ONTARIO BENTHOS BIOMONITORING NETWORK (OBBN)
TRAINING COURSES SPRING 2013
LOCATION: WATERLOO SUMMIT CENTRE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
(87 FORBES HILL DRIVE, HUNTSVILLE, ON)
DATES: 27-29 MAY 2014 AND 24-26 JUNE 2014
(2 COURSES ARE OFFERED, REGISTER FOR THE ONE THAT BEST SUITS YOUR SCHEDULE)
THE ONTARIO BENTHOS BIOMONITORING NETWORK (OBBN), WHICH IS COORDINATED BY THE
ONTARIO MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SAUGEEN VALLEY CONSERVATION AUTHORITY, IS
AN AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATE BIOMONITORING NETWORK FOR ONTARIO’S LAKES, STREAMS,
AND WETLANDS.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO IS HOSTING 2 IDENTICAL OBBN COURSES THIS SPRING AT THE
WATERLOO SUMMIT CENTRE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. EACH COURSE WILL COVER BIOMONITORING
THEORY, SAMPLING METHODS, BENTHIC-INVERTEBRATE IDENTIFICATION, AND BIOASSESSMENT
CALCULATIONS. THE TRAINING IS RECOMMENDED FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN USING BENTHIC
MACROINVERTEBRATES TO MONITOR STREAMS OR LAKES USING PROVINCIALLY STANDARDIZED
PROTOCOLS. PARTICIPANTS DEMONSTRATING PROFICIENCY WILL BE CERTIFIED AS OBBN MEMBERS.
THE COURSE WILL BE HELD BY OBBN-CERTIFIED TRAINERS OVER THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS, AND
WILL INCLUDE A FIELDWORK COMPONENT. REGISTRATION FEES ARE $275 FOR CONSERVATION
AUTHORITY PERSONNEL AND $350 FOR ALL OTHERS.
OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATION IS AVAILABLE AT THE WATERLOO SUMMIT CENTRE FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT (SEE HTTPS://UWATERLOO.CA/WATERLOO-SUMMIT-CENTRE/ACCOMMODATIONS FOR
INFORMATION AND ON-LINE BOOKING). MEALS ARE NOT PROVIDED.
SPACE IS LIMITED. ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BY EITHER:
 COMPLETING THE ON-LINE REGISTRATION FORM LOCATED AT
HTTPS://UWATERLOO.CA/WATERLOO-SUMMIT-CENTRE/OBBN-REGISTRATION, OR BY
 SUBMITTING THE ENCLOSED REGISTRATION FORM TO THE WATERLOO SUMMIT CENTRE
FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
REQUESTS FOR THE COURSE PARTICIPATION AND OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS WILL BE ON A FIRST
COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. ONCE YOUR REGISTRATION IS RECEIVED, THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
WILL INVOICE YOU FOR APPLICABLE COURSE AND ACCOMMODATION FEES. THE FEES ARE DUE UPON
RECEIPT OF THE INVOICE. ANY REGISTRANT NEEDING TO CANCEL THEIR REGISTRATION MUST DO SO
AT LEAST TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THEIR COURSE DATE IN ORDER TO HAVE THEIR COURSE FEE
REFUNDED.
YOUR INSTRUCTORS
Chris Jones works at the Dorset Environmental Science Centre as the Ontario Ministry of the
Environment’s benthic-invertebrate-biomonitoring
scientist, and is a Ph.D. student in Laurentian
University’s Boreal Ecology program. His research
seeks to characterize reference conditions, derive
biocriteria (numerical standards for judging
ecosystem condition), and better understand benthic
community assembly in streams and lakes. In
addition to his scientific work, Chris coordinates
Ontario’s Benthos Biomonitoring Network, which is
a province-wide, lake-, stream-, and wetandbiomonitoring collaboration.
Sarah Sinclair is a benthic-invertebratebiomonitoring technician, employed by the Saugeen
Valley Conservation Authority at the Dorset
Environmental Science Centre. Sarah coordinates
sampling activities under Ontario’s Benthos
Biomonitoring Network (OBBN), and she runs the
sample-processing lab and biological sample archive
in Dorset. Sarah is certified as a benthic-invertebrate
taxonomist by the Society for Freshwater Science.
AGENDA
DAY 1
Time*
08:30-09:00
09:05-09:25
09:25-09:45
09:45-10:15
10:25-11:30
11:30-12:00
12:00-13:00
13:00-15:30
15:40-17:30
DAY 2
Time*
09:00-09:10
09:10-10:30
10:30-10:40
10:40-12:00
12:00-13:00
13:00-17:00
Topics
Sign-In
Welcome; Purpose and format of Course; Goals for Day 1
Background
OBBN Components, Principles, and Status Update
Bioassessment Study Designs and Biocriteria
OBBN Methods
Protocol Question and Answer
Lunch (and gather sampling equipment)
Sampling: Big East River and Fairy lake
Process samples to obtain 100-count sample
Topics
Goals for Day 2
Introduction to benthic macroinvertebrate identification (27-group level; slide show)
Break
The major groups of benthic macro-invertebrates (demonstration using Dorset reference
collection)
Lunch
Practice identification skills and use of keys
DAY 3 (morning session)
Time*
09:00-10:00 Review
10:00-12:00 Standard OBBN certification quizzes
Topics
DAY 3 (afternoon session, optional)
Time*
Topics
13:00-15:00 Demonstration: statistical concepts and calculations involved in a bioassessment
-Matching reference and test sites
-Summarizing composition with indices
-Evaluating test-site condition
*Timeslots are approximate.
ONTARIO BENTHOS BIOMONITORING NETWORK (OBBN)
TRAINING COURSES SPRING 2014
87 Forbes Hill Drive, Huntsville, Ontario
For your convenience, registration for OBBN is now online.
Please register at:
https://uwaterloo.ca/waterloo-summit-centre/obbn-registration
Requests for the course participation and overnight accommodations will be on a first come, first served basis. Once
your registration is received, you will receive an e-mail confirming your participation. After the first day of the
course, the University of Waterloo will invoice you for applicable course and/or accommodation fees. The fees are
due upon receipt of the invoice. A $50 cancellation fee will be applied to registrants needing to cancel their course
registration. Cancellations made inside the one week prior to their course date will not have their course fee
refunded. All cancellations must be made in writing.
Send registration inquiries to Jody Andruszkiewicz at jandrusz@uwaterloo.ca or 705-571-0259.