this is an attempt to get a photo into the blog. in late january, the Huron River Watershed Council organizes a search for stoneflies at about 70 sites around the watershed. stoneflies only live in clean water, so their presence is an indicator that a stream is not polluted. stoneflies in michigan have developed a strategy of mating in january when their predators are absent, so that's when they are easy to find. we go out in teams: a "collector" who wades in the stream with a net and collects samples from the bottom, "pickers" who pick through the muck to find the stoneflies, and a "team leader" who stands around doing nothing (that's me). this site is on 8 mile, close to where we live, and we found lots of stoneflies. our other site, near new developments on pontiac trail north of 11 mile had almost none.
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