On Sunday 25th of October, Streamwatch held it’s annual Catchment Crawl, were we headed out to investigate waterbugs in different waterways in Sydney.
It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect weather for some waterside activities. This year, the Streamwatch team began our crawl in Tempe, testing the waters in this highly urbanised wetland, to see what critters we could find.
Freshwater macroinvertebrates, or waterbugs, are not only exciting to find and interesting to look at, but they are used as a biological indicator of water quality.
Different waterbug species withstand different levels of water quality. Some waterbugs, such as mayfly nymphs and stonefly nymps, are highly sensitive to pollution, whereas species such as the flatworm or backswimmer can survive in poorer water conditions. Therefore, we can assess the water quality by looking at what critters we find.
In Tempe’s urban wetland, we were joined by a great crowd of bug detectives from all over Sydney, fascinated to investigate what’s under the surface. From retirees to university students to young families, we certainly had budding scientists in our midst. We were thrilled to find a great diversity of life in Tempe, suggesting the water quality was good!
We then hopped over to sites in Peakhurst and Oatley, with more participants joining in along the way. We investigated waterbugs living in streams connecting up to larger water bodies. We found dragonfly nymphs, damselfly nymphs, bloodworms, tadpoles, and more. We even spotted water dragons and an eel.
The final destination in our crawl was the pristine Royal National Park. Waterbugs are a source of food for the platypus, which have been released in the Royal National Park, with reports that the colony are doing well. Luckily, we found ample food for the platypus, and found a sensitive waterbug, the mayfly nymph, suggesting the water quality was excellent.
We also found a very interesting worm – the Gordonian worm – a parasite that finds a terrestrial host and ends up controlling their nervous system, causing the poor critter to kamikaze into the water.
Such a great day out, thanks to everyone who participated! Interested in volunteering with Streamwatch? Email the team at streamwatch@greatsydneylandcare.org to find out how you can get invloved.
Greater Sydney Landcare is a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).
We bring people together through free, hands-on environmental activities throughout the year. From tree planting and bush regeneration to water quality monitoring, our events are open to everyone, regardless of experience.
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