Two broad objectives are addressed by this protocol: 1) Determine the annual status and trends of invertebrate species diversity, abundance and community metrics, and 2) Relate the invertebrate community to overall water quality through quantification of metrics related to species richness, abundance and diversity and region specific multi-metric indices as indicators of water quality and habitat condition

In the late 1980's, the National Park Service (NPS) began an intensive program to monitor water quality and invertebrate community structure in prairie streams at several midwestern parks (Harris et al. 1991). Included in this baseline study was George Washington Carver National Monument (GWCA). Based on the study of Harris et al. (1991), a preliminary protocol was suggested by Peterson (1996), in which data dating back to 1988 and collected under the guidance described in Boyle et al. (1990) were analyzed.

Aquatic invertebrates are an important biomonitoring tool for understanding and detecting changes in ecosystem integrity over time. Therefore, the monitoring objectives of this protocol as described by DeBacker et al. (2005) are: 1) Determine the status and trends of invertebrate species diversity, abundance, and community metrics. 2) Relate invertebrate community to overall water quality through quantification of metrics related to species richness, abundance, diversity, and region-specific multi-metric indices as indicators of water quality and habitat condition.