidae | Flattened scraper | 2.8 | 1933 | 2064 | 93 |
| Ephemeroptera | Ameletidae, Baetidae, Leptophlebiidae, Siphlonuridae | Round headed swimmer | 4.3 | 1929 | 1954 | 79 |
| Ephemeroptera | Ephemerellidae, Caenidae, Tricorythidae, Neophemeridae | Spiny crawler | 3.4 | 5982 | 6274 | 91 |
| Ephemeroptera | Baetiscidae | Spiny turtle mayfly | 3.2 | 63 | 65 | 97 |
| Megaloptera | Corydalidae, subfamily Chauliodinae | Fishfly | 5.3 | 113 | 97 | 85 |
| Megaloptera | Corydalidae | Hellgrammite | 5.2 | 100 | 93 | 77 |
| Megaloptera | Sialidae | Alderfly | 7 | 0 | 0 | NA |
| Odonata | Coenagrionidae, Calopterygidae, Lestidae | Damselfly | 7 | 34 | 34 | 88 |
| Odonata | Aeshnidae, Cordulegastridae, Cordulidae, Gomphidae, Libellulidae, Macromiidae | Dragonfly | 4 | 129 | 120 | 95 |
| Plecoptera | Capniidae, Leuctridae, Nemouridae, Taenopterygidae | Fragile detritivore | 1.3 | 343 | 276 | 65 |
| Plecoptera | Pteronarcyidae | Giant shredder | 1.8 | 116 | 89 | 75 |
| Plecoptera | Perlidae, Chloroperlidae, Perlodidae | Quick crawling predator | 1.3 | 2495 | 2573 | 91 |
| Plecoptera | Peltoperlidae | Roach shredder | 1.3 | 54 | 46 | 90 |
| Trichoptera | Thremmatidae, Glossosomatidae | Gravel coffin case caddis | 0.8 | 101 | 104 | 63 |
| Trichoptera | Hydropsychidae, Psychomyiidae | Net spinner | 3.15 | 5784 | 6084 | 94 |
| Trichoptera | Leptoceridae | Sand and stick case caddis | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Trichoptera | All other inorganic-cased caddisflies | Sand or mineral case caddis | 2.6 | 40 | 17 | 28 |
| Trichoptera | Helicopsychidae | Sand snail case | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Trichoptera | Rhyacophilidae | Small head caddis | 1.85 | 1321 | 1043 | 81 |
| Trichoptera | Brachycentridae | Square log cabin caddis | 2.2 | 5 | 3 | 50 |
| Trichoptera | Limnephilidae, Genus Pycnopsyche | Stick bait caddis | 2.5 | 10 | 16 | 69 |
| Trichoptera | All other organic-cased caddisflies | Vegetative case caddis | 2.9 | 16 | 13 | 55 |
| Unionoida and Veneroida | Corbiculidae, Sphaeriidae, Unionidae | Clam and mussel | 5.3 | 31 | 27 | 93 |
Table 2
Sample count and quality summary for 357 QC samples collected by EQI volunteers between 2011 and 2016 using the three collection methods: kick nets, leaf packs, and visual surveys.
| HIGH-QUALITY SAMPLES | ||
|---|---|---|
| ISSUE | NUMBER OF SAMPLES | PERCENT OF SAMPLES |
| No issue | 284 | 79.6% |
| LOW-QUALITY SAMPLES | ||
| ISSUE | NUMBER OF SAMPLES | PERCENT OF SAMPLES |
| Failed to preserve all specimens | 14 | 3.9% |
| No sample preserved | 34 | 9.5% |
| Improper preservation | 9 | 2.5% |
| Vial not labeled properly | 12 | 3.4% |
| Data sheet illegible | 4 | 1.1% |
| Low-quality subtotal | 73 | 20.4% |
| All samples total | 357 | 100.0% |
Figure 1
Comparison of macroinvertebrate water quality metrics calculated with observations from volunteer teams versus the entomologist. Panel a includes all high-quality samples (n = 284) for all collection methods, with collection method depicted according to the legend. Panel b combines organisms observed in samples for leaf pack and kick net methods for each site visit where both samples were high quality (n = 102). Dashed lines in each plot are 1:1 and solid lines are linear regressions for which the r2, p values, and equations are displayed on each plot. Values for Taxa Richness and the EPT taxa index were jittered (producing the clusters of points around integer values) so the many values that fall on the same point can be visualized.
Figure 2
Bray-Curtis similarity for volunteer versus entomologist organism identification by sample. Across all samples (n = 284) the mean similarity was 83%, median was 90% (black line inside the box), minimum was 0, and maximum similarity was 100%.
Figure 3
Bray-Curtis similarity of volunteer versus entomologist counts of specimens across all samples by taxonomic group (depicted by the open black points and labeled by common name). Taxonomic orders (or other taxonomic level where specified) on the X axis are organized by mean similarity of the groups within that order, where the highest mean similarity is on the left and the lowest mean similarity is on the right (mean order similarity depicted by closed black points, with values connected by the black line). In three instances, pairs of groups have equal similarities and appear as one point on the plot (spiny crawler and filter mayfly; water snipe and water worm; snail caddis, and sand stick caddis).