STREAM SCENE
A Classroom Program for Grades 9-12
Program Description:
Discover ways to determine the health of a stream by its inhabitants. See unique adaptations of
animals that live their life in cold mountain streams when you become aquatic conservationists as
we play a game of understanding to find out how changes in and around the stream can affect its
ability to support life.
Lesson:
Learn how organisms survive and thrive in mountain streams. Learn techniques that biologists use
every day to determine water quality and assess the health of an ecosystem over time.
Conservation Message:
Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate. This is quickly eroding the capacity of our
planet to sustain life on earth. We must recognize that every species on Earth has intrinsic value,
not its monetary value, but the value of the ecosystem services they provide.
Curriculum Objectives:
Tennessee students will apply the following State Performance Indicators:
 Investigate the causes, environmental effects, and methods for preventing land, air, and
water pollution.
 Describe how species biodiversity relates to ecosystem stability.
 Differentiate between point and nonpoint sources of pollution as they apply to air and
water.
 Conduct a watershed analysis of a local stream. Test for chemical and biological
(infectious) pollutants include a survey of macroinvertebrates.
Georgia students will apply the following Science Performance Standards:
 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to construct explanations of stability and
change in Earth’s ecosystems.
 Plan and carry out investigations and analyze data to support explanations about factors
affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems.
Alabama students will apply the following Science Course of Study Content Standards:
 Engage in argument from evidence to evaluate how biological or physical changes within
ecosystems affect the number and types of organisms, and that changing conditions may
result in a new or altered ecosystem.
 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe how human activity may affect
biodiversity and genetic variation of organisms, including threatened and endangered
species.
 Obtain and evaluate information from published results of scientific computational models
to illustrate the relationships among Earth’s systems and how these relationships may be
impacted by human activities
Visit the Tennessee Aquarium Education Department website:
STREAM SCENE
Activity Sheet
1. What is a macroinvertebrate and where would you find one?
2. Define sedimentation and explain its effects on water quality.
3. Describe an event that could lead to sedimentation.
4. Too many nutrients in the water, how is that bad?
5. Name two ways nutrients can enter our waterways.
6. Circle the macroinvertebrate(s) that are pollution tolerant.
7. Comparative Analysis
Pretend you are an aquatic conservation biologist and it is your job to monitor the quality of water in two
creeks near a major construction site. The graphs
below represent two samples of macroinvertebrates
you have collected at each location. Based on these findings, provide your employer with a brief update
on the health of each creek.
Your Report:
STREAM SCENE
Activity Sheet Answers
What is an aquatic macroinvertebrate and where would you find one?
An aquatic macroinvertebrate is an organism that does not have a backbone and is large enough to see
without the use of a microscope. They are found in streams or creeks that have high levels of dissolved oxygen.
Define sedimentation and explain its effects on water quality.
Sediment is matter that settles to the bottom of a body of water and is the largest single nonpoint source
pollutant in the United States. When land disturbing activities occur, surface water movement transports soil
particles. Soil particles transported by water are often deposited in streams, lakes, and wetlands.
Describe an event that could lead to sedimentation.
Land disturbing activities such as road construction and maintenance, timber harvesting, mining, agriculture, residential and commercial development, all contribute to this problem.
How can too many nutrients/nitrates in the water be a bad thing?
Nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are essential for plant and animal growth, but an overabundance of nutrients can cause any number of adverse ecological effects. Nitrogen, in the forms of nitrate, nitrite, or ammonium, is a nutrient needed for plant growth. Excess nitrogen can cause overstimulation of
growth of aquatic plants and algae. This excessive growth can clog water intake, deplete dissolved oxygen
by decomposition, submerge the habitats of benthic organisms, and block light to deeper waters. When eutrophication occurs, fish kills are possible. The respiration efficiency of fish and aquatic invertebrates can
decrease, leading to a decrease in biodiversity, and affects everyone’s ability to use the water.
Name two ways nutrients can enter our waterways.
Most sources of excess nitrates come from human activities like agriculture and industry. Chemical fertilizers, human and animal waste, and soil erosion can all contribute to nutrients entering our waterways with
surface runoff. Leaking or poorly functioning septic systems are a source of such nitrates. Sewage treatment plants treat sewage to make it non-hazardous, but treatment plants still release nitrates into waterways.
Comparative Analysis
Your Report:
Based on the presence and abundance of pollution intolerant macro invertebrates found in at each sampling
location, it has been determined that Turkey and Noontootla Creeks are moderately healthy at this time.
The presence of some pollution is evident, however overall water quality is rated as "fair”. Better management of soil erosion and runoff are suggested to avoid any more deterioration of this habitat.