Water Condition

Brown, possibly with scum and frothy

Brownish. Film or scum possible

May be nearly clear or slightly muddied

Fairly clear

Mud Condition

Black, sewage, oily or chemical odor

Black, fairly strong odor

Dark brown, may have a slight odor

Should not have a foul odor

Diptera Larva

Mosquito (Culex), rat-tailed maggot (Eristalis)

Mosquito, Midge (Chironomidae & Dixidae), black flies (Simulidae, Eristalis, dance fly (Empididae)

A few chironomids, dixids, & simulids, mosquito, horsefly, dance fly, Eristalis

Possibly mosquito, chironomids, or craneflies

Worms

Sludge or tubifex worms (Oligochaeta)

Tubifex and other oligochaetes, leeches, possibly roundworms.

Leeches, oligochaetes, flatworms

Possibly none or may be oligochaetes

Crustaceans/

Mollusks

None living, may find empty shells

Pea shell clams, left handed snails, some copepods particularly Cyclops, some Branchiopoda particularly Daphnia, fresh water limpets

Daphnia, aquatic snails, crayfish, many copepods, many ostracods, some amphipods, freshwater mussels, limpets

Crayfish, good copepod variety, freshwater mussels, aquatic snails, limpets.

Other Insect Larva

None

Probably none

Dragonflies, riffle beetles, caddisflies, damselflies, water striders, water scorpion, whirligig beetles dobsonflies,

Stoneflies, water pennies, mayflies, dragonflies, riffle beetles, water scorpions, water striders, whirligig beetles, damselflies, predaceous diving beetles, caddisflies, dobsonflies,

Protozoans/Rotifers

Euglena, Amoeba, & some rotifers

Amoeba Paramecium, Euglena, and rotifers

Stentor, Paramecium, Euglena, &  rotifers

A few Euglena, Dinobryon, Difflugia, Chlamydomonas, Gonyaulax but not many ciliates

Fish

none

May see carp, minnows (Cyprinidae), buffalo fish and possibly catfish

Carp, catfish, minnows, buffalo fish, gars, stickleback & suckers

Carp, catfish, minnows, buffalo fish, stickleback, gars, suckers, blue gill, darters and game fish

Algae

Possibly Melosira and Oscillatoria

Oscillatoria & Spirogyra

Pandorina

Oedogonium and Navicula

Diversity Index

0-2

1-3

2-5

4-10

Misc.

Great numbers of Bacteria (Sphaerotilus) or may be entirely lacking life.

Possibly algae floating on the surface, bacteria (Beggiatoa)

Rooted plants may be present

Good variety of rooted plants