Introduction “Doing Science” Community service performed by students in university science departments has most often been in forms such as mentors in tutoring programs, supporting science fairs, or in outreach programs designed to ignite incipient scientists to a lifetime of discovery. However, the question has been raised, how can a science as department in a college or university actually “do science” and be of service to the community? Also, how can scientists-in-training perform testing and experiments in the field and in laboratories that will provide a quantifiable benefit to the local community? Oklahoma City University in partnership with the Blue Thumb Service Learning Program has found a way to take this initiative in a new direction. Students, both majors and non-majors, in Beth Landon the Department of Biology at Oklahoma City University collect data and perform chemical testing on local streams. This information, collected and analyzed with data from other volunteer groups around Oklahoma, is Department of Biology used to guide decision-making by groups as diverse as neighborhood associations, the local food bank, the State Department of Environmental Quality and city planners. The University is also graduating citizens with a Oklahoma City University greater awareness and responsibility for their communities with real skills to bring about change. There are 67 Blue Thumb active stream site in the State of Oklahoma. Active Stream Sites around the Metro Area Bishop Creek Deer Creek* Bluff Creek: NW 150th Bluff Creek Merkle Creek SW ¼SE ¼SE ¼Section 2 13N 4W, Campbell Creek* Soldier Creek* Oklahoma County, Oklahoma N 35° 37’ 25.7” Chisholm Creek Spring Creek W 97° 35’ 58.2” Coffee Creek West Elm Creek* WBID#: OK 620910-04-0140G Crutcho Creek (* monitored by student groups)
Time demands during the semester: • Training lecture (two to three class periods) The laboratory class is broken into six teams each with A data sheet is filled an assigned task. The team assignments are permanent out and submitted • Training labs (two labs each semester) and the assigned tasks are rotated so that students get to the Blue Thumb • Monthly stream monitoring (three to four times each semester) the widest possible experience during the semester. office for every monitoring field trip. • Habitat assessment and macroinvertebrate collection (one lab each semester) On Site Data Compilation for Bluff Creek • Macroinvertebrate subsampling (one lab each semester) Air and Water Temperature • Fish assessment (one full day, done during summer semester) Secchi Disk for Turbidity Sample Water Collection Future “Doing Science” Ideas Dissolved Oxygen (Test 1) Dissolved Oxygen (Test 2) • Soil Testing Data Collection of Site Conditions Testing for Waterborne and Fecal Coliforms is done as part of the monthly monitoring during May, June, July, August and • Product Lifecycle Assessment • Pharmaceutical/Food In Lab September. Samples may be tested at a local laboratory for a fee or the Coliscan kit may be purchased from Easygel, Inc. Interaction Analysis • An Historical Record of Dissolved Oxygen (finish both tests) This kit is user-friendly requiring equipment commonly found Students practice a testing procedure Watersheds pH in university labs, however, be aware that quantification is while simultaneously viewing Lab Nitrate/Nitrite subjective and will require training to achieve consistency. Assistant Lisa Muir demonstrating it in (For More Details Ammonia a Powerpoint presentation. Please Take the Handout Orthophosphate Below) Chloride (The above tests are Hach kits available from most Powerpoint presentations are used to Environmental testing distributors.) introduce and train students in all aspects of monitoring for stream health. Macroinvertebrate Collection Although this procedure is performed on each stream once every five years, it is In January and again in July, a kick net is used to seine disturbances of the benthic and substrate levels at three such a time and labor intensive process locations in the riffle of the stream. A percentage of the capture is submerged in 95% ethanol in a collection that volunteers from other streams in the jar. A 100-foot section of the stream, upstream from the riffle, is then measured for width, depth and flow area are encouraged to participate. In the rate. The monthly monitoring is not usually combined with this procedure because of time constraints. morning a designated individual leads the journey, either upstream or downstream, for 400 yards (nearly a quarter mile)
Central Great Plains during which each 100 feet of the stream Winter 2003 Macroinvertebrates Riffle Raw Results and riparian zone is quantified as to Bishop Creek: Bluff Creek: Deer Creek: Highway 9 NW 150th Highway 4 percentages of vegetation, cover and Macroinvertebrate Subsampling At least 100 but no more than 150 Taxa Richness 51416 other parameters. In the afternoon all EPT Taxa Richness 0 1 2 Fish Assessment macroinvertebrates are packaged and EPT Abundance 0 0.01 0.12 In April and October, following respectively the winter and summer HBI Score 9.6 5.72 5.82 400 yards are seined. Fish are EPT/EPT + Chironomidae 0 0.01 0.14 sent to an entomologist for speciation. macroinvertebrate collections, the samples are brought to the lab where a % Contribution Dominants 0.88 0.64 0.72 photographed and counted. There is a long lead time of up to a year Shannon Weaver Diversity 0.74 2.03 1.79 percentage is washed, cleaned of large debris (leaves and twigs) which are Raw Scores
before the report is available quantified and recorded, and spread in a gridded pan. Armed with Taxa Richness 0.31 0.88 1.00 EPT Taxa Richness 0.00 0.50 1.00 EPT Abundance 0.00 0.01 0.12 macroinvertebrate identification charts and a list of random numbers HBI Score 0.61 1.02 1.00 EPT/EPT + Chironomidae 0.00 0.07 1.00 Sample ID 31145 ranging from 1 to 25, students work in pairs to “pick bugs” from the % Contribution Dominants 0.88 0.64 0.72 WBID OK620910 04 0140G th Shannon Weaver Diversity 0.74 2.03 1.79 Site Name Bluff Creek: NW 150 gridded squares under strict procedural conditions. Date 9/17/2004 Metric Scores Start Point See lat/long Direction Upstream Taxa Richness 066 Instream Cover 3.10 EPT Taxa Richness 0 0 6 Pool Bottom Substrate 5.60 EPT Abundance 002 Pool Variability 13.20 HBI Score 266 Canopy Cover Shading 18.70 EPT/EPT + Chironomidae 0 0 6 Presence of Rocky Runs or Riffles 7.50 % Contribution Dominants 0 0 0 Flow 15.80 Riffle Ref. No. Macroinvertebrate Shannon Weaver Diversity 0 2 2 Channel Alteration 2.30 Channel Sinuosity 1.20 1 18.20 ANNELIDA Oligochaeta Haplotaxida Tubificidae Branchiura Total Score 2 14 28 Bank Stability 7.60 9 60.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Coleoptera Elmidae Stenelmis Bank Vegetation Stability 2.90 Comparison to Reference 0.07 0.50 1.00 Streamside Cover 10.00 1 83.60 ARTHROPODA Insecta Collembola Isotomidae Isotomurus Total Points 87.90 1 90.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Chironomini Impairment Severe Moderate Non Impaired 78 92.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Orthocladiinae 1 93.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Pseudochironomi Metric # Description Riffle 10 104.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Diptera Simuliidae Simulium 1 Number of organisms 123.00 Acknowledgements 1 115.70 ARTHROPODA Insecta Diptera Tipulidae Geranomyia 2 Number of taxa 14.00 3 Density/1 minute effort 1056.28 I would like to express my appreciation for the generous support and encouragement from the faculty and 3 179.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Odonata Coenagrionidae Argia The raw data 4 Modified Hilsenhoff biotic index 5.72 4 228.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Trichoptera Hydropsychidae Cheumatopsyche 5 Modified North Carolina biotic index 5.12 administration of the Department of Biology at Oklahoma City University. They have given up countless hours of are indexed 6 Scrapers/scrapers + filtering collectors 0.09 1 234.00 ARTHROPODA Insecta Trichoptera Hydroptilidae Hydroptila 7 Scrapers and filtering collectors/total 0.14 class and lab time, braved a range of weather conditions and difficult terrains, and demonstrated unflagging good 1 262.00 MOLLUSCA Gastropoda Basommatophora Ancylidae Ferrissia using a number 8 Shredders/total 0.01 Indexing allows comparisons among streams in 9 Gathering collectors/total 0.66 1 279.00 MOLLUSCA Pelecypoda Veneroida Sphaeriidae Sphaerium humor in the face of challenging responses to field trip experiences and laboratory techniques. My everlasting of universal 10 Chironomidae/total 0.66 vastly different biological zones culminating in a 1 281.50 NEMERTEA Enopla Hoplonemertea Tetrastemmatidae Prostoma 11 EPT/EPT + Chironomidae 0.01 12 EPT/EPT + Chronomini 0.50 appreciation also goes to the staff of the local and state Blue Thumb offices. Cheryl Cheadle, Jean Lemmon and 10 285.50 PLATYHELMINTHES Turbellaria Tricladida Planariidae Dugesia methods. 13 EPT/total 0.01 one-word, fact-based evaluation. 14 EPT taxa 1.00 Kim Shaw have each surpassed their mandates in keeping volunteers supplied and sustained in the most diverse 123 Total Number of Organisms 15 Dominants/total 0.64 16 Shannon Weaver diversity index 2.03 situations.