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Show e 16—THE HERALD, Pr il cat what wouldbe required if he had A SUBSAMPLER divides the samples taken from thestreams to sort the entire sample. Dr. Fred Mangum intoeight equal portions. This al- sample in much less time than $ @ sample The insects are then recorded, The lab technicians at If it is the wrong kindoffellow, it weighed and the data recorded could serious pollution thelab, the U.S. Forest Service them according to species so they can be counted, weighed and the BYU Water Quality Lab are students at the universtiy, who are employed on a_ part-time basis counting each species to help takes necessary steps to correct any pollution problems in the streams. the samples of macruinyertebrates and sorts before it is taken to the technician for sorting lows the technician to sort the water, NOT ALL INSECTS in a stream give signs that the water is pure. JERI ALLPHIN pes through show problems, Robert Pixton is determine the quality of the and interpreted. Onceit leaves BYU Scientists Test Water Quality in 3 States tions and cattle grazing as well as at the actual site. They are interested in getting the Water chemistry, physical water quality laboratory at Brigham Young University see it Bugs cantell a story about what is characteristics of the water and samples of the macroinvertebrates whichlive in the stream. Macroinvertebrates are particularly useful,’ Dr. Mangumsaid, “because they tell the long-term story.’’ Where the water chemistry tells what is there at the moment, theinsects cantell if going on in streams, theytell if the wateris clean orpolluted, and they can tell what is causing pollution Dr. Fred Mangum of the BYUwater qualitylab said he and his crew conduct studies of streamsin 16 national forests. in four states for the United States something toxic had gone downstream Forest Service. at an earlier time. The bug canhelp These studies determine what types identify pollutants. ofpollutants are in the water, thus givDr. Mangum gave two examples of ing forest managers a courseof action howthis is done. Midgeflies and a type in correcting unfavorable situations. ‘The forest service uses the information collected to monitor changesin the streams, Dr. Mangum explained This done to complywith the Water Pollution Control Act which Congress instituted in 1972. The lawstates that each government agency would know the quality of the water within its district. This is the function which Dr Mangum’s lab performs for the forest service. People underhis direction collect samples from the streams within the bouds of 16 national forests located of aquatic worm thrivein siltation. If the samples. Mostinsects live among rubble, so the artificial substrate providesa suitable environment for the organisms. A surber net is used to collect the colonies, he said. This is a large net with a metal frameat the opening. It is placed over to theartificial substrate basket which is placed inside net. The good, and it may be bad, depending on whether the organisms are pollution tolerant or not Dr. Mangum said the streams in the Uinta National Forest are generally in the water Such information is handed to the U.S. Forest Service and actions are However, if the problemis caused by humans, the forest servicehasto deter- then taken to correct problems can be varied He said the pollution, if man-caused In the case of Hobble Creek, it has to good shape. However, pollutants do oc- be determined whatis causing the polcur from time to time. For example. lution — nature or man, Keith Zobell, ourently thereis a problem in Hobble rales Fork District ranger, said. Not rk, while ‘ars ago it looked h an be done about natural pollu but pollutants have since entered tants suchas leavesor wildlife wastes. é The samples are taken from above the rocksfor 27-33 days. A constantsize and below campgrounds, mining opera- rock is used to eliminate variables in By PAUL ROBERTS Some people might say, ‘‘The only good bug is dead bug This is not the way the people at the mine a specific cause. The problems could be coming from crackedvaults in the sanitary facilities at the campground, causing organic pollutants to seep from the tanks to the stream, FALL SPECIAL samples are collected and stored in jars When the samples arrive at the lab, technicians first put them into a subsampler. This is a device which divides the samples into eight even portions, allowing technicians to take less time in picking through the sample. 14 Ft. GATE Ow HAND an over-abundant amount of themis in To ensure equal distribution of the the water, it shows there has been a samples, they are poured into a beaker more-than-normal quantityof siltation Aphonograph turntable with eight pans int the stream. This may have been spins at a rapid speed while water causedbyflashflooding upstream, log- flushes the sample from the beaker ging operations or mining operations overheadinto the eight pans. Then one Automatic Head catch, front & side exits, ease of trailering nauiemeny J When organic pollution enters the ot four of those pans are drained stream, the black fly population great- through a sieve and the organisms put ly increases in, Dr. Mangurn said. The into a petri dish. They are readyto be black fly thrives on organic pollution sorted. and indicates that man or nature has Using a microscope, a lab technician been depositing waste materials in nor picks through the organisms, sorting near the water them according to species and places in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada, the researcher said Each month they collect baseline data to see what happensto tue macrcinvertebratelife in the streams. They get three samplesfor eachstation, then take an averageof the information collected to makeit statistically viable. The samples are usually collected with the help of modified surber netar- tifical substrate baskets, Dr_ Mi lente, Wil mount om tea or food post. Chain ine A hingesincloded. All pater re dip painted gray them small dishes. They are then counted, dried and weighed. The counts and weights of the three samples are explained. First of all, anartificia averaged together for a mean and strate is placedin the stream. This is a reported. The lab interprets the nine-inch hardware cloth basket in significance of the community strucwhich baseball-size rocks areplaced ture and gives a final analysis of what andleft it means. The stream communities colonize on Increased insect populations may be JOHNSON’S TRACTOR I-15 & SPANISH FORK OFF RAMP, SPANISH FORK 798-8696 SS 7 Ui a Lay AT SUNSET! 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