LaMotte® Leaf Pack Stream Ecology Lab Activity

Study Freshwater Invertebrates and Their Ecosystem

• Collect samples from a local stream
• Practice tree and invertebrate identification
• Make an artificial leaf pack
• Aligned to NGSS 3-LS4-3, MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5, HS-LS2-1, HS-LS2-2, HS-LS2-7

Examine the habitat of forest streams and observe the interrelationship between the trees, food sources, aquatic organisms, and water quality. By making their own artificial “leaf packs”, students re-create the stream ecosystem, collecting its components, including leaves and freshwater macroinvertebrates, which they can compare with the included illustrations of leaf and invertebrate types for identification. It comes with enough materials for six setups.