New bug-tracking project aims to help monitor health of Wisconsin waterways

A new project known as BenthicNet is training students to collect aquatic insects that can be used to track the health of waterways across Wisconsin. It gets its name from organisms known as benthic invertebrates that live on the bottom of streams, lakes and rivers. They include aquatic insects in addition to snails, clams and worms that spend part of their life in the water.

The project was launched in the summer to train students to identify and properly preserve specimens, and it’s funded by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin. The goal is to make the collections more accessible to the public, water resource managers and the scientific community. The information could then be used by agencies to prioritize water-quality sampling and management of certain waterways.

Read the rest of the story at WPR: https://www.wpr.org/news/new-bug-tracking-project-aims-to-help-monitor-health-of-wisconsin-waterways