CT DEEP Posts Interactive RBV (Riffle Bio-assessment for Volunteers) Story Map to Website
Using recent and historic RBV data, DEEP has created a story map showing where each of the RBV ‘most wanted’ insect types have been found in CT. RBV, or Riffle Bio-assessment for Volunteers, is a methodology for assessing the relative health of a stream system based on the types of riffle-dwelling aquatic insects found in it. Aquatic insects form an important part of the aquatic foodweb, providing food for fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Certain types of aquatic insects are very sensitive to pollution, and their presence or absence from a stream can be used to make a relative assessment about how healthy a stream is, and therefore how likely it is to support a robust and diverse habitat. The story map, which is an interactive, geographically-linked on-line map, shows where pollutant-sensitive – ‘most wanted’ insects – have been found in Connecticut’s streams, as well as information and photographs about each type of insect. Click here to access the story map.
To learn more about the DEEP RBV program, click here.
