Throughout the fall of 2000 to mid May of 2001 we have conducted several different tests to detect pollution. Our research of the relative amounts of pollution in the Beaver Creek watershed has been for several reasons. All of these reasons are to benefit Beaver Creek.

The first of our tests is the Family Level Biotic Index (FBI) (see Appendix for evaluation form), which was created by Hilsenhoff in 1987 (Hilsenhoff 1). A person collects 100 aquatic insects with a D-frame net by disturbing the substrate just upstream of the D-frame net. After at least 100 insects are caught, they are taken back to the laboratory for analysis to the family level. Analysis was completed down to the family level and completed by using an aquatic insect key in the book Aquatic Entomology: The Fisherman's and Ecologists' Illustrated Guide to Insects and Their Relatives by Patrick W. McCafferty (83-405). Each family has a pollution tolerance on a scale of 1-10 in which 1 is no tolerance and 10 is extreme tolerance to pollution. Using these tolerance levels, the researcher finds the average tolerance level to determine the level of pollution. This pollution assessment is designed to more quickly evaluate each site studied compared to the more difficult process of the Biotic Index (BI). We have done this test on three sites spread out over 5-7 miles on the Beaver Creek stream during the fall of 2000 and again in the spring of 2001.

The next evaluation on the stream is called the Ball Habitat Index, which is a simple qualitative evaluation of stream habitat. We evaluated the stream according to the Ball Habitat Index (see Appendix for evaluation form) at the same three sites and during the same two times of year.

We also calculated velocity and temperature tests. To calculate velocity we floated an apple down a measured stretch of stream and recorded the time it takes the apple to travel that distance. Possibly a more accurate way to determine velocity that we didn't consider before working on the project is to use a fishing bobber that is on a measured amount of fishing line (Salazar-Sojo 8). We also measured the depth of a stream section every three inches across the stream. With the combination of the velocity and the depth one can calculate the volume of water flowing through the stream at a given time.

Another pollution detection test we did was determining the amount of certain chemicals in the stream water. We evaluated Nitrate, Phosphate, and turbidity concentrations twice a month starting in December and ending in mid-April on water from two sites on the Beaver Creek stream that are roughly one mile apart. We have placed temperature hobos, units that store temperature data, at each of the two sites and one recording the air temperature above the stream half way in between the other two hobos. They recorded data from mid October to mid-April.  Dissolved oxygen levels later in the year beginning in the middle of January and going until the middle of April. We used a dissolved oxygen digital meter to calculate the dissolved oxygen.
 

We captured minnows in a minnow trap containing dog food as bait, and later on we used chicken, dogfood, hotdogs, bread, and cheese. The trap is a cylindrical wire mesh with a funnel shaped opening on each side that juts inward (see Appendix for picture). Every 3 or 4 days we collected the minnows from the minnow trap and took digital pictures of each next to an inch scale ruler (see Photos page). Also, we took specimens of each different species back to the laboratory to identify and to establish an aquarium.

Finally, to combine all of our data and conclusions into an accessible form for the public, we created this web page on the Internet with detailed accounts of our studies using digital photographs.

Through our thorough studies, we hope to see a greater perspective of the stream. Not just observable qualities of the stream, but also quantitative results from tests that are accurate enough to be published.