Beaverhead River Project
Collecting the Data
River chemistry In the river
Biology students	Collecting invertebrates	In the chem lab
Presenting the Data
Montana Academy of Science Registration
Presenting the data	Planning Board presentation	Celebrate!

ABSTRACTS OF TALKS PRESENTED BY STUDENTS AT THE MONTANA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE MEETING, Billings, Montana, April 12, 1997

PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE BEAVERHEAD RIVER AND THE EFFECTS OF THE DILLON COMMUNITY: CHEMISTRY
Steve Mock, Sheila Roberts, Cori Freshour, Stephanie Frisbee, Jack Hayes, and Jennifer O'Loughlin

Students in two Freshman-level college chemistry classes studied water quality of the Beaverhead River, which flows through Dillon, as a lab component of their classes. This activity had several goals -- to involve beginning-level chemistry students in real scientific research, to offer the community planning boards information that would otherwise not be available, and to provide data for a longer-term monitoring of Beaverhead River water quality. Many of the students at this college are studying to become public school teachers, so an additional goal was to provide a model for student research in science classes.

Four collections sites were chosen: two upstream from Dillon, one just within the town, and one just downstream of town. Chemical analyses were done using a HACH portable water-chemistry lab, with EPA-approved equipment and test procedures. Analyses performed at the water-collection sites included temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and total dissolved solids. Samples were transported back to the lab and immediately analyzed for ammonium, nitrate, sulphate, and phosphate ions and alkalinity. One group tested the reliability of the results using chemical standards. Our analyses show that the river water is well within drinking-water standards for the analytes studied. It has healthy dissolved oxygen and pH levels and is well buffered. The results of this project provide a "clean" base level for planned continued monitoring of the river.

PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE BEAVERHEAD RIVER AND THE EFFECTS OF THE DILLON COMMUNITY: BIOLOGY
Braut, J., M.E. Perry, and A.L. Easter-Pilcher

Aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity and abundance are often used as a barometer of the health of riparian ecosystems. Aquatic macroinvertebrate counts, in conjunction with chemical analyses of specific stream reaches, may be useful harbingers of stream degradation. Sixty-two students from the 100 level biology class at WMC-UM participated in the field collection and in the laboratory identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates (to Order) sampled from four stations along the Beaverhead River. Stations were approximately 20 feet in length and located within the low water marks in areas with riffles and cobbles. Students collected 3 replicate samples of macroinvertebrates, with a surber stream bottom sampler, within each of the four river stations in January and again in February of 1997. Histograms were plotted to allow comparison of the distribution of invertebrate Orders within and across each of the four river sites. Two species richness indices, the number of species in a defined sampling unit (S) and Margalef's index (Dmg) and one proportional species abundance index, Simpson's (D) were calculated for each of the four river sites for both January and February. S and Dmg show relatively little change across all four river sites while D indicates a loss of diversity and a shift in species dominance/evenness characteristics at our most downstream site (below a sewage treatment plant). At this site, aquatic nematodes (Nematoda) are 6 times more abundant than any other aquatic invertebrate Order.





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