There we found a wide array of invertebrates including some of the largest stoneflies I have ever seen. These stoneflies were Perlidae, and appeared to be Agnetina (although it would be best to see them under a scope to be sure). Stoneflies are considered good indicators of water quality, because they are often sensitive to pollution or sedimentation. After we finished with the invertebrate surveys we looked for lampreys and found an ammocoete within the park in less than 10 minutes!
Sea lamprey are known from this river (link) but their extent and distribution is largely unknown. In addition, we also found generous amounts of trash (usually aluminum cans). Please do not treat streams and rivers as disposal sites. High quality habitats are rare, and they could be in your backyard, even in places that you may visit daily! We continue on, and hope to find lamprey at one more site this week. More updates if we succeed or fail, and more pictures to come.
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