A new quantitative air‐lift sampler for collecting macroinvertebrates on stony bottoms in deep rivers

Abstract

SUMMARY. 1. As three previous comparative studies of deep‐water samplers for benthic macroinvertebrates in rivers highlighted the need for a quantitative sampler for use on stony substrata, a new air‐lift sampler was developed. It can be operated from a small boat by two people, weighs 13.5–20.0 kg, depending on the length of riser used, and extends the maximum range of substrata that may be sampled quantitatively from 16–32 mm to 128—256 mm. The sampling area is isolated by forcing a collecting cylinder into the substratum, and rapid evacuation of the contents is assisted by a vibrator.2. All the major specifications of the sampler were determined experimentally in a large tank using three sizes of substrata and plastic pellets to represent invertebrates. The sampler performed accurately to a depth of at least 8 cm on substrata ranging from gravel (2–4 mm) to large stones (32–36 mm long).3. The performance of the sampler was compared with that of a Ponar grab and Pearson el at. air‐lift sampler at two sites on a large river and also with a Naturalist's dredge and a diver‐operated Hess‐Waters sampler at one of the sites where there were large stones up to 280 mm long. In terms of both mean taxa per sample and mean numbers m−2, samples taken using the new air‐lift sampler provided estimates comparable to or belter than those obtained with the other samplers.