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Description

Learn about our unique rivers! Use simple kit to discover what is beneath the surface and become a River Wildlife Investigator!

Based on resources available from WESSEX RIVERS TRUST
https://www.wessexrt.org.uk/educationresources.html

Resources

• A fine mesh net - you could attach an old plastic sieve to a sturdy stick
• A bucket, shallow container or washing up bowl, a light colour is best
• A clear container or jam jar
• Identification sheet or field guide
• Bug pot and/or magnifying glass if you have them
• Wellies or water shoes

Instructions

SAFETY FIRST
• Wear old clothes and wellies - never go in barefoot, there may be sharp objects on the river bed
• Cover all open cuts and scratches with waterproof plasters
• Check you have permission to access the river and that the water levels are low - ankle deep is best
• Stay out of fast currents
• Have responsible adult with you
• Wash your hands before eating or drinking

GET STARTED
• Before you get started, take a moment to look at the surface of the water, are there any insects walking on the surface of the water or flying around?
• Set up the equipment a safe distance from the river edge
• Carefully put a small amount of river water into the bucket, shallow container or washing up bowl

TAKE A KICK SAMPLE FROM THE RIVER
• place the net flat on the river bed, making sure the net opening is facing upstream and the water is flowing through the net
• leave a gap of about a foot’s length in front of the net opening, then disturb the gravel or sediment on the river bed with your feet
• by wiggling your feet around on the river bed, you are disturbing any creatures hiding in amongst the stones and they are carried into the net by the flowing water
• try not to kick too much sediment or any big stones directly into the net, as these may smother and harm the river life
• experiment with different locations within the river, try kick sampling by the river bank, in amongst vegetation, in stones and in silt

INVESTIGATE
• Empty the net and its contents into the shallow container by turning it over and gently pushing the net inside out
• Look carefully! Some creatures will be very small - use the jam jar or clear container to gently scoop up creatures for a side on view
• You won’t need to re-fresh your water each time you dip, just if you fill your tray with silt or mud
• You may catch small fish whilst kick sampling, these should be placed in a deeper tub rather than a shallow tray - return them straight back to the river once you’ve had a good look

IDENTIFY
• Have a go at identifying everything using the identification guide, you could take photos, make notes and draw your favourites

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
• When you’ve finished, carefully return everything to the river by gently emptying the shallow container and jam jar, holding them low over the water
• Make sure the equipment is rinsed in the river water so it is clean and creature free
• If you want to dip another stream straight away, make sure you disinfect your net and other equipment - otherwise make sure it’s left to dry for 48 hours before it’s used again somewhere else, this will help prevent the spread of non-native species
• Remember to wash your hands before eating or drinking - running water and soap is best

DID YOU KNOW?
• Female freshwater shrimp carry their young in pouches until they’re about a month old - they can produce up to 50 young every four weeks!
• Cased caddisflies make their cases by spinning together material like sand, stones, leaves, twigs and even empty snail shells - they use a silk to glue it all together that is released from glands around their mouth
• There are 51 different species of mayfly in Britain, they can look quite different but their three tails are the key to identifying them - as flies, some species only live for a few hours, during which they have to mate and lay eggs

HANDY NOTES
• An invetebrate is a creature without a backbone.
• Many invertebrates in the river are the immature stage of another bug, usually a beetle or a type of fly
• Usually, the immature stage lives in the water, and after metamorphosis the adult will live in the air or on land
• A larvae is an immature stage that after metamorphosis looks different as an adult, e.g. a beetle or midge
• A nymph is an immature stage that after metamorphosis looks the same as the adult, but has additional wings, e.g. a mayfly or damselfly

WHAT DOES OUR RIVER LIFE TELL US?
• Finding out what lives below the surface of a river or stream is a great way of learning about its biodiversity (the variety of plant and animal life) and health.
• To work out the health of a river or stream, we look for invertebrates. Invertebrates are creatures without a backbone - there are thousands of them living in the river, they have amazing lifecycles and they can tell us a lot about pollution levels.
• Pollution is when people make nature dirty. Some invertebrates can live in polluted water and some cannot, so we can tell how dirty or clean a river is by what we find.
• For example, mayfly nymphs can only live in clean water so they get a score of A. Lots of A’s means that the river is really clean and lots of E’s, without any A’s or B’s suggests it is polluted. (see attached)

A: Stonefly nymph; Burrowing mayfly nymph; Flattened mayfly nymph
B: Cased caddisfly larvae; Demoiselle nymph
C: Freshwater shrimp
D: Leech; Snail ; Freshwater hoglouse
E: Worm; non-biting midge larvae

Tags

• bugs
• Bugs and Insects
• DIpping
• Nature Activities
• Nature identification
• Nature Observer
• Nature walk
• river
• River dipping
• Riverside
• Wildlife

Badge Links

• Adventure - Outdoor activity
• Experiment - Experiment
• Outdoors - Natural activity
• World - Mini-beast hunt
• World - Pond dipping